THE PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING PROCESS
Writing is work, and for many of us, writing is hard work. Writing philosophy adds to this labor an element of intimidation. Whether you are writing an expository—explanatory and descriptive—essay…
METAPHYSICS
Metaphysics is the philosophical investigation of reality, including the nature of the world and the entities it contains. While such…
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HOW DO YOU DO PHILOSOPHY?
HOW DO YOU DO PHILOSOPHY?
How do you do philosophy? Unlike many of the questions asked in the name of philosophy, this one has a straightforward answer. You do philosophy primarily through writing. Now, if…
HIGHER-ORDER LOGICS
HIGHER-ORDER LOGICS
The language sketched above is better referred to as first-order predicate calculus, as the language only quantifies over (first-order) individuals. A stronger language, second-order predicate calculus, can therefore be constructed…
ATOMISM
ATOMISM
Atomism was founded by Leucippus (who flourished around 440 BC) but was primarily elaborated by Democritus (c. 460-370 BC) as a way of reconciling the Eleatic doctrine of the impossibility…
ARISTOTLE
ARISTOTLE
Aristotle (384–322 BC) was born in Stagira but moved to Athens as a young man to study at Plato’s Academy. Following Plato’s death, Aristotle traveled, became tutor to Alexander the…
SAINT AUGUSTINE
SAINT AUGUSTINE
Like his contemporaries, Saint Augustine (354–430) was primarily influenced by Neoplatonism, and, indeed, credited Plotinus with helping him to understand Christian theology.
ETHICS
ETHICS
Ethics is the study of morality and can be divided into three main areas of inquiry. Descriptive ethics concerns the actual moral beliefs held by specific individuals or societies and…
THE PRE-SOCRATICS
THE PRE-SOCRATICS
The origins of Western philosophy are usually attributed to Thales of Miletus (fl. sixth century BC), who taught that “everything was made of water” and thus that the universe, all…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
The word essay comes from the French infinitive verb essayer, meaning “to try” or “to attempt.” In fact, when the word was first borrowed into the English language, as essay,…
THE PERSONAL ESSAY
THE PERSONAL ESSAY
The personal essay is a self-reflective search for meaning. Unlike most philosophical writing, it is not argumentative. Instead, it is exploratory and speculative, often even somewhat confessional. It is typically…
AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY
The earliest indigenous African philosophy to produce written documents emerged during the seventeenth century, especially in Ethiopia. Zera Yacob (1599–1692), whose Hatata (1667) has been compared to René Descartes’ Discourse…
WHAT IS GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING?
WHAT IS GOOD PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING?
Writing effectively for a philosophy course does not merely start with the general principles of good writing just outlined, it sets out to show mastery of these principles. It embodies…
ESSENTIAL READING IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
ESSENTIAL READING IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
A comprehensive list of essential readings in the history of philosophy.
SCHOLASTICISM
SCHOLASTICISM
A general term for those philosophers influenced by the medieval rediscovery of classic texts, Scholasticism is broadly characterized by an interest in logic and disputation and is motivated to resolve…
THE EXPOSITORY PAPER
THE EXPOSITORY PAPER
We have already touched on the expository paper, but let’s discuss it briefly here. Look at the adjective expository. It is derived from the noun exposition, which is the noun…
THE FRANKFURT SCHOOL
A group of philosophers, cultural critics, and social scientists based around the Frankfurt (Germany) Institute for Social Research were primarily…
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Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control (The Stoic Virtues Series)
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Stillness Is the Key
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Right Thing, Right Now: Justice in an Unjust World (The Stoic Virtues Series)
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How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius
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Letters from a Stoic: Penguin Classics
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Books
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Ancient Greek Philosophers (Leather-bound Classics)
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The Complete Strategy Collection: The Art of War, The Prince, The Book of Five Rings, On War and Arthashastra
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The Honor Code: How Moral Revolutions Happen
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The Critical Thinker: A Guide to Effective Problem Solving, Precision in Decision Making, and Cultivated Mental Discipline.
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The Art of Communicating
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The Logic of Scientific Discovery (Routledge Classics)
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A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia
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Theory of Form: Gerhard Richter and Art in the Pragmatist Age
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Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason
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On Liberty (HPC Classics Series)
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The Writings of Henry David Thoreau : Reform Papers
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Princeton Readings in Political Thought: Essential Texts from Plato to Populism–Second Edition
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Duns Scotus – Philosophical Writings: A Selection
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The Atomos Blog
How do you get from a singularity to infinity?
How do you get from a singularity to infinity?
How do you get from a singularity to infinity?
How do you get from a singularity to infinity?
When the Light of a Dead Star Touches Your Eye
When the Light of a Dead Star Touches Your Eye
The Threshold
The Threshold
Can Math Prove Its Own Sanity? — A Deep Dive into Artemov’s Landmark Paper
Can Math Prove Its Own Sanity? — A Deep Dive into Artemov’s Landmark Paper
What Does the Mind Really Mean?
What Does the Mind Really Mean?
The Symphony of Existence: Strings, Dimensions, and the Persistence of Identity
The Symphony of Existence: Strings, Dimensions, and the Persistence of Identity
Does It Feel Like Anything To Be Claude?
Does It Feel Like Anything To Be Claude?
Natural Function and Perceptual Content
Natural Function and Perceptual Content
Philosophy of Law: An Introduction
Philosophy of Law: An Introduction
Philosophy of Science: An Introduction
Philosophy of Science: An Introduction
Aesthetics: An Introduction
Aesthetics: An Introduction
Epistemology: An Introduction
Epistemology: An Introduction
Ethics: An Introduction
Ethics: An Introduction
Logic: An Introduction
Logic: An Introduction
Metaphysics: An Introduction
Metaphysics: An Introduction
Philosophy of Science: An Introduction
Philosophy of Science: An Introduction
Terms & Concepts
Myth of the given
Argument due to John Sellars against the traditional empiricist view that knowledge of the external world is inferred from immediately given sense data, on the grounds that any such sense…
Mimesis
In aesthetics, the modeling or representation of an object by a work of art. The mimetic theory of art dominated aesthetics from Plato and Aristotle, but was eventually challenged by…
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