Skip to main content
search
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy Branches
November 14, 2023

HERMENEUTICS

Originally applied to scriptural exegesis (interpretation), hermeneutics is more generally the theory and method of all “textual” interpretation. In the modern context, this refers to both verbal and non-verbal “texts”…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

MIDDLE EASTERN TRADITIONS

As the Middle East is often called the cradle of civilization, it is also the source of some of the earliest philosophical literature. Much of it is devoted to what…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

EXISTENTIALISM

A broad philosophical and literary movement that flourished during the first half of the twentieth century, Existentialism emphasized the uniqueness of human experience over the generalizations of traditional scientific or…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

CYNICISM

Founded by Antisthenes (c. 445–360 BC), who taught the importance of individual virtue over material luxury, Cynicism was contemptuous of political institutions and organized religion. It rejected refined philosophical speculation…
Writing Philosophy
November 24, 2023

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…
STRATEGIC WRITING CHOICESWriting Philosophy
November 18, 2023

STRATEGIC WRITING CHOICES FOR PHILOSOPHY CLASS

Writing philosophy should not be easy, but you cannot allow it to become impossible. Here are five strategic rules of thumb for embarking on a successful writing project for philosophy…
History Of PhilosophyANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

LOGICAL POSITIVISM

Originally founded by Auguste Comte (1798–1857), Positivism was primarily a view about science. Influenced by Immanuel Kant’s (1724-1804) assertion that knowledge of things-inthemselves was impossible, Comte argued that our scientific…
History Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

POST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Kant’s philosophy continued to dominate throughout the nineteenth century, although there were increasing concerns about the overall coherence of his system; in particular, there was doubt as to whether the…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting Philosophy
November 19, 2023

THE ARGUMENTATIVE PAPER

Essays of assertion, affirmation, and refutation are all examples of the argumentative paper. An effective argument relies on factually true premises or premises for which you have strong support.
History Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

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…
NON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONSHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

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…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

EPICUREANISM

Founded by Epicurus (341–271 BC), this eponymous philosophy is best known through the Roman poet Lucretius (mid first century BC). Like the Atomists, the Epicureans maintained that everything is made…
Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of Philosophy
December 12, 2023

PHILOSOPHY OF LAW

The philosophy of law is concerned with all aspects of theoretical reflection on laws and legal systems and therefore encompasses historical and sociological studies in addition to the philosophical questions…
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

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.
Logic
November 15, 2023

PREDICATE CALCULUS (PREDICATE LOGIC)

The next development of the propositional calculus is the predicate calculus. This considers the logical relationships that hold between predicate expressions, along with the quantifiers ∃x (“there is at least…

Books

  • The Book of Chuang Tzu (Penguin Classics)

    $18.00
  • The Prince (Reader’s Library Classics)

    $5.99
  • The Rigor of Angels: Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the Ultimate Nature of Reality

    $28.80
  • Courage Is Calling: Fortune Favors the Brave

    $16.18
  • Life As Told by a Sapiens to a Neanderthal

    $18.00
  • The Myth of Sisyphus (Vintage International)

    $9.49
  • Beyond Good and Evil: The Philosophy Classic (Capstone Classics)

    $9.99
  • Phenomenology of Spirit

    $14.44
  • Socrates: A Man for Our Times

    $25.95
  • Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life

    $10.99
  • The Force of Truth: Critique, Genealogy, and Truth-Telling in Michel Foucault

    $99.00
  • The Story of My Experiments with Truth Mahatma Gandhi (Deluxe Hardbound Edition) : An Autobiography

    $0.19
  • Awakening the Other Way: Nonduality and Existential Reason (Unlock Tao)

    $11.95
  • Journey to Fulfillment: Six Keys for Opening to Life

    $10.99
  • UNDERSTANDING PHILOSOPHY: The Smart Student’s Guide to Reading and Writing Philosophy (Philosophy Study Guides)

    $9.95
  • Perceiving Purpose

    $18.07

Terms & Concepts

A

Atomic sentence

In formal logic, the most basic sentence corresponding to the simplest sentence in ordinary language. An atomic sentence consists of a predicate and the relevant arity. https://youtube.com/shorts/B5RhkwKKk8M?feature=share
B

Biconditional elimination

In symbolic logic, a valid inference in a system of truth-functional rules. The affirmation of one side of the biconditional yields the other. https://youtube.com/shorts/uMxlhHFMMeI?feature=share
I

Informal fallacy

An error in reasoning that is not the result of a formal, or structural, flaw. There are myriad informal fallacies, many of which involve distraction techniques and exploiting psychological vulnerabilities.…
A
Appeal to force or fear (ad baculum)
A
Act utilitarianism
T
Theism
I
Intension
M
Mimesis
S
Subaltern
A
Axiom
S
Samsara
M
Moral evil
View All