Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of PhilosophyMETAPHYSICS
December 12, 2023

METAPHYSICS

Metaphysics is the philosophical investigation of reality, including the nature of the world and the entities it contains. While such an investigation inevitably overlaps with natural philosophy—the sciences, especially physics…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting PhilosophyTHE EXPOSITORY PAPER
November 19, 2023

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…
MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyMEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY

The Medieval Period is usually dated between the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476)and the beginning of the Renaissance (c. 1300). In terms of philosophy, the period begins inthe…
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?PHILOSOPHY AS METHOD
November 12, 2023

PHILOSOPHY AS METHOD

Our digital age suggests a useful analogy to further explain the role of philosophy in intellectual life. Philosophy is analogous to an operating system (OS), a software platform that enables…
Writing PhilosophyESSENTIAL WRITING SKILLS
November 21, 2023

ESSENTIAL WRITING SKILLS

Having just walked through the basic process of writing a philosophy paper, we turn now to the essential skillset you should develop and apply not only to the writing of…
History Of PhilosophyTHE PRE-SOCRATICS
November 15, 2023

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…
LogicHIGHER-ORDER LOGICS
November 15, 2023

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…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophySTRUCTURALISM
November 15, 2023

STRUCTURALISM

Structuralism refers to research undertaken in the social sciences, predominantly in France, between the 1950s and 1970s, which sought to understand various social phenomena as a “closed system” of elements.
THE EARLY MODERN PERIODHistory Of PhilosophyRATIONALISM
November 15, 2023

RATIONALISM

Rationalism designates a variety of philosophical schools maintaining that reason, as opposed to empirical investigation, is the most important method of acquiring knowledge.
POST-KANTIAN PHILOSOPHYHistory Of PhilosophyPRAGMATISM
November 15, 2023

PRAGMATISM

Pragmatism was a philosophical movement in the United States concerned with the relationship between abstract theory and practical activity, and with the value of philosophical reflection.
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting PhilosophyTHE POSITION PAPER
November 19, 2023

THE POSITION PAPER

A position paper may be viewed as a type of argumentative paper in that it states a claim—your position—concerning a topic, issue, or question and presents a justification for that…
Writing PhilosophyGRADING CRITERIA FOR PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS
November 24, 2023

GRADING CRITERIA FOR PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS

The eight skills just listed are so central to philosophical writing that we may count them among the criteria most instructors use in grading essay assignments. Keep these eight skills…
History Of PhilosophyANALYTIC PHILOSOPHYORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

ORDINARY LANGUAGE PHILOSOPHY

Between the 1940s and the 1960s, analytic philosophy shifted away from investigating the (supposed) underlying logical structure of language. While it was still primarily concerned with conceptual analysis, this was…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy BranchesHERMENEUTICS
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”…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXTINTRODUCTORY PHILOSOPHY TEXTS
November 27, 2023

INTRODUCTORY PHILOSOPHY TEXTS

There is no substitute for grappling primary sources. Nevertheless, secondary sources—including scholarly research, literary reviews, historical summaries—are valuable tools. They not only show you how you can begin thinking about…

Books

  • Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy, 4th Ed.

    $12.19
  • The Convoluted Universe: Book One (The Convoluted Universe series)

    $16.79
  • Meant For More: Stop Secretly Struggling and Become a Force to Be Reckoned With

    $14.95
  • Meditations (A Penguin Classics Hardcover)

    $13.79
  • The Essential Augustine (Hackett Classics)

    $9.70
  • Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy

    $5.99
  • Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN

    $15.49
  • The Gay Science

    $9.70
  • The Communist Manifesto

    $1.95
  • Logic: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

    $11.95
  • Sadhguru Inner Engineering: A Yogi’S Guide To Joy By

    $8.09
  • Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will

    $23.49
  • The Scarlet Letter (Illustrated): The 1850 Classic Edition with Original Illustrations

    $7.99
  • Living Together: Inventing Moral Science

    $9.59
  • Big Panda and Tiny Dragon

    $12.40
  • The Marxification of Education: Paulo Freire’s Critical Marxism and the Theft of Education

    $17.24

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Ethics: An IntroductionAtomosETHICS

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Logic: An IntroductionAtomosLOGIC

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Metaphysics: An IntroductionAtomosMETAPHYSICS

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Philosophy of History: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

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Philosophy of Language: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE

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Philosophy of Mind: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF MIND

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Philosophy of Technology: An IntroductionAtomosPHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY

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Environmental Philosophy: An IntroductionAtomosENVIRONMENTAL PHILOSOPHY

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Feminist Philosophy: An IntroductionAtomosFEMINIST PHILOSOPHY

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Terms & Concepts

E

Equivocation

An informal fallacy constituted by a shift in the meaning of a term from one instance to another, which prompts an erroneous inference. (See also Ambiguity.) https://youtube.com/shorts/m5W52MwGQvg?feature=share
H

Hedonism

The conception of the good life that takes pleasure to be the ultimate good. Hedonism is the premise of most forms of Utilitarianism. It is often the premise—although sometimes a…
P

Principle of universal causation

The view that all events are caused. https://youtube.com/shorts/rOksD3zE21g?feature=share
M
Method of doubt (Methodological doubt)
U
Uncogent argument
A
Areté
H
Hypothetico-Deductive Method
F
Faith
P
Paradox
C
Causal theory of perception
D
Democracy
G
Grue Paradox
View All