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A Must Have Book For Every Philosophy Student
Writing Philosophy
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…
Modern Branches of PhilosophyPhilosophy Branches
November 14, 2023

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Many of the topics within the philosophy of science overlap with topics in metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of language insofar as they apply within our scientific practice. Metaphysical issues,…
Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of Philosophy
December 12, 2023

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY

An important historical branch designation rather than a current one, natural philosophy was the study of nature and the physical universe by philosophical (that is, largely empirical reason-based) methods.
History Of PhilosophyNON-WESTERN PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONS
November 15, 2023

PHILOSOPHIES OF EAST ASIA

The dominant philosophical traditions in this part of the world began in Ancient China from the sixth century to 221 BC, which saw the development of China’s great philosophical movements…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

PLATO

Plato (427–347 BC) was born into a powerful family in Athens but abandoned politics after the execution of his teacher, Socrates; he subsequently traveled, became influenced by the Pythagoreans, and…
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
November 12, 2023

WHAT IS THE “SUBJECT MATTER” OF PHILOSOPHY

“There is a common misunderstanding that philosophy—like chemistry or history—has a content to offer, a content that a teacher is to teach and a student is to learn,” writes Professor…
History Of PhilosophyMEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
November 15, 2023

THOMISM

A school of thought based on the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), Thomism is, like Scholasticism, principally concerned with metaphysics and understanding the attributes of God.
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting Philosophy
November 20, 2023

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,…
ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

LOGICAL ATOMISM

Although mostly associated with the logical analysis of language, analytic philosophy began in the philosophy of mathematics. Working independently, both Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell pursued programs of reducing mathematics…
History Of PhilosophyTHE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
November 15, 2023

THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD

Philosophical thought during the Enlightenment was characterized by a rejection of existing sources of authority. The broadly Aristotelean scientific worldview was undermined by a period of scientific revolution—conventionally beginning with…
CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

While the focus of western philosophy has primarily been on the analysis and understanding of our most basic concepts, another important theme has been the preparation and education of man…
WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
November 24, 2023

PHILOSOPHICAL FILMS AND TV SHOWS

Note: Some of these titles may be difficult to find, either in DVD format or streaming. Film Animation Animal Farm (1954)Based on George Orwell’s novel of the same name, farm…
History Of PhilosophyTHE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
November 15, 2023

LIBERALISM

A political philosophy whose central claim is that a government’s authority is justified only insofar as it secures the liberty of its subjects, Liberalism is generally traced to John Locke…
Logic
November 15, 2023

BASIC LOGICAL SYMBOLS

¬ one-place logical connective read as “not” or as “is not the case” ~ alternative notation for “not” & two-place logical connective read as “and” ˄ and
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…

Books

  • Meditations (Penguin Classics)

    $8.44
  • The Essays of Michel de Montaigne

    $5.95
  • Mao Zedong: The Complete Works Volume 1

    $19.99
  • An Unlikely Guru: How a Neurotic Jewish Real Estate Developer from New Jersey Found Enlightenment (And How You Can, Too)

    $17.99
  • The Consolation of Philosophy

    $12.99
  • The Anti-Christ

    $10.20
  • Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives

    $9.54
  • The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

    $10.36
  • Stoicism: How To Integrate This Powerful Philosophy To Become More Balanced, Productive, And Reach Your Full Potential

    $15.33
  • Soul Machine: The Invention of the Modern Mind

    $18.86
  • Pensées (Penguin Classics)

    $13.00
  • Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

    $14.99
  • Stoicism for Inner Strength

    $13.99
  • Discipline Is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control

    $24.50
  • Walden (Royal Collector’s Edition) (Case Laminate Hardcover with Jacket)

    $39.95
  • Quine’s Philosophy: An Introduction

    $26.95

Terms & Concepts

L

Literal

An atomic sentence or the negation of an atomic sentence. https://youtube.com/shorts/rjND1iS43qI?feature=share
D

Deontological

A duty-based ethical theory; an action is moral if it is done from duty, irrespective of the consequences. (Typically opposed to consequentialist ethical theories.) https://youtube.com/shorts/Dxo42Fab2rs?feature=share
A

Ad hominem argument

Literally, “to the man,” an ad hominem is an attack on the person, rather than a critical engagement with their position. Versions of the ad hominem are 1) ad hominem…
C
Cause
C
Compatibilism
I
Indirect proof
M
Matter of fact
S
Statement
P
Phenomenal
D
Dialetheism
T
Teleological argument
D
Dialectic
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