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A Must Have Book For Every Philosophy Student
Writing Philosophy
November 22, 2023

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…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGWriting Philosophy
November 20, 2023

THE ESSAY OF REFUTATION

The essay of refutation takes the position “I disagree.” Its objective is to persuade the reader that the argument of another is false, flawed, unlikely, implausible, or in some other…
Logic
November 15, 2023

RELEVANCE LOGICS

A relevance logic is motivated by the idea that the premises of a valid argument must be somehow “relevant” to its conclusion. The idea is motivated by the fact that…
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…
PHILOSOPHICAL BOOKS AND TEXT
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…
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…
CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHYHistory Of Philosophy
November 15, 2023

SKEPTICISM (PYRRHONISM)

Pyrrhonian Skepticism was founded by Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360–275 BC), who argued that knowledge is impossible. The Skeptics proposed various arguments for their conclusions, including Platonic doubts about the…
Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of Philosophy
December 12, 2023

POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Political philosophy is at least as old as Plato (428/227 or 424/423-348/347 BC) and is concerned with the nature of the state and, more broadly, with coercive institutions, and their…
Writing Philosophy
November 24, 2023

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…
Writing Philosophy
November 24, 2023

WHAT IS GOOD WRITING?

What is good music? What is good art? What is good writing? Such questions unleash many opinions. The branch of traditional philosophy called Aesthetics is devoted to answering such questions…
History Of PhilosophyMEDIEVAL 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.
Philosophy BranchesTraditional Branches of Philosophy
December 12, 2023

PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

Many religions distinguish between truths accessible through reason (natural theology), and truths accessible through faith (revealed theology). Both natural and revealed theology raise interesting philosophical questions about these two sources…
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…
Writing Philosophy
November 24, 2023

WHAT PHILOSOPHY PROFESSORS WANT FROM STUDENT WRITERS

Some 2,300 years ago, Aristotle introduced the syllogism into the intellectual world. A threeelement formula, it is the elementary building block of syllogistic logic and deductive reasoning. The syllogism combines…
FORMS OF PHILOSOPHICAL WRITING
November 20, 2023

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…

Books

  • How to Be Multiple: The Philosophy of Twins

    $28.99
  • Free Will [Deckle Edge]

    $7.99
  • How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

    $11.49
  • Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy

    $12.95
  • The Essene Gospel of Peace: The Complete 4 Books in One Volume

    $26.95
  • The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: A Great Gift for Book Lovers

    $15.17
  • Raja Yoga or Conquering the Internal Nature

    $5.95
  • Being and Time: A Revised Edition of the Stambaugh Translation (SUNY series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)

    $24.95
  • Metaphors We Live By

    $13.37
  • I Am a Strange Loop

    $12.99
  • Think Straight: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life

    $14.99
  • Patanjali Yoga Sutras

    $23.88
  • Inward (The Inward Trilogy)

    $10.80
  • The American Evasion of Philosophy: A Genealogy of Pragmatism (Wisconsin Project on American Writers)

    $21.95
  • Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton

    $13.98
  • The Trial and Death of Socrates

    $23.37

Terms & Concepts

R

Rights

Entitlements, natural or conventional, to do or have something without either interference or compulsion from an external source. https://youtube.com/shorts/YziZSYqaKS8?feature=share
N

Necessary condition

A condition without which another statement does not obtain. Q is a necessary condition for Pin the claim, “If P then Q.” If Q does not obtain, P does not…
D

Disposition

A property of an object that only manifests under certain conditions—for example, fragility. Some philosophers argue that dispositional properties are ultimately reducible to non dispositional (categorical) properties such as non-dispositional…
M
Metaethics
P
Propensity
T
Tabula Rasa
L
Logical consequence
R
Reflective equilibrium
T
Tao (Dao)
P
Principle of equal liberty
E
Epicureanism
K
Krishna
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