Philosophical Theories Essay Examples and Topics

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432 samples

Reflection on Confucianism

Yao reacts against the constricted view of the philosophy, which comes from failure to open into the historical development of the philosophy and the role of the Confucian tradition as a whole in advancing Confucianism.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 966

The Certainty and Doubt Relationship

It confirms the close relationship between certainty and doubt, namely that the absence of one gives rise to the other. To conclude, the concepts of certainty and doubt are close and intertwined in many things [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 890

Divided Line and the Allegory of the Cave

It is necessary to underline the fact that the thinker strived to clarify common features of his Divided Line and the allegory of the Cave; the analysis of his philosophy gives an opportunity to realize [...]
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  • Words: 624

John Rawls’ Theory of Justice

1 This is a classless principle calling for justice equality promoting mutual understanding; nevertheless, taken the way it is, this principle would confuse people on some issues and this is why Rawls compliments it with [...]
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Transcendentalism in American Literature

The emergence of new transcendental ideas reshaped the American literature introduced in the works by Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman in such a way that it contributed to the excellence and maturity of the literary world [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1384

Avocado vs. Artichoke: Can Human Nature Change

The essence of the avocado vs.artichoke debate lies in the dynamic of opposing ideas of essentialism and proteanism in philosophy. Both views present quite polarizing extremes and have outdated pre-conceived notions, as in the case [...]
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  • Words: 368

The Purpose of Man

One of the basic virtues of a human being is to be rational, and it enhances all other virtues. A human being must have the ability to select his actions, goals, and values carefully for [...]
  • Pages: 3
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The Theory of Knowledge by Immanuel Kant

Main Kant's idea was in the necessity of both reason and experience for human beings. In his opinion, Synthetic judgments are opposite to analytic and are not sufficient to decide the importance of proposition.
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Sense experience is the only source of knowledge

Theories such as rationalism the Intuition/Deduction thesis and Innate Knowledge thesis which support the notion that there is the existence of intrinsic or instinctive knowledge or the subsistence of a priori knowledge, knowledge of necessary [...]
  • Pages: 8
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The Role of Gods in Plato’s Philosophy

As Plato recounts the episode "Myth of Er" found in the republic dialogue phaedo and the story of time reversal in the statesman, a clear view of the hierarchical arrangement of the cosmos is illuminated.
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2081

Philosophy: Roland Barthes as a Structuralist

Although Barthes had not contemplated anything of the sort, his efforts and the efforts of others led to the establishment of the structuralism movement in the 1950s and the 1960s.
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  • Words: 340

Plato’s Philosophy

The allegory of the cave can serve in revealing some of the key reasons to mistrust the views of the majority.
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  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2719

Plato’s Philosophy in “The Republic”

In his description of the ideal society, Plato explains that people in the society are not advised to act without knowledge such that before a city is erected, full understanding of justice should be known.
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  • Words: 772

Ideal Society by Plato

The task of the social leaders is to orient to interests of the majority in order to avoid the opposition of the public which can lead to revealing the negative qualities of people living in [...]
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  • Words: 1650

Thomas Hobbes’ Views on Human Nature

Generally, peace is achieved by creating a government and forsaking individual rights in favor of one entity to ensure humans' chaos-less existence.
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  • Words: 298

Nozick’s Entitlement Theory

The Entitlement Theory of Justice is intended to submit an explanation of what justice necessitates in relation to property and is divided into three doctrines which are; the principle of justice in rectification, justice in [...]
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  • Pages: 7
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Definition of Epistemology

The reality of knowledge depends on its justifiability; that is, epistemology tends to question the truth behind human knowledge hence, through such understanding, individuals are able to form a basis of comprehending any piece of [...]
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Rene Descartes and Karl Marx’s Philosophy

I have seen that Rene Descartes contribution in philosophy and natural science stood the test of time; therefore, he became a hero' on the other hand, Karl Marx's contribution in social science did not stand [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 942

Why Did Plato Hate the Sophists? – Philosophy

He claimed that the sophists were selling the wrong education to the rich people. The methods of teaching that the sophists portrayed in Athens were in conflict with Plato's school of thought.
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Philosophy’s Main Branches

It is the epitome of thinking and as it was described by the London times, "the great virtue of philosophy is that it teaches not what to think, but how to think".
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Cosmopolitanism

According to Holinger, a world class citizen relates well with other groups, and all human beings: Cosmopolitan is about justice, which should be evident in all aspects and it must be the one governing the [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 790

Theories of the Creation of the World

According to the Bible, a tree of life was created by God in the middle of the Garden of Eden. In the Iroquois Creation Story, a tree was growing in the middle of the floating [...]
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What Is Rationalism in Philosophy?

The moderate philosophical inclination anchors on the role of reason in the acquisition of knowledge. The extreme standpointthe posits the relevance of reason as the sole gateway to the acquisition of knowledge.
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Immanuel Kant Ethics

Kant argues that, "a person is good or bad depending on the motivation of their actions and not on the goodness of the consequences of those actions".
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  • Words: 930

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

In Plato's Allegory of the Cave, there is much darkness in the cave and only very little light can be found in this place and it is so hard for a person who is in [...]
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2172

Recollection Theory in Philosophy

The theory of recollection was an answer to Meno's paradox that states that man needs not learn anything new as what they know is enough, and what they do not know are not necessary.
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  • Words: 829

Heraclitus: Fire Is the Principle of Everything

However, when it comes to Heraclitus, he believes that fire is the principle of all that exists. In addition to that, Heraclitus further develops his idea by mentioning that the existence of fire is commensurate [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1003

Monistic Views on the Mind-Body Debate

If the mind does not need the physical body to exist, it means that the state of unconsciousness due to injuries and other objective reasons is impossible.
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Nature and Convention Relation

For harmony to prevail, human beings have to live in accordance to the two kinds of order; that is nature and convention.
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  • Words: 1124

A Critique of John Rawls’ Theory of Justice

These principles are the principles of social justice; they provide a way of assigning duties and privileges in the basic institutions of society and they define the appropriate distribution of the benefits and burdens of [...]
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  • Pages: 9
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The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God

Kant's objection to the ontological argument stems from his view of the concept that a being that is conceived in the human mind, and which exists in the real world, is superior to an idea [...]
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2858

Diotima Speech Analysis

In particular, Diotima deliberates on the concept of love and refers to other related notions, such as wisdom, knowledge, truth, and divinity to define the place of love in the material world.
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Kant’s Ethics: Objection to Lying

And as lying is a form of communication, and people know this fact, the only way out in order not to be defrauded is stop communicating.
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Marxist’s Views on Industrial Revolution

Based on this, Karl Marx stated that the products produced by the communally owned means of production should be divided equally to avoid classes and ranks in societies.
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Camus and Nagel Views on the Human Life – Philosophy

Although Camus and Nagel agree that absurdity plays the great role in the human life, the thinkers' views are rather contradictory, and Nagel's argument seems to be more convincing because the author focuses on the [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1394

“Dismantling Truth” by Richard Rorty

The inherent problem I have with Rorty in this article is the fact that the concept of a socially defined truth clashes with the changing nature of society and the potential for people to agree [...]
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  • Words: 562

Frege’s Solution to the Identity Puzzle – Philosophy

Some of his main achievements include the creation of the primary axiomatic system, the invention of the contemporary logic of quantification, and the definition of identity. In concluding the identity puzzle, Frege asserts that the [...]
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  • Words: 1471

Confucian Ethics

An example, of a group of people who have not mastered the concept of Li, may be judges who make their decisions based on their understanding of the law and not the prevailing special circumstances [...]
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Plato’s Dialogue Crito

Crito insists that a person must listen to the opinion of the majority, and Socrates argues that it is impossible to pay attention to the opinions of all the people because it is important to [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1345

What is the Socratic Method?

The Socratic Method is also referred to as the Method of Elenchus or the Socratic Debate. It was after his friend from youth Chaerpon paid a visit to the Oracle of Delphi and deemed Socrates [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 547

Answers to Questions From Plato’s Republic

The framers had in mind the preservation of the public good, and not the promotion of private interest. The notation that the motivation to maintain a position of power can be destructive was addressed by [...]
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  • Words: 1509

Descartes’ Method of Doubting Everything

In his method of doubt, he says that the world could be unreal and that God is a deceiver. His mind-body dualism depends on believing that God is not a deceiver.
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  • Words: 631

Unethical Treatment of Animals

The fact that there is a long tradition involving the slaughter of animals for food does not justify the killing of animals.
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  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2004

Inauthenticity and Authenticity Differences

Heidegger concludes that authenticity is temporary as opposed to inauthenticity because we are born with the former and achieves the later after some time Nietzsche on his view argues that authenticity is the elementary mode [...]
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  • Words: 697

Plato on Who Should Rule

From the above discussion, it is notable that Plato connects the idea of "justice" to the "Form of Good". Such kings will apply practical theories and ideas in order to address the needs of the [...]
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  • Words: 853

Lessons From Plato’s Book ‘the Apology’

Though called 'apology' by Plato, the speech is not actually an apology- Socrates was attempting use his wisdom to justify his teachings and beliefs, and not to apologize for his actions.[2] First, his concise and [...]
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  • Words: 574

Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche

In order to comprehend whether Nietzsche kept to such an idea of the dead God in all his works, and Beyond Good and Evil in particular, it is better to analyze his original works, written [...]
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  • Words: 1103

Humanism of Renaissance Era

Platonic philosophy, precisely the concept of world of forms, had dominated the medieval era that subjected the human body, as a shadow of a real body in the world of forms, to little or no [...]
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Philosophy of Love and Sex

In contrast to them, Richards elaborated a theory of phenomenal attraction that falls into the category of sexual concepts but differs from the notion of sexual arousal.
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  • Words: 830

The Theory of Good Life

In this theory, Aristotle refers to a good life as being a happy life. Aristotle says that good life, since it is a final end, is explained in terms of human functions.
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  • Words: 1452

Material Monism: Nature of the World and Universe

However, the evolution of society and human thought resulted in the increased efficiency of cognition tools and the appearance of new ideas to describe the main regularities according to which the world and universe function.
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Plato’s and Aristotle’s Theories of Human Nature

Chapter five of Kupperman's book "Theories of human nature" looks at great philosophers, namely Plato's and Aristotle's points of view in trying to define humanity. The writer tries to illustrate the complexity of defining a [...]
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  • Words: 301

Darwin’s Theory of Human Evolution

Although Darwin seems to refute the religious claim on the origin of man, it is apparent that both religion and science share a common hypothesis that man has a distinct origin. Darwin is also concerned [...]
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  • Words: 591

The Principle of Sufficient Reason

Although Leibniz tries to explain the essence of the ultimate reason for existence by the invocation of the presence of a metaphysical reason, he also continues to illustrate the mechanism that relates the metaphysical reason [...]
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Kant’s Theory of Artistic Creativity and Genius

Kant explains genius as the ability that is bestowed upon producers or artists of fine art whereby the origin of the idea of creating the work cannot be explained such as a scientist's discovery path.
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  • Words: 1120

Skepticism as a Philosophical Theory

In response to the skeptics, it can be argued that although sources of knowledge may be fallible, they are still helpful and allow people to function in the world.
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Wilhelm Dilthey’s Hermeneutic Perspective

Consequently, the subject matter, which is the suitability of Dilthey's modes of apprehension to revealing the common ideas of groups of citizens from the perspective of hermeneutics, can be understood by discussing others' views.
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Main Branches of Philosophy

This is the study of value that surpasses the ability of a man to reason over the universe and its state on the whole.
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Associationist Theories of Thought

The first doctrine is that the more recondite phenomena of the mind are formed out of simple parts. Associationism is the theory of psychology explaining the connection between thoughts and past experiences.
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Philosophy Issues: Utilitarianism or Deontology?

Regardless of the extent to which some people are opposed to the applications of moral principles, which should be consistent with the scriptures of God, they are used to produce the best results in communities.
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Meno by Plato: Philosophical Ideas

He had the view that individuals naturally possess knowledge and that what they need is a direction for them to come to terms with what they already knew. He seems to be of the opinion [...]
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  • Words: 547

The Concept of Justice

Socrates and Euthyphro show that the application of justice in different societies is not always fair. Plato's arguments are ambiguous because they do not offer a rational basis about how religion can be used to [...]
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  • Words: 591

Plato’s Visions of Beauty and Déjà Vu

From this point, beauty can be discussed as the attribute of things and as the independent form, and deja vu is the example of the reality as illusion because the life is only the reflection [...]
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  • Words: 812

Aurelius, Marcus. The Meditations

The doctrine of stoicism is also prevalent in the book, a philosophy that he was deeply fascinated in and applied in his solving daily challenges in life.
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  • Words: 2014

A Defence of Thrasymachus Concept of Justice

As they argue with Socrates on the issue of injustice, Thrasymachus says that justice "is nothing more than the advantage of the stronger". According to them, the cardinal aim of Thrasymachus is to prove that [...]
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Apollonian and Dionysian

Through the way art is expressed, people have a way of understand the thoughts of the author as well as understanding the message the author was trying to communicate.
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  • Pages: 4
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Rationalism as a Branch of Epistemology

To downplay the importance of sense experience, Plato and Descartes show that sense experience can never be a cause of experience since the objects captured through it are vulnerable to change.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 873
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