Philosophical Theories Essay Examples and Topics

The article "The Challenge of Cultural Relativism" by Rachels explores the issue of ethics. According to Rachels, cultural relativism fails to support the existence of universal moral standards.

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.

The feeling of empathy comes up when there is a clear difference between the person being empathetic and the one who is the subject of empathy.

It is possible to note that Rawls' philosophy can be applicable in the contemporary world as it addresses major issues associated with unequal distribution of resources.

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 [...]

The contribution of Immanuel Kant to the modern philosophy made him be considered as one of the greatest and the most remarkable philosophers existed in the 18th century.

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 [...]

The first aspect of Aristotelian defense of justice, which is crucial to discuss, is the fact that, according to the philosopher, justice is relative to others.

Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to discuss theory of Forms as one of the main contributions of Plato.

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 [...]

This idea is based on the supposition that it is impossible to be the one and the other at the same time.

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 [...]

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 [...]

Compatibilism is closely linked to causal determinism in that it agrees with the fact that past events affect future events. In essence, people are not locked to determinism only but also to the fact that [...]

In this passage, Confucius addressed the role of the family in the growth and development of a nation. Being the smallest unit in the nation, the family plays a vital role in ensuring the stability [...]

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.

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.

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 [...]

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.

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 [...]

The author says that the scholar should explore the nature in themselves, and "he shall see, that nature is the opposite of the soul, answering to it part for part.

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 [...]

It is a unique way of philosophical understanding of reality, the general idea of which is the fundamental category of the process.

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

The ideas of the Polish novelist in the Heart of Darkness aimed at unraveling the issues that faced ivory traders in the Congo basin meaning the author attempted to look beneath the surface.

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".

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.

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 [...]

The allegory of the cave can serve in revealing some of the key reasons to mistrust the views of the majority.

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 [...]

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.

Nietzsche in the seventh maxim asks whether man is a result of the erroneous work of God or God is the error of man.

Can it happen that truth is a kind of agreement between a belief and a real life fact, or is it possible that a true belief should cohere with other true beliefs, or is it [...]

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 [...]

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.

According to Friedman, 1970 he believed that when organization engage in social responsibility, a closer analysis will reveal that it aims to improve its image in the eye of the consumers, the government, the local [...]

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.

Religious leaders also pray for the body and the soul of the dead but lay a lot of emphasis on the soul.

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 [...]

Additionally, it has been documented that one of the major virtue of philosophy is its ability to teach not what to think rather how to think.

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 [...]

Without the body of the argument, the title expresses that there is a form of lying that is not considered immoral.

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 [...]

He asserts that the duration of an activity and the intensity of pleasure are very important in measuring the levels of pleasure.

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 [...]

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 [...]

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

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 [...]

The test for universal acceptance involve: determining the agent's maxim; imagining that everyone in the same position as the real-world agent observed that maxim; deciding if there is any contradictions generated from the maxim; if [...]

The ideas which do not resemble the objects that caused them are the ones of secondary qualities: sound, color, odor, and taste.

As opposed to the rational theory, the empiricism theory estimates that the main source of knowledge is the experience which can be based on the "perceptional observation of the world".

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".

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.

The positive legal norm which does not correspond to the high-frequency behavior of the living law is the one that ought not to be.

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 [...]

The main aim of this paper is to look into the arguments presented by Rene Descartes and David Hume on the issue of the self.

On the other hand, the teleological ethical perspective states that the results for all actions matter in determining the nature of the undertaken decisions.

Therefore, it seems that the Glorious Revolution was more of a revelation for the people of their power to choose and to change.

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 [...]

Confucius taught that the role of the elders is to teach the youth and the role of the youth is to learn from the elders.

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.

The only way the truth will be concealed and still lead to happiness is when the truth is substituted with a lie.

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 [...]

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 [...]

Weiss argues that Plato used the argument by Socrates that true philosophers hate the pleasures of the body, for example, drinks, sex, and food.

According to Locke, the state of nature is a state of perfect freedom and a state of equality that is only bound by the law of nature.

It would not be an exaggeration to state that Plato's allegory of the cave only makes perfect sense if one views it in the light of the theory of forms.

Rene Descartes, a French philosopher and the founder of the mathematical rationalism, was one of the prominent figures in the field of philosophy of the 17th century.

The idea of fleeing the real world that is habitable in the thinking of man, to the desert preoccupied by fear, dangers and uncertainty refers to the need for independence of the spirit.

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.

The most difficult thing is getting to know the truth, to know the truth it takes a lot and there is no prescribed procedure getting to know the same.

As a rule, the process of reading used to be interpreted as interactive due to the unceasing process of drawing connections between a reader's perception of the represented ideas and the viewpoint conveyed in a [...]

It is therefore important to point out the circumstances that led to the creation of the U.S.political system that incorporated the principles of utilitarianism and libertarianism.

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 [...]

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.

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 [...]

The main concern of Foucault consists in the way technology has influenced quest for power among the ruling class in the society, and also the reason as to why the society is violating the rules [...]

In the context of marriage as a social institution, the performative statement said to fulfill the action is "I do", which fulfills the action of marrying.

Inception has a philosophical argument in the plot which resonates with Rene Descartes' reasoning on the nature of reality and the mind's interpretation of its experience.

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 [...]

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 [...]

The fact that there is a long tradition involving the slaughter of animals for food does not justify the killing of animals.

Why? Frankfurt's arguments are very applicable to the case of the 'Amputees by Choice.' His first argument is that of persons and nonpersons.

Hume's argument gets interesting when he postulates that regardless of the number of times we witness a succession of events, we cannot predict the succession of events.

Kant indicates that the goodness has not to contain a meaning of the consequences and results, it is good in itself.

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.

In philosophical terms, the concept of matter advances the fact that all things are made up of matter and all thoughts are created as a result of the interaction of matter.

The perceptions that influence the validity of the direct realism theory have a great impact on understanding the reality. Through the information that is relayed from the material object to the mind through sensory nerves, [...]

Occasionally, the carriers of the objects speak to one another, but their voices reach the prisoners in form of echoes from the wall ahead of them.

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.

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 [...]

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.

It can be noted that in all cases suffering was seen as evil in some quarters of the ancient world as is seen today.

One day, one of the prisoners was set free from the chains and made to turn and see the fire, as well as the puppets, which he compared with the shadows he had been seeing [...]

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.

The concept of social constructivism gives people the power to create and encourages them to create a positive world that they will exist in peace.

The open question argument is an attempt of George Moore, an English philosopher, to prove that natural properties cannot be reduced to moral ones.

Various social scientists and religious scholars have given different interpretations for the emergence of the universe and the forms of life in it.

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.

This essay examines Descartes' principle ideas of the utility of doubt for arriving at truths and the concept of dualism between the mind and the body.

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.

The allegory is preceded by the analogy of the divided line and metaphor of the son. Descartes is considered to be one of the greatest rationalists.

The ideas of leadership and the responsibilities of those who decide to assume such roles have come to the attention of people many centuries ago.

The philosopher says that every action having place under the influence of the external force is not a free will, which comes from the inner desire and motivation of an individual. Moreover, the movie is [...]

In the illustration, the man was of the view that the vessel was fine and went ahead to overlook the fact that the ship was really out of order and that it was safe for [...]

With this insight in mind, I turn to an analysis of various specific examples of individuals who are regarded as heroes as well as the ways in which the notion of a hero is usually [...]

This paper discusses how both Daoism and Legalism differ from Confucianism on the issues of family, human nature, education, role of ruler, role of government, and role of individual.

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 [...]

In his argument, the writer notes that the Internet is taking over the human mind. The audience is also able to relate the issues in the argument with the effects caused by computers.

The two philosophers studied emotions to determine some of the common causes of this mental state, and the events that take place in the mind before one becomes emotional.

Epicureanism constitutes an interdependent system that harbours the following views: the main purpose of human life as being the achievement of happiness as a result of absence of physical "pain and mental disturbance"; empirical approach [...]

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 [...]

It is the responsibility of people to make the society what they want it to be. It is the moral obligation of members of society to respect the institutions that are in place.

Nietzsche exposes the wanting state of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries' moral rationale, highlighting the most challenging, yet simple, prescription of embracing the all unaltered natural law on the order of human existence - as [...]

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 [...]

Moreover, King justified his pursuit of justice on the streets from the fact that the protests he organized were essentially peaceful and nonviolent; meaning that all he was trying to do was get his message [...]

The purpose of this paper is to analyze critically the concept of the sublime as presented by Immanuel Kant in his work 'The Critique of Judgment'.

The reason of why Kant's ideas are preferable to me is that the categorical imperative allows to define what actions are obligatory and which ones should be forbidden and to choose the way that is [...]

The Confucian gentleman is the one who lives by the highest moral standards and aims to help others achieve the realization of this goal.

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.