Philosophy Essay Examples and Topics

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2,125 samples

Hart Devlin Debate: Summary & Analysis

The report of the committee stated that it is not the responsibility of law to solve immorality. The committee stated that one of the roles of law is to maintain order and morality in the [...]
  • 3
  • Subjects: Law Philosophy
  • Pages: 12
  • Words: 3257

The Concept of Plato’s Ideal State Essay

Being a part of a group that had access to knowledge and power, he believed that the state needed to have some people who were cleverer than the others as it was one of the [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 883

What Change Would You Like to See in the World?

However, the developments have several cons that have resulted in the deterioration of the world about the environment, the state of the society, relationships, and human interactions.
  • 3.7
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1708

Idealism in Hegel’s Definition

Hegel, absolute idealism is a political view that there should be an identity of being and thought in order for the human reason to understand the nature of the natural world.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1120

Reflection Paper About Values

My values reveal the kind of person I am and the kindness and respect with which I treat individuals reflects my upbringing.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 652

The Standard of Taste by David Hume

Of the Standard of Taste is an essay by the Philosopher David Hume who attempts to elaborate the need and the possible existence of a rule that will reconcile the taste of individuals to one [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 831

James Rachels’ The Challenge of Cultural Relativism Essay

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.
  • 4.7
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 570

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 966

Difference Between Structuralism and Post-structuralism

In its turn, the post-structuralism movement criticizes strict adherence to theoretical foundations and focuses more on the study of the object, as well as on knowledge that is directly associated with the object produced. Specifically, [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 530

Utilitarianism Theory Essay

At the center of the utilitarian argument that shifts from the concern we physically have for our personal feelings of pain and pleasure, to others feelings of pain and pleasure, is the belief that this [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1081

David Hume: Philosophy about Self Essay

This assignment is about what Hume means by the statement that the self is "nothing but a bundle of perceptions, which succeed each other with an inconceivable rapidity" as well as how he explains how [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 630

“Love” by Clarice Lispector

In other words, the drama of this character is implied into her burden of family life, where she is in despair for undergoing through the reality of having children and a husband. She feared life [...]
  • 1
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 859

The Concept of Death in Literature and Human Life

Human beings do not like death, but it gives a sense of awareness that the end is the same; what matters is how one spends their life Death is a powerful force, and it may [...]
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1731

Socrates Influence on Plato’s Philosophy

He was accused of corrupting the morals of the youth and misleading the citizens with his unorthodox political and religious views. Plato was so attracted to Socrates philosophy that he made him the principal character [...]
  • 3.8
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1067

Empathy: What Is It and How Does It Work

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1496

“Existence Precedes Essence” a Term by Sartre

The expression "existence precedes essence" is attributed to the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. According to Sartre, the existence of something gets known before it is defined.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 624

The Best Things in Life Are Free

We need to understand what the best things in life are. We need to pay for what was quite naturally free: the sight of nature.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 594

The Perception of the Self according to Socrates

The perception of the self, according to Socrates explains the nature of man and the rationale on which man thinks. The capacity of a man is a product of the self in him; this formed [...]
  • 3.7
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 551

Transcendentalism: Ralph Emerson vs Henry Thoreau

These two thinkers contributed greatly to the development of the movement through the focus on certain basic values and principles as well as the promotion of particular aspects of the overall paradigm.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1101

Philosophical Perspective of Self Essay

In essence, the cogito exposes a different view of the world and states the fact that mind is the only thing in the world that is able to know itself.
  • 2.3
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2724

Are We Free or Determined?

A decision to do the right thing in the society, for example, is determined by the moral standards that have been set by the society.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1445

The Difference Between Right and Wrong

Despite the differences between the definition of right and wrong in various cultures, times, and among individuals, I consider that the main "wrong" is to harm other human beings, and "right" is to benefit and [...]
  • 1
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1125

Individual Perspective on Responsibility

In my opinion, responsibility is making decisions that are mutually beneficial to me and the people that I interact with in everyday activities.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 861

Aristotle as the First Political Scientist

Although it is possible to consider Aristotle as the first political scientist with references to the aspects of discussing political science in the context of the political philosophy, a lot of researchers also determine the [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2217

Plato and Aristotle’s Views of Virtue in Respect to Education

Arguably, Plato and Aristotle's views of education differ in that Aristotle considers education as a 'virtue by itself' that every person must obtain in order to have 'happiness and goodness in life', while Plato advocates [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 582

Life After Death

In many religions across the world, people belief in life after death and also being born again in the world after an individual. Life after death is the belief in the continuation of life after [...]
  • 2.5
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1354

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 890

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1188

What is Philosophy: Meaning and Importance

In the Euthyphro, Plato reveals the nature of philosophy through the dialogues of Socrates as he goes to face the trial against corrupting young men.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 832

The Fundamental Traits of a Philosopher

Exposure to the concepts in philosophy helps scholars develop critical, analytic, and observational abilities that may be considered the most valuable in the greater scheme of life. All that is required is to choose our [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1456

Importance of Self-Identity

Self-knowledge is very necessary as it helps one to identify the strengths and weaknesses that one has in the view of imminent challenges in life.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1079

“Man is a Political Animal” by Aristotle

This is based on the fact that the philosophical ideas expressed by these scholars have proven to be greatly important in offering guidance to various facets of life-like cultural, social, political, and economic endeavors In [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1131

Descartes’ Self-Concept Construction

A careful study of his masterpiece entitled, Meditations can lead one to conclude that his concept of the self was the byproduct of the combination of the use of his physical senses, common sense, and [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 845

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 [...]
  • 2.3
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2420

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 624

Thales vs Anaximander Philosophy

The Milesian philosophers, Thales and Anaximander, advanced a rational or scientific explanation for the metaphysical elements of the universe that departed from the mytho-poetic reasoning of the time.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1154

Machiavelli’s Political Ideas

According to the book, the Prince should first serve the interests of his subjects and country, and then he can come up with ways of maintaining his political position."However, following these ideas, the latter is [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 824

Socrates’ Life and Contributions to Philosophy

His key contributions to the field include the Socratic Method that facilitates the critical analysis of hypotheses, ideas about morality and wrongdoing, and the concepts of immortal soul and preexistence.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1439

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 814

Research Philosophy: Importance and Types

According to Dougherty and Slevc, the identification of one's research philosophy when participating in scientific research is vital because it clearly articulates the goals and estimated outcomes of a study, as well as the perspectives [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 834

Thomas Aquinas’ and Emanuel Kant’s Moral Philosophy

Since human beings have rationality that is generated from God, they possess natural law that enables them to perceive what is morally acceptable."Aquinas emphasizes that human acts should be based on reason which is intrinsically [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1189

Aristotle’s Views on Women

Before the Greek physicians and philosophers of the Classical Age took up the question of the nature of women, the Greeks had serious attitudes toward women as revealed in their literature.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2041

Socrates: Unexamined Life Is Not Worth Living

By saying that "unexamined life is not worthy living", Socrates was referring to freedom, a state of making choices about your surrounding, a state of choosing your destination, having the freedom to criticize issues, setting [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 447

The Value of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

Consistent with the aim of philosophy, Russell believes that definite answers to some fundamental inquiries are not indispensable but rather the interrogatives asked in the process of introspection of what may turn out as truth [...]
  • 4
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 963

The Sane Deep-Self View: Concept of Susan Woolf

Susan Wolf answers this question by saying that free will is compatible with moral responsibility; moreover, it is a necessary condition of the latter. Thus, uniform for all concept of free will in its correlation [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1512

The Perspectives of Plato and Augustine on Metaphysics

For Augustine, God was the source of all forms, and subsequently, all of the objects and phenomena existing in the physical world were manifestations of the ideals kept in the mind of God.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1402

Socrates’ Impact on Western Civilization

Socrates defined the concepts of evil and good, assuming the achievement of the goals of self-knowledge as the highest virtue. In disputes, Socrates sought to prove the practicality and reasonableness of the world and a [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 863

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 546

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 340

“The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson

The omission is just when one does not say anything in preference to lying; this modifies history as it did in the omission of Lilith from the book of Genesis.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 551

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 368

Kant`s View on Homosexuality

Kant says that homosexuality is not merely an inclination, which a human feels towards another, but it is the preference for another person's sexuality.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1107

How We See Ourselves v. How Others See Us

Therefore, it is paramount for us to be informed about the way other people perceive us if their perceptions about us are negative.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 584

Niccolo Machiavelli’s Virtue and Fortuna

Machiavelli provided opportunities to scholars and readers to understand a political system purged of irrelevant influences of ethics in order to comprehend the basis of politics in useful use of power. Machiavelli introduced another principle [...]
  • 1
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2019

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2081

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2164

Philosophy of Religion

The major question about this argument is what is the appropriateness and success of using the philosophical tools to show the existence of God in a probable way.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1208

​Do the “Ends Justify the Means?”

When comparing the crimes that might be committed and the fact that the person will be late for work, it is clear that the lateness is not as important.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 859

“The American Scholar” By Ralph Waldo Emerson

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.
  • 2
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 498

“The Question Concerning Technology” by Martin Heidegger

Heidegger is very interested in the essence of modern technology that is highlighted in his work "The Question Concerning Technology" but the basic subject of his work is not the interpretation of different approaches of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1974

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1384

Socrates and Descartes: Similarities and Difference

The third rule is that the logical process must proceed step by step from the simplest and easiest portion of the problem to clearly and distinctly know and progress in order of difficulty to the [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1304

Freedom and Determinism

On the other hand, determinism theory explains that there is an order that leads to occurrences of events in the world and in the universe.
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1716

Ethical Theories and Nepotism Relationships

Relating to the ethical theory of ethics of justice to nepotism, it should be mentioned that justice is considered to be fair on the basis of various human considerations.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1925

The concept of Being by Heidegger

The author of this paper will also revolve around the ontological composition of the world and its contribution to the question of being. This is because the question of being is constituted in the entities [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2187

Machiavelli’s Perspective on a Good Ruler

Those followers who can see if their leader is not what he seems and is opposed to the qualities he supports in public will not be able to overthrow a prince as he has the [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 872

Logic and Philosophy Relations

Aristotle is reputed to be the first man to study the logic concept although there have been other numerous contributions to the concept over the years.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 574

Immanuel Kant’s Life and Works

Immanuel Kant was largely affected by the death of his mother as he was only 13 years old at the time of her death.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2945

Utilitarianism vs. Moral Relativism

If to assume that moral relativism is true, then it is impossible to discuss good and bad outside the specific situation. Thus, their actions were morally wrong according to the assumptions of moral relativism.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1213

Value of Philosophy to the Society

As such, in order to understand the value of philosophy to the society, it is important to consider what the focus of philosophy as a study is.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 835

The Freedom Concept

The thing is that there are societies in which the individual freedom of a person is practically non-existent, for instance, one can mention North Korea.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 841

Changes in Life: Positive and Negative Effects

In this paper, I shall narrate one of the significant changes in my life so as to highlight the fact that our perception of the change does at times determine whether the experience will be [...]
  • 3.8
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 628

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 298

Money, Happiness and Relationship Between Them

The research conducted in the different countries during which people were asked how satisfied they were with their lives clearly indicated the existence of a non-linear relationship between the amount of money and the size [...]
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1128

Arstippus and Epicurus

This especially comes out well in the case of Aristippus who believed in satisfying his craving for pleasure in the present as opposed to postponing them to the future.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 621

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".
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 930

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1541

Ship of Theseus Paradox

According to Plutarch ), the paradox originated from Greek legend "The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned [from labyrinth in Crete] had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1717

The Theory of Utilitarianism by Jeremy Bentham

According to utilitarianism, the greatest ethical action is the one that benefits society, and the value of each person is more significant than the value of a community.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 329

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 [...]
  • 4
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1969

St Augustine’s Philosophy

God's presence in an individual enables him/her to achieve goals that are consistent with the provisions of the church. They belong to the city of the damned and are responsible for their actions.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 825

Socrates’ Conception of Law and Justice

Socrates advocated the idea that justice was good, and that meant that injustice was equal to evil. The point he makes here is that justice is the cure for evil, and that a man who [...]
  • 4
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 631

Mrs. Mallard’s Feelings About Her Husband

Sadly, the news of her husband's death was only a rumor, and when she saw him alive, standing at the entrance of the house, she died of shock.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 554

Plato’s Philosophy

The allegory of the cave can serve in revealing some of the key reasons to mistrust the views of the majority.
  • 3.3
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2719
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