Philosophy Essay Examples and Topics. Page 3

2,011 samples

Eastern and Western Philosophers

Thus, Confucius formulated the measure of human virtue and stressed the importance of learning and love in the human life: "The nature and duties of the human being must be studied diligently and cultivated, he [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 846

Can a Person Choose to Be Happy?

The first reason why people can choose to be happy is that even in sad circumstances, they can remember positive experiences and improve their mood. Despite the circumstances, it is possible to remain happy when [...]
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 350

A. Gramsci on Power, Common Sense and Good Sense

In this concept, Gramsci includes the ideas of common and good sense. A better understanding of the common and the good sense contributes to the in-depth comprehension of Gramsci's philosophy.
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2459

Causal Theory of Action and Harry Frankfurt’s Objections

Harry Frankfurt made major contributions to the philosophy of action through the idea of guidance and objection to compatibilists' proposal about the incongruity of causal determinism and ethical accountability.
  • 2
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1431

Philosophical Issues on Plato’s Phaedo

Weiss argues that Plato used the argument by Socrates that true philosophers hate the pleasures of the body, for example, drinks, sex, and food.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2221

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 [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1472

Cartesian Dualistic Theory of Pain

Cartesian developed the Cartesian Dualistic Theory of Pain to explain the relationship between physical and psychological types of pain. Therefore, Descartes developed the Cartesian Theory of pain to explore pain in the context of mind [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 630

The Allegory of the Cave by Plato Review

First of all, Plato created the people in the cave captives in order to rhetorically appeal to the audience's emotions and arouse the sensations that already exist in them, which, of course, already produces an [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 755

Descartes’ Mind-Body Problem

He speaks of the complete difference between the mind and body, which implies that the body is divisible and the mind is not because the activity of the latter cannot be explained by mechanical principles.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1215

“Eight Theories of Ethics: Egoism” by Graham

The idea has been traced back to ancient philosophy and history which spurred the differentiation between the values that are subjective by nature and the attribution of value to the desire of an individual.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 280

How Reading ‘Candide’ by Voltaire Can Change Your Life

As the picaresque novel is based on Leibnitz's philosophy of optimism which suggests the idea of the perfectness of the world and everything in the world, to be more exact, Voltaire introduces ironic ideas concerning [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 898

What It Means to Be a Philosopher

The ability to wonder about the world and construct these enduring questions is the first trait a philosopher should have. The presence of the Socratic Method, which is asking questions to improve conclusions and general [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1697

“The Subject and Power” by Michel Foucault

Unlike the older versions of power which, although they did include modern thinking, like feminism, always argued that power was only for a dominant group in society, Foucault believes that it is quite silly to [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1657

Rationalism. The Theory of Knowledge

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 836

“Examined Life” in Socrates’ Thesis

In order to develop a sufficient understanding of what this proposition means, it is necessary to recognize the specifics of the philosopher's approach to philosophy and how it relates to practical life.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 574

Karl Marx’s Concept of Alienation

According to Marx, that is called the externalization of a worker in his product. A man does not choose the productive activity, he is a part of it only because he is forced to he [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2028

Ethics of Emergencies: Ayn Rand’s View

For example, if you are faced with a gang of hoodlums who want to kill you and the only option you have is killing one of them to escape, then the "ethics of emergencies" allow [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 648

Political Theory by Niccolo Machiavelli

First, according to him, a prince should be able to develop the state he is governing and come up with the laws that will govern the state; to attain this, the prince should be ready [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2823

Christianity and Islam: Service to God and Afterlife

The structure of this paper analyzes the service to God and the perception of the afterlife, as highlights of the differences and similarities about the Christian and Islamic perceptions of life.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 12
  • Words: 1625

Lecture “The American Scholar” by Philosopher Emerson

A scholar perceives the natural world in a way that is free of past influence. He states that self-reliance is a concept that applied to the American scholar who must exercise a great deal of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 573

“Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” by Gettier

In addition, the article reveals that the concepts of 'the right to be sure that' and 'has adequate evidence for' only work if the element of 'justified true belief' is not introduced in an analysis.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 576

Noble Morality and Slave Morality

The major difference between good morality and bad morality according to Nietzsche is that good morality is connected to nobility and bad morals are linked to the common man and simplicity.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 528

The Logical Problem of Evil and the Freewill Defense

The free-will defense as a response to the logical problem of evil will also be covered in the essay as well as how the free-will response demonstrates the existence of evil to be logically inconsistent [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1291

Hobbes and Descartes: the Existence of Soul Debate

Descartes argued that the notion of the soul consist of all the perceptions of intelligence and the leanings of the human will, and is totally different from the notion of the body which concerns itself [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 706

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

Structure vs. Agency. Foucault’s View

Therefore, while the existing social structure frames the lives of individuals, they have the ability to make decisions and express them in behavior.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 11
  • Words: 3025

Plato’s Republic: An Introduction

Plato's dialogues bring out the nature of justice in the society. The issue of guardian of the society is a major issue in the society.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2147

Aristotle’s Notion of Time and Motion

It is also pertinent that the concept of Time is comprehended in relation to the concept of Motion. In an analysis of the nature of Time, it is most relevant to remember that Aristotle was [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 18
  • Words: 4229

George W.F. Hegel: The Role of Family

According to Hegel's concept of the ethical life of the family, it is very essential to have the love which is said to be the spirit of feeling of ones own strength of mind of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 13
  • Words: 3623

Importance Of Studying Philosophy

The major objective of this study is the rational justification of human values, knowledge, and certainty, logical inferences, and interpretation of the nature of reality.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 680

Free Will and Argument Against Its Existence

Determinism is a theory which states that the course of the future is determined by a combination of past events and the laws of nature, creating a unique outcome.
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1508

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

Intoxicated by My Illness and A Father’s Faith: Comparison

The conceptual relationship between the stories of Broyard and Toews should not be limited to the meaning of life but expanded to the feeling of inevitability that is depicted in different ways, the intentions to [...]
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 919

The Virtuous Life Importance

It may be supposed that justice and honesty as the one unqualifiedly moral virtue, could fulfill the role of the fundamental virtue as it can also be noticed in the case of righteousness, the general [...]
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 830

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2858

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

Thomas Kuhn: Pre-Science and Normal Science Periods

Finally the paper examines on how the distinctions by the two periods agrees with the Kuhn's views i.e.to see if there is a correlation between the Kuhn's distinction of both the pre science and normal [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2008

Michel Foucault: Views on Prisons and Psychiatric Hospitals

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1143

Importance of Knowing Yourself and Your Enemy

Dealing with people and trying to combat them, it is important to be aware of their abilities as the outcome of the battle also depends on whether one knows the strengths and weaknesses of an [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1368

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 [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1129

Aquinas on the Existence of God

God exists as it is the beginning of everything, as God is necessary just for the personal existence and this is the beginning of other issues which may be possibly exist or not as well [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 585

Cartesian Dualism

According to Cartesian dualism, the mind and the body interact at the point of pineal body because it is the only gland in the brain that is not duplicate, which connects the body and the [...]
  • 3
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1357

Tyranny of the Majority

Justice is not dependent on the majority of any particular group, but on the views held by a majority of the people, which implies that the rights of an individual are limited to what majority [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2205

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 [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 807

Aristophanes in Plato’s Symposium

His speech has a somber tone and tells the fabled story of the beginning of love. Aristophanes creates the notion that the earliest humans were androgynous a combination of both male and female using his [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 654

Philosophical Worldview From Christian Perspective

This philosophical concept proposes to evaluate the set research tasks and allows for pluralism of opinions, which helps expand the boundaries of analysis and, at the same time, assess the infinity of the cognition process.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 600

The Essay “Nature” by R. W. Emerson

Firstly, nature is the source of human spirituality and love, and Emerson confirms this by stating that "a nobler want of man is served by nature, namely, the love of Beauty".
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1413

Moral Relativism and Moral Universalism

The source of moral universalism is considered human nature, particularly the susceptibility of a person, the ability to empathize, and the resulting need for argumentation for persuasion.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 299

Classical and Modern Liberalism

Classical liberalism focused on the issues of political and economic freedoms, the natural rights of the individual, and the social contract. The novelty of the ideas of classical liberalism is based on the European and [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1106

John Stuart Mill’s “On Liberty“ Book Analysis

One of the fundamental concerns of social and political philosophy has been the topic of what levels of restrictions if any, should be placed on the liberty of a nation's inhabitants.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 562

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 829

Humanities: Definition and Types

This essay gives a definition of humanities and the difference between humanities and other modes of human inquiry and expression. Sometimes the walls and doors are made of glass.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 726

Two Attitudes Toward Money

Two attitudes toward money involve negative perception of money as universal evil and positive perception of money as source of good life and prosperity.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 846

Descartes’ Concept of Methodical Skepticism

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 552

Art as Redemption by Friedrich Nietzsche

One of the first important considerations he gives to his assessment of why humans engage in art is the constant oppositions he finds in nature the male/female opposition being the strongest of these as they [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 622

Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha and Swaraj Concepts

In addition to that, the applicability of his ideas to the problems of international community is discussed. The purpose of satyagraha is not to destroy the enemy but to find the solution which can suit [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 747

Knowledge Theory: How Can We Know the Truth?

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1261

“What do Murderers Deserve?” by David Gelernter

The author's identity is very important in the essay, he was personally attacked by a criminal and this is why the author wants to ensure that justice prevails in the society, a clear picture of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 761

“In Praise of Idleness” by Bertrand Russell

The author makes an assumption that the net result of economic habits is to fund the armed forces of the country because people lend savings to the government.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 601

David Hume’s Gnoseological Skepticism

One of the main criticisms of David Hume's gnoseological model has been traditionally reflective of the assumption that being strongly reductionist denies the possibility for people to be able to attain a complete understanding of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1405

Meaningless Existence in Camus’ “The Myth of Sisyphus”

The concept shared by the author consists in the statement that human life is irrational: one has to admit that it is senseless and is forced to overcome this knowledge to continue living, working, and [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 621

Marilyn McCord Adams’ Views on the Problem of Evil

Since overcoming the adverse effects of such a phenomenon is beyond the capacity of human beings, the presence of horrendous evil signifies the inconsistency of optimism as a viable, sustainable posture in life and demands [...]
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 753

Justice: a Natural Fact or a Social Construction?

Although both viewpoints seem very legitimate, Hobbes's idea that the state of nature is the state of war and, therefore, all people are free to pursue their desires, is more credible, seeing how in nature, [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1466

Thomas Nagel’ Philosophic Views on Love and Sex

It is apparent that Nagel's account of sexual perversion and the application of his theory omits masturbation, which is a contentious form of sexual activities.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 756

The Ultimate Nature of Reality

One of the most important problems in philosophy is the ultimate nature of reality and the relationships of its spiritual and material constituents.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1426

Socrates on Teaching and Learning

Plato believed that presenting the teachings in the form of dialogues was the best way of documenting the teachings of Socrates for the benefit of the future generations.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2203

John Stuart Mill: Life and Philosophy

John Stuart Mill is definitely one of the famous philosophers of the modern era. In the work, Mill examines the question of liberty and the power of the society.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1090

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 [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1248

“Who is a hero?”

In the ancient times, a hero in the Greek was regarded as a person with overwhelming courage to face the challenges that affected the community, some of the common challenges of the ancient times included [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 847

Philippa Foot’s System of Hypothetical Imperatives

Foot argues that morality should be presented as a system of hypothetical imperatives due to the fact that morality does not differ from anything else, for example, etiquette.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 279

Liberty Upsets Patterns: Justice Approach

The freedom will skew any system or pattern of perfect equality as demonstrated by his basketball player example, resulting in the need to formulate new patterns of distribution.
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 317

Albert Camus’s “The Guest”: Obedience to Authority

The central character of the story, Daru worked as a schoolmaster at a school in the Algerian mountains when the gendarme Balducci brought to him an Arab prisoner, whom Daru was supposed to escort to [...]
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1373

Art Theory and Beauty in Plato’s The Symposium

The Platonic dialogue in The Symposium epitomizes the progression that Diotima describes as pursuance of beauty in highly refined and generalized forms and each speech in the symposium takes the reader closer to the comprehension [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1374

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

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 893

Epistemological Coherentism: Structure of Justification

A Coherence Theory of justification is one that supports two central ideas that distinguish it from foundationalism: There are basic beliefs that serve as the basis for other beliefs, and
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2113

Compare and Contrast: Locke vs. Hume’s Notions of Self

Both Locke and Hume looked into the perspective of human self and its interaction with the environment and tried to explain the nature and balance of the existence of human as a race within the [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1708

Plato’s Imitative View of Art.

An understanding of the essence of art is inseparable from the understanding the world of human nature and views on society.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2840

Freedom is One of the Most Valuable Things to Man

Political philosophers have many theories in response to this and it is necessary to analyze some of the main arguments and concepts to get a clearer idea of how to be more precise about the [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2320

Determinism Argument and Objection to It

The key idea behind this notion is that "everything that's happening now and that will happen in the future was already guaranteed to happen by things that happened in the distant past".
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1103

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1161

Beauty as a Philosophical Concept

The importance of the given phenomenon can be evidenced by the fact that there have always been multiple attempts to determine beauty and introduce a sample that could be followed.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 289

Stephen Greenblatt’s Concept of New Historicism

New historicism is a conservative, establishment-type of approach to literature involving the strict, historical contextual analysis and background. This means that New Historicism is a modern perspective of understanding past events through the use of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 20
  • Words: 529

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 301

Why Are We Afraid of Death?

However, it can be interesting to understand why the rest of the people are so afraid of death. People are afraid of the unknown.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 292

Logic and Philosophy Questions

As a rule, a traditional logical inference has two basic elements, i.e, a premise and a conclusion. Therefore, A.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

Being as Being: Aristotle vs. Aquinas

The philosophical concept of being as being is concerned with the notion of existence, more specifically, that of the thing in and of itself.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1426

Wu Wei in Daoism and Zen Buddhism

Therefore, the original ideas and thoughts of Taoism are believed to have influenced the development of Zen Buddhism in China. This discussion shows clearly that emptiness in Buddhism points to dependent origination as the true [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1894

David Hume on Ideas, Impressions, Causality

Hume proposes two main concepts in this book: the concept of impressions and the concept of ideas. Surprisingly, this concept of cause and effect closely resembles the modern scientific ideas of cause and effect.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 560

“On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings” by William James

At the same time, our human practicality interferes with our ability to understand and perceive the feelings of others; the core problem is that "each is bound to feel intensely the importance of his own [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1950

Philosophical Life: Live, Love, and Learn

The whole world is currently taking a paradigm shift towards trying to find the reason and meaning of life. A perfect philosophical way of life is the philosophy of the three Ls which stand for; [...]
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 549