Philosophy Essay Examples and Topics. Page 3

2,120 samples

Epistemology, Rationalism vs. Empiricism

Studying it, obtaining new and new facts, enlarging his knowledge, man started to think not only about the principles of the functioning of the surrounding world, but about the ways his percepts the information and [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 512

Augustine: On Free Choice of the Will

Importantly, Augustine on the free choice of the will indicated that the mind cannot be forced to be a slave to lust.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 668

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

Kant and Mill: The Concepts of Good and Duty

While Mill does not use the complicated jargon that is put forth by Kant, nonetheless the notion of good and actions to which we should subscribe are relative points in this complex world.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

Verification Theory of Meaning: Is It Viable?

The varying views about verification fall into two broad categories; one which is the verification theory of meaning as it claims to specify the nature of meaning and the other one seeks to provide standard [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1645

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

Politics Affect Individuals Analysis

Because of the discussion we have had regarding politics, the political system, the relationship of sociology and politics, and even the economics of politics, I realized that politics affects all individuals, the society, the country, [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 531

Bentham’s and Mill’s Theory of Utility

In other words, his theory of utility is based on the principle of moral obligation: the greatest pleasure for the greatest number of people who are involved or affected by the action performed by one [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 636

The Argument of Being and Becoming

In summary, becoming is seen as the special case of being. The research on philosophy of being and becoming was confusing in defining the clear distinction between the two concepts.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 613

The “Dream Argument” by Descartes

This idea transitions into other arguments that Descartes explores in the book, and as a way to be sure of the existence of at least one thing, he proposes that since he is capable of [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 749

Descartes’ Philosophy: Thinking Proves Existence

To support his claims, the intellectual compares the qualities of mind and body and deduces that they cannot be the same thing since the body is divisible and mind is whole.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 853

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

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

Ontology and Epistemology in Leadership Research

In the frames of this research on leadership as a practice, it is impossible to clarify what has been already known, what could be expected, and what lessons could be offered. It is a practice [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1406

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

Morality of Friedrich Nietzsche and Alasdair MacIntyre

Self-deception is the nature of moral judgments because relying on a set of rules that is universal for everyone, regardless of how limiting, presupposes the control over the people's actions and the security of the [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1813

Socrates’ Critique of Cephalus and Polemarchus

They include the view of justice that forms the basis of Socrates' criticism and the reason why the philosopher found Cephalus and Polemarchus definitions and views of justice unsatisfactory.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1384

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

Thomas Hobbes’ Views on Natural Laws

The laws of nature provide the fundamental rights based on the concept of reason. The law of nature refers to the general analysis of flora and fauna through reason.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 924

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

“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 Consequences of the Time Travel

Thus, the time travel can lead to the intolerable and even threatening consequences because of influencing the principle of the cause and effect in relation to the past and future, and as a result, the [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1129

Michel Foucault’s Subject of Power

Nor that there is, on the one hand, the field of things, of perfected technique, work, and the transformation of the real; on the other that of signs, communication, reciprocity, and the production of meaning; [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1393

Aristotle’s Definition of Virtue

In particular, he writes that virtue is "a state that decides, consisting in a mean, relative to us, which is defined by reference to a reason, that is to say, to the reason by reference [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 408

The Positions of Physicalism and Dualism

Physicalists claim that a non-physical nature of the world cannot be the determinant of the state of the world since the world is physical in nature.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1280

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

Famine, Affluence, and Morality

He claims that giving a certain amount to Bengal would result to suffering of individuals and their dependants, which will correspond to the suffering he relieved in Bengal.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 645

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 873

Confucius: Life, Teachings, and Legacy

According to him, moral virtue is the only means of ensuring that there is order in the society. His mother thus played the role of the father in bringing up Confucius and it is through [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2778

John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice

The first clause calls for distribution economic and social disparities in a way that, "they are to be of the greatest benefit to the least-advantaged members of society".
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2063

Aristotle’s Philosophical Theories

Aristotle argued that the understanding of nature could only be accomplished through the analysis of the aspects of nature as the first step in understanding the target object, and then processing the mental reaction of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1528

Locke’s and Rousseau’s Views on Freedom and Government

The first element on which the concepts of Locke and Rousseau are based is the state of freedom. In exchange for this safety, people would consent to forfeit some of their freedom and submit to [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1119

Yin-Yang Philosophy and Parallels with Western Thinkers

Thus, the recurrent themes similar to the Chinese philosophy of Yin-Yang and Western philosophy are the constant transformation, balance, and interconnectedness of all elements in the universe.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2198

Significance of Emotions in Aristotle’s Philosophy

Additionally, the philosopher distinguishes two moralities, each with its interpretation of the cognitive role of emotions: a civic morality of judicial process in the Nicomachean Ethics and a contemplative ethics of theoretical study in Politics.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 13
  • Words: 3723

Sartre’s Philosophy of Existentialism

The main thesis of the theory of existentialism is that existence precedes essence and that one has to start from subjectivity.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1214

The Nature Essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?" Thus, attempting to interpret experience through the [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1147

Immanuel Kant: Pure and Empirical Knowledge

Kant proceeds to identify a philosophical gap in the form of the lack of a means to determine the possibility, principles, and scope of pure knowledge.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 429

The Difference Between Common Sense and Knowledge

The research explores ancient Greek philosophy and modern studies of the "sensory turn" period in order to bring clarity to the discussion and evaluate the significance of common sense and reason in the cognitive process.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 811

St. Thomas Aquinas’ Influence on Western Thought

Interest in the teachings of Aristotle contributed to the unification of many philosophers, which happened in the case of Thomas Aquinas. The main achievement of Thomas is that he is considered the founder of the [...]
  • 1
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1102

Husserl’s and Descartes’ Philosophies

The differences in the concept of philosophy as a science between Husserl and Descartes relate primarily to the concept of intentionality and the method of intentional analysis.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 925

The Essay “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau

He claims that the government's power is based more on the influence that the majority possesses rather than on the desire to act legitimately and fairly, which makes it overall unreliable as a source of [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 306

The Book “The Artist in Crisis” by Yaroslav Senyshyn

It should be noted that this text is a critical scholarly dissection that plays a vital role in opening the readers' minds in different ways according to the views of the world and their important [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 748

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 385

Why It Is Better Never to Come Into Existence

The argument is well-justified because the author refers to the absence of benefits for children, the lack of guarantees of their happiness, and the regrets of parents.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 616

Self-Ownership and Absolute Private Property Rights

Robert Nozick is one of the renowned libertarian thinkers of the twentieth century who proposed a variety of ideas and concepts related to the topics of individual freedom and rights.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 896

“The Book of the City of Ladies” by Christine de Pizan

In this book, the author constructs a symbolic city of women and reflects on the misogynistic attacks of men on women. Lady Reason explains to Christine that sometimes men try to keep each other out [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 334

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

Political Theory Rousseau, Hegel, Marx, Mill, and Kant

After the development of individuation during the period of the Renaissance, the majority of political thinkers developed their theories based on the individual's relationship with economic factors.
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 830

“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

Virtuous Behavior Constituents

For an action to be considered virtuous, it must originate from an individual and be in the self-interest of whoever is claiming to be virtuous.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 563

“The End of History and the Last Man” by Francis Fukuyama

Fukuyama suggests that 'it was in the highly complex and dynamic "post-industrial" economic world that Marxism-Leninism as an economic system met it's Waterloo', and he observes that 'by the end of the 1980s China, the [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 13
  • Words: 3821

Mill’s vs. Kant’s Ethical Theories on Lie

Stuart Mill's utilitarianism and Emmanuel Kant's deontology, to answer the question is it acceptable to lie to my friend to spare her feelings if the lie would not cause great harm?
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 1713

Metaphor in “Lifeboat Ethics” by Garrett Hardin

As the relevance and the appropriateness of the metaphor are established, it is of paramount significance to consider the different aspects of the question in a meaningful and judicious manner.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2004

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1003

Jurgen Habermas, the Frankfurt School Thinker

After scrutinizing the past of the public sphere, Herbamas establishes that there was no between the public and the private spheres, because of the class groupings by the feudal government. He views the liberal model [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2038

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 Doctrine of Negative Responsibility

According to it, the individuals should act in such a way that the maxim of their action could be related to the universal law of morality.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1450

The Role of Law in State-Building

The introduction of the rule of law is an integral part of state-building. Their importance in state building is to ensure that the actions of both leaders and citizens are controlled.
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1644

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

Descartes’ and Buddhist Ideas of Self-Existence

It is the assumption of this paper that Descartes' perspective and the teachings of Buddha on the self are inherently incompatible due to their different perspectives on what constitutes "the self".
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 873

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.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 558

Money, Success, and Relation Between Them

In particular, the modern generation attaches so much importance to money in the sense that success and money are presumed to be one and the same thing.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2255

“Realism” by Paul Berman

In this view, this essay seeks to investigate the reality in the meaning and the notion of the word "realism" as described by Paul Berman.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1118

Jean Paul Sartre: Bad Faith Concept

The woman is in bad faith as she tries to focus on desirable points ignoring the truth. This is the choice people are wouldoomed' to make.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1168

The Theory of Cause and Effect

In particular, he emphasized on the importance of human experiences in the comprehension of cause and effect. Hence, the theory of cause and effect highlights that the tendency to associate events is the foundation of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 613

Charles Mills vs. John Locke

Mills's viewpoint on human moral equality To prove that Mills's position is wrong, one is to read Locke's arguments on the state of equality.
  • Subjects: Law Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1327

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2172

Confucius and His Philosophy

Contrary to the expectations of the Chinese people, this situation disenfranchised Confucius up to the point of leaving his government post.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 597

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 790

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 547

Kant’s Formula of Universal Law

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 681

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

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 [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 812

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 [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1650

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

Ethics is not Based on Religion

That is they believe that religion is the bedrock of ethics and that religious persons are individuals with immense moral principles.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1106

Kant’s Critique of Judgment

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'.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1748

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

St. Augustine. Solution to the Problem of Evil

Augustine claims that the solution of evil is to do the right thing and to abstain from wrongdoing. He claims that evil results from a man trying to equal himself to God.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 562

The Matrix Film and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Partridge investigates the film's fundamental coherence with Plato's text and the numerous superficial connections between Plato's cave-dwellers and the humans trapped in The Matrix.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 359