Philosophy Essay Examples and Topics. Page 7

2,079 samples

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

Benedict de Spinoza’s Philosophy

Spinoza believed that since everything in the universe is in existence due to the power of God, it is unlikely to find something that is lacking anything.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2485

Inauthenticity and Authenticity Differences

Heidegger concludes that authenticity is temporary as opposed to inauthenticity because we are born with the former and achieves the later after some time Nietzsche on his view argues that authenticity is the elementary mode [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 697

Creating the Meaning of Life

Schnell and Steger, Frazier, Oishi and Kaler observed that one critical aspect of the well-being of people in the society, which comes out in the humanistic theories that are utilized in counselling psychology, is people's [...]
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1717

“The Laws” by Plato

The Athenian's contribution to the 'would be' laws of the new city is impressive to the Spartan and the Cretan and they therefore recommend him to be part of the team founding the new city [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1221

Social and Political Philosophy

If it were the laws of the cities, then what would be the perception of the dwellers of the cities towards Socrates?
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1886

The Concept of Essence

The state of being is crucially determined by the principle of fundamentalism, which in turn leads to the essence of an object."The attributes, singly or collectively that make an object of a substance what it [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 15
  • Words: 4151

Locke’s Formulation On Real And Nominal Essences

Locke therefore argues that the real essence is reliant on the nominal essence as it is from the nominal essence that the qualities that define the particular object are derived.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2781

The concept of Human Rights

Many of the fundamental initiatives, which animated the human rights movement, emerged in the after effects of the World War II and the mayhem of the Holocaust, leading to the legitimation of the Universal Declaration [...]
  • 1
  • Subjects: Law Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1727

The Problem of Demarcation

The fact that philosophers and scientists try to find the adequate answers to these questions during long periods of time supports the idea that the problem of demarcation is important to be solved to prevent [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1374

Drug-Testing: Utilitarian Theory Ethical Dilemma

This is because, given the fact that Utilitarian theory's foremost theoretical premise is being concerned with the notion of amaximization of benefits' 1, it will only be logical, on my part, to assume that the [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1825

Freedom and the Role of Civilization

The achievements demonstrated by Marx and Freud play a significant role in the field of sociology and philosophy indeed; Marx believed in the power of labor and recognized the individual as an integral part of [...]
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2291

Plato on Who Should Rule

From the above discussion, it is notable that Plato connects the idea of "justice" to the "Form of Good". Such kings will apply practical theories and ideas in order to address the needs of the [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 853

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

Total and Moderate Libertarianism

Examples of these natural rights include the right to own property, the right to personal autonomy and the right to use unused resources. The government has the obligation of ensuring that all the rights of [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 559

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

Confucianism and its Effects on Human Rights Development

Precisely, its ideas on freedom of speech and expression, fair treatment and equality before the law and its humanistic aspects have laid a basis for the propagation and protection of human rights in the world [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1701

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

Nine Epistles From The Tao Te Ching

One of the central ideas of the book is that the Tao is the Nature, the essence of everything in the world which cannot be either experienced or seen, it just exists, that is all.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 884

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

Charles Darwin’s Biography

That is necessary to say that Darwin tried to show the role of Nature and the role of man in our world.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1759

Kant’s Ethics: Objection to Lying

And as lying is a form of communication, and people know this fact, the only way out in order not to be defrauded is stop communicating.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1378

Modern Political Thought

As the sense of independent and development sunk in peoples mind, the aspect of communism disintegrated and in its place individualism and the sense of "I" was adopted that is embraced world-wide.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1036

Decision Making and Problem Solving

Experiences, the level of information, the uniqueness of the situation and urgency of the matter are some of the factors that influence decision making.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1360

Foundationalist Response to Skepticism

It is based on two principles: the first one says that one cannot be sure in his/her knowledge and there is not certain human knowledge; the second principle claims that all we know can only [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1091

Paulo Freire’s Life, Philosophy and Teachings

Apart from the liberation theology, which resulted in a political uprising in the country forcing him to left the country, the other works of Freire include 'The Pedagogy of the Oppressed' and 'Education as the [...]
  • 1
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2427

The Concept of Egoism

In the end, the amount of goods and services that a person could get is limited. The laws and mutual help that exist in a civilized society show that people respect and value equality and [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 546

Direct Realism

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, [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1391

Paley’s analogy

The argument stipulates that the world is a place filled with such novel interlocking intricacy to the extent that the sole rational justification centers on the existence of an intelligent designer.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 780

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

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

Ship of Theseus and Personal Identity

Regarding the Ship of Theseus, the ship changed a lot but it remained the same in terms of its properties. Equally, Y could be said to be the same as Z in terms of properties.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 843

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

Justice for Socrates and Augustine

For a person to be seen as just, he or she ought to be a good person and the crucial question here is to know what good is.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1616

Plato and the Allegory of the Caves

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.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 849

John Rawls’ Argument for the Difference Principle

Rawls asserts that for equality to take place, the activities have to better lives of people who are worse off in terms of improvement of living standards and empowerment of disadvantaged members to levels which [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 603

The Cosmological Argument

Christians believe in the existence of a God who is considered to have willed the existence of all that there is.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 873

Camus on Philosophical Suicide

One of the thoughts that Camus laid down for his argument is the idea that once the abstract nature of the world is revealed to an individual, a person develops attitudes that are connected to [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 542

Louis Pojman’s Ethical Theory

Furthermore, due to the different laws and cultures in our world, it would be seemingly impossible to uphold such a rule According to Pojman, "the idea of rewarding the good and punishing the bad is [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 878

Emilie de Chatelet: 18th Century Distaff Philosophe

Born in 1706 in Paris, Gabrielle-Emilie le Tonnelier de Breteuil was the product of the second marriage of Louis Nicolas le Tonnelier de Breteuil, a protocol officer in the court of the Sun King; Louis [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2292

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

Disagreements in Science

The criterion includes a method of observation, the creation of a hypothesis, the undertaking of experiments, and the formulation of law follows.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1645

Western Philosophy: The Main Representatives

Plato was a Greek philosopher who established the Platonist school and founded the Academy in Athens, the first Western institution of higher learning.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 921

The Age of Enlightenment Explained

The Age of Enlightenment became a natural result of the development of human thought as a result of the progress of science and society.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 551

Determinism & Libertarian Freedom

The first of them is rigid determinism the statement that determinism is true and there is no free will. The principle of free will has consequences in religion, ethics and science.
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 287

Principles of Transcendentalism by Thoreau

The ideas articulated in the works by Thoreau and the basic principles of Transcendentalism are consistent with the social, political, cultural, and economic changes that happened in the United States in the middle of the [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1144

Locke’s “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding”

First, John Locke tries to disprove the view of the French philosopher Rene Descartes that there are some ideas present in the mind of a newborn baby. The essay applies Locke's theory of ideas to [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 374

Social Justice from a Philosophical Perspective

Although their theories of justice were significant, they would not have existed without Plato's influence and the contribution that their ideas of justice have made to political philosophy.
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 466

Philosophy: Analytical and Continental Approaches

Analytic philosophy is essential and more apt to critical contributions to culture and society because of its pragmatic approach that relies on logic, which is more objective than the continental approach, which is more subjective.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 380

Utilitarianism: Principles and Assumptions

The philosopher argues that the accomplishment of the goal of solving the cases of stress must be based on an individual's pleasure and actions that promote happiness. For instance, Bentham argues that the chain of [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 555

Aristotle’s View on the Concept of Logic

Thus, it was shown that logic is not just a specific doctrine of specific things or terms, but the science of the laws of syllogisms, such as modus ponens or modus tollens, expressed in variables. [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 319

Act Utilitarianism and Virtue Ethics: Pros and Cons

Therefore, act utilitarianism is better than virtue ethics since it is clear, concise, and focuses on the majority. Virtue ethics' strengths can be utilized to enhance the act-utilitarianism theory.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 641

Ethical and Psychological Egoism

While ethical egoism focuses on self-interest and disregarding the interests of others, psychological egoism is centered around actions or behavior that can bring benefits.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 282

Christine Korsgaard’s Critical Social Theory

Thus, the "thinking and acting self" represents the freedom of the members of the community to take action with respect to the principles of voluntarism and the authority, serving as "the source of obligation".
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1422

Plato’s Theory of Forms and Personal Perception

In his philosophical dialogues, the thinker divides the divine, unchangeable world of forms and the world of material, physical objects that was constantly changing and existed only as a shadow of the ideas.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 295

Wilhelm Dilthey’s Hermeneutic Perspective

Consequently, the subject matter, which is the suitability of Dilthey's modes of apprehension to revealing the common ideas of groups of citizens from the perspective of hermeneutics, can be understood by discussing others' views.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 570

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

Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” Analysis

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.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 836

Ayer’s Key Argument Against Ethical Objectivism

This is considered as the way a particular feeling or notion is portrayed The recommendation of action to another person is not an ethical thing to be performed in that this has to totally embrace [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 563

Lies: Consequentialist and Deontological Theories

Lies are therefore said to be harmful to other people depending on the effect they have in the society. This should be done in the public forums like the court proceedings though to some extent [...]
  • Subjects: Law Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1113

Ontology in Deleuze’s The Fold

This power can be presented as the compressive force of the university contributing to the return of all pleats of the matter to the surrounded area.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 592

Western Philosophy: David Hume on Suicide

This is due to the compatibility that exists between freedom and the determination of one's actions. The advantage is that this may prevent a person from contemplating suicide.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 820

Das Kapital and Mill’s Principles of Political Economy

Comparing the general statement of Das Kapital and Principles of Political Economy it becomes evident that Marx and Mill have different views as to the accumulation of capital and thus regarding the social organization to [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 556

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

Immanuel Kant’s Theory of Knowledge

Basing on this statement, therefore, empirialists have to carry out a rigorous test to determine the relationship between the decisions that individuals make, and the prior knowledge affecting the decisions making.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 944

Theodicy and the Problem of Evil

However, what perhaps relates to the issue at hand is when, in the Book of Genesis, God created enmity between the woman's offspring and that of the serpent.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 815

“Merit: Why do We Value it?” by Louis Pojman

The ways of the modern world have deemed that virtue is to be rewarded and vice is to be punished. The standard of merit and how to apply it in a situation appears to be [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1414

Opposites From Opposites: The Conception

The question is that life is realized by people through the principle of cut and try. It is better to say here that it is a warning for those contradicting nature and physical reality of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Robert Owen: Time Travel

Smith, a pioneer of political economy, would be interested in analyzing the current economic situation in the country and, perhaps, even suggest ways for the country to overcome the economic crisis.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1129

Natural Law & Justice and Good Governance

From their arguments, it is evident that natural law is directly related to the concept of justice and that they are the foundations to good governance.
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1458

The Theme of Slavery in Aristotle’s “Politics”

He notes that the fundamental part of an association is the household that is comprised of three different kinds of relationships: master to slave, husband to wife, and parents to their children.
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1107

Autonomy or Independence by E. Durkheim and T. Adorno

As far as Emile Durkheim is concerned, we should that the overarching argument of his work comes down to the following: he suggests that the constant process of labor division or specialization as it is [...]
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1659

The Life of Plato and His Philosophy

One of the founders of Greek ancient thought was Plato whose works became the handbooks of many modern philosophers and scientists.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 584

“Leviathan” by Thomas Hobbes

The part of Leviathan entitled "Of a Christian Commonwealth" addresses such religious controversies of the 16th-17th- century United Kingdom as state and church relationships and establishment of Church of England's position towards continental Protestants and [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2082

Aristotle, Selections From The Politics. Book I

The growth of the movement towards the formation of states is, however, a gradual one; it is continuous, from the sixteenth century to our day, and while, throughout this period, and in almost every country [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 902

The Socratic Method: Fostering Critical Thinking

The Socratic Method is a philosophical mode of questioning that involves the investigation of connotations of other situations that are related to the topic of inquiry itself.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 558

“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

The Concept of Epiphenomenalism

According to consciousness, the flow of information goes from the mental aspect to the physical aspect, which means that consciousness rise due to the interaction of the physical as well as the mental and cognitive [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1644

Philosophy Schools Metaphysical Dualism

Following Descartes, the essence of the mind is thought, the essence of the body is the extension. The boundary between the mind and the body is grounded in the distinction between the intelligent and the [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1468

John Locke and His Epistemological View of Matter

It is very clear that John Locke's theory about material things understanding and perceiving them is an attempt to contribute to the advancement of epistemology. Locke was mistaken in assuming that there is nothing certain [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 12
  • Words: 3195

Ethical Egoism: Arguments For and Against

In personal ethical egoists, the belief is that one should pursue his or her own interest without telling other people what they are ought to do.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 689

Chapter VIII of Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations”

As for the wages and labor section of The Wealth of Nations, it appears that Smith regards workers as a homogenous human capital with transferable and, hence, subject to substitution.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1003

Philosophy: Aristotle on Moral Virtue

Both virtue and vice build one's character and therefore can contribute to the view of happiness. Therefore, character education leads to happiness that is equal to the amount of wisdom and virtue.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 562

Morality and Religion: What Is Moral Behavior?

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussion by attempting to give an insight into what constitutes moral and immoral behavior as well as the relationship that exists between morality and religion.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 907

Philosophical Perspectives in 20th Century

Determinism takes the position that everything which happens is supposed to happen only in that way and not in any other because everything is planned before and ours is just to follow the programming of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1170

Skepticism, Truth and Knowledge’ Limits

As a result, the way people understand and perceive reality is also a part of the process of reality formation. Thus, Descartes premises on the idea that thinking is the evidence of existence.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 549

Political Philosophy: Rawls’ Overlapping Consensus

In a society where they have a political system that favors political liberalism, it is not just a matter of obeying rules since the enactment of the political system is similar to the moral values [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1963

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