Philosophy Essay Examples and Topics. Page 6

2,018 samples

Consequentialism and Deontology

In deontology, the outcomes and consequences may not justify the means to achieve a goal, while in consequentialism, the results determine the means, and significant benefit is expected for the greatest possible number of people.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1168

“A Stitch in Time Saves Nine” Proverb Analysis

The proverb "a stitch in time saves nine" is strongly tied to the notion of effective time management. The larger picture of this instance is that a little management may go a long way toward [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 272

Camus and Feinberg on Absurdity of Human Condition

In the Myth of Sisyphus, Camus summarizes the concept of the absurd and the realization of its existence as the encounter with the reality that the world is irrational.
  • 1
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2053

The Divine Sovereignty of God and the Free Will of Man

God's intervention in history means for most biblical authors that the will of God ultimately determines the course of events, and human freedom is manifested in the fact that he either accepts this will of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 12
  • Words: 2746

“Oration on the Dignity of Man” by Mirandola

He gave up his riches to pursue intelligence, ultimately noting that "the fountain of wisdom is the exact metaphysics of the intellectual and angelic forms and the stream of knowledge is the most steadfast philosophy [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 348

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

Plato’s Philosophy on Exposure to Education

Plato establishes what education is worth for both the individual and the state in The Republic, emphasizing the crucial function of those who select the materials to educate the state's future guardians.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 300

Race Matters by Cornel West: A Book Review

The rise of racist and sexist tendencies due to the lack of affirmative action is doubtful because it is not the only element in the fight against racial and sexual prejudice. However, West is of [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 297

Rhetoric and Philosophy of Socrates and Gorgias

Socrates argues that oratory practices that became popular among sophists in Athens pursue convincing and persuading rather than speaking the truth."And the same will be true of the orator and the oratory in relation to [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 320

The Entitlement Theory of Robert Nozick

Real justice, according to Nozick, consists in the appropriation of holdings or their original acquisition, their fair and consensual transfer and the protection of the right to their property.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 306

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

Intelligibility of the Survival Hypothesis

The current study refutes materialism and supports Price's notion that there is an embodied and disembodied idea to the existence, a dream analogy of life after death, and a communal idea of the afterlife.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1135

Eros in Plato’s Symposium Speeches

Therefore, in most cases, the product of love, or Eros, is the fulfillment of the need for admiration. The role of self-love in Aristophanes' speech is to inspire people to find lovers that connect to [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1137

“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

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

Free Will in Human Life: Reality or Fraud?

The paradox of the question about free will for humans is also related to the role of God and the impossibility of great philosophers to provide a clear answer.
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1687

Kantian Ethics Definition and Description

The idea of humanity forms the second approach to the categorical imperative and it indicates that people should treat each other as ends and not as means to an end.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1114

The Portrayal of the Gods by Ovid and Sophocles

Overall, there are similarities and differences in the gods' portrayal in Ovid's and Sophocles' works. In both texts, the deities are respected and revered by mortal people.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 631

Realism, Strategies and War

The reality is that people expect the worst and have to create plans for such occurrences. Realism is a philosophical branch of thinking that tries to expand the knowledge of people and explain what reality [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 572

Knowledge of the External World

Overall, the evaluation of the two visions of the problem of the external world, the one by Descartes, and the one by Moore, suggests a conclusion that Moore's concept does not provide satisfactory replies whereas [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 703

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

Western vs. Japanese Philosophy

The human nature of capitalism is encrusted in the philosophical thinking of the west. Therefore, western philosophy considers the existence of God and capitalism as the main influences on human nature.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 538

Plato’s Apology: Is Socrates Guilty?

The accusations placed against Socrates include: Studying the activities in the heavens and below the earth. Predicting the things in the heavens and below the earth associates him with the physicists such as Thales and [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 595

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

Models of Ethical Decisions

Given the intense rivalry between the two brothers on who to donate the kidney to the ailing dad, and the chilling revelation of their mother on the paternity of the younger brother, it is convenient [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1433

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

Existentialism of the 20th Century

They argued that human beings are actors in the world and hence are aware of what is in it unlike the trees and stones that just exist.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1114

Main Branches of Philosophy

This is the study of value that surpasses the ability of a man to reason over the universe and its state on the whole.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 966

The Science and the Scientific Work

In the work The Scientific Life, Shapin writes: "The scientist was properly to be understood not on the model of the philosopher but on the model of the engineer and technician".
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 12
  • Words: 3580

“War and Innocence” by Robert Fullinwinder

In the closing part of the article, the researcher concludes that absent of self-defense should be compensated by the introduction of the legal conventions justifying killing in war.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 553

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

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

Socrate’s Choice to Remain in Prison

Being a man who believed and supported all that the government of Athens stood for, he was not going to be the one to falter from his beliefs and faith in the state and its [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1313

Enlightenment Period and Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The enlightenment period also popularly referred to as the age of reason denotes an explosive era in human history stretching from around the year 1600 to the year 1800; a period in which the West [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1530

Hawk by William Wallis: Critique and Analysis

In this novel, the hawk is a symbol of freedom, and the boy, the main character, Will Falke, who is watching the flight of the hawk is watching what this freedom is like and what [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 598

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

Kant’s Ethical Theory: Rational and Free Choices

Another theory that Kant criticized is the view of Baumgarten wherein it states that God is the author and the legislator of all the natural obligations because HE was the one who made the world.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 575

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

Paradise Lost by John Milton

I however beg to disagree with this great English poet that this predestination was actually intended to benefit mankind and not Him; it's actually the opposite because the fall was predestined to benefit God and [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2119

Kant’s Deontological Ethics Review

Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals underlines that autonomy acts as the link between the analysis of morality and the moral will and free will.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1862

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

“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

Philosophical Perspectives on Death and Dying

These are fear of premature death, fear of the idea of death, fear of the dying process, fear of the death of significant others, fear of the unknown, fear of being destroyed, fear of the [...]
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2520

Logic and Insight in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”

The world outside the cave is the logical place; which is reachable to logic but not to insight; the voyage outside of the cave into daylight of the world is the soul's inclination to the [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 515

Philosophy: Herbert Marcuse’s One-Dimensional Man

In the chapter entitled "The concept of essence", Marcuse defines the philosophical construct of the essence as the abstraction and isolation of the one true form of existence from a multitude of changing appearances, and [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1203

Ethical Egoism vs. Altruism Theory

In philosophy, egoism is the theory that one is self is or should be; the motivation of one's action. This divergence can be explained further using the following features of the concept of ethical egoism: [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1294

Absolute Knowledge Issues Analysis

The quest for absolute knowledge is fruitless because not a single person is able to claim with certainty that the specific idea or knowledge is absolute. Knowledge is the result of examination of ideas to [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 640

Karl Marx’s Ideas on Private Property

At the same time, the philosopher believed that in order to realize the full potential of humanity and every individual, the practice of alienated labor, as well as private ownership and class division associated with [...]
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1116

Socrates and the Root of Evil

The philosopher's inquiry into the nature of human morality was closely tied to the examination of how one could live his or her life in the most fulfilling manner.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 911

George Berkeley’s Philosophy

Berkeley found evident flaws in Locke's "copy theory" and shaped his views into a cohesive philosophy that could hardly be criticized by the thinkers of his time.
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 824

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

Continental Philosophy Approach

The discussion addresses the query of whether continental philosophy considers that sensible human agency has the potential to alter the setting of people's experience.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 587

Social Justice: Philosophy of Employment

The philosophy of empowerment supports dignity and self-worth; as such, value to all people, regardless of their status or race is an important rule of empowerment.
  • Subjects: Political Philosophies
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 553

Conceptual Metaphor: Life Is Like a Game of Chess

In a game of chess the player has to be careful in moving his pieces, you should try and think of the implications of your moves, your opponents' strategies and how to counter them.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1700

The Virtue of Courage in Theories and Experience

The teachings of the old and the wise seemed buried in the annals of yesteryears. This is courage in the truest sense of the word because it leads to many other virtues.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2476

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

Classical Example of a Jerk

Being a jerk means being disrespectful to the needs of other people, and the opinion of Polemarchus proves that it has nothing to do with justice.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 999

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

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

Moral Development: Kohlberg’s Dilemmas

Another characteristic of this stage of moral speculation is that the speculators mostly view the dilemma through the lens of consequences it might result in and engage them in a direct or indirect manner.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 563

Jean-Paul Sartre’s Views on Freedom

For example, to Sartre, a prisoner of war is free, existentially, but this freedom does not exist in the physical realm.
  • 4
  • Subjects: Freedom Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1394

Humans: Physical or Spiritual Beings?

On the other hand, dualism denies physicalism, or that the physical facts of human bodies do not determine the composition of human beings.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1666

Clifford’s vs. James’s Knowledge Theories

This is the reason why Clifford states that the ship owner should be condemned on the basis of making a judgment without sufficient evidence In his pragmatism, James sees the truth in terms of usefulness [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 810

Immanuel Kant’s Views on Lying

Responsibility and accountability are the facets of morals, the consequences of your actions should be borne by you alone and no one must suffer or gain favors in the name of a lie.
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 536

Worldviews on Good Life and Values

A good life and what constitutes it is an omnipresent ideal always bringing into the focus a key question what is the meaning of life.
  • Subjects: Life Philosophy
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1719

Parmenides and Upanishads Philosophies

Instead, it underlined the logical explanations of the world existence as well as attempted to ground the idea of reality processes as the evictions of changing procedures in a never-changing space.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 566

The Highest Good of Buddhism: Arahantship

This state of awakening is the highest good that a human being can achieve, and all Buddhists are urged to aspire to achieve it.
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Religion
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1395

John Stuart Mill and Charles Darwin: Philosophers Comparison

To a great extent, they profoundly influenced people's views on the origins of life, the transformation of society and the behavior of an individual within the community. This is one of the main details that [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophers
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2201

Niccolo Machiavelli’s Philosophy

According to Machiavelli, it is the duty of the prince to protect his realm and to further enhance his sovereignty. He asserts that a prince should not be generous when spending the State's wealth as [...]
  • Subjects: Ethical Philosophy
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1704

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

Unethical Treatment of Animals

The fact that there is a long tradition involving the slaughter of animals for food does not justify the killing of animals.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2004

Thrasymachus Ideas in The Republic by Plato

Furthermore, Thrasymachus' interpretation of justice can undermine the efficiency of the state and deprive the elites of their credibility. This is one of the paradoxes that should be recognized, and Thrasymachus does not speak about [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Works
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 841

Philosophy Issues: Utilitarianism or Deontology?

Regardless of the extent to which some people are opposed to the applications of moral principles, which should be consistent with the scriptures of God, they are used to produce the best results in communities.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1118

Descartes’ Argument for the Existence of God

Hume's argument gets interesting when he postulates that regardless of the number of times we witness a succession of events, we cannot predict the succession of events.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1415

Philosophy Issues: David Hume and Miracles

Hume disqualifies the existence of miracles, as the Christian religion is weaker and more insubstantial as compared to the evidence that comes with one's experience.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 575

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

Modern Science and the Creation Story

To establish the reason for the many scientific researches on the origin of the universe, it is prudent to explain the theory all works of science seem to tear apart, The Creationism Theory.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2793

Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies

From this point, the purpose of this research paper is to evaluate the current debates on the acceptability of using quantitative and qualitative methodologies and to discuss the possibility of creating the effective integrated inquiry [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2209

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

Concept of Ontology in Philosophy

Ontology as a name was developed from a Greek word 'onto' which means 'being' or 'that which is.' Ontology is a branch of metaphysics that deals with issues about the existence of entities, and how [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 567

Commentary on The Apology

This paper contains a description of the proceedings of the trial, explanations of Socrates' unofficial accusations, the official charges against him by Meletus and his corresponding responses, and a discussion of the verdict of his [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Theories
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1573

Epistemology

In the development of curriculum, there has to provision for learners to make use of their experiences and come to the knowledge of things.
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 556

Leibniz’s theory of truth

The simple version of the theory is that a predicate is true because of the existence of the subject. Therefore once predicate and subject are linked, the statement becomes true without any attempt to rationalize [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophical Concept
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1133

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 Role of the ‘No Miracles’ Argument for Scientific Realism

While referring to the ideas of the above-mentioned philosophers of science, it is reasonable to start with the discussion of anti-realists' ideas and their visions of the effectiveness of the 'no miracles' argument because in [...]
  • Subjects: Philosophy of Science
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2851