Philosophical Issues, -CON
Are you ready to delve into the myriad possible answers to such complex questions as "What makes an action virtuous?" or "What is the nature of consciousness?" Do you embrace weighty topics such as the relative merits of empiricism and rationalism? An inquisitive spirit is all but a prerequisite for many of the topics listed here, which deal with the different approaches to and ideas about the big questions of life.
Philosophical Issues Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Western philosophy encompasses the history of philosophy in the West from its development among the ancient Greeks......
- Introduction
- Ancient, Medieval, Modern
- Ancient Greek, Roman, & Medieval
- Pluralism, Cosmologies, Metaphysics
- Greek Thinkers, Socrates, Plato
- Plato, Dialogues, Ethics
- Aristotle, Metaphysics, Ethics
- Hellenistic, Roman, Stoicism
- Hedonism, Atomism, Epicurus
- Neo-Pythagoreanism, Neoplatonism, Mysticism
- Medieval, Scholasticism, Aristotelianism
- Greek Fathers, Erigena, Church
- Scholasticism, Medieval, Aristotle
- Scholasticism, Rationalism, Empiricism
- Thomas Aquinas, Scholasticism, Theology
- Scholasticism, Humanism, Renaissance
- Renaissance, Humanism, Rationalism
- Humanism, Reason, Enlightenment
- Nature, Science, Reason
- Rationalism, Descartes, Mind-Body Dualism
- Rationalism, Spinoza, Leibniz
- Reason, Science, Progress
- Rationalism, Empiricism, Skepticism
- Professionalization, Academic, Disciplines
- Rationalism, Empiricism, Existentialism
- Positivism, Social Theory, Marx
- Rationalism, Empiricism, Skepticism
- Analytic, Continental, Existentialism
- Marxism, Dialectical Materialism, Ideology
- Analytic, Logical, Rational
- Logical Positivism, Empiricism, Rationalism
- Informalism, Rationalism, Empiricism
- Continental, Existentialism, Phenomenology
- Postmodernism, Existentialism, Analytic
14 Tough Questions Answered
Why are there wars? Who is God? These are but two of the âtough questionsâ about the complicated and the unknown......
9 Britannica Articles That Explain the Meaning of Life
The articles in this list donât have all the answers. However, they serve as a useful primer on the basicsâwhat......
A priori knowledge
A priori knowledge, in Western philosophy since the time of Immanuel Kant, knowledge that is acquired independently......
Absolute Idealism
Absolute Idealism, philosophical theory chiefly associated with G.W.F. Hegel and Friedrich Schelling, both German......
Academy
Academy, in ancient Greece, the academy, or college, of philosophy in the northwestern outskirts of Athens where......
Achilles paradox
Achilles paradox, in logic, an argument attributed to the 5th-century-bce Greek philosopher Zeno, and one of his......
Action theory
Action theory, subfield of philosophy of mind that is specially important for ethics; it concerns the distinction......
Ad hominem
Ad hominem, type of argument or attack that appeals to prejudice or feelings or irrelevantly impugns another personâs......
Advaita
Advaita, one of the most influential schools of Vedanta, which is one of the six orthodox philosophical systems......
aesthetics
aesthetics, the philosophical study of beauty and taste. It is closely related to the philosophy of art, which......
- Introduction
- Perception, Beauty, Art
- Perception, Beauty, Art
- Imagination, Perception, Expression
- Emotion, Response, Enjoyment
- Art, Perception, Criticism
- Symbolism, Expression, Perception
- Ontology, Art, Perception
- Taste, Criticism, Judgment
- Philosophy, Art, Beauty
- Philosophy, Art, Perception
- Kant, Schiller, Hegel
- Marxist, Art, Critique
- Japanese Art, Culture, Philosophy
affective fallacy
affective fallacy, according to the followers of New Criticism, the misconception that arises from judging a poem......
agonism
agonism, philosophical outlook emphasizing the importance of conflict to politics. Agonism can take a descriptive......
agrarianism
agrarianism, in social and political philosophy, perspective that stresses the primacy of family farming, widespread......
ahamkara
ahamkara, in Samkhya, one of the six orthodox systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy, the second stage of development......
Ajivika
Ajivika, an ascetic sect that emerged in India about the same time as Buddhism and Jainism and that lasted until......
akriyÄvÄda
akriyÄvÄda, set of beliefs held by heretic teachers in India who were contemporaries of the Buddha. The doctrine......
Alexandrist
Alexandrist, any of the Italian philosophers of the Renaissance who, in the controversy about personal immortality,......
allusion
allusion, in literature, an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another......
Altruism
Altruism, in ethics, a theory of conduct that regards the good of others as the end of moral action. The term (French......
American exceptionalism
American exceptionalism, idea that the United States of America is a unique and even morally superior country for......
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy, a loosely related set of approaches to philosophical problems, dominant in Anglo-American......
- Introduction
- Logical Analysis, Language, & Mind
- Bertrand Russell, Logical Analysis, Analytic Tradition
- Logical Atomism, Language, Analysis
- Language, Logic, Mind
- Mind-Body Dualism, Causality, Reductionism
- Logical Analysis, Language, Mind
- Quine, Logic, Language
- Theory, Reference, Language
- Mind Theory, Language, Logic
- Eliminative Materialism
Analytic proposition
Analytic proposition, in logic, a statement or judgment that is necessarily true on purely logical grounds and......
Analytic-synthetic distinction
Analytic-synthetic distinction, In both logic and epistemology, the distinction (derived from Immanuel Kant) between......
analytical Marxism
analytical Marxism, a movement within Marxist theory and in various branches of social science and philosophy that......
anarcho-capitalism
anarcho-capitalism, political philosophy and political-economic theory that advocates the voluntary exchange of......
anarcho-primitivism
anarcho-primitivism, political and ethical movement that combines the political framework of anarchism with the......
Ancient logic
Ancient logic, in the history of Western philosophy, the concepts, principles, and systems of logical argumentation......
anekantavada
anekantavada, in Jainism, the ontological assumption that any entity is at once enduring but also undergoing change......
anthropocentrism
anthropocentrism, philosophical viewpoint arguing that human beings are the central or most significant entities......
Antinomy
Antinomy, in philosophy, contradiction, real or apparent, between two principles or conclusions, both of which......
anumana
anumana, in Indian philosophy, the second of the pramanas, or the five means of knowledge. Inference occupies a......
Apathy
Apathy, in Stoic philosophy, condition of being totally free from the pathÄ, which roughly are the emotions and......
Appearance
Appearance, in philosophy, what seems to be (i.e., things as they are for human experience). The concept usually......
Applied ethics
Applied ethics, the application of normative ethical theoriesâi.e., philosophical theories regarding criteria for......
Applied logic
Applied logic, the study of the practical art of right reasoning. This study takes different forms depending on......
Argument
Argument, in logic, reasons that support a conclusion, sometimes formulated so that the conclusion is deduced from......
argument from design
argument from design, Argument for the existence of God. According to one version, the universe as a whole is like......
Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism, the philosophy of Aristotle and of those later philosophical movements based on his thought. The......
Aristotle at 2,400
The year 2016 marked the 2,400th anniversary of the birth of Aristotle, arguably the greatest philosopher who ever......
Art for artâs sake
Art for artâs sake, a slogan translated from the French lâart pour lâart, which was coined in the early 19th century......
art, Philosophy of
Philosophy of art, the study of the nature of art, including concepts such as interpretation, representation and......
- Introduction
- Interpretation, Aesthetics, Creativity
- Mediums, Expression, Creativity
- Verbal Art, Aesthetics, Expression
- Mediums, Expression, Creativity
- Correspondence, Actuality, Aesthetics
- Representation, Aesthetics, Criticism
- Aesthetics, Creativity, Expression
- Symbols, Aesthetics, Interpretation
- Expression, Aesthetics, Creativity
- Expression, Creativity, Aesthetics
- Aesthetics, Expression, Perception
- Formal Principles, Aesthetics, Creativity
- Pragmatism, Aesthetics, Creativity
- Aesthetics, Expression, Knowledge
- Aesthetic, Moral, Expression
- Aesthetics, Expression, Perception
arthapatti
arthapatti, in Indian philosophy, the fifth of the five means of knowledge (pramana) by which one obtains accurate......
as if, Philosophy of
Philosophy of as if, the system espoused by Hans Vaihinger in his major philosophical work Die Philosophie des......
associative law
associative law, in mathematics, either of two laws relating to number operations of addition and multiplication,......
atman
atman, one of the most basic concepts in Hinduism, the universal self, identical with the eternal core of the personality......
Atomism
Atomism, any doctrine that explains complex phenomena in terms of aggregates of fixed particles or units. This......
autonomy
autonomy, in Western ethics and political philosophy, the state or condition of self-governance, or leading oneâs......
autotelism
autotelism, the belief that a work of art, especially a work of literature, is an end in itself or provides its......
Axiology
Axiology, (from Greek axios, âworthyâ; logos, âscienceâ), also called Theory Of Value, the philosophical study......
axiom
axiom, in logic, an indemonstrable first principle, rule, or maxim, that has found general acceptance or is thought......
axiomatic method
axiomatic method, in logic, a procedure by which an entire system (e.g., a science) is generated in accordance......
ayatana
ayatana, in Buddhist philosophy, the field of cognition. Human physical existence consists of 12 ayatanas: the......
Bantu philosophy
Bantu philosophy, the philosophy, religious worldview, and ethical principles of the Bantu peoplesâtens of millions......
Basic action
Basic action, In action theory, an action that is not performed by performing any other action. If someone turns......
Being and Time
Being and Time, work by the German existentialist philosopher Martin Heidegger, first published in German (as Sein......
Best of all possible worlds
Best of all possible worlds, in the philosophy of the early modern philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646â1716),......
bhashya
bhashya, in Indian philosophy, a long commentary on a basic text of a system or school (shorter commentaries are......
Bhedabheda
Bhedabheda, an important branch of Vedanta, a system of Indian philosophy. Its principal author was Bhaskara, probably......
biocentrism
biocentrism, ethical perspective holding that all life deserves equal moral consideration or has equal moral standing.......
Bioethics
Bioethics, branch of applied ethics that studies the philosophical, social, and legal issues arising in medicine......
biological determinism
biological determinism, the idea that most human characteristics, physical and mental, are determined at conception......
biology, Philosophy of
Philosophy of biology, philosophical speculation about the concepts, methods, and theories of the biological sciences.......
Black Power Movement
The Black Power movement was an American civil rights effort begun in the 1960s that emphasized African American......
Bloomsbury group
Bloomsbury group, name given to a coterie of English writers, philosophers, and artists who frequently met between......
brahman
brahman, in the Upanishads (Indian sacred writings), the supreme existence or absolute reality. The etymology of......
Brain Games: 8 Philosophical Puzzles and Paradoxes
Plato and Aristotle both held that philosophy begins in wonder, by which they meant puzzlement or perplexity, and......
Bridge of Asses
Euclidâs fifth proposition in the first book of his Elements (that the base angles in an isosceles triangle are......
Buddhism
Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: âAwakened Oneâ), a......
- Introduction
- Enlightenment, Dharma, Four Noble Truths
- Four Noble Truths, Dharma, Enlightenment
- Origins, Spread, Teachings
- Decline, India, Revival
- Southeast Asia, Theravada, Mahayana
- Central Asia, China, Dharma
- Korean, Japanese, Traditions
- Tibet, Mongolia, Himalayas
- Buddhism in the West
- Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana
- Pali Canon, Tipitaka, Dharma
- Mahayana, Dharma, Sutras
- Yogachara, Vijnanavada, Faxiang
- Pure Land
- Vajrayana, Tantric, Esoteric
- Rnying-ma-pa, Tibetan, Esoteric
- Mythology, Dharma, Enlightenment
- Celestial Buddhas, Bodhisattvas
- Local Gods, Demons
- Meditation, Dharma, Karma
- Pilgrimage, Sacred Sites, Rituals
- Modern Practice, Beliefs, Teachings
Bundle theory
Bundle theory, Theory advanced by David Hume to the effect that the mind is merely a bundle of perceptions without......
business ethics
business ethics, branch of applied ethics that studies the moral dimensions of commercial activity, frequently......
Cambridge Platonists
Cambridge Platonists, group of 17th-century English philosophic and religious thinkers who hoped to reconcile Christian......
carpe diem
carpe diem, phrase used by the Roman poet Horace to express the idea that one should enjoy life while one can.......
Cartesian circle
Cartesian circle, Allegedly circular reasoning used by René Descartes in his Meditations on First Philosophy (1641)......
Cartesianism
Cartesianism, the philosophical and scientific traditions derived from the writings of the French philosopher René......
casuistry
casuistry, in ethics, a case-based method of reasoning. It is particularly employed in field-specific branches......
Categorical imperative
Categorical imperative, in the ethics of the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, founder of critical......
Categorical proposition
Categorical proposition, in syllogistic or traditional logic, a proposition or statement, in which the predicate......
Category
Category, in logic, a term used to denote the several most general or highest types of thought forms or entities,......
Causation
Causation, Relation that holds between two temporally simultaneous or successive events when the first event (the......
Charvaka
Charvaka, unorthodox school of Indian philosophy significant for its materialism and atheism. Charvakas rejected......
Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy, the thought of Chinese culture, from earliest times to the present. The keynote in Chinese......
Choice
Choice, in philosophy, the supposed ability to freely decide between alternatives. Choice is a corollary of the......
cientĂfico
cientĂfico, member of a group of officials, serving from the early 1890s in Porfirio DĂazâs regime (1876â1911)......
Circular argument
Circular argument, logical fallacy in which the premise of an argument assumes the conclusion to be true. A circular......
civic republicanism
civic republicanism, tradition of political thought that stresses the interconnection of individual freedom and......
civic virtue
civic virtue, in political philosophy, personal qualities associated with the effective functioning of the civil......
classless society
classless society, in Marxism, the ultimate condition of social organization, expected to occur when true communism......
Cogito, ergo sum
Cogito, ergo sum, dictum coined by the French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes in his Discourse on......
Cognitivism
Cognitivism, In metaethics, the thesis that the function of moral sentences (e.g., sentences in which moral terms......
Coherentism
Coherentism, Theory of truth according to which a belief is true just in case, or to the extent that, it coheres......
common sense, Philosophy of
Philosophy of common sense, 18th- and early 19th-century Scottish school of Thomas Reid, Adam Ferguson, Dugald......
communitarianism
communitarianism, social and political philosophy that emphasizes the importance of community in the functioning......
commutative law
commutative law, in mathematics, either of two laws relating to number operations of addition and multiplication......
Comparative ethics
Comparative ethics, the empirical (observational) study of the moral beliefs and practices of different peoples......
Compatibilism
Compatibilism, Thesis that free will, in the sense required for moral responsibility, is consistent with universal......
Completeness
Completeness, Concept of the adequacy of a formal system that is employed both in proof theory and in model theory......
Concrete
Concrete, in philosophy, such entities as persons, physical objects, and events (or the terms or names that denote......
Condition
Condition, in logic, a stipulation, or provision, that needs to be satisfied; also, something that must exist or......
Confucianism
Confucianism, the way of life propagated by Confucius in the 6thâ5th century bce and followed by the Chinese people......