Philosophy Essays Examples For College & High School Students in PDF

10142 total results

Understanding Kantian Ideology in the Case of the Queen v. Dudley and Stephens (1298 words, 4 pages)

On July 5, 1884, four men (Brooks, Dudley, Stephens, and Parker) released their anchor near the Cape of Good Hope. Not long after doing so, a storm headed in their direction caused a wave to strike the ship. (The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens 4) The ship, suffering damage, began ... Read More

Understanding the Concept of Pre-Reflective Self-Consciousness in Animals (2433 words, 9 pages)

Consciousness is one of the most prominent scientific questions. There are conflicting views about what consciousness is and what it is like. There have also been opposing views regarding the consciousness of animals and how it relates to that of humans. Some believe that animals are not conscious while others ... Read More

The Seven General Worldviews (1583 words, 5 pages)

Worldview QuestionsOne could say that, today, there are as many different ways of seeing the world as people who see it. Everyone has their own opinions, beliefs and preferences, and interprets the world around them in different ways. However, despite all the individuality, people usually choose to identify themselves with ... Read More

An Examination of the Negative Effects of Capitalism in The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx (1158 words, 4 pages)

In the Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels attempt to expose the negative effects of capitalism in specific regard to the exploitation of industrial workers. The influential political pamphlet states the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles (p.219) a meta-narrative ... Read More

The Illustration of Jesus in the Gospels and the Platonic Idea of Human Ethical Perfection (921 words, 3 pages)

Christians and non-Christians alike view Jesus as the pinnacle of an ethical example. He clearly valued others solely because they existed. In order to become like Jesus, one must discern which choices to make in order to grow into a virtuous person. Whether or not one believes Jesus truly existed ... Read More

The Development of the Virtue Ethics of Aristotle (1634 words, 5 pages)

Virtue ethics dates back to Aristotle (348-322 BCE), and it does not focus on the action of being right or wrong but on how to be a good person. It looks on what makes a good person and the qualities or virtues that make them good. Virtue ethics is agent ... Read More

An Analysis of Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments (908 words, 2 pages)

Excerpts from Adam Smiths Theory of Moral SentimentsAdam Smith depicts how humans use the feeling of sympathy as a device to reassure their self-esteem and then ultimately judge people on their sympathy or lack thereof. Smith, the so-called father of economics, clearly believes that humans are individualistic creatures looking to ... Read More

The Importance of Faith in Validating an Evidence (2367 words, 8 pages)

Human beings areon an unending search for their originsto come to an understanding of all the phenomena that occur at natural levels among them.They may never fully understand these phenomena. Therefore, they are tempted to make assumptions. The logical processesthat aid in the development of scientific laws shape the understanding ... Read More

The Views Presented in Mark Twain’s Advice to Youth and Peter Singer’s What Should a Millionaire Give Are Inadequate in Today’s World (1064 words, 4 pages)

Ethics revolve around human nature, human behavior and human relationship with one another and with their environment. They act as a measure of morals values of society. In this essay, I examine the works of two infamous scholars Mark Twains Advice to Youth and Peter Singers What Should a Millionaire ... Read More

A Comparison between Rene Descartes’ Foundationalism and Coherentism, Two Philosophies of Knowledge (865 words, 4 pages)

Descartes Foundationalism vs. CoherentismNothing is certain in life. For hundreds of years, humanity has repeated this phrase and observed it to be true. Although it is a common saying when something goes wrong in our daily lives, one 16th century man took this belief to the extreme. Rene Descartes, born ... Read More

The Portrayal of God as Changing and Unknowable: Examples of Hillesum’s and Nietzches’ Perspectives on God and Religion (922 words, 3 pages)

Revealing the Unknowable godOne of the trickiest aspects of theology is that it is centered around a giant question mark. The entire field is dedicated to examining the relationship between god and humanity. The trouble is there is no god, at least not in the sense from which most people ... Read More

Philosophy Essay: Teletransportation vs. Space Travel (917 words, 4 pages)

Teletransportation vs. Space travelWhat is it that makes you, you? This question may at first seem to have an obvious answer, but when seriously considered, it quickly becomes very complex. Many of humanitys greatest philosophers have attempted to answer this question. The scope of this topic is so broad, it ... Read More

A Comparison between the Utilitarian Philosophy of Jeremy Bentham and John Stewart Mills (1357 words, 5 pages)

Eat Dessert FirstIn this paper, I will be addressing the distinct ideas of Jeremy Bentham and John Stewart Mills. While not related by blood, this duo occupies the positions of father (Bentham) and prodigal son (Mills) of Utilitarianism. Where they tend to differ is with their descriptions of Hedonism, and ... Read More

A Comparison between the Moral Theories of Aristotle and Immanuel Kant (1012 words, 4 pages)

A Most Excellence AdventureIn this paper, I will be addressing the distinct ideas of Aristotle and Immanuel Kant. These two highly regarded philosophers are separated not only by time, but their notions of the roles of emotions in moral reasoning. While both men have strong moral theories, Kants is superior ... Read More

An Analysis of Clarence Thomas’s Originalist Judicial Philosophy (6344 words, 26 pages)

Clarence Thomass Originalist Judicial PhilosophySince his confirmation to the Supreme Court in 1991 during the Bush administration, Clarence Thomas has consistently been one of the most conservative members of the court due to his belief in issuing decisions based on the original understanding of the Constitution. He constantly focuses on ... Read More

The Relationship of Happiness to Virtue According to Aristotle (576 words, 1 pages)

Happiness and VirtueAn important point that Plato makes in in the allegory of the cave is that the puppeteers are the ones who shape the society. In Platos day, they were the poets and the sophists. In our day, they could be compared to leaders in the media, opinion leaders, ... Read More

The Use of Tricky Speech by Philosophers and Socrates in The Clouds, a Play by Aristophanes (566 words, 1 pages)

Socrates SentenceIn The Clouds, Aristophanes depicts philosophers and Socrates in specific as using tricky speech to get out of things and making the weaker argument become the stronger. He also argues that philosophy and such speech is useless and detrimental to society. This opinion is somewhat common in todays world, ... Read More

The Charges Against Socrates and His Self Defense in The Clouds, a Play by Aristophanes (628 words, 2 pages)

Socrates Self DefenseIn Aristophanes depicts Socrates in The Clouds as an atheist and a corrupter of the youth. Ultimately, these are the charges that are brought against him later on. Another problem with Socrates that Aristophanes puts forward is that Socrates tries to make the worse argument the better. For ... Read More

The Definition of Justice in the Republic by Socrates (622 words, 1 pages)

Justice DefinedIn Book II of The Republic, Socrates still does not come right out and give his defense of justice in plain and simple terms. Instead, he endeavors to build a city in speech with Glaucon. He is not the one building the city, but rather leading Glaucon to build ... Read More

The Definition of Justice in the Apology by Socrates and the Republic by Plato (539 words, 2 pages)

The Virtue of JusticeIn The Apology, Socrates professes to know that he does not know. However, he explicitly states I do know that injustice and disobedience to a better, whether God or man, is evil and dishonorable. From this it can be inferred that Socrates supposes to know what is ... Read More

The Idea of Having a Philosopher King in the Philosophy of Socrates (632 words, 2 pages)

A common thread in Socrates argument is that of the role of education in the city. He discusses censoring the stories that are told to the guardians to make sure only the purest of motives and actions are shown by heroes and gods alike. He argues that the right disposition ... Read More

An Analysis of the Supreme God in Confessions, a Book by Augustine of Hippo (517 words, 1 pages)

Eternal Life The Supreme GoodAugustine asserts that knowledge of God is personal knowledge. This is something that a lot of Latter Day Saints would agree with. In the Church, we focus a lot on having your own personal testimony of the Gospel. In Augustines Confessions, he basically bears his testimony ... Read More

The Views of Aristotle and the Gospel on Friendship (475 words, 2 pages)

Aristotle argues that we are each responsible for our own character. It follows, then, that each person is responsible for his or her own happiness or unhappiness. This rests the blame on the individual when he is not happy. Agency is one of the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel. We ... Read More

Differences Between Socrates in The Apology and Maximus in Gladiator (1008 words, 3 pages)

A lot of people mainly live with material gains as their primaryfocus. The two main protagonist in both The Apology and Gladiator founddifferent ways to deal with this common way of life they both go throughlife dangerous events, but they still they stand by their beliefs. I amgoing to talk ... Read More

An Analysis of the Ways to Either Effectively Debunk or Dominate an Argument in Stratagems by Arthur Schopenhauer (1402 words, 5 pages)

There are myriad strategies to approach an argument with the intent to win, whether they exploit logic, emotion, or trickery. These tactics are often unconsciously utilized by mankind, ranging from small tiffs to significant disputes, on a daily basis. In Stratagems, Arthur Schopenhauer illustrates various ways to either effectively debunk ... Read More

The Accountability of Man for His Own Actions (520 words, 1 pages)

Choice and AttitudeOne of Aristotles main points is that the idea of the Good is that at which all human efforts and actions are directed towards. I accepted this position with a bit of hesitancy, trying to think of some position or idea that might not work with this theory. ... Read More

The Characteristics of a Just City According to Socrates (591 words, 1 pages)

Building a Just City The argument that Thrasymachus poses is one in favor of tyranny. His argument is that justice is the advantage of the stronger. The people who come to power are the ones who make the decisions about what the conventions of the society should be. He argues ... Read More

Challenging the Beliefs and Traditions of the Catholic Church to Move Europe into Modern Thought (495 words, 2 pages)

In a world dominated by the values of chastity, meekness, and piety, Sigmund Freud and Freidrich Nietzsche did not fit in. Traditionally, the European middle classes valued precisely what the Catholic Church wanted them to, piety and meekness, while simultaneously upholding the view that democracy was the fairest form of ... Read More

The Contrasting Views of Aristotle and Plato on the Elements of a Tragedy (1664 words, 7 pages)

Sophocles infamous drama Oedipus Rex, documenting the fall of the mythical Theban king Oedipus, survives in modern times as an example of the relationship between fate, hubris, and the workings of prophetic vision amongst the gods and their messengers. The whole idea of tragedy as viewed by prominent ancient philosophers ... Read More

An Examination of the Role of the Principles of Natural Selection on the Development of Knowledge (1604 words, 5 pages)

Knowledge within a discipline develops according to the principles of natural selection. How useful is this metaphor?Response to this QuestionWhile looking at natural selection and knowledge, we will see that they are similar in their attempts to gain the well-equipped species possible. However, the principles, or the fundamental source or ... Read More

Philosophy Essay Examples