Philosophy Essays Examples For College & High School Students in PDF

10142 total results

An Understanding of the Concept of Happiness, Success and Communism (1068 words, 3 pages)

Happiness, Success, and CommunismNothing is ever enough for people, they look so longingly at what others have that they are unable to appreciate what they themselves have. Even if people do consider their own possessions, what they have is nothing in comparison to the luxurious commodities of the wealthy. People ... Read More

The Presentation, Critical Elements and Structure of a Deductive Argument (1845 words, 4 pages)

ArgumentsA deductive argument is one which uses a series of premises to attempt to structurally guarantee a conclusion. For example, if we say that all A are B, and that all B are C, we can conclude that all A are C with complete certainty, assuming that the first two ... Read More

The Definition and Concept of Logic According to Philosophers John Dewey and Bertrand Russell (1379 words, 2 pages)

LogicWhat is logic? The generally accepted definition, or the popular conception, states that logic is simply a set of rules for good, proper, or correct reasoning (the precise wording changes depending on who youre talking to, but you get the idea). On the surface this is a grand description, its ... Read More

An Examination of the Cartesian Dualism and the Arguments of Rene Descartes (1649 words, 3 pages)

DescartesOver a thousand years after Aristotles time, Ren Descartes brought about a dramatic turn away from Aristotelian and teleological explanations and a return to many of Platos ideas. While Descartes was not an atomist (differing from Plato with his five Plutonic solids), he did rely on mathematics to reveal the ... Read More

An Attempt to Define Philosophy and an Argument that It’s a Byproduct of a Necessary Logical Law (1249 words, 3 pages)

Philosophy is a notoriously difficult discipline to define. Parents often tell their children that philosophers are people who think about things a lot. While that may technically be true, most would say that this definition leaves something to be desired. One proposed definition of philosophy, more in line with typical ... Read More

Justice, Nature and Peace in Thomas Hobbes’ Famous Concept of “State of Nature” (718 words, 3 pages)

The State of NatureThomas Hobbes famous state of nature is a condition in which there is no power sufficient to dominate everyone. Hobbes himself describes it as condition of war of every one against every one, in which every individual is guided solely by their own reason, with the ultimate ... Read More

Understanding the Three Different Types of Good Through Interlocutor Glaucon in Plato’s Book, The Republic (510 words, 2 pages)

In Platos The Republic, interlocutor Glaucon explains that there are three types of good, or three different ways a thing can be considered good. The first type is made up of things that are good only in the light of their consequences (Plato, p. 103). Falling in this category are ... Read More

Immanuel Kant’s Explanation of a Priori Truths in the Book, New Copernican Revolution (660 words, 2 pages)

The New Copernican RevolutionImmanuel Kants New Copernican Revolution was a new way of looking at the mind and the minds relationship with reality. Before Kant, many believed that there must obviously be a real world out there, a physical world outside of the mind, and that the mind simply viewed ... Read More

Ayn Rand and the Idea of Capitalism, Democracy and Objectivism (363 words, 1 pages)

Objectivism Ayn Rand, born in Russia on February 2, 1905, is one of history'smost noted philosophers. Being a novelist and a playwright also, she iswell known for her novels Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Moving tothe United States at the age of 21, Rand began as a playwright andeventually became ... Read More

An Analysis of the Competing Views of the Philosophers Aristotle and Plato on Natural Science (2045 words, 3 pages)

The Natural SciencesIt may seem that the term natural science should have a simple and easy to understand definition. Today, most would define it somewhere along the lines of the study of the natural world. But what, exactly, is the natural world, and how exactly is it studied? To answer ... Read More

The Reasons Why Utilitarianism Is Deemed Too Demanding (2124 words, 4 pages)

Is Utilitarianism Too Demanding?In order to assess whether Utilitarianism is too demanding, Williams Integrity Objection must be discussed. It asserts that Utilitarianism is too demanding because it forces an agent to compromise their integrity, and this is unacceptable for a moral theory to do. However, to determine whether or not ... Read More

An Examination of Kant’s Claim that Space is a Necessary a Priori Representation Which Underlies All Outer Intuitions (2425 words, 5 pages)

Is Kant Right to Claim that Space is a Necessary A Priori Representation Which Underlies All Outer Intuitions?In order to determine whether Kant is right to claim that space is a necessary a priori representation which underlies all outer intuitions, we must first examine what he means by this claim. ... Read More

An Analysis of Friedrich Schleiermacher’s Notion of Absolute Dependence (2688 words, 5 pages)

Discuss Schleiermachers Notion of Absolute DependenceFriedrich Schleiermacher claims that the essence of religious consciousness is a feeling of absolute dependence, and this makes sense of what people refer to as God. So his notion of absolute dependence is that which we feel in relation to God. It must be discussed ... Read More

Understanding the Three Propositions That Work Together in the ‘Moral Problem’ (2329 words, 4 pages)

Describe What Smith Labels the Moral Problem. Can it be solved?Smith claims that the moral problem consists in three propositions that are true yet incompatible when taken together firstly that morality is objective, secondly that if someone judges it is moral to then they are motivated to , and thirdly ... Read More

Zeno’s Illustration of the Concept of Time Through “Achilles and the Tortoise” (2429 words, 4 pages)

In What Ways Does Zeno Contribute to Our Understanding of Time?By use of paradox, Zeno sets out specifically to demonstrate the flaws in our understanding of basic concepts such as time. It is thought that he does so in order to support the theories of Parmenides. By way of the ... Read More

The Relations Between Freedom and Morality According to Kant’s Moral Philosophy (1725 words, 3 pages)

Explain the Relation Between Freedom and Morality for KantThe relationship between freedom, or autonomy, and morality for Kant is essentially that freedom is necessary for morality, as he states that if freedom of the will is presupposed, morality together with its principle follows from it by mere analysis of its ... Read More

Bernard Williams’s Definition of Belief in His Paper, Deciding to Believe (1672 words, 3 pages)

Are We Free to Believe What We Want to Believe?Whether or not we are free to believe what we want to believe is an issue famously discussed by Bernard Williams in his paper, Deciding to Believe. He argues that we do not have the freedom to will to believe something, ... Read More

An Analysis of Corruption in the Apology by Plato (1258 words, 4 pages)

Reform, Not ReduceIn Platos The Apology, Socrates is accused of corrupting the youth and planting the seeds of revolution. He denies all claims, refuting each with detailed counter-assessments which also serve to degrade his captors. On the charge of corrupting the youth, Socrates says that if has done so, he ... Read More

A Determination of Whether the Existence of Moral Dilemma Pose a Challenge to Utilitarianism (1628 words, 3 pages)

Does the Existence of Moral Dilemmas Pose a Challenge to Utilitarianism?Whether or not the existence of moral dilemmas poses a challenge to Utilitarianism depends upon what is meant by a moral dilemma. There are two possible definitions to be discussed, but the challenge to Utilitarianism lies in defining a moral ... Read More

A Determination of the Relationship Between Denial of the Closure Principle and Sceptical Hypothesis (ASH) (1635 words, 3 pages)

Does The Denial of the Closure Principle Provide an Adequate Response to the Argument by Sceptical Hypothesis?In order to determine whether the denial of the Closure Principle provides an adequate response to the Argument by Sceptical Hypothesis (ASH), it must be established what the Closure Principle and ASH are, as ... Read More

Visualization of Unprecedented Object as the Main Issue in Berkeley’s Book “The Principles of Human Knowledge” (1567 words, 3 pages)

Can One Visualise an Unperceived Object?The issue of whether or not one can visualise an unperceived object is one raised by Berkeley in The Principles of Human Knowledge. In his famous tree example, he claims that to visualise a tree as existing unperceived is a contradiction, because the very act ... Read More

An Argument that Locke’s Theory of X and Y Is Flawed (1781 words, 3 pages)

X and Y are the same person if and only if they are psychologically continuous. DiscussWhether or not X and Y are the same person only if they are psychologically continuous relies upon determining what it means for them to be the same person. There appear to be two criteria ... Read More

An Argument Against Mill’s Ethical System of Utilitarianism (1695 words, 3 pages)

We Should Reject Mills Utilitarianism Because It Is Too Demanding DiscussMills Utilitarianism is an ethical system which essentially asserts that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of ... Read More

The Demonstration of the ‘Weakness of the Will’ in Plato’s Protagoras (2365 words, 4 pages)

Does Socrates Succeed in the Protagoras in Showing That Weakness of the Will is Impossible?In Platos Protagoras, his character Socrates takes weakness of the will to mean being overcome by pleasures, meaning failing to do what is good due to being distracted by pleasure. He argues that this is an ... Read More

A Demonstration of Descartes’ Concept of Doubt in the Second Meditations (1675 words, 3 pages)

Critically Assess Why Descartes Thinks That His Belief in His OwnExistence Is Immune To Sceptical Challenges.In the Second Meditations, Descartes aim is to present an argument demonstrating that he cannot doubt his own existence. It is often referred to as the cogito ergo sum, meaning I am thinking, therefore I ... Read More

The Concept of Erotic Love and Beauty in Socrates’ Interchange with Agathon (2854 words, 8 pages)

Critically evaluate Socrates interchange with Agathon (199c-201c). In what ways does it lay the foundations for SocratesDiotimas speech and to what extent does Plato accept these foundations?Socrates interchange with Agathon (199c-201c) is concerned with the definition of erotic love. They arrive at the conclusion that love is of something, love ... Read More

Understanding Friedrich Nietzsche’s Dionysian Principle of Nature in His Book, The Birth Tragedy (2168 words, 7 pages)

The book The Birth Tragedy was written by Friedrich Nietzsche in the year 1872. In this book, Nietzsche gives his theory of aesthetics. The first fifteen of this book is an investigation of Greek tragedy. Nietzsche claims that Greek tragedy resulted from the fusion of the Apollonian principle with the ... Read More

An Explication of Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox and Gauss’s Perspective Solution of the Paradox (787 words, 5 pages)

Student NameInstructor NamePhilosophy16th Dec., 2014.Zenos Dichotomy Paradox and Gauss Prospective Resolution of the ParadoxThis paper gives an explication of Zenos dichotomy paradox and a discussion of Gauss prospective solution of the paradox. The paper begins with the explication of Zenos dichotomy paradox followed by a detailed discussion of Gauss prospective ... Read More

A Comparison of Between the Views of Thomas Hobbes and Hannah Ardent Regarding Human Nature (1624 words, 6 pages)

Student NameInstructor's NameCourse Title5 May 2015 Thomas Hobbes vs. Hannah Arendt Thomas Hobbes in his piece of work describes why human beings qualifyto be called animals. On the other hand, Hannah Arendt counters thisargument and tries to justify that indeed human beings differ from animals.Therefore, the most important question under ... Read More

The Meaning and Purpose of Human Life in the Article “Meaning of Life” by Susan Wold and Robert Nozick (2511 words, 10 pages)

Student NameInstructor NamePhilosophy8th Dec., 2014.The Meaning of Your LifeThe question of the meaning and purpose of human life is one of the most important and controversial philosophical problems. Philosophers have varied views on this issue some philosophers are of the view that human life has no meaning and purpose at ... Read More

Philosophy Essay Examples