Free Essay Examples on Philosophy

Preliminary steps to appreciate the rightness of an action Before people can intuitively appreciate the rightness of a certain action, they may need to take two preliminary steps. In particular, they may consider potential consequences of an action. For instance, a policy-maker may need to think about the impact of budget cuts on various social groups. Additionally, individuals need to…

Introduction Answering the question whether one can know when to trust our emotions in the pursuit of knowledge we are to consider the definitions each of these notions expresses. There are cases when emotions are helpful and even necessary in knowing while in another case emotions are harmful. Everything depends on subject and a final outcome of knowledge. Considering history…

Heraclitus and the Nature of Reality Heraclitus said that basic substance in the universe is fire. He was drawn to this conclusion because he believed that everything changes. He was the one who made the commentary that no one steps into the same river twice (Moore & Bruder, 2008, p.26). He had a profound understanding of change. He was not…

Any human being is characterized by his/her actions. Their character determines the motifs of a person and proves his/her intentions. However, the given approach gives rise to a number of critical issues related to the subjectivity of the evaluation of any action. Numerous philosophers have sought to outline the main criteria that highlight the character of a certain action and…

Are We Obligated to Prevent Suffering? It could be hardly doubted that Buddhism as a philosophy and religion had a significant impact on the development of Western moral and ethical conceptions (Garfield et al. 293). It is also possible to notice that such influence became more apparent since the 19th century and to the present day due to the growing…

Introduction In contemporary society, morality binds all rational beings, and their actions are considered moral only if they emanate from reason and not sensual inclinations (Atwell 44). The moral quality of an action is determined by the motive or intention for its performance. Therefore, the consequences of an action have little to do with its morality because the intention behind…

The issue of equality has always been a ground for social conflicts. It was a subject of active debates and numerous pieces of philosophical and political writings. One of the outstanding works that discuss the origins of political life and organization of society is The Politics by Aristotle. Written centuries ago, it is still a valuable source of information that…

THE FIRST PREMISE According to Kant’s First Formulation, one should act as if those actions were a universal law of nature. This means that the moral choice should point toward a complete necessity and signify a rational decision that is not impacted by any subjective outlooks of the individual (White 42). Patrick, the leading character of the movie, finds himself…

Introduction The Transcendental Exposition of the Concept of Space postulates that humans have a pure instinct of space, a concept that is commonly referred to as the argument from geometry. Accordingly, Kant has tried to assume a theory of space as untainted instinct from a postulation about mathematical cognition. This paper will attempt to explain the third argument in the…

Wars have always been an indispensable part of human life. At different times, different nations are in the state of war. Though people understand that war is something vicious and undesirable, they also try to justify it. Thus, Ancient Roman statesmen developed a set of criteria that could justify the war. Ancient Romans came up with principles of ‘just war.’…

Introduction Socrates is a Greek philosopher and teacher of a great Greek philosopher Plato. His works laid a basis for the Greek thespian art and he is a pioneer to the rise of official logical positivism. The Apology and Crito, which substantiates his tribulation, sentence, and denial to run away from jail are two of the most primitive and most…

Utilitarianism is one of the theories of normative ethics claiming that the right course of action is the one that maximizes utility, meaning going for the decisions that capitalize on benefits while at the same time reducing the chances of suffering or the negative effects. Aristotle was one of the classical philosophers to have talked about eudemonia, meaning happiness. The…

The book ‘The Condition of the Working Class in England’ written by Engels Friedrich, a German social scientist and political theorist, is a manifestation of the evils that accompanied what is known as industrial revolution. Principally, Engels’s piece of writing is owed to the conditions of industrial proletariat in great towns of England, and as such, his researched work that…

Introduction Various philosophers have come up with different ideas to explain the concept of acquiring knowledge. Rationalists believe that people acquire knowledge without going through life experiences. They hold that some people possess innate knowledge that surpasses their level of experience, and thus it has nothing to do with sensory experience. On the other hand, empiricists believe that one has…

Introduction Certain principles and moral values dictate the forms and levels of interaction amongst individuals govern societies. These principles and morals form the bonds that bind one individual to another and everyone else to the society. The core aim of these values is to ensure that society does not fall apart coupled with maintaining peace and protecting each individual in…

Liberalism has caused more suffering than positive changes through revolutionary hostilities compared to the former systems of governance including the imperialist absolute monarchy. Introduction There are several interpretations of liberal views based on the way people understand liberty. Nonetheless, liberal views are based on common acceptable freedoms. These include free and fair electoral processes, freedom of trade, freedom of the…

John Searle and Rene Descartes on Dualism Descartes’ philosophy can be represented as an extreme manifestation of dualism since the philosopher believed that a mind does not have any physical properties and, thus, is related directly to consciousness. Searle, on the other hand, believed that there is a strong biological connection between the functions of a body and those of…

The Scientific Revolution of the 17th century marked the beginning of a new era of modern science that significantly transformed and advanced the existing knowledge and ideas. The philosophers Thomas Hobbes and Francis Bacon played an instrumental role in shaping the theory of empiricism that, to a considerable extent, challenged the philosophy of the Antiquity, in general, and Aristotle, in…

We are all people who live in a society that has its particular rules and norms. Generally, we follow them to act decently and be accepted. No one questions the principles he/she was taught starting with the early childhood. Our parents claimed that this is right, and that is bad, and we took their words on trust understanding that such…

“Nicomochaen Ethics” is a piece of work consisting of ten books written by Aristotle. It is considered one of the best ethical treatises ever written and presents a broad exploration of the way a man should live a life (Miller 1). “Exodus” is the book included in the Old Testament of the Bible. It tells the story of the Israelites…

Greatest Happiness The ‘greatest happiness principle’ is based on the belief that an action is right if it promotes “happiness” or, in other words, “pleasure and absence of pain” and it is wrong if it produces “the reverse of happiness” (Mill, 2015, p. 107). Two Pleasures It is possible to differentiate between pleasures. Thus, the pleasure has a higher value…

The problem of nature of reality has always been one of the main philosophical issues. Since ancient times many philosophers and thinkers have been evolving different approaches that propose various treatments of this philosophical problem. Among a great variety of approaches, it is possible to distinguish such school of thought as dualism and materialism with different understandings of this problem.…

Introduction Lament for a Son is a book by Nicholas Wolterstorff focused on the author’s personal experiences of the death of his child, grasping his grief, and finding hope in the faith. The objective of this paper is to analyze how the author describes discovering joy after loss, to provide definition of meaning and significance of death in light of…

The Samsara reveals that the human cycle is a journey. People go through a cycle of desire and suffering because of their ego and ignorance. As a result, they go through a cycle and series of rebirths until they can escape the treadmill. Karma imprisons an individual by the transmigratory cycle. Every action has its effects. One should build up…

Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are well-known English philosophers whose contribution to the development of the human society is extremely wide and all-consuming. The ideas and theories of Hobbes and Locke made a significant impact on the future views of the societies of Europe and America. The beliefs and theories of these two philosophers concerned such areas as sociology, religion,…

Understanding a personal worldview is not an easy task, and every person has his/her own time to get outside of this issue. I try to stay consequent in all my discussions not to confuse people and not to be confused by myself. As soon as spirituality is discussed in terms of pluralism, scientism, and postmodernism, it is easier to give…

Introduction There are many discussions and contradictions in the attempts to understand what virtue can mean and how it can define the quality of a human life. The ideas developed by Aristotle seem to be one of the oldest examples of how people should behave in regards to the virtues they identified. However, in spite of the fact that the…

Moral intent According to Abelard and Heloise, moral intent is the best way of assessing morality because it determines the capacity and intention of a person to undertake moral or immoral acts. The notion of Abelard is that moral intent predisposes people to perform good or evil acts. In this view, people become good or evil when they consent to…

Karma, Samsara, and Nirvana In Buddhism, Samsara refers to the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Human beings undergo a series of rebirths in various forms until they can escape this routine (Moore & Bruder, 2013). Karma imprisons the individual in the wandering. Karma refers to the chain of causes and necessary consequences in the world of human actions. It…

Philosophy is one of the most ancient disciplines in the academic field. Over the years, it has attracted the attention of various scholars. They include, among others, Descartes, Plato, Locke, and Hobbes. In this paper, the author will analyze the ideas promoted by some of these philosophers in the book “The Power of Ideas”. Analyzing the Ideas of Different Philosophers…

Hindu ideas of Brahman, atman, and reality Karma is one of the basic notions in Hinduism, which means action or deed. Every human action has its own effect on the existing life and may last over several lifetimes. A human being passes through the series of rebirths in different forms. Consequences of these actions determine the quality of the next…

Karma explains that what people become in the present life is a result of their actions in the past life. Every action is followed by another action or an event appropriate, which may last a lifetime. An individual by surrendering to God and becoming enlightened on liberation can build up good karma and escape its bondage. Samsara is the final…

Evaluate Rene Descartes’ argument for knowledge, including the role of skepticism, the evil demon, and God in resolving his doubts Rene Descartes believed that the best way to acquire knowledge is through the use of the “doubting methodology” (Moore & Bruder 110). Descartes claimed that skepticism is the key to certainty. He was able to accomplish this through the dream…

The Philosophy of Money was written by Georg Simmel and first published in the year 1900. Being a Philosopher, he had students learning under him. Like others before him and after him he thought through the mysteries of life. His main subject was about man and money. In the book, he chronicled the historical development of man’s trade. At first,…

Introduction Numerous arguments have been advanced to validate the claim that science can explain the existence of everything in the physical and metaphysical world. However, given the limited scope covered by science, it becomes controversial to claim that humanity can have a theory on everything. Some physicists argue that it is possible to have a theory of everything in the…

Introduction In the Confessions of St. Augustine, memory is a multidimensional, multilevel human faculty that is capable of performing several functions due to its features, which, in turn, are enabled by its nature and the character of its inner workings. Following the doctrine of recollection, Augustine believes that his mind has always known God, and the Saint describes the structure…

Poverty, inequality, and rising crime rates are some of the social problems that plague countries all over the world. Brilliant people argue that the only way to develop a cost efficient solution to these problems is to establish an effective system of governance. After a careful analysis of Plato’s ideas, it is high time to consider the importance of democracy.…

Abstract This paper explores how the principles of the deontological ethics can be applied to the discussion of using animals in the medical research and laboratory experiments. The specific type of the deontological ethics that is applied to the topic in the paper is the Kantian theory. In spite of the fact that deontologists can view the Kantian ethics as…

Seneca’s Definition of Anger Anger is the desire to repay injury (Seneca and Reinhardt 47). The harm can be genuine or imagined. In addition, it can be mental or physical. Generally, it is anything seen by an individual as an offence. Seneca acknowledges Aristotle’s explanation and concurs that it defers slightly from his own. However, he still disagrees with the…

Thoreau’s essay called “Civil Disobedience” is a well known philosophical work that suggests a deeper understanding of human rights and freedoms. This work is truly progressive for the time when it was written this is why it still attracts the attention of the public nowadays. Besides, Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” explores the subjects and issues that still worry the society of…

The arguments of the author in ‘Problems of Philosophy’ were neither for direct realism nor against indirect realism. As a result, the author described the existence of reality and appearance using the Cartesian technique (Russell 6). To approach the argument on appearance and reality, he suggested that we must avoid skepticism. As a result, our belief system must compliment the…

Introduction The book, Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism by Alvin Plantinga, explores various questions on the three broad areas of life. The author borrows heavily from previous works to bring up a provocative argument that atheism conflicts with science while theism does not. The book is written for anybody with an interest in science and religion.…

Introduction Simone de Beauvoir is a female philosopher of the 20th century, who made great contribution to the development of philosophy in aspects such as existentialism, feminism, political activism, and social theories. As a prominent French writer, Simone de Beauvoir wrote a series of literary works during her lifetime of 78 years (born 9 January 1908 and died 14 April…

Introduction In philosophy, it is a good tradition (if it might be said so) to look for answers to very general questions, such as questions about the origin of the universe, human nature, good and evil, and so on. One of these is the question of the meaning of life. While it is relatively new in the Anglo-American tradition, it…

John Searle and Rene Descartes on Dualism Descartes’ philosophy can be represented as an extreme manifestation of dualism since the philosopher believed that a mind does not have any physical properties and, thus, is related directly to consciousness. Searle, on the other hand, believed that there is a strong biological connection between the functions of a body and those of…

Introduction Marxism perspective is concerned with the ways in which the production of space and place is implicated in the reproduction of specific social reforms that happen in history. Marx believed that the present order must first be destroyed by revolution before a truly socialist could evolve. Marxist Theories of History Economic determinism- the idea that the mode through which…

Abstract The progress of systematic knowledge has tried to touch on the analysis of dreams. By the time Freud inscribed about dream in the recent periods, the scrutiny of more complex kinds of psycho-neuroses as well as the sexual philosophy was in the initial stages. The understanding of dreams was envisioned as a practical that expedite the psychosomatic investigation of…

The purpose of this work is to consider the prominent philosopher Richard Taylor’s work ‘Cruelty and Compassion.’ In this respect, firstly, it is necessary to discuss the definitions of both phenomena. Secondly, it will be discussed if they are arbitrary or not, and sufficient proof will be presented. The third issue under consideration will concern the sources of the common…

The Homeric worldview resembles the orthodox Greek perspective (Cunningham & Reich 39). Homeric conception of the world characterized a flat and rounded disk of land enclosed by an endless ocean stream. Based on the above representation, it was believed that the earth’s plateau was amid Oceanus. The sun, the moon, and the stars were thought to be rising from the…

The similarity between Austin’s and Hobbes’ approaches is evident since both philosophers point out that the law cannot exist without a person who will establish the law and agree to execute and make it. Both Austin and Hobbes view sovereigns as the makers of the law, and subjects need to obey the sovereign’s commands because the sovereign is chosen as…