1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology is a constantly growing collection of over 225 original essays on important philosophical topics. These essays are introductions rather than argumentative articles. Each essay is as close to 1000 words (while never going over!) as the author can get it. A 1000-word essay takes between five and ten minutes to read. That’s about the length of a short bus ride or a waiting room stay, or the lead-up to a class meeting.
Professional philosophy can seem abstract, esoteric, and hyper-specialized. But each day we all ask and answer philosophical questions: philosophy is the purview not just of experts, but of all thoughtful people. 1000-Word Philosophy is an open-access journal of philosophy. Its intended audience is general readers who are interested in philosophy and students in philosophy, and philosophical, courses.
Our goal in writing and sharing these essays is to provide high-quality introductions to great philosophical questions and debates. We hope that philosophers and non-philosophers alike will benefit from perusing these essays. Our authors generally provide references or sources for more information for readers whose interest is piqued by a particular topic or debate. New essays are always very much welcome: please see the submissions page for details.
1000-Word Philosophy began in 2014. In 2018, the Blog of the American Philosophical Association posted an article about the Anthology, entitled “1,000-Word Philosophy: Philosophy for Everyone” which provides more information about the project and its goals.
Many of our essays are translated and reposted (with our permission) by online publications such as Öncül Analitik Felsefe Dergisi (Turkish), The Curious (Turkish), and Doing Philosophy (Korean), among others.
1000-Word Philosophy has minimal operating costs, but if you appreciate the page and would like to make a financial contribution to its continuation and development, you may donate here. Thank you! Annual Reports are available here.
Our text to speech services are provided by GSpeech.
Please email us any questions or comments, or use the form below. If you notice an error or oversight in one of our essays, please email us, and your comments will be passed along to the essay’s author.
Editorial Board
Our editorial board is composed of authors at 1000-Word Philosophy who have taken a special interest in the project’s development and success. We seek to expand and diversify this team.
- Lead Editor: Nathan Nobis, Morehouse College, Georgia: NathanNobis.com
- Editor: Spencer Case, Center for the Philosophy of Freedom, University of Arizona: SpencerCasePhilosophy.com
- Editor: Chelsea Haramia, University of Bonn, Germany: ChelseaHaramia.com
- Editor: Dan Lowe, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: Dan-Lowe.com
- Editor: Thomas Metcalf, Spring Hill College, Alabama: ThomasMetcalf.info
- Editor: Felipe Pereira, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Felipe-Pereria.weebly.com
- Editor: Dan Peterson, Morehouse College, Georgia: DanielJamesPeterson.com
- Editor: Tiina Carita Rosenqvist, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire: TiinaRosenqvist.com
- Editor: Matthew Sanderson, West Shore Community College, Michigan: philpeople.org/profiles/matthew-sanderson
- Editor: Kristin Seemuth Whaley, Carroll University, Wisconsin: KristinSeemuthWhaley.com
1000-Word Philosophy was founded in 2014 by Andrew D. Chapman, who was then a PhD student in philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder; he continues to serve as an advisor for the project. A former editor is Shane Gronholz, who taught at Gonzaga University, Washington and is now a Current Affair Specialist at the Spokane Public Library.
Copyright
All essays are original contributions to 1000-Word Philosophy and are published with permission from the authors, unless otherwise noted. Contributing authors retain any and all copyright interests in their individual works. 1000-Word Philosophy holds copyright to the collective work. Please do not reproduce this work in part or in full without permission from the Editors, the author(s) and appropriate attribution to the original source of the material.
Accessibility
1000-Word Philosophy is committed to making its essays and other educational materials accessible to as many people as possible, including people with disabilities.
We aim to follow recognized best practices for web accessibility, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). We periodically review the website and its content with the goal of improving accessibility and identifying barriers that may make our materials difficult to access or use.
Accessible Formats
1000-Word Philosophy provides its essays as web-based text that can be accessed using a variety of devices and assistive technologies. All of our essays are also available in audio format, and many essays are available as videos.
Because 1000-Word Philosophy has been publishing essays since 2014 and contains hundreds of pages and other resources, some older content may not meet current accessibility best practices. We are working to identify and address accessibility issues as we become aware of them.
Reporting an Accessibility Problem
If you encounter an accessibility barrier on 1000-Word Philosophy, or if you have difficulty accessing an essay or other resource because of a disability, please let us know.
Please email 1000WordPhilosophy@gmail.com and, if possible, include the web address of the page and a brief description of the problem. We will make reasonable efforts to address the issue and, when possible, provide the material in an accessible alternative format.
We welcome feedback that can help us make 1000-Word Philosophy more accessible to everyone.