All Essays

Essay Categories

• Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
• Africana Philosophy
• Buddhist Philosophy
• Chinese Philosophy
• Ethics
• Epistemology
• Existentialism, Phenomenology, and Continental Philosophy
• Historical Philosophy
• Islamic Philosophy
• Logic and Reasoning
• Metaphilosophy
• Metaphysics
• Philosophy of Education
• Philosophy of Law
• Philosophy of Mind and Language
• Philosophy of Race
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Sex and Gender
• Social and Political Philosophy

* New categories are added as the project expands.  ** Some essays below are in multiple categories. Many of our essays have been translated into Turkish. 

Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art

• Aesthetics vs. Art by Brock Rough
• Definitions of Art by Brock Rough
• “That’s Subjective”: Subjectivism about Truth, Beauty, and Goodness by Nathan Nobis
• Friedrich Nietzsche on Tragedy: Why Do We Like Tragic Art? by Matthew Sanderson
• Ecstatic Experiences: The Philosophy of ‘Losing Yourself’ by Matthew Sanderson
• Kant’s Theory of the Sublime by Matthew Sanderson
• The Philosophy of Humor: What Makes Something Funny? by Chris A. Kramer
• Videogames and Philosophy by Alex Fisher
• Jean-Luc Marion on ‘Saturated Phenomena’: What Are Mind-blowing Experiences? by Matthew Sanderson

Africana Philosophy

• The African Ethic of Ubuntu by Thaddeus Metz
• African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King by Anthony Sean Neal

Buddhist Philosophy

• Dharma in Abhidharma Buddhism by Nicholaos Jones
• The Buddhist Theory of No-Self (Anātman/Anattā) by Daniel Weltman

Chinese Philosophy

• Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 1: The Four Moral Sprouts by John Ramsey
• Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 2: The Cultivation Analogy by John Ramsey
• The Ethics of Mozi: Social Organization and Impartial Care by Henrique Schneider
• How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers by Henrique Schneider
• Wu-Wei: Acting without Desire by Henrique Schneider

Ethics

Practical Ethics | Applied Ethics | Moral Issues

General Issues in Thinking about Ethics

• • Applied Ethics by Chelsea Haramia
  • Expertise: What is an Expert? by Jamie Carlin Watson
  • Dehumanization: What is it to Dehumanize People? by Dan Peterson
  • Moral Testimony by Annaleigh Curtis

Bioethics and Medical Ethics

• • Theories of Moral Considerability: Who and What Matters Morally? by Jonathan Spelman
  • The Ethics of Abortion by Nathan Nobis
  • Euthanasia, or Mercy Killing by Nathan Nobis
  • The Doctrine of Double Effect: Do Intentions Matter to Ethics? by Gabriel Andrade
  • Ethics and Absolute Poverty: Peter Singer and Effective Altruism by Brandon Boesch
  • Principlism in Biomedical Ethics: Respect for Autonomy, Non-Maleficence, Beneficence, and Justice by G. M. Trujillo, Jr.
  • Saving the Many or the Few: The Moral Relevance of Numbers by Theron Pummer
  • Equality: What Is It and How Is It Different from Equity? by Daniel Weltman
  • Philosophy of Pain by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist

Ethics and Education

• • Philosophical Inquiry in Childhood by Jana Mohr Lone
  • Indoctrination: What is it to Indoctrinate Someone? by Chris Ranalli
  • Moral Education: Teaching Students to Become Better People by Dominik Balg
  • Moral Testimony by Annaleigh Curtis
  • Ethics and “Extra Credit” by Nathan Nobis
  • Mary Astell’s “A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” (1694) by Simone Webb

Ethics and Technology

• • Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Society, and the Environment by Thomas Metcalf
  • Videogames and Philosophy by Alex Fisher
  • Martin Heidegger on Technology by Matthew Sanderson

Happiness, Meaning and the Good Life

• • Happiness by Kiki Berk
  • Stoicism: Finding Happiness in What’s Under Your Control by Matthew Pianalto
  • Meaning in Life: What Makes Our Lives Meaningful? by Matthew Pianalto
  • The Meaning of Life: What’s the Point? by Matthew Pianalto
  • Ecstatic Experiences: The Philosophy of ‘Losing Yourself’ by Matthew Sanderson
  • The Philosophy of Humor: What Makes Something Funny? by Chris A. Kramer
  • Hope by Michael Milona & Katie Stockdale
  • Moral Luck by Jonathan Spelman
  • Psychological Approaches to Personal Identity: Do Memories and Consciousness Make Us Who We Are? by Kristin Seemuth Whaley

Ethics and Existentialism

• • Existentialism by Addison Ellis
  • African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King by Anthony Sean Neal
  • Camus on the Absurd: The Myth of Sisyphus by Erik Van Aken
  • “Hell Is Other People”: Sartre on Personal Relationships by Kiki Berk

Moral Growth and Development

• • Transformative Experiences: Can Life-Changing Choices Be Both Rational and Authentic? by Felipe Pereira
  • Moral Education: Teaching Students to Become Better People by Dominik Balg
  • Philosophical Inquiry in Childhood by Jana Mohr Lone
  • Philosophy as a Way of Life by Christine Darr
  • Philosophical Counseling: Using Philosophy to Address Life’s Challenges by Nathan Nobis
  • Ancient Cynicism: Rejecting Civilization and Returning to Nature by G. M. Trujillo, Jr.
  • Rousseau on Human Nature: “Amour de soi” and “Amour propre” by Corey McCabe

Ethics and Relationships 

• • What Is It To Love Someone? by Felipe Pereira
  • Aristotle on Friendship: What Does It Take to Be a Good Friend? by G. M. Trujillo, Jr.
  • “Hell Is Other People”: Sartre on Personal Relationships by Kiki Berk

Ethics and Death 

• • Is Death Bad? Epicurus and Lucretius on the Fear of Death by Frederik Kaufman
  • The Badness of Death by Duncan Purves
  • Is Immortality Desirable? by Felipe Pereira

Ethics and the Future

• • Longtermism: How Much Should We Care About the Far Future? by Dylan Balfour
  • The Non-Identity Problem by Duncan Purves
  • The Repugnant Conclusion by Jonathan Spelman

Sex, Gender, and Feminism

• • What Is Misogyny? by Odelia Zuckerman and Clair Morrissey
  • Feminism Part 1: The Sameness Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
  • Feminism Part 2: The Difference Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
  • Feminism Part 3: The Dominance Approach by Chelsea Haramia
  • Mary Astell’s “A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” (1694) by Simone Webb
  • Sexual Orientation, Sex, and Gender by Raja Halwani

Ethics and Animals

• • Theories of Moral Considerability: Who and What Matters Morally? by Jonathan Spelman
  • Animal Minds by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • The Moral Status of Animals by Jason Wyckoff
  • Speciesism: Discrimination on the Basis of Species by Dan Lowe
  • “Can They Suffer?”: Bentham on our Obligations to Animals by Daniel Weltman
  • Ethics and Animal Research by Paul Bali
  • Philosophy of Pain by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist

Business Ethics

• • Business Ethics by Thomas Metcalf
  • Marx’s Conception of Alienation by Dan Lowe
  • On Karl Marx’s Slogan “From Each According to their Ability, To Each According to their Need” by Sam Badger

Capitalism and Socialism; Marxism

• • Defining Capitalism and Socialism and Arguments for Capitalism and Socialism by Thomas Metcalf
  • Karl Marx’s Conception of Alienation by Dan Lowe
  • Karl Marx’s Theory of History by Angus Taylor
  • On Karl Marx’s Slogan “From Each According to their Ability, To Each According to their Need” by Sam Badger

Ethics and Social Issues

• • Ethics and the Expected Consequences of Voting by Thomas Metcalf
  • Free Speech by Mark Satta
  • “The Ethics of Belief”: Is it Wrong to Believe Without Sufficient Evidence? by Spencer Case
  • Conspiracy Theories by Jared Millson
  • Licensing Parents by Ryan Jenkins
  • Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies by Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra and Nathan Nobis

Ethics and Race

• • Philosophy and Race: An Introduction to Philosophy of Race by Thomas Metcalf
  • The Ontology of Race by Abiral Chitrakar Phnuyal
  • Aristotle’s Defense of Slavery by Dan Lowe
  • Reparations for Historic Injustice by Joseph Frigault
  • Removing Confederate Monuments by Travis Timmerman

Ethics and the Law

• • Philosophy of Law: An Overview by Mark Satta
  • Civil Disobedience: Seeking Justice by Breaking the Law by Henry Krahn
  • Plato’s Crito: When Should We Break the Law? by Spencer Case
  • Free Speech by Mark Satta

Ethics and Punishment

• • Theories of Punishment by Travis Joseph Rodgers
  • The Death Penalty by Benjamin S. Yost

Ethics and War

• • The Ethics of Drone Strikes by Ryan Jenkins
  • Just War Theory by Ryan Jenkins

Ethics and Literature

• • George Orwell’s Philosophical Views by Mark Satta
  • Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas”: Would You Walk Away? by Spencer Case

Normative Ethics / Ethical Theories / Moral Principles 

Ethics and Authority

• • “That’s Subjective”: Subjectivism about Truth, Beauty, and Goodness by Nathan Nobis
  • Cultural Relativism: Do Cultural Norms Make Actions Right and Wrong? by Nathan Nobis
  • Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory by Spencer Case
  • Ethics and God: the Divine Command Theory and the Euthyphro Dilemma by Nathan Nobis 
    • Nietzsche and the Death of God by Justin Remhof
  • Ethical Egoism by Nathan Nobis

Consequentialism

• • Consequentialism and Utilitarianism by Shane Gronholz
    • Mill’s Proof of the Principle of Utility by Dale E. Miller
    • John Stuart Mill on The Good Life: Higher-Quality Pleasures by Dale E. Miller
    • Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas”: Would You Walk Away? by Spencer Case
    • Saving the Many or the Few: The Moral Relevance of Numbers by Theron Pummer

Kant’s Ethics

• • Kantian Deontology: Immanuel Kant’s Ethics by Andrew Chapman

Social Contract Theory

• • Social Contract Theory by David Antonini
  • “Nasty, Brutish, and Short”: Thomas Hobbes on Life in the State of Nature by Daniel Weltman
  • Rousseau on Human Nature: “Amour de soi” and “Amour propre” by Corey McCabe
  • How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers by Henrique Schneider

Theories of Justice

• • John Rawls’ ‘A Theory of Justice’ by Ben Davies
  • Equality: What Is It and How Is It Different from Equity? by Daniel Weltman
  • Distributive Justice: How Should Resources be Allocated? By Dick Timmer and Tim Meijers
  • Robert Nozick’s “Wilt Chamberlain” Argument for Libertarianism by Daniel Weltman

Virtue Ethics

• • Virtue Ethics by David Merry
    • Situationism and Virtue Ethics by Ian Tully
  • G. E. M. Anscombe’s “Modern Moral Philosophy” by Daniel Weltman
  • The African Ethic of Ubuntu by Thaddeus Metz
  • Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 1: The Four Moral Sprouts by John Ramsey
  • Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 2: The Cultivation Analogy by John Ramsey

Ethical Pluralisms

• • W.D. Ross’s Ethics of “Prima Facie” Duties by Matthew Pianalto
  • Principlism in Biomedical Ethics: Respect for Autonomy, Non-Maleficence, Beneficence, and Justice by G. M. Trujillo, Jr.

Global Ethics: Africa and China

• • The African Ethic of Ubuntu by Thaddeus Metz
  • Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 1: The Four Moral Sprouts by John Ramsey
  • Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 2: The Cultivation Analogy by John Ramsey
  • The Ethics of Mozi: Social Organization and Impartial Care by Henrique Schneider
  • How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers by Henrique Schneider

Other Ethical Perspectives and Concerns

• • Why be Moral? Plato’s ‘Ring of Gyges’ Thought Experiment by Spencer Case
  • Plato’s Form of the Good by Ryan Jenkins
  • (Im)partiality by Shane Gronholz
  • The Doctrine of Double Effect: Do Intentions Matter to Ethics? by Gabriel Andrade
  • Evolution and Ethics by Michael Klenk
  • Praise and Blame by Daniel Miller
  • Ignorance and Blame by Daniel Miller
  • Free Will and Moral Responsibility by Chelsea Haramia
  • Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility by Rachel Bourbaki
  • Manipulation and Moral Responsibility by Taylor W. Cyr
  • Practical Reasons by Shane Gronholz
  • Hell and Universalism by A.G. Holdier

Meta-Ethics / The Philosophy of Ethics 

• • Ethical Realism, or Moral Realism by Thomas Metcalf
  • Seemings: Justifying Beliefs Based on How Things Seem by Kaj André Zeller
  • Moral Error Theory by Ian Tully
  • Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory by Spencer Case
    
  • Ethics and God: the Divine Command Theory and the Euthyphro Dilemma by Nathan Nobis
  • Evolution and Ethics by Michael Klenk
  • Reason is the Slave to the Passions: Hume on Reason vs. Desire by Daniel Weltman

Epistemology

Foundations

• • Epistemology, or Theory of Knowledge by Thomas Metcalf
  • The Gettier Problem & the Definition of Knowledge by Andrew Chapman
  • Epistemic Justification: What is Rational Belief? by Todd R. Long
  • Seemings: Justifying Beliefs Based on How Things Seem by Kaj André Zeller

The Value of Knowledge and Justification 

• • “The Ethics of Belief”: Is it Wrong to Believe Without Sufficient Evidence? by Spencer Case
  • Reason is the Slave to the Passions: Hume on Reason vs. Desire by Daniel Weltman
  • Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: the Journey Out of Ignorance by Spencer Case

Testimony as a Source of Justification and Knowledge

• • Take My Word for It: On Testimony by Spencer Case
  • Moral Testimony by Annaleigh Curtis

What Do We Know?

• • The Problem of Induction by Kenneth Blake Vernon
  • Self-Knowledge: Knowing Your Own Mind by Benjamin Winokur
  • Modal Epistemology: Knowledge of Possibility & Necessity by Bob Fischer
  • Transformative Experiences: Can Life-Changing Choices Be Both Rational and Authentic? by Felipe Pereira
  • Philosophy of Color by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • Philosophy of Archaeology by Indy Smith

On Skepticism: Lacking Knowledge or Justified Beliefs

• • “I think, therefore I am”: Descartes on the Foundations of Knowledge by Charles Miceli
  • Descartes’ Meditations 1-3 and Descartes’ Meditations 4-6 by Marc Bobro 
  • al-Ghazālī’s Dream Argument for Skepticism by John Ramsey
  • External World Skepticism by Andrew Chapman
  • Moore’s Proof of an External World: Responding to External World Skepticism by Chris Ranalli
  • Pyrrhonian Skepticism: Suspending Judgment by Lewis Ross

Knowledge and Society

• • Expertise: What is an Expert? by Jamie Carlin Watson
  • Conspiracy Theories by Jared Millson
  • Indoctrination: What is it to Indoctrinate Someone? by Chris Ranalli
  • Epistemic Injustice by Huzeyfe Demirtas

Responding to Disagreements

• • The Epistemology of Disagreement by Jonathan Matheson
  • Pyrrhonian Skepticism: Suspending Judgment by Lewis Ross

Probability

• • Interpretations of Probability by Thomas Metcalf
  • Introduction to the Probability Calculus by Thomas Metcalf
  • Bayesianism by Thomas Metcalf

The Epistemology of Religious Beliefs: also see the Philosophy of Religion category 

• • “Properly Basic” Belief in God: Believing in God without an Argument by Jamie B. Turner
  • Richard Swinburne on Religious Experience by Matthew Sanderson
  • Philosophy of Mysticism: Do Mystical Experiences Justify Religious Beliefs? by Matthew Sanderson
  • Pascal’s Wager: A Pragmatic Argument for Belief in God by Liz Jackson

Other Epistemological Issues and Applications

• • Philosophy of Law: An Overview by Mark Satta
  • Hope by Michael Milona & Katie Stockdale
  • Dutch Book Arguments by Daniel Peterson
  • The Sleeping Beauty Problem by Daniel Peterson
  • George Orwell’s Philosophical Views by Mark Satta
  • Idealism Pt. 1: Berkeley’s Subjective Idealism by Addison Ellis
  • Idealism Pt. 2: Kant’s Transcendental Idealism by Addison Ellis

Tools for Studying Epistemology

• • Critical Thinking: What is it to be a Critical Thinker? by Carolina Flores
  • Arguments: Why Do You Believe What You Believe? by Thomas Metcalf
  • “That’s Subjective”: Subjectivism about Truth, Beauty, and Goodness by Nathan Nobis

Existentialism, Phenomenology, and Continental Philosophy

Phenomenology

• • Phenomenology: Describing Experiences From a First-Person Perspective by Matthew Sanderson
  • Heidegger on Being: Why is There Something Rather than Nothing? by Matthew Sanderson
  • Martin Heidegger on Technology by Matthew Sanderson
  • Jean-Luc Marion on ‘Saturated Phenomena’: What Are Mind-blowing Experiences? by Matthew Sanderson

Existentialism

• • Existentialism by Addison Ellis
  • African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King by Anthony Sean Neal
  • Camus on the Absurd: The Myth of Sisyphus by Erik Van Aken
  • Nietzsche and the Death of God by Justin Remhof

Happiness and Meaning

• • Happiness: What is it be Happy? by Kiki Berk
  • Stoicism: Finding Happiness in What’s Under Your Control by Matthew Pianalto
  • Meaning in Life: What Makes Our Lives Meaningful? by Matthew Pianalto
  • The Meaning of Life: What’s the Point? by Matthew Pianalto
  • Ecstatic Experiences: The Philosophy of ‘Losing Yourself’ by Matthew Sanderson
  • Philosophy as a Way of Life by Christine Darr
  • Philosophical Counseling: Using Philosophy to Address Life’s Challenges by Nathan Nobis
  • The Philosophy of Humor: What Makes Something Funny? by Chris A. Kramer

Love, Life and Death

• • “Hell Is Other People”: Sartre on Personal Relationships by Kiki Berk
  • Transformative Experiences: Can Life-Changing Choices Be Both Rational and Authentic? by Felipe Pereira
  • Is Immortality Desirable? by Felipe Pereira
  • Is Death Bad? Epicurus and Lucretius on the Fear of Death by Frederik Kaufman
  • The Badness of Death by Duncan Purves
  • Hell and Universalism by A. G. Holdier

Continental Political Thought

• • Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought by David Antonini
  • Karl Marx’s Conception of Alienation by Dan Lowe
  • On Karl Marx’s Slogan “From Each According to their Ability, To Each According to their Need” by Sam Badger
  • Karl Marx’s Theory of History by Angus Taylor

Historical Philosophy

Ancient Philosophy

• • How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers by Henrique Schneider
  • Wu-Wei: Acting without Desire by Henrique Schneider
  • Plato’s Form of the Good by Ryan Jenkins
  • Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: the Journey Out of Ignorance by Spencer Case
  • Why be Moral? Plato’s ‘Ring of Gyges’ Thought Experiment by Spencer Case
  • Plato’s Crito: When Should We Break the Law? by Spencer Case
  • Stoicism: Finding Happiness in What’s Under Your Control by Matthew Pianalto
  • The Philosophy of Humor: What Makes Something Funny? by Chris A. Kramer
  • Form and Matter: Hylomorphism by Jeremy W. Skrzypek
  • Aristotle on Friendship: What Does It Take to Be a Good Friend? by G. M. Trujillo, Jr.
  • Aristotle’s Defense of Slavery by Dan Lowe
  • Virtue Ethics by David Merry
  • Classical Syllogisms by Timothy Eshing
  • Pyrrhonian Skepticism: Suspending Judgment by Lewis Ross
  • Is Death Bad? Epicurus and Lucretius on the Fear of Death by Frederik Kaufman
  • Ancient Cynicism: Rejecting Civilization and Returning to Nature by G. M. Trujillo, Jr.

Medieval Philosophy

• • The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God by Andrew Chapman
  • Cosmological Arguments for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf

Modern Philosophy

• • Descartes’ Meditations 1-3 by Marc Bobro
  • Descartes’ Meditations 4-6 by Marc Bobro
  • “I think, therefore I am”: René Descartes on the Foundations of Knowledge by Charles Miceli
  • Pascal’s Wager: A Pragmatic Argument for Belief in God by Liz Jackson
  • Mary Astell’s “A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” by Simone Webb
  • Social Contract Theory by David Antonini
  • “Nasty, Brutish, and Short”: Thomas Hobbes on Life in the State of Nature by Daniel Weltman
  • Rousseau on Human Nature: “Amour de soi” and “Amour propre” by Corey McCabe
  • Psychological Approaches to Personal Identity: Do Memories and Consciousness Make Us Who We Are? by Kristin Seemuth Whaley
  • Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason by Marc Bobro
  • Philosophy of Space and Time: What is Space? by Dan Peterson
  • Reason is the Slave to the Passions: Hume on Reason vs. Desire by Daniel Weltman
  • Idealism Pt. 1: Berkeley’s Subjective Idealism by Addison Ellis
  • Idealism Pt. 2: Kant’s Transcendental Idealism by Addison Ellis
  • Deontology: Kantian Ethics by Andrew Chapman
  • Kant’s Theory of the Sublime by Matthew Sanderson

19th and 20th Century Philosophy

• • Nietzsche and the Death of God by Justin Remhof
  • Friedrich Nietzsche on Tragedy: Why Do We Like Tragic Art? by Matthew Sanderson
  • Marx’s Conception of Alienation by Dan Lowe
  • Karl Marx’s Theory of History by Angus Taylor
  • On Karl Marx’s Slogan “From Each According to their Ability, To Each According to their Need” by Sam Badger
  • “Can They Suffer?”: Bentham on our Obligations to Animals by Daniel Weltman
  • Mill’s Proof of the Principle of Utility by Dale E. Miller
  • John Stuart Mill on The Good Life: Higher-Quality Pleasures by Dale E. Miller
  • “The Ethics of Belief”: Is it Wrong to Believe Without Sufficient Evidence? by Spencer Case
  • Phenomenology: Describing Experiences From a First-Person Perspective by Matthew Sanderson
  • Heidegger on Being: Why is There Something Rather than Nothing? by Matthew Sanderson
  • Martin Heidegger on Technology by Matthew Sanderson
  • W.D. Ross’s Ethics of “Prima Facie” Duties by Matthew Pianalto
  • Moore’s Proof of an External World: Responding to External World Skepticism by Chris Ranalli
  • G. E. M. Anscombe’s “Modern Moral Philosophy” by Daniel Weltman
  • African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King by Anthony Sean Neal
  • Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies by Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra and Nathan Nobis

Non-Western Philosophy

• • Dharma in Abhidharma Buddhism by Nicholaos Jones
  • The Buddhist Theory of No-Self (Anātman/Anattā) by Daniel Weltman
  • How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers by Henrique Schneider
  • Wu-Wei: Acting without Desire by Henrique Schneider
  • Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 1: The Four Moral Sprouts by John Ramsey
  • Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 2: The Cultivation Analogy by John Ramsey
  • al-Ghazālī’s Dream Argument for Skepticism by John Ramsey

Islamic Philosophy

• al-Ghazālī’s Dream Argument by John Ramsey
• Avicenna’s ‘Proof’ for the Existence of God by Farbod Akhlaghi
• Cosmological Arguments for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf

Logic and Reasoning

Foundations

• • Arguments: Why Do You Believe What You Believe? by Thomas Metcalf
  • Critical Thinking: What is it to be a Critical Thinker? by Carolina Flores
  • Expertise: What is an Expert? by Jamie Carlin Watson

Syllogisms

• • Classical Syllogisms by Timothy Eshing
  • Contemporary Syllogisms by Timothy Eshing

Formal and Symbolic Logic

• • Formal Logic: Symbolizing Arguments in Sentential Logic by Thomas Metcalf
  • Formal Logic: Symbolizing Arguments in Quantificational or Predicate Logic by Timothy Eshing
  • Modal Logic: Axioms and Systems for Alethic Modal Logic by Tom Metcalf
  • Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems by Jon Charry

Probability, Induction, and Rational Belief

• • Introduction to the Probability Calculus by Thomas Metcalf
  • Interpretations of Probability by Thomas Metcalf
  • Bayesianism by Thomas Metcalf
  • The Problem of Induction by Kenneth Blake Vernon
  • Dutch Book Arguments by Daniel Peterson
  • The Sleeping Beauty Problem by Daniel Peterson

Epistemology and the Ethics of Belief

• • Epistemology, or Theory of Knowledge by Thomas Metcalf
  • “The Ethics of Belief”: Is it Wrong to Believe Without Sufficient Evidence? by Spencer Case
  • Epistemic Injustice by Huzeyfe Demirtas

Reason, Emotion, and Pragmatic Justification

• • Reason is the Slave to the Passions: Hume on Reason vs. Desire by Daniel Weltman
  • Pascal’s Wager: A Pragmatic Argument for Belief in God by Liz Jackson

Metaphilosophy, or Philosophy of Philosophy

• What is Philosophy? by Thomas Metcalf
• Philosophy and Its Contrast with Science by Thomas Metcalf
• Philosophy as a Way of Life by Christine Darr
• Philosophical Counseling: Using Philosophy to Address Life’s Challenges by Nathan Nobis
• Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies by Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra and Nathan Nobis

Metaphysics

Possibility and Necessity

• • Possibility and Necessity: An Introduction to Modality by Andre Leo Rusavuk
  • Modal Epistemology: Knowledge of Possibility & Necessity by Bob Fischer
  • Modal Logic: Axioms and Systems for Alethic Modal Logic by Tom Metcalf

Minds

• • The Mind-Body Problem: What Are Minds? by Jacob Berger
  • Descartes’ Meditations 1-3 and Descartes’ Meditations 4-6 by Marc Bobro
  • The Knowledge Argument Against Physicalism by Tufan Kıymaz 
  • Artificial Intelligence: The Possibility of Artificial Minds by Thomas Metcalf

Personal Identity: How We Exist Over Time

• • Personal Identity by Chad Vance
  • Psychological Approaches to Personal Identity: Do Memories and Consciousness Make Us Who We Are? by Kristin Seemuth Whaley
  • Are We Animals? Animalism and Personal Identity by Kristin Seemuth Whaley
  • The Buddhist Theory of No-Self (Anātman/Anattā) by Daniel Weltman

Objects and Existence

• • Vagueness by Darren Hibbs
  • Form and Matter: Hylomorphism by Jeremy W. Skrzypek
  • Videogames and Philosophy by Alex Fisher
  • Objects and their Parts: The Problem of Material Composition by Jeremy Skrzypek
  • Heidegger on Being: Why is There Something Rather than Nothing? by Matthew Sanderson

Causation

• • Causation: What Are Causes? by Dan Peterson

Present, Future, and Past People

• • Origin Essentialism: What Could Have Been Different About You? by Chad Vance
  • The Non-Identity Problem by Duncan Purves
  • Is Death Bad? Epicurus and Lucretius on the Fear of Death by Frederik Kaufman

Free Will and Moral Responsibility

• • Free Will and Free Choice by Jonah Nagashima
  • Free Will and Moral Responsibility by Chelsea Haramia
  • Praise and Blame by Daniel Miller
  • Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility by Rachel Bourbaki
  • Manipulation and Moral Responsibility by Taylor W. Cyr
  • Ignorance and Blame by Daniel Miller

Time and Space

• • Time Travel by Taylor W. Cyr
  • Philosophy of Space and Time: Are the Past and Future Real? by Dan Peterson
  • Philosophy of Space and Time: What is Space? by Dan Peterson
  • Philosophy of Time: Time’s Arrow by Dan Peterson

Perception and Experience

• • Plato’s Form of the Good by Ryan Jenkins
  • Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: the Journey Out of Ignorance by Spencer Case
  • Philosophy of Pain by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • Philosophy of Color by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • Dharma in Abhidharma Buddhism by Nicholaos Jones

The External World

• • Moore’s Proof of an External World: Responding to External World Skepticism by Chris Ranalli
  • Idealism Pt. 1: Berkeley’s Subjective Idealism by Addison Ellis
  • Idealism Pt. 2: Kant’s Transcendental Idealism by Addison Ellis

Why Do We Exist?

• • Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason by Marc Bobro
  • Cosmological Arguments for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf
  • Heidegger on Being: Why is There Something Rather than Nothing? by Matthew Sanderson

The Existence of Race

• • Philosophy and Race: An Introduction to Philosophy of Race by Thomas Metcalf
  • The Ontology of Race by Abiral Chitrakar Phnuyal

God

• • Attributes of God by Bailie Peterson
  • Modal Ontological Arguments for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf 
  • Hell and Universalism by A.G. Holdier

Also see the essays in Epistemology and Philosophy of Religion. 

Philosophy of Education

• Philosophical Inquiry in Childhood by Jana Mohr Lone
• Moral Education: Teaching Students to Become Better People by Dominick Berg
• Ethics and “Extra Credit” by Nathan Nobis
• Indoctrination: What is it to Indoctrinate Someone? by Chris Ranalli
• Critical Thinking: What is it to be a Critical Thinker? by Carolina Flores
• Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: the Journey Out of Ignorance by Spencer Case
• Mary Astell’s “A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” (1694) by Simone Webb
• African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King by Anthony Sean Neal
• John Stuart Mill on The Good Life: Higher-Quality Pleasures by Dale E. Miller

Philosophy of Law

Fundamentals

• • Philosophy of Law: An Overview by Mark Satta

Obeying the Law

• • Plato’s Crito: When should we break the law? by Spencer Case
  • Civil Disobedience: Seeking Justice by Breaking the Law by Henry Krahn

Speech

• • Free Speech by Mark Satta

Justice

• • Social Contract Theory by David Antonini
  • John Rawls’ ‘A Theory of Justice’ by Ben Davies
  • Equality: What Is It and How Is It Different from Equity? by Daniel Weltman
  • Dehumanization: What is it to Dehumanize People? by Dan Peterson

Punishment

• • Theories of Punishment by Travis Joseph Rodgers
  • The Death Penalty by Benjamin S. Yost

Other Issues

• • Just War Theory by Ryan Jenkins
  • The Prisoner’s Dilemma by Jason Wyckoff
  • Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought by David Antonini

Philosophy of Mind and Language

Philosophy of Mind

• • The Mind-Body Problem: What Are Minds? by Jacob Berger
  • Descartes’ Meditations 1-3 and Descartes’ Meditations 4-6 by Marc Bobro 
  • The Knowledge Argument Against Physicalism by Tufan Kıymaz
  • Artificial Intelligence: The Possibility of Artificial Minds by Thomas Metcalf
  • Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Society, and the Environment by Thomas Metcalf
  • Phenomenology: Describing Experiences From a First-Person Perspective by Matthew Sanderson
  • Intentionality by Addison Ellis
  • The Extended Mind by Rachel Bourbaki
  • Self-Knowledge: Knowing Your Own Mind by Benjamin Winokur
  • Animal Minds by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • Philosophy of Pain by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • Jean-Luc Marion on ‘Saturated Phenomena’: What Are Mind-blowing Experiences? by Matthew Sanderson

Philosophy of Language

• • Vagueness by Darren Hibbs
  • Frege’s Puzzle and the Meaning of Words by Graham Seth Moore
  • Gricean Conversational Implicature: What We Say and What We Mean by Thomas Hodgson
  • Semantic Externalism by Rachel Bourbaki
  • George Orwell’s Philosophical Views by Mark Satta
  • Philosophy of Color by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • Wittgenstein’s Private Language Argument by Ian Tully
  • Contemporary Syllogisms by Timothy Eshing

Philosophy of Race

• • Philosophy and Race: An Introduction to Philosophy of Race by Thomas Metcalf
  • The Ontology of Race: What Are Races? by Abiral Chitrakar Phnuyal
  • African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King by Anthony Sean Neal
  • Reparations for Historic Injustice by Joseph Frigault
  • Aristotle’s Defense of Slavery by Dan Lowe 
  • Removing Confederate Monuments by Travis Timmerman
  • Civil Disobedience: Seeking Justice by Breaking the Law by Henry Krahn
  • Epistemic Injustice by Huzeyfe Demirtas
  • What Is Misogyny? by Odelia Zuckerman and Clair Morrissey
  • Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies by Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra and Nathan Nobis

Philosophy of Religion

Concepts of God; Theism, Agnosticism, Atheism

• • The Concept of God: Divine Attributes by Bailie Peterson
  • Theism and Atheism: Reasons for Belief and Disbelief by Tom Metcalf
  • Agnosticism about God’s Existence by Sylwia Wilczewska
  • Atheism: Believing God Does Not Exist by Nathan Nobis

Arguments for God’s Existence and Belief in God

• • Cosmological Arguments for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf
  • Avicenna’s ‘Proof’ for the Existence of God by Farbod Akhlaghi
  • Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason by Marc Bobro
  • Design Arguments for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf
  • The Fine-Tuning Argument for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf
  • The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God by Andrew Chapman
  • Modal Ontological Arguments for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf
    • Possibility and Necessity: An Introduction to Modality by Andre Leo Rusavuk
    • Modal Epistemology: Knowledge of Possibility & Necessity by Bob Fischer
  • Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory by Spencer Case
  • Ethics and God: the Divine Command Theory and the Euthyphro Dilemma by Nathan Nobis
  • Can We Believe in Miracles? by Tomas Bogardus
    • Conspiracy Theories by Jared Millson
  • Pascal’s Wager: A Pragmatic Argument for Belief in God by Liz Jackson
  • “The Ethics of Belief”: Is it Wrong to Believe Without Sufficient Evidence? by Spencer Case

Belief without Arguments: Religious Experience and Mysticism

• • “Properly Basic” Belief in God: Believing in God Without An Argument by Jamie B. Turner
  • Philosophy of Mysticism: Do Mystical Experiences Justify Religious Beliefs? by Matthew Sanderson
  • William James on Mystical Experience by Matthew Sanderson
  • Richard Swinburne on Religious Experience by Matthew Sanderson
  • Rudolf Otto on “Numinous” Religious Experience by Matthew Sanderson
  • Ecstatic Experiences: The Philosophy of ‘Losing Yourself’ by Matthew Sanderson
  • Transformative Experiences: Can Life-Changing Choices Be Both Rational and Authentic? by Felipe Pereira
  • Jean-Luc Marion on ‘Saturated Phenomena’: What Are Mind-blowing Experiences? by Matthew Sanderson

The Problem of Evil and the Afterlife: Arguments Against Belief in God

• • Agnosticism about God’s Existence by Sylwia Wilczewska
  • Atheism: Believing God Does Not Exist by Nathan Nobis
  • The Problem of Evil: Is Suffering Evidence That There Is Not a God? by Thomas Metcalf
  • The Problem of No Best World by Kirk Lougheed
  • Divine Hiddenness: Do Some People Not Find God Because God Doesn’t Exist? by David Bayless
  • Hell and Universalism: Could God Sentence Anyone to Eternal Punishment? by A.G. Holdier
    • Personal Identity by Chad Vance
    • Psychological Approaches to Personal Identity: Do Memories and Consciousness Make Us Who We Are? by Kristin Seemuth Whaley
    • Are We Animals? Animalism and Personal Identity by Kristin Seemuth Whaley
  • The Epistemology of Disagreement: How Should We Respond When People Disagree? by Jonathan Matheson
  • Nietzsche and the Death of God by Justin Remhof

Religion, Ethics, and Meaning

• • Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory by Spencer Case
  • Ethics and God: the Divine Command Theory and the Euthyphro Dilemma by Nathan Nobis
  • Meaning in Life: What Makes Our Lives Meaningful? by Matthew Pianalto
  • The Meaning of Life: What’s the Point? by Matthew Pianalto
  • Hope by Michael Milona & Katie Stockdale
  • Is Immortality Desirable? by Felipe Pereira

Historical and Philosophical Contexts

• • Descartes’ Meditations 1–3 by Marc Bobro
  • Descartes’ Meditations 4–6 by Marc Bobro
  • al-Ghazālī’s Dream Argument for Skepticism by John Ramsey
  • Nietzsche and the Death of God by Justin Remhof
  • Epistemology, or Theory of Knowledge by Thomas Metcalf
  • Epistemic Injustice by Huzeyfe Demirtas
  • Expertise: What is an Expert? by Jamie Carlin Watson

Logical Tools

• • Arguments: Why Do You Believe What You Believe? by Thomas Metcalf
  • Critical Thinking: What is it to be a Critical Thinker? by Carolina Flores
  • Introduction to the Probability Calculus by Thomas Metcalf
  • Interpretations of Probability by Thomas Metcalf
  • Bayesianism by Thomas Metcalf
  • Modal Logic: Axioms and Systems for Alethic Modal Logic by Tom Metcalf

Editors’ note: philosophy of religion often involves the application of theories and insights in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and other areas of philosophy to philosophical questions about religion. Readers are encouraged to review essays in these other areas to see how they might relate to religious belief and practice. 

Philosophy of Science

Science, Philosophy, and Their Boundaries

• • Philosophy and Its Contrast with Science by Thomas Metcalf
  • Expertise by Jamie Carlin Watson
  • Conspiracy Theories by Jared Millson

Scientific Reasoning and Knowledge

• • Karl Popper and Falsificationism by Michael Zerella
  • The Problem of Induction by Kenneth Blake Vernon
  • Causation: What Are Causes? by Dan Peterson
  • Interpretations of Probability by Thomas Metcalf
  • Introduction to the Probability Calculus by Thomas Metcalf
  • Bayesianism by Thomas Metcalf
  • Dutch Book Arguments by Daniel Peterson
  • The Sleeping Beauty Problem by Daniel Peterson 

Structure and Progress of Science

• • Laws of Nature by Michael Zerella
  • Causation: What Are Causes? by Dan Peterson
  • Thomas Kuhn, Paradigm Shifts, and Academic Rifts by Michael Zerella

Space, Time, and Physical Reality

• • Philosophy of Space and Time: Are the Past and Future Real? by Dan Peterson
  • Philosophy of Space and Time: What is Space? by Dan Peterson
  • Philosophy of Time: Time’s Arrow by Dan Peterson
  • Quantum Mechanics and Philosophy I: The Superposition of Paths by Thomas Metcalf
  • Quantum Mechanics and Philosophy II: Measurement and Interpretations by Thomas Metcalf
  • Quantum Mechanics and Philosophy III: Implications by Thomas Metcalf
    

Philosophy of Mind, Biology, and Artificial Intelligence

• • Teleological Explanations: Purposes, Functions, and Goals in Biology by Michael Zerella
  • Artificial Intelligence: The Possibility of Artificial Minds by Thomas Metcalf
  • Animal Minds by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • Philosophy of Pain by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • Philosophy of Color by Tiina Carita Rosenqvist
  • Evolution and Ethics by Michael Klenk
  • Ethics and Animal Research by Paul Bali 

Epistemology in Scientific and Social Contexts

• • The Epistemology of Disagreement by Jonathan Matheson
  • Take My Word for It: On Testimony by Spencer Case
  • Epistemic Injustice by Huzeyfe Demirtas
  • Philosophy of Archaeology by Indy Smith

Also see the essays in Epistemology and Metaphysics. 

Philosophy of Sex and Gender

Feminism and Misogyny

• • Feminism Part 1: The Sameness Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
  • Feminism Part 2: The Difference Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
  • Feminism Part 3: The Dominance Approach by Chelsea Haramia
  • What Is Misogyny? by Odelia Zuckerman and Clair Morrissey
  • Mary Astell’s “A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” (1694) by Simone Webb

Love and Attraction

• • What Is It To Love Someone? by Felipe Pereira
  • Sexual Orientation, Sex, and Gender by Raja Halwani

Justice and Injustice 

• • Epistemic Injustice by Huzeyfe Demirtas
  • Civil Disobedience: Seeking Justice by Breaking the Law by Henry Krahn
  • Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies by Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra and Nathan Nobis

Social and Political Philosophy

Theories of Justice

• • John Rawls’ ‘A Theory of Justice’ by Ben Davies
  • Equality: What Is It and How Is It Different from Equity? by Daniel Weltman
  • Distributive Justice: How Should Resources be Allocated? By Dick Timmer and Tim Meijers
  • Robert Nozick’s “Wilt Chamberlain” Argument for Libertarianism by Daniel Weltman

Social Contract Theory

• • Social Contract Theory by David Antonini
  • “Nasty, Brutish, and Short”: Thomas Hobbes on Life in the State of Nature by Daniel Weltman
  • Rousseau on Human Nature: “Amour de soi” and “Amour propre” by Corey McCabe
  • The Prisoner’s Dilemma by Jason Wyckoff
  • Condorcet’s Jury Theorem and Democracy by Robert Weston Siscoe
  • Ethics and the Expected Consequences of Voting by Thomas Metcalf

African and Chinese Perspectives

• • The African Ethic of Ubuntu by Thaddeus Metz
  • The Ethics of Mozi: Social Organization and Impartial Care by Henrique Schneider
  • How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers by Henrique Schneider
  • How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers by Henrique Schneider

The Law

• • Philosophy of Law: An Overview by Mark Satta
  • Civil Disobedience: Seeking Justice by Breaking the Law by Henry Krahn
  • Plato’s Crito: When Should We Break the Law? by Spencer Case
  • Free Speech by Mark Satta

Social and Cultural Issues

• • Expertise: What is an Expert? by Jamie Carlin Watson
  • Indoctrination: What is it to Indoctrinate Someone? by Chris Ranalli
  • Free Speech by Mark Satta
  • Conspiracy Theories by Jared Millson
  • Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Society, and the Environment by Thomas Metcalf

Global Issues

• • Just War Theory by Ryan Jenkins
  • The Ethics of Drone Strikes by Ryan Jenkins
  • Ethics and Absolute Poverty: Peter Singer and Effective Altruism by Brandon Boesch
  • Ethics and Animal Research by Paul Bali
  • The Repugnant Conclusion by Jonathan Spelman
  • Hope by Michael Milona & Katie Stockdale

Historical and Literary Reflections

• • Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought by David Antonini
  • George Orwell’s Philosophical Views by Mark Satta
  • Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas”: Would You Walk Away? by Spencer Case

Sex, Gender, and Feminism

• • What Is Misogyny? by Odelia Zuckerman and Clair Morrissey
  • Feminism Part 1: The Sameness Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
  • Feminism Part 2: The Difference Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
  • Feminism Part 3: The Dominance Approach by Chelsea Haramia

Race

• • Philosophy and Race: An Introduction to Philosophy of Race by Thomas Metcalf
  • Aristotle’s Defense of Slavery by Dan Lowe
  • Reparations for Historic Injustice by Joseph Frigault
  • Removing Confederate Monuments by Travis Timmerman

Punishment

• • Theories of Punishment by Travis Joseph Rodgers
  • The Death Penalty by Benjamin S. Yost

Business; Capitalism and Socialism; Marxism

• • Business Ethics by Thomas Metcalf
  • Defining Capitalism and Socialism by Thomas Metcalf
  • Arguments for Capitalism and Socialism by Thomas Metcalf
  • Karl Marx’s Conception of Alienation by Dan Lowe
  • On Karl Marx’s Slogan “From Each According to their Ability, To Each According to their Need” by Sam Badger
  • Karl Marx’s Theory of History by Angus Taylor

Also see Ethics

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