Author: 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology

"1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology" is a constantly-growing collection of 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 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 we all ask and try to answer philosophical questions myriad times daily: philosophy is the purview not just of the expert, but of all thoughtful people. 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. https://1000wordphilosophy.com/about/

Formal Logic: Symbolizing Arguments in Sentential Logic

2 March 20212 March 2021 ~ 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology ~ Leave a comment

Author: Thomas MetcalfCategory: Logic and ReasoningWord count: 1000 An argument is a set of statements (the premises) intended to provide evidence for, or prove, some conclusion.[1] Formal logic is a tool we can use to present and evaluate arguments. Some arguments are better than others and formal logic can help us see exactly how some … Continue reading Formal Logic: Symbolizing Arguments in Sentential Logic

Moore’s Proof of an External World: Responding to External World Skepticism

23 February 202123 February 2021 ~ 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology ~ 5 Comments

Author: Chris Ranalli Categories: Epistemology, Metaphysics, Historical Philosophy Word count: 1000 External world skepticism is the view that we cannot know anything about the external world: we can’t know that we have hands, that there are other people, or, in general, know that anything external to our minds exists. Such skeptics commonly argue that we … Continue reading Moore’s Proof of an External World: Responding to External World Skepticism

Principlism in Biomedical Ethics: Respect for Autonomy, Non-Maleficence, Beneficence, and Justice

16 February 202117 February 2021 ~ 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology ~ 7 Comments

Author: G. M. Trujillo, Jr. Category: Ethics Wordcount: 999 Suppose that you have an ethical problem in medicine or science. How would you solve it? Some ethicists appeal to an ethical theory, a general explanation of when and why actions are wrong or not.[1] For example, Kantians argue that you should treat all people with … Continue reading Principlism in Biomedical Ethics: Respect for Autonomy, Non-Maleficence, Beneficence, and Justice

African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King

W.E.B. DuBois, Alain Locke, Howard Thurman, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

16 February 202117 February 2021 ~ 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology ~ 2 Comments

Author: Anthony Sean Neal Category: African American Philosophy, Phenomenology and Existentialism, Historical Philosophy, Philosophy of Education, Philosophy of Race, Ethics Word Count: 996 Race today is often presented as a social construct. But social constructions, as Black people know all too well, can create real existential crises. Philosophers of the Black Experience[1] writing during the … Continue reading African American Existentialism: DuBois, Locke, Thurman, and King

“Hell Is Other People”: Sartre on Personal Relationships

A "Far Side" cartoon of people in hell; one asks, "Hot enough for ya?"

8 February 202111 February 2021 ~ 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology ~ 2 Comments

Author: Kiki Berk Category: Phenomenology and Existentialism, Ethics Word Count: 989 “Hell is other people” is a famous line from No Exit (1944), a philosophical play by the French existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980). No Exit is popularly understood as arguing that human relationships are essentially fraught with conflict. This interpretation seems to be supported by … Continue reading “Hell Is Other People”: Sartre on Personal Relationships

Distributive Justice: How Should Resources be Allocated?

Distributing the good of watching a game.

7 January 20215 March 2021 ~ 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology ~ 1 Comment

Authors: Dick Timmer and Tim Meijers Category: Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics Word Count: 994 As we write this, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is worth $188 billion.[1] That is about $1 billion more than the day before. And $1 billion is more money than you would have had you earned $1,000 a day, every day, … Continue reading Distributive Justice: How Should Resources be Allocated?

Pascal’s Wager: A Pragmatic Argument for Belief in God

Pascal's wager image: person praying in front of a pile of poker chips.

4 January 20215 February 2021 ~ 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology ~ 5 Comments

Author: Liz Jackson Categories: Philosophy of Religion, Epistemology, or Theory of Knowledge, Historical Philosophy, Logic and Reasoning Word Count: 996 Should you believe there’s a God? To answer this, we might examine arguments for theism—like first-cause and design arguments—and arguments for atheism—like arguments from evil. These arguments offer evidence for and against God’s existence.[1] Pascal’s … Continue reading Pascal’s Wager: A Pragmatic Argument for Belief in God

Conspiracy Theories

17 December 20207 January 2021 ~ 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology ~ 6 Comments

Author: Jared Millson Category: Epistemology, Philosophy of Science, Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics Word count: 997 NASA faked the first moon landing.[1] The US government orchestrated the attacks on 9/11.[2] A cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles running a global child sex-trafficking ring is plotting against Donald Trump, who is battling them. [3] Each of these claims … Continue reading Conspiracy Theories