Author: Daniel Weltman Category: Ethics, Historical Philosophy Word Count: 1000 When discussing morality, we often talk about what we ought to do: e.g., “you ought not to cheat on that test” or “you shouldn’t steal candy from a baby.” The philosopher Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (1919-2001) argues in her article "Modern Moral Philosophy" (1958) that … Continue reading G. E. M. Anscombe’s “Modern Moral Philosophy”
Author: Spencer Case Categories: Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy, Historical Philosophy Word count: 995 What if you could steal, cheat, and violate any other moral norm without fear of punishment? Would you still have reason to do what’s right? The ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427—347 B.C.E.) considered this question in his dialogue, the Republic, which … Continue reading Why be Moral? Plato’s ‘Ring of Gyges’ Thought Experiment
An overview of Jeremy Bentham's ethical views on animal rights, including the famous quote “the question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?”
An introduction to the theory of personal identity known as a psychological theory of personal identity: the nature of persons is that we are our conscious mind and memories.
An introduction to W.K. Clifford’s “The Ethics of Belief.”
An introduction to modal ontological arguments for the existence of God.
An introduction to David Hume's theory of rationality and his famous quote that it's “not contrary to reason to prefer the destruction of the whole world to the scratching of my finger.”
An introduction to cosmological, often first-cause, arguments for the existence of God.
An introduction to Jean-Jacques's Rousseau views on human nature: and the concepts of “Amour de soi” and “Amour propre.”
An introduction to Thomas Hobbes and his views on life in the State of nature, including his quote that life in that state would be “Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology 