For Instructors

Below are links to select sets of short introductory readings from 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology to help create “course modules” or “teaching units” on common topics in introductory philosophy and ethics courses: 

• Epistemology
• Metaphysics 
• Ethical Theory and Theories of Justice
• Contemporary Moral & Social Issues
• Existentialism
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Race & Philosophy of Sex and Gender
• Philosophy of Science
• Historical Philosophy
• Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art

This page will be periodically updated as more essays are identified as especially ideal for this resource. But please check the front page for our newest essays.

We have a rough draft of an order of readings, which can be used to develop a syllabus, for an Introduction to Philosophy course, and two orders of readings for Introduction to Ethics courses. Of course, philosophy and ethics courses can have many structures and these are just a few possibilities!

We also have two new resources for students on How to Write a Philosophical Essay. and How to Read Philosophy by the Editors of 1000-Word Philosophy. This page will soon be split into “Instructor Resources” and “Student Resources.” 

Some of our essays are available as audio recordings and some are available as videos.

Note: philosophy instructors may find this article, by 1000-Word Philosophy editor and contributor Tom Metcalf, to be interesting and useful in their teaching philosophy and advocating for the value of philosophy: Metcalf, Thomas. (2022). “The Case for Philosophy as a General-Education Requirement.” Teaching Philosophy, 45(3), 299–326. (Pre-publication version). 

Some essays that are especially good for the beginning of a class:

• What is Philosophy? by Thomas Metcalf
• Arguments: Why Do You Believe What You Believe? by Thomas Metcalf
• Critical Thinking: What is it to be a Critical Thinker? by Carolina Flores
• Is it Wrong to Believe Without Sufficient Evidence? W.K. Clifford’s “The Ethics of Belief” by Spencer Case
• Philosophical Inquiry in Childhood by Jana Mohr Lone

Epistemology 

• The Gettier Problem & the Definition of Knowledge by Andrew Chapman
• External World Skepticism by Andrew Chapman
• The Problem of Induction by Kenneth Blake Vernon
• The Epistemology of Disagreement by Jonathan Matheson
• Expertise by Jamie Carlin Watson
• Conspiracy Theories by Jared Millson 
• Epistemic Injustice by Huzeyfe Demirtas
• Modal Epistemology: Knowledge of Possibility & Necessity by Bob Fischer
• Hope by Michael Milona & Katie Stockdale  
• Take My Word for It: On Testimony by Spencer Case
• Moral Testimony by Annaleigh Curtis
• Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am” by Charles Miceli
• Descartes’ Meditations 1-3 and Descartes’ Meditations 4-6 by Marc Bobro 

Metaphysics 

• Personal Identity by Chad Vance
• Psychological Approaches to Personal Identity: Do Memories and Consciousness Make Us Who We Are? by Kristin Seemuth Whaley
• Time Travel by Taylor W. Cyr
• Free Will and Free Choice by Jonah Nagashima
• Free Will and Moral Responsibility by Chelsea Haramia
• Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility by Rachel Bourbaki
• Possibility and Necessity: An Introduction to Modality by Andre Leo Rusavuk
• Origin Essentialism by Chad Vance
• The Non-Identity Problem by Duncan Purves
• The Knowledge Argument Against Physicalism by Tufan Kıymaz 
• Vagueness by Darren Hibbs
• Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason by Marc Bobro

Ethical Theories and Theories of Justice

• Cultural Relativism: Do Cultural Norms Make Actions Right and Wrong? by Nathan Nobis
• Deontology: Kantian Ethics by Andrew Chapman
• Consequentialism by Shane Gronholz
• Virtue Ethics by David Merry
• Mill’s Proof of the Principle of Utility by Dale E. Miller
• Situationism and Virtue Ethics by Ian Tully
• Social Contract Theory by David Antonini
• John Rawls’ ‘A Theory of Justice’ by Ben Davies
• Distributive Justice: How Should Resources be Allocated? By Dick Timmer and Tim Meijers
• The African Ethic of Ubuntu by Thaddeus Metz
• Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 1: The Four Moral Sprouts by John Ramsey and  Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 2: The Cultivation Analogy by John Ramsey
• Evolution and Ethics by Michael Klenk
• Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory by Spencer Case
• Ethical Egoism by Nathan Nobis

Contemporary Moral and Social Issues

• Applied Ethics by Chelsea Haramia
• Business Ethics by Thomas Metcalf
• The Ethics of Abortion by Nathan Nobis
• Euthanasia, or Mercy Killing by Nathan Nobis
• Theories of Punishment by Travis Joseph Rodgers
• The Death Penalty by Benjamin S. Yost
• Defining Capitalism and Socialism and Arguments for Capitalism and Socialism by Thomas Metcalf
• Ethics and the Expected Consequences of Voting by Thomas Metcalf
• Removing Confederate Monuments by Travis Timmerman.
• Marx’s Conception of Alienation by Dan Lowe
• The Moral Status of Animals by Jason Wyckoff
• Speciesism by Dan Lowe
• The Badness of Death by Duncan Purves
• Just War Theory by Ryan Jenkins
• The Non-Identity Problem by Duncan Purves
• The Ethics of Drone Strikes by Ryan Jenkins
• Licensing Parents by Ryan Jenkins
• Moral Luck by Jonathan Spelman
• Marx’s Conception of Alienation by Dan Lowe
• Hope by Michael Milona & Katie Stockdale  
• Sexual Orientation, Sex, and Gender by Raja Halwani
• Feminism Part 1: The Sameness Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
• Feminism Part 2: The Difference Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
• Aristotle’s Defense of Slavery by Dan Lowe 
• Mary Astell’s “A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” (1694) by Simone Webb
• Ethics and “Extra Credit” by Nathan Nobis
• The Ontology of Race by Abiral Chitrakar Phnuyal
• Reparations for Historic Injustice by Joseph Frigault
• Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies by Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra and Nathan Nobis
• How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers by Henrique Schneider
• Plato’s Crito: When should we break the law? by Spencer Case
• Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought by David Antonini
• Licensing Parents by Ryan Jenkins
• The Repugnant Conclusion by Jonathan Spelman

Existentialism

• Existentialism by Addison Ellis
• Is Immortality Desirable? by Felipe Pereira
• Camus on the Absurd: The Myth of Sisyphus by Erik Van Aken
• The Badness of Death by Duncan Purves
• Nietzsche and the Death of God by Justin Remhof
• Hannah Arendt’s Political Thought by David Antonini

Philosophy of Religion

• Attributes of God by Bailie Peterson
• Possibility and Necessity: An Introduction to Modality by Andre Leo Rusavuk
• Design Arguments for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf
• The Fine-Tuning Argument for the Existence of God by Thomas Metcalf
• Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason by Marc Bobro
• The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God by Andrew Chapman
• Descartes’ Meditations 1-3 and Descartes’ Meditations 4-6 by Marc Bobro 
• Because God Says So: On Divine Command Theory by Spencer Case
• Pascal’s Wager: A Pragmatic Argument for Belief in God by Liz Jackson
• Can We Believe in Miracles? by Tomas Bogardus
• The Problem of Evil by Thomas Metcalf
• The Problem of No Best World by Kirk Lougheed
• Divine Hiddenness by David Bayless
• Hell and Universalism by A.G. Holdier
• Is Immortality Desirable? by Felipe Pereira
• Hope by Michael Milona & Katie Stockdale  
• Nietzsche and the Death of God by Justin Remhof

Philosophy of Race

• The Ontology of Race by Abiral Chitrakar Phnuyal
• Reparations for Historic Injustice by Joseph Frigault
• Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies by Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra and Nathan Nobis
• Aristotle’s Defense of Slavery by Dan Lowe 
• Removing Confederate Monuments by Travis Timmerman

Philosophy of Sex and Gender

• Sexual Orientation, Sex, and Gender by Raja Halwani
• Feminism Part 1: The Sameness Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
• Feminism Part 2: The Difference Approach by Annaleigh Curtis
• Mary Astell’s “A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” (1694) by Simone Webb
• Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies by Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra and Nathan Nobis

Philosophy of Science

• Philosophy and Its Contrast with Science by Thomas Metcalf
• Karl Popper and Falsificationism by Michael Zerella
• The Problem of Induction by Kenneth Blake Vernon
• Laws of Nature by Michael Zerella
• Evolution and Ethics by Michael Klenk
• Interpretations of Probability by Thomas Metcalf
• Introduction to the Probability Calculus by Thomas Metcalf
• Thomas Kuhn, Paradigm Shifts, and Academic Rifts by Michael Zerella
• 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

Historical Philosophy 

• Plato’s Form of the Good by Ryan Jenkins
• Plato’s Crito: When should we break the law? by Spencer Case
• Aristotle’s Defense of Slavery by Dan Lowe 
• How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers by Henrique Schneider
• Descartes’ Meditations 1-3 Marc Bobro 
• Descartes’ Meditations 4-6 by Marc Bobro 
• Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am” by Charles Miceli
• Leibniz’s Principle of Sufficient Reason by Marc Bobro
• Social Contract Theory by David Antonini
• Mary Astell’s “A Serious Proposal to the Ladies” (1694) by Simone Webb
• Idealism Pt. 1: Berkeley’s Subjective Idealism by Addison Ellis
• Idealism Pt. 2: Kant’s Transcendental Idealism by Addison Ellis
• Nietzsche and the Death of God by Justin Remhof
• Marx’s Conception of Alienation by Dan Lowe
• 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
• Dharma in Abhidharma Buddhism by Nicholaos Jones
• Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies by Victor Fabian Abundez-Guerra and Nathan Nobis

Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art

• Aesthetics vs. Art by Brock Rough
• Definitions of Art by Brock Rough

Comments are open below for suggestions!