300 words essay philosophy

1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology

Philosophy, One Thousand Words at a Time

What is Philosophy?

Author: Thomas Metcalf Category: Metaphilosophy Word count: 1000

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If you’ve ever wondered whether God exists, whether life has purpose, whether beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what makes actions right or wrong, or whether a law is fair or just, then you’ve thought about philosophy. And these are just a few philosophical topics.

But what is philosophy? The question is itself a philosophical question. This essay surveys some answers.

1. Defining Philosophy

The most general definition of philosophy is that it is the pursuit of wisdom, truth, and knowledge. [1] Indeed, the word itself means ‘love of wisdom’ in Greek.

Whenever people think about deep, fundamental questions concerning the nature of the universe and ourselves, the limits of human knowledge, their values and the meaning of life, they are thinking about philosophy. Philosophical thinking is found in all parts of the world, present, and past. [2]

In the academic world, philosophy distinguishes a certain area of study from all other areas, such as the sciences and other humanities. Philosophers typically consider questions that are, in some sense, broader and/or more fundamental than other inquirers’ questions: [3] e.g., physicists ask what caused some event; philosophers ask whether causation even exists ; historians study figures who fought for justice; philosophers ask what justice is or whether their causes were in fact just; economists study the allocation of capital; philosophers debate the ethical merits of capital ism .

When a topic becomes amenable to rigorous, empirical study, it tends to be “outsourced” to its own field, and not described in the present day as “philosophy” anymore: e.g., the natural sciences were once called “natural philosophy,” but we don’t now just think about whether matter is composed of atoms or infinitely divisible: we use scientific experiments. [4] And most of the different doctoral degrees are called “Doctor of Philosophy” even when they’re in sociology or chemistry.

Philosophical questions can’t be straightforwardly investigated through purely empirical means: [5] e.g., try to imagine a lab experiment testing whether societies should privilege equality over freedom—not whether people believe we should, but whether we actually should . What does moral importance look like in a microscope?

The main method of academic philosophy is to construct and evaluate arguments (i.e., reasons intended to justify some conclusion). Such conclusions might be that some theory is true or false or might be about the correct analysis or definition of some concept. These arguments generally have at least some conceptual, intellectual, or a priori , i.e., non-empirical, content. And philosophers often incorporate relevant scientific knowledge as premises in arguments. [6]

2. Branches of Philosophy

Philosophy deals with fundamental questions. But which questions, specifically, is philosophy about? Here’s a standard categorization: [7]

Logic : Logicians study good and bad arguments and reasoning, and they study formal, symbolic languages intended to express propositions, sentences, or arguments. [8]

Metaphysics : Metaphysicians study what sorts of entities exist, what the world and its constituents are made of, and how objects or events might cause or explain each other. [9]

Epistemology : Epistemologists study knowledge, evidence, and justified belief. An epistemologist might study whether we can trust our senses and whether science is trustworthy. [10]

Values : In value theory, philosophers study morality, politics, and art, among other topics. For example: What makes wrong actions wrong? How do we identify good people and good lives? What makes a society just or unjust? [11]

There are many sub-branches within these fields. Many other fields— the sciences, art, literature, and religion—have a “philosophy of” attached to them: e.g., philosophers of science might help interpret quantum mechanics; philosophers of religion often consider arguments about the existence of God. [12]

There are also unique and important philosophical discussions about certain populations or communities, such as feminist philosophy and Africana philosophy. [13] People from all cultures contribute to philosophy, more than are typically discussed in Western philosophy courses. [14] Western academic philosophy has often neglected voices from non-Western cultures, and women’s voices. [15]

Philosophers sometimes import tools, knowledge, and language from other fields, such as using the formal tools of statistics in epistemology and the insights from special relativity in the philosophy of time. [16] When your project is understanding all of existence [17] in the broadest and most fundamental way, you need all the help you can get.

3. The Point(s) of Philosophy

Academic philosophy doesn’t present a body of consensus knowledge the way chemistry and physics do. [18] Do philosophical questions have correct answers? Does philosophical progress exist? Does philosophy get closer to the truth over time? [19] These are all matters of philosophical debate. [20] And philosophical debates are rarely resolved with certainty.

So what’s the point? Here are some answers: [21]

To discover truth, wherever and whatever it is. [22]
To learn how to better live our lives. [23]
To understand our own views, including their strengths and weaknesses.
To examine our own lives and be more conscious of our choices and their implications.
To learn how to better think and reason. Recall: The main method of philosophy is to present and examine arguments. [24]

And arguably, all of us are already naturally interested in at least some philosophical questions. Many people find that philosophy is a lot of fun. And it’s difficult to dispute that it is very important to find the answers to philosophical questions, if the answers exist. It’s important to know, for instance, that slavery is wrong and whether scientific consensus is generally trustworthy. So as long as it’s at least possible to find the answers to these questions, we should try.

Also, there are strong correlations between studying philosophy and high achievement in other academic areas, such as GRE scores and professional-school admission. [25]

4. Conclusion

We’ve contrasted philosophy with other fields. We’ve looked at the branches of philosophy. And we’ve looked at the purposes or benefits of philosophy. But what is philosophy, really? Given everything we’ve said so far, we can provide at least a partial definition of ‘philosophy’ as follows:

A largely (but not exclusively) non-empirical inquiry that attempts to identify and answer fundamental questions about the world, including about what’s valuable and disvaluable.

Is this a good definition? That’s a philosophical question too.

Acknowledgments

This entry has benefited enormously from the comments and suggestions of Shane Gronholz, Chelsea Haramia, Dan Lowe, and Nathan Nobis.

[1] Berkeley 2003 [1710]: 5; Blackburn 1999: 1.

[2] Some of the oldest formal philosophy writing we have is attributed to a group of ancient Greek philosophers called the ‘Pre-Socratics,’ because they wrote before Socrates and Plato did (cf. Curd 2019). The earliest Upanishads may go back even further (Olivelle 1998: 4 ff.).

[3] This is similar to Encyclopaedia Britannica’s (n.d.) definition: “the rational, abstract, and methodical consideration of reality as a whole or of fundamental dimensions of human existence and experience.”

[4] See e.g., Berryman 2020 on ancient atomism.

[5] Metcalf 2018.

[6] Most philosophers believe that the sciences provide knowledge relevant to traditional philosophical issues. That is, most philosophers endorse the meta-philosophy of ‘naturalism,’ according to which philosophy should be informed by the natural sciences. The usual justification for naturalism is based on the track-record of the natural sciences, including their tending toward consensus. See Bourget and Chalmers 2014: 476; Metcalf 2018; and Papineau 2019. For examples of the relevance of science to traditional philosophical issues, see Ingram and Tallent (2019: § 8); Wilce 2019; and Knobe and Nichols 2019. In these examples, special relativity may be relevant to philosophy of time; quantum mechanics may be relevant to philosophy of logic; and social science may be relevant to ethics.

[7] This is a version of common anthologies’ categorizations. See e.g., Blackburn 1999: vii and Rosen et al. 2015.

[8] Logicians can also study logics about obligation (McNamara 2019), about necessity and possibility (Garson 2019), and whether useful logics can contain sentences that are both true and false simultaneously (Priest et al. 2019).

[9] Van Inwagen and Sullivan 2019.

[10] Steup 2019; Metcalf 2020.

[11] Value theorists also study specific topics, such as our obligations to animals (Gruen 2019) and whether governments can be legitimate (Peter 2019). See also Haramia 2018 (the entry on applied ethics in 1000-Word Philosophy ) for an overview of applied ethics.

[12] Indeed, one area where people see many connections is with religion. So what’s the difference between philosophy and religion? This is not an easy question to answer, but most religious practice proceeds from a shared starting-point consensus body of putative knowledge, and these beliefs are almost all about God or gods, the afterlife, and how to live a pious life. In contrast, in philosophy, everything is constantly open to question, and the topics are much broader than gods and the afterlife.

[13] See e.g., McAfee 2019 and Outlaw 2019.

[14] Van Norden 2017.

[15] See e.g., Van Norden (op. cit.) and Buxton and Whiting 2020.

[16] Indeed, one popular metaphilosophical view is methodological naturalism about philosophy, according to which philosophy should use the methods of the natural sciences. Some naturalists go so far as to say that traditional philosophical methods should be replaced by scientific methods. See Metcalf 2018 and Papineau 2019 for more discussion. As for tools and knowledge from other fields, statistical and probabilistic analysis is common in many areas of philosophy (see, e.g., Weisberg 2019) and special relativity may tell us something important about the philosophy of time (Ingram and Tallant 2019).

[17] And maybe even the objects that don’t exist; see Reicher 2019.

[18] Bourget and Chalmers 2014. Arguably, there is consensus about many philosophical questions, but we don’t consider those questions in academic philosophy, at least not anymore. For example, almost everyone knows that slavery is wrong and that women should be allowed to vote if anyone is. See also Gutting 2009 for a general survey of some apparent philosophical discoveries.

[19] Cf. Chalmers 2015.

[20] See, e.g., Miller 2019.

[21] See Bierce 2008; de Montaigne 1987: 204; Russell 2010: 20 for some other statements about the nature or purpose of philosophy.

[22] Bierce 2008.

[23] De Montaigne 1987: 204.

[24] See e.g., Groarke 2019.

[25] Daily Nous n.d. However, we do not yet know what proportion of this is a ‘selection effect’—people who are already smart major in philosophy—and how much of this is a ‘treatment effect,’ i.e., majoring in philosophy actually makes you smarter.

Berkeley, George. 2003 [1710]. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge . Mineola, NY: Dover Philosophical Classics.

Berryman, Sylvia. 2019. “Ancient Atomism.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2019 Edition.

Bierce, Ambrose. 2008. “The Devil’s Dictionary.” In Project Gutenberg (ed.), Project Gutenberg.

Blackburn, Simon. 1999. Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy . Oxford, UK and New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Bourget, David and David J. Chalmers. 2014. “What Do Philosophers Believe?” Philosophical Studies 170(3): 465-500.

Buxton, Rebecca and Lisa Whiting. 2020. The Philosopher Queens: The Lives and Legacies of Philosophy’s Unsung Women. London, UK: Unbound Publishers.

Chalmers, David J. 2015. “Why Isn’t There More Progress in Philosophy?” Philosophy 90(1): 3-31.

Curd, Patricia. 2019. “Presocratic Philosophy.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Daily Nous. n.d. “Value of Philosophy.”

De Montaigne, Michel. 1987. Complete Essays . Tr. M. A. Screech. London, UK: Penguin Books.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. N.d. “Philosophy.” In The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (eds.), Encyclopaedia Britannica , Online Edition.

Garson, James. 2019. “Modal Logic.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Groarke, Leo. 2019. “Informal Logic.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2019 Edition.

Gruen, Lori. 2019. “The Moral Status of Animals.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Gutting, Gary. 2009. What Philosophers Know: Case Studies in Recent Analytic Philosophy . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Ingram, David and Jonathan Tallant. 2019. “Presentism.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Knobe, Joshua and Shaun Nichols. 2019. “Experimental Philosophy.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2019 Edition.

Markosian, Ned. 2019. “Time.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

McAfee, Noëlle. 2019. “Feminist Philosophy.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Winter 2019 Edition.

McNamara, Paul. 2019. “Deontic Logic.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Miller, Alexander. 2019. “Realism.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Olivelle, Patrick (tr. and ed.). 1998. The Early Upaniṣads: Annotated Text and Translation . New York, NY and Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Outlaw, Lucius T. Jr. 2019. “Africana Philosophy.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Papineau, David. 2019. “Naturalism.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Peter, Fabienne. 2019. “Political Legitimacy.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Priest, Graham et al. 2019. “Paraconsistent Logic.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Reicher, Maria. 2019. “Nonexistent Objects.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Rosen, Gideon et al. 2015. The Norton Introduction to Philosophy , Second Edition. New York, NY and London, UK: W. W. Norton & Company Ltd.

Russell, Bertrand. 2010. The Philosophy of Logical Atomism . Oxford, UK: Routledge Classics.

Sartwell, Crispin. 2019. “Beauty.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Steup, Matthias. 2019. “Epistemology.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Van Inwagen, Peter and Meghan Sullivan. 2019. “Metaphysics.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Van Norden, Bryan W. 2017. Taking Back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto . New York, NY: Columbia University Press.

Weisberg, Jonathan. 2019. “Formal Epistemology.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

Wilce, Alexander. 2019. “Quantum Logic and Probability Theory.” In E. N. Zalta (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Winter 2019 Edition.

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Tom Metcalf is an associate professor at Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL. He received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He specializes in ethics, metaethics, epistemology, and the philosophy of religion. Tom has two cats whose names are Hesperus and Phosphorus. shc.academia.edu/ThomasMetcalf

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1,000-Word Philosophy: Philosophy for Everyone

“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. 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology is an open-access journal of philosophy. Its essays are introductions rather than argumentative articles. Its intended audience is the general reader 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.”

About 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology

Today we will interview the editors of 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology ( 1000WordPhilosophy.com ), an open-access project dedicated to providing excellent introductions to philosophical issues that are ideal for students and public philosophy purposes.

APA blog : How did 1000-Word Philosophy start?

Andrew Chapman started 1000-Word Philosophy while he was a doctoral student at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Grad students find themselves teaching a lot of topics that they’ve never taught before, and so grad students with different specialities often ask one another for a 5-minute refresher course on a specific topic. He noticed how adept his colleagues were at coming up with these amazing summaries of complicated issues off of the tops of their heads and thought that it would be tremendously helpful—for other philosophers and for nonphilosophers—if these summaries were collected and shared somewhere. And thus 1000-Word Philosophy was born.

The specific number of words, 1000, was intended to correspond with about 5 minutes of reading time, although it’s also just a nice, round number. It became apparent though that 1000 words was around the number needed to do a thorough but not overly technical or overly specific job at introducing a topic. And 1000 words is the perfect length for an essay that introduces undergraduates who otherwise would struggle with a long essay to material that is graspable in a much shorter format. That was a serendipitous development!

APA blog : What areas of philosophy do you publish essays in?

We currently have over 80 essays published in 17 categories, and we add more categories when we publish new essays in new areas. We’ve recently added the categories of Philosophy of Race , Philosophy of Education , Buddhist Philosophy , Chinese Philosophy , and Logic and Reasoning .

For a long time we’ve had the categories of Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art , Ethics , Epistemology , Historical Philosophy , Metaphilosophy , Metaphysics , Phenomenology and Existentialism , Philosophy of Mind and Language , Philosophy of Religion , Philosophy of Science , Philosophy of Sex and Gender , and Social and Political Philosophy.

Some essays are placed in multiple categories. The Ethics and Philosophy of Religion categories have the most essays.

APA blog :Who reads these essays?

Philosophy instructors, students and general readers from around the globe. We get the most views first from the US, then the UK, Canada, India, the Philippines, and then European and African countries.

Many philosophy instructors use our essays in classes: they often mention that when they contact us about submitting an essay. The accessibility level of the essays ensure that teachers can easily generate discussion, and their length means that students can read about an important topic without being overwhelmed.

From contact we’ve had with general readers, it seems that some of them have less access to formal higher education or are autodidacts. They are just interested in learning more about philosophy and appreciate finding these introductory essays.

The essays are also useful for supplemental readings, beyond the main texts for a class. So they work great for background readings, “if you want to learn more”-type readings (especially since they have suggestions for further readings in them) and readings for when class discussion goes on tangents to interesting, but unexpected, topics.

APA blog : What are some of the most popular essays?

One measure of popularly is number of views. The essay “ Karl Marx’s Conception of Alienation ” has around 70,000 views. The essay on abortion has around 35,000 views. Some of the earlier essays have tens of thousands of views.

The recent essays that address issues about race and gender have been especially particular popular, in terms of shares and discussion on Twitter and Facebook . The essay on Mary Astell , an early modern woman philosopher, was posted just a few months ago and was (and remains) especially popular.

APA blog : Who can contribute?

Nearly all of our essays are by philosophy professors or advanced graduate students in philosophy. People typically are able to develop essays packed with philosophical content, presented in a manner readily understood by nearly anyone, only if they have had significant teaching experience involving dialogue with students. That interaction allows for a better sense for how non-experts often see and understand issues and so allows an author to write effectively for that audience.

APA blog : How are the essays reviewed?

The essays are all reviewed by the editors, all of whom have contributed multiple essays to the anthology and have taken an interest in its growth and success. The essays are also often evaluated by outsider reviewers.

Feedback ranges from concerns about “the big picture” of the essay and its goals and organizations to the extreme details of each word choice: with a 1000 word limit, each word has to count: there’s no room for anything distracting or not necessary for the purposes of the essay.

We do the reviewing and editing using Google docs, which allows for real-time discussion (and debate, sometimes) on what would improve the essay. We hope that this scrutiny from so many different “eyes” results in essays that are really strong introductions to the topics for our intended audience.

APA blog : What’s rewarding about this project?

It’s rewarding to help an author develop an essay that is incredibly clear, concise, direct and vivid, so it is very easy to read and understand for anyone, including students and general readers. This format results in essays that, we hope, have a certain kind of beauty, in being so clear and direct.

It’s also a great pleasure to teach using these essays, since students are really able to understand them and access the ideas and arguments much more quickly and easily, compared to many traditional readings.

For example, one of us recently taught Descartes’ Meditations using Marc Bobro’s pair of essays ; we read them out loud in class, meditating along with Descartes and discussing along the way. In the end, students were much more able to explain the overall argument of the Meditations, compared to when this activity was done with traditional translations. For students who are overwhelmed by longer, more complex readings, this format really helps.

APA blog : What is challenging about this project?

While we get many submissions, it is a “challenge” that we don’t get more submissions. There are many skilled philosophers who could contribute expertly-done essays on important and interesting topics, especially in areas where there are few introductory-level writings on the topics. We can hope that many of them haven’t contributed only because they are unaware of the anthology. Now more of them are aware!

APA blog : What are the current goals for the anthology?

We are working to diversify the set of essays, in many ways, and diversifying the team of people working on the project. We are seeking more essays by women and philosophers of color, on any and all topics. And we are seeking essays that introduce important areas and issues in philosophy that have been underrepresented.

For example, there are calls for including “global philosophy” in courses or “diversifying the canon.” We suspect that a lot of instructors would really like to do that, but really don’t know where to begin. So we hope to publish excellent introductions to unfamiliar traditions that instructors can use to “get their feet wet,” which would then lead to learning about and teaching (and researching) more advanced sources. We have made some progress with this – with essays on Chinese ethics and political philosophy and Buddhism – but this is just a start and so much more is needed.

Although this is a globally-accessible project, it is US-based, and so we are also very interested in essays that address unique philosophical issues of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in America, such as African-American philosophy and Native-American philosophy, among other traditions.

Finally, we have a good foundation in many “traditional” areas of philosophy, historical and contemporary, but there are still many essays needed to really fill that in. To use the page for an introductory philosophy or ethics course, we have a lot of what someone would want to use, but not everything. We are working on identifying what’s essential for that teaching purpose, but missing, and getting those essays commissioned.

APA blog : What are the future goals for the anthology?

We will always keep the material online and freely (and globally) accessible to all, but we also want to have the materials available in low-cost print book or books.

We would also like to do some technical upgrades so the webpage and essays are found by more people who are looking for this type of material. There is high demand for “public philosophy” and great introductory materials, and we need to do more so people who are seeking will find our essays and authors. If anyone can help us with any of our goals, we’d appreciate it!

Editorial Board for 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology :

Founder, Editor: Andrew D. Chapman, University of Colorado, Boulder

Editor: Shane Gronholz, Gonzaga University, Washington

Editor: Chelsea Haramia, Spring Hill College, Alabama

Editor: Dan Lowe, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Editor: Thomas Metcalf, Spring Hill College, Alabama

Editor-in-Chief: Nathan Nobis, Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia

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Should we continue to read and honor immoral historical philosophers, treading water, or self-care and success as a graduate student, i don’t read enough, the ancient practice of rest days, finding meaning in moving: my experiences as an aussie grad student, philosophers at the cia an insider’s account.

[…] Nathan Nobis is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Morehouse College. He is also Editor-in-Chief of 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology. […]

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CFP: 1000-Word Philosophy

This is a call for essays for materials that are ideal for teaching philosophy in many contexts:

1000-Word Philosophy 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.

We’re always looking for authors to contribute and seek a diverse set of essays, on a wide range of philosophical issues, questions, figures and traditions. If you’re interested in contributing a 1000-word essay (or essays) on a philosophical topic that interest you and that you think would interest our readers, email us . Please either send us your full essay for review, or an essay proposal, or any other inquiries regarding the appropriateness and desirability of your topic and approach.

We are especially interested in essays on topics frequently addressed in introductory courses, as well as topics that are difficult to cover in introductory courses because the relevant literature is difficult for first-year students. We especially welcome material addressing under-represented philosophical traditions, including global philosophy, philosophy of race, LGBTQIA issues, and more. A Call for Papers flyer is available here .

Why contribute? 1000-Word Philosophy currently has a few hundred online visitors each day, and we are working to increase those numbers, so your essay will be highly visible to a global readership. We are also looking into ways to try to track the use of the essays, for example, in teaching and as sources for online discussion. We are also planning to eventually compile the essays into an open-access and open-source print collection that will be ideal for classroom use, as well as the general reader. If you are interested in developing ideal materials for both teaching and public philosophy, then 1000-Word Philosophy is for you.

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Reflections on Doing Philosophy in High School by Steve Goldberg

I’ve been teaching philosophy, an honors elective taken mainly by seniors, for the past twenty-six years at a suburban high school outside Chicago. The class is organized topically around a set of perennial questions in ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. I encourage conversation and debate in my classroom, but I also ask students to work out their ideas independently in writing assignments. The kinds of writing I assign reflect my own thinking about what it means to do philosophy. Followed by each dimension of philosophy, I sketch strategies for teacher assessment and student exploration through writing. I hope this blog sparks a conversation about how we feature writing in philosophy instruction.

Philosophy is a reflective activity that invites students to make explicit their fundamental assumptions and beliefs. Self-reflection should take the further backward step of inspecting these assumptions and beliefs for internal coherence and consistency. Students also should discern implications of their beliefs, including any “bullets” they need to bite for the sake of consistency. And they should investigate sources of inconsistency and possibilities for revising their beliefs.

Questionnaires or surveys can be effective in helping students clarify their basic beliefs and inspect them for internal coherence and consistency. For example, “Battleground God,” a questionnaire on the TPM Online’s website , enables students to examine their beliefs on the rationality of religious belief. Journal entries create opportunities for students to explore a question in writing before being introduced to formal arguments in assigned readings or class discussion. For example, before discussing the merit of ethical relativism, students might be asked to respond in their journal to the question whether disagreement about right and wrong is comparable to disagreement about the shape of the earth. They also might revisit the same question at the end of a unit to reflect upon changes in their thinking.

Philosophy is at least partly a matter of thinking about thinking , or more specifically, thinking about arguments. Before students are in a position to appraise an argument, they must understand and master it. What is the structure of the argument? What are its background assumptions? What are its implications for the philosophical question(s) under consideration? I ask students to annotate an assigned reading and to identify the central argument in preparation for class. I then divide the class into groups and ask each group to reach consensus and write their version of the central argument on the board. The argument must be concise and represented as a set of propositions that includes premises and conclusion. The class then discusses which arguments on the board approximate the author’s intended argument in the reading. Examples include Nagel’s “What Is It Like to Be a Bat” as an argument against identity theory, Descartes’ dream and conceivability arguments in the Meditations , and Mackie on the paradox of omnipotence.

Early in each unit, I hand out a set of study questions on the readings. We often refer to the questions in class. I then select some of the study questions for an in-class essay exam. For example, I might divide an exam on free will into three sections, each one representing a major position on the question (e.g., hard determinism, compatiblism, libertarianism). Students select one question from each set. Here are two sample questions: (1) Explain van Inwagen’s Principle and its appeal to “untouchable facts.” How does the Principle justify hard determinism and challenge classical compatiblism? (2) How is the personal predicament of Dostoevsky’s Underground Man attributable to the philosophical problem of free will and determinism? Why does he care deeply about whether he has free will? So, study questions guide reading, discussion, and review; and students’ mastery of the questions is assessed on the in-class essays.

Philosophy also engages arguments by evaluating them . Once students have demonstrated a firm grasp of an argument, we expect them to analyze and appraise it. What objections might be raised? How would the argument handle counter-examples? Where does the argument suffer from a lack of clarity, consistency, or plausibility? How might the argument answer objections? How might it be revised or strengthened to meet objections? Does an alternative argument better defend the same position? For example, in the ethics unit I introduce plausibility, consistency, justification, and usefulness as criteria. After giving them a model by applying the criteria to Mill’s utilitarianism, I ask them to write an essay in which they apply the criteria to another ethical theory (e.g., Kant’s deontological ethics, Aristotle’s teleological ethics; Wilson and Pinker’s sociobiology).

As an alternative to a thesis-based question, I ask students to write a dialogue representing major positions on an issue (e.g., memory, body, soul as candidates for personal identity). The dialogue invites students to probe and challenge competing arguments from their respective points of view. I also assign essay questions that ask students to compare two philosophers who represent opposing points of view and to show why one philosopher’s position is more defensible than the other (e.g., Hick and Mackie on the problem of evil, Rawls and Nozick on distributive justice).

Philosophical reasoning also calls for the creative application of philosophical concepts and theories to contemporary issues, to works of art, to problems and puzzles. I ask students to analyze a film for its philosophical themes or as a thought experiment that tests philosophical arguments they have studied. Here are a few examples: How does the popular film “Groundhog Day” dramatize Aristotle’s views on virtuous character and friendship? How does “Crimes and Misdemeanors” dramatize Plato’s ring of Gyges? Does the thought experiment of Leondard’s condition in “Memento” reinforce the views of Parfit, Locke, or Hume on personal identity?

I also ask students to apply competing views on distributive justice to the issue of affirmative action and Aristotle’s theory of human flourishing to the ethics of genetic enhancement. Students apply competing views on free will to the case of someone who committed brutal crimes as an adult and suffered terrible abuse as a child. They also apply act utilitarian, rule utilitarian, and Kantian procedures to cases in cases in bioethics.

I do think the above strategy can constrain students who are more eager to investigate a question on their own than to demonstrate that they can deftly use the tools of others. That’s why the best questions are often open-ended and invite students’ independent thinking. At the same time, such questions needs to be framed carefully and should encourage students to draw judiciously from the arguments and readings they have encountered in the unit. Here is a good example drawn from a student essay competition on the Hi Phi website at University of Virginia:

“Think about all the physical and psychological changes a person goes through from birth to adulthood. It is not too much of a stretch to say that everything important about you—how you look, how you act, what kinds of things you like, how you spend your time, and so on—changes throughout your life. What, then, makes someone who is, say, age 17, the same person as at, say, age 3? Is it the continuity of memories, the same, the same brain, the judgment of friends or elders, the continuity of desires? Each of these answers has a potential serious problem—or problems—associated with it. Your task is to consider carefully the question, what makes a person the same person at different stages of their life?”

I look forward to learning about how writing is inscribed in the teaching of pre-college philosophy in your classroom. And I’m eager to read both supportive and critical responses to how it is featured in mine.

When I’m not teaching high school history and philosophy, I like to tinker in my garage. Merging my interests in philosophy and craftsmanship, I have built happiness boxes, teletransporters, trolley cars, and Chinese rooms. (I’ve also tortured some of my students in the morning but not before swapping their memories with Lady Gaga’s.) After putting away my tools, I enjoy taking Kulu on long walks. “Kulu” is patois for moonshine and Kulu is an Arubian Cunucu, a faux breed that descends from Portuguese hounds brought to the Caribbean islands on 16th century slave ships. Or so I’ve read on the official Arubian Cunucu website. I should add that I am a willing addict who has a second order desire to watch Breaking Bad. I satisfy the urge each summer with the help of Netflix. And with the help of Roberta Israeloff, I have generated an impossibly long list of great fiction that mocks both my ambition and debt to amazon.com. I have two adult daughters who nod in disbelief at their father. Their mother looks on approvingly, a glass of wine in hand.

Thank you for this inspiring post, Steve. I would have really loved to take your class when I was in high school. Although I was lucky enough to attend a well-regarded school, in general my educational experiences weren’t nearly as relevant, compelling, provocative or exciting as those you’ve described.

As a practitioner of philosophy with children, I aspire to offer activities as rich and challenging as those you’ve written about. And while I work with much younger children who are a lot less philosophically sophisticated, I do explore similar themes and ask the same reflective, evaluative and metacognitive questions that you mention.

I see how the individual writing tasks you assign can help to achieve a delicate balance between collaborative and independent thinking processes – a balance that tends to be strongly weighted towards collaboration in the dialogue-driven enquiries that I facilitate. I have the impression that many children find writing onerous. I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has had success in incorporating a significant element of independent writing into their philosophy programs for primary school children.

[…] my earlier post, I mentioned assigning a dialogue as an alternative to a formal essay. Here is an example of each […]

[…] also recommend Steve Goldberg’s blog post that explores the nature of philosophy from the perspective of a high school […]

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My Philosophy of Life, Essay Example

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In all honesty, the subject here causes me some problems, at least at first. In simple terms, I am not at all sure that I want any type of philosophy of life. In my mind this would somehow translate to a kind of limitation, or an “outlook” that might prevent me from taking in new experience and actually learning more about what life truly means. I have known people who strongly believe in a positive viewpoint, for instance. Their life philosophies are based on seeking the good in the world around them, and I am certainly not about to argue with such beliefs. At the same time, I feel that such a way of thinking creates borders. It is a philosophy as a focus, and I do not believe that life may be so confined, or neatly fit into any such approach. In all fairness, I have the same opinion regarding those who practice philosophies of extreme caution, or who believe that life is an arena in which they are entitled to take as much as possible. Put another way, whenever I have actually heard or read of a life philosophy, my first thought is invariably that life may not nicely accommodate it. Life, as I see it, has ideas all its own and is not concerned with how anyone chooses to view it.

I am aware that, even in saying this, I am in a sense offering a philosophy anyway. I imagine that is my own dilemma, and one I should at least try to explore. I think back on my life thus far, then, and am struck by one consistent factor: it has never failed to surprise me, in ways both good and bad. Even when experience has been painful, I have sometimes been aware that I do not respond to it in a pained way. Similarly, I have gone through whole periods of my life when everything was going well, yet I have felt a sense of dissatisfaction. I know that my reactions in all ways are powerfully influenced by the world around me. I have been disappointed in not feeling happy, I know, because the circumstances were supposed to make me feel that way, and everyone around me encouraged this as natural. Still, those feelings of happiness have sometimes eluded me, just as I have been strangely empowered or happy when things have gone wrong. How can I even consider a “philosophy,” then, when I cannot even follow the course of thinking and feeling in place for the rest of the world? No matter how I move through my life, it always seems that I am not in a place where a common perception about living matches how I truly think and feel, so I tend to veer from any ideology. It is not that I disagree with them; it is that, for me, they do not fit.

This then brings me to another question: what is it that I think life is? If I can better understand that, I may be on my way to realizing that there is a philosophy for me. After all, there can be no real and consistent view of a thing without an idea of the thing itself. Unfortunately, I “hit a wall” here as well. Great minds have struggled to define life since humanity began, and each seems to have ideas as valid as those different from them. For some, it is meaningless, a kind of dream in which we act our parts to no real purpose. For others, life is a boundless opportunity to grow spiritually and expand the mind and heart to unlimited potentials. For most people, I think, life occupies more of a middle ground; it can be fantastic and enabling, just as it can be empty when no purpose is in sight. In other words, it seems that there is no incorrect view or philosophy of life because it may be, simply, anything and everything at all. Given this thinking, I am not encouraged. I am, in fact, more inclined to see any effort at capturing a philosophy an exercise in futility.

When I then allow myself to take this thinking further, however, it seems that I may be nearing the thing I see as pointless or impossible. That is, since I view life as far too unpredictable to be subject to a single approach or philosophy, I then begin to understand my own role in the entire process. I think of what I earlier said, in regard to mt feelings not following usual patterns and my tendency to react to “life” in unexpected ways. It occurs to me that I am then missing a crucial element in this scenario: myself. I think: everyone, great mind or otherwise, who has wondered about life has done so in the same way, in that the views and feelings must be created by their own life itself. We can seek to see beyond our own experience, but I must wonder at how realistic that ambition is. We are all tied to who and what we are, whether that being is expansive or not; in all cases, the individual can only define life through what the individual has experienced and is capable of perceiving from the experience. Life is the self, in a very real sense. We are not channels out outside elements in some vast, inexplicable equation; we are the equation because life is literally what we make it. This happens through actual “living” and action, and it happens equally through our perceptions.

I then begin to feel that I am nearing a truth. I am life, and life is not some external essence I must consider. At the same time, everyone and everything around me is life as well, just as validly as I am. Here, then, is where I can shape a philosophy. It is not a structure, or even a foundation. Rather, it is more an impression accepted. It is that life is a thing completely bound to myself, and in “partnership” with me. It is, most important of all, never fixed. It cannot be, because every moment changes who I am in some way, and because of this intense and purely exponential relationship with the life around me. Life will always be the moment or direction currently affecting or guiding me, and in every sense of living. When my spirit is at its strongest, life is a generous and fine thing because that is what I am giving to it, and life affirms this reality by taking what I can give. When I am small and involved with minor issues or feelings, life shrinks to a cell because I am unable then to see beyond a cell. I referred to what I know is a cliché, in that life is what we make it. This is, however, profoundly true in a literal sense. As I think this is my philosophy, I restate it as: life is what I create, which in turn reflects and creates me.

While I am content with this definition, I am as well unwilling to leave it as so lacking in structure. More exactly, while I firmly believe in the self/life reciprocity I have described, and while I believe this must be a fluid state of being, I nonetheless comprehend that even this shifting relationship places responsibilities on me. On one level, and no matter how “life and I” go on, I believe in good and evil. I believe these are actual forces or energies in the world, and I believe that my mind and my heart must always be directed to knowing and promoting good when I can. This is not necessarily virtuous on my part; I see it more as an acceptance of a reality as basic as the air we breathe. The complex process of life is endlessly open to possibilities generated by my involvement with it, but there remains in the universe, at least in my perception, these polar elements. True meaning is as powerful a thing as good, and meaning may only come when good is pursued, and I believe this because I believe that evil is emptiness. Whatever life becomes for me, then, there is a primal direction to know.

Lastly, there is as well an obligation linked to good, which is that of being expansive. I cannot expect much of life if I do not open myself to the possibilities in place when my openness meets the limitless offerings of what is outside of myself. This is that partnership in place, and when I am doing my part in giving my utmost to it. Strangely, this is not a giving related to effort; rather, it is more a willingness to accept. When I consider all of this, in fact, I find that my philosophy is more complex than I had thought. It insists on my exponential relationship with living as creating life, yet it also demands real awareness. It is open to the new, but it is observant of basic principles. It is what is known through my eyes, but it relies on my expanding my sight to make the most of it. More than anything, my philosophy of life is one that brings life right to me side, always. It holds to the conviction that, no matter how we make it happen, life is what the world around me and I shape every moment.

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Essay about The Importance of Philosophy

The Importance of Philosophy “All things in life are philosophical.” This is a well-known quote by the renowned Greek scientist/philosopher Aristotle. When one is to imagine life without thought, free will or knowledge, they are left to only imagine the oblivion they would be left to reside in. To me, philosophy is more than ethics, esthetics, and epistemology... it is the ability to stand ones ground with certain viewpoints, attitudes and beliefs. Philosophy seemed to be the center of the majority of peoples lives Before the Common Era, yet today it also upholds just as much, if not more, importance to the normal person than of the ‘scientist’ or renowned ‘theorist.’ Philosophy makes people who they are, their own …show more content…

Her statement is a prime example of philosophy. The content of her testimonial consisted of many supported ideas and thoughts. Yet, at the same time, the statement she made was rousing to anyone that was perhaps overhearing or listening to the conversation. It upheld all the characteristics for a good philosophical conversation. They include various aspects of diversity, thought , support and liberalism. Without philosophy the world would be incomplete. It is common knowledge that there is gray in every argument, even the most miniscule, it is never black or white. Philosophy is what the gray area consists of, different beliefs and ideas that cannot fit in either of the two groups. That is what makes philosophy significant; there are no limits to it. There are no boundaries to what the human mind can think and there are no unattainable dreams that one’s mind cannot conceive. Therefore stating that there are no tangible boundaries for philosophy, neither are there elusive limitations. Philosophy can be viewed in so many different ways, with so many different aspects looked at and critiqued. The simple statement, “eventually the sun will burn out and the Earth will cease to exist” can produce a rousing philosophical conversation. When having a philosophical discussion the people ‘philosophers’ involved must take a look at all

My Personal Philosophy Of Nursing

According to Merriam-Webster (2016), philosophy is “an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs” (para. 1). Most people have a philosophy that is either a vague, general idea or a distinct guiding principle that is based on beliefs relevant to the individual, to their patients, families, communities, and colleagues. The beliefs that comprise a person’s philosophy influence the choices that person makes. Many base their choice of profession on their beliefs, thereby ensuring that the principles of their career are consistent with their personal expectations. For example, getting a job or taking actions that are inconsistent with someone’s beliefs is one of the causes of stress and burnout. Therefore, it is healthy for individuals to clarify their philosophy to help guide them to make choices and to live a life consistent with their

Similarities Between Homer And Hesiod

3 Works Cited

Philosophy is a very important part of people’s lives. Philosophy is quite basically asking inquiries about existence, reality and nature of knowledge. To better understand philosophy we must look throughout history. Looking back through history helps better show what the philosophers thought during the time period in which they lived. The relativity of the theories, to the time period, is a very important factor in how efficient these theories they were. The first philosopher’s ideas to people today would be considered either very basic, or insane. Yet, in the time period they lived in, they were considered to be geniuses. Also, looking back through time and studying philosophers and what they believed can help create a better idea for

How Does Plato 's Allegory Of The Cave Illuminate The Value Of Philosophy?

To begin, it is important to understand and analyze what philosophy is and ultimately what a philosophical question is. Philosophy is a quest after knowledge. Philosophy is the action of thought and analysis, in fact, it is a pretty unique type of

' What Is Philosophy? By Simon Blackburn

According to Simon Blackburn, philosophy can be different things depending on how it’s used, and it can be used many different ways. When used as a method, philosophy studies the same world as science, but uses rational arguments as proof rather than scientific observations. Although, when thought of as a subject matter rather than a method, philosophy becomes a specific area of study, trying to answer questions that have not yet been answered and concern humanity using the three foundational philosophical questions: what exists, what do we know, and what should we do. These are the basic questions philosophers use to prove their arguments. The third way to use philosophy, according to Blackburn, is

Philosophy 101 Essay

Philosophy is defined by Webster as "Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline" or "Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods." This essay is a general look at those who pursued that intellectual means, those who investigated, even those who reasoned Reason. Because volumes could be written and this is a rather quick, unworthy paper: apologizes.

The Philosopher In Society By Jacques Maritain's Play In Society

The Philosopher In Society by Jacques Maritain focuses on the role that philosophers play in society. Maritain believes that philosophers are important even when they are wrong. He thinks they need to be able to recognize their errors, and to fight against them. He uses the example “A great philosopher in the wrong is like a beacon on the reefs, which says to semen: steer clear of me”. (Maritain, 2) This is a good example, it means a philosopher will crash if he does not steer clear of his errors, he has to stay in “open waters.” Maritain believed that philosophers must never give up searching for the truth even if they never find it. Maritain references Plato when he says that “Plato told us that beautiful things are difficult, and that we should not avoid beautiful dangers”. (Maritain, 2) Maritain believes that disagreements between philosophers are essential to the stability of philosophy, and even called it more stable than science. Maritain says we need philosophy because it is after the truth for its own sake, and not after power. He sees philosophy as contributing to the timeline of history, he defined the primary role of philosophy as a thing, “which is the metaphysical penetration of being.” (Maritain, 4) Maritain believes the greatest threat to modern societies is a weakening of the “sense of truth.” (Maritain, 4) This means if we believe things that aren’t true, our society will be in grave danger. For example, if the entire world doesn't believe in global

My Philosophy : Critical Thinking

Philosophy is one of the most important subjects taught today. Philosophy can teach us things as broad as secrets of the universe and as personal as knowing right from wrong. In the following paragraphs, I will explain each concept, as well as its importance to myself.

The Allegory Of The Cave By Plato And Rene Descartes

What is Philosophy? Well, by conventional definition, Philosophy is the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. This, while providing a contextual definition of the word philosophy, just scratches the surface of its actual meaning. In this essay we will attempt to answer “What is Philosophy?” by discussing the works of Plato and Rene Descartes. First, we begin by summarizing and comparing the theme of their works for similarities so as to better form a definition. In order to begin answering the question, “What is Philosophy?” we must comprehend each author’s method, themes, and goals throughout their works.

Philosophy CPT: “The unexamined life is not worth living” Essay

2 Works Cited

The term “philosophy” means the love of wisdom, and those that study philosophy attempt to gain knowledge through rationality and reason. 1 Socrates, the father of ancient philosophy, once stated “the unexamined life is not worth living”. This is the most important part of life and it is need to find purpose and value in life. If a person chooses to live their life without examination, their life would lack value and they would be unhappy. They would also be ignorant to the effects of their choices on themselves and the people around them.

Mortality In The Movie : The Lovely Bones

The main goal in philosophy is to shows us the right way on how to live a great life and to understand its meaning and purpose. Every philosopher has their own blueprint, which includes different methods and rules on how to reach that goal; these include backing up your opinions with reason, seeking secure foundations in ‘objective truth’, thinking outside of your own perspective, and seeking intellectual and moral excellence, wisdom and prudence. Philosophy will help you analyze and learn about your own knowledge, freedom, morality, religion, and the meaning of life.

The Value of Philosophy Essay

Let’s review the problems of philosophy, and then make conclusion, what is the value of philosophy.

Value of Philosophy Essay

It states that even though philosophy doesn’t give us a certainty of true answers, it suggests many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from tyranny of custom. He also supports the idea that philosophy is beneficial because it “enriches intellectual imagination”. The essay brings up the points of the practical man, and why they are at a loss of intellectual imagination because they don’t explore the unknown by viewing life as simple. As evidence, he uses an example of mass disease and poverty of a society. The theory is that in those conditions, there would still be much to be improved to produce a valuable society. Even if the society has the proper food supplies, they need the ‘goods of the mind’ (knowledge) to build a well-governed society. He believes practical men undermine that aspect, thereby explaining their lack of intellectual imagination. The next argument is that philosophy saves us from convictions, prejudices, and cultural beliefs. The affect that that has on a person is to open up a fresh prospective with very little bias. He believed for this to be beneficial to people socially, by developing empathy which helps you understand others points of view. That theory goes hand-in-hand and gives a fine segway to his fourth and final argument of “the freedom and equity learned from philosophical contemplation reflecting in your personality (action and emotion). The

Reflection Paper On Philosophy

Philosophy can be described as a chance for person to undertake an opportunity to understand themselves, our world and society, and relations between ourselves and one another. Those who are able to study philosophy, can find out what is to be human, what kind of person is it good to be, and especially how are we to live a good life. I, myself, have had an opportunity to take a philosophy class and as my time in philosophy is starting to come to a close, I am suddenly realizing how Philosophy has changed the aspects and my outlook upon my life.

A Summary Of Jacques Maritain And Peter Hacker

Reading Maritain’s article you quickly find out that his thesis is that we in fact need philosophy. Society cannot function properly without philosophy. Throughout the whole reading there are supporting statements for us needing philosophy to function. Maritain describes a philosopher as “a man who is in search of wisdom”, and also states “society cannot do without philosophers”. Both of these statements are

Similarities Between Heidegger And Wittgenstei

Wittgenstein states: “Philosophy must not interfere in any way with the actual use of language, so it can in the end only describe it. For it cannot justify it either. It leaves everything as it is” (Philosophical Investigations §124). The same goes for Heidegger when he states this about what philosophy is; “To let what shows itself to be seen from itself, just as it shows itself from itself” (Being and Time p.58)

Philosophy of Photography as an Art Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

Many people claim that the word art cannot apply to contemporary artworks and photojournalism. When it comes to paintings or sculpture, it is argued that artists simply try to stand out from the rest of their peers or shock the public. Photography is regarded as a mere reflection of the reality that is created with the help of technology. This paper focuses on photography and its connection to art. It can be difficult to differentiate between photographs and pieces of art. However, Arthur Danto’s notion of interpretation as a key component of art can help in identifying artworks within the domain of photojournalism.

When considering the nature of contemporary art, Danto refers to Brillo Box by Andy Warhol (29). The art critic emphasizes that the depiction of Brillo boxes acquires an artistic value when the picture is characterized by hidden meanings and interpretations. Therefore, in order to identify a masterpiece among mere depictions, it is necessary to focus on meanings and interpretations (Danto 55). In simple terms, a photograph of a pile of boxes becomes an artwork if the viewer sees the idea behind the object. For instance, the photographer can reflect on such issues as consumerism or environmental responsibility. Importantly, although photographs can be easily reproduced, they can still be regarded as works of art as the photographer managed to capture the meaning.

In conclusion, it is necessary to stress that photography is a specific form of art that involves the use of technology. Danto’s view on artistic value helps in understanding photojournalism. Meaning and interpretation are elements of art. Hence, photographs that have hidden or explicit meanings are works of art. When people take pictures to capture memories, they use technology to reflect reality. When photographers capture meanings in the reflection of life, they create pieces of art.

Danto, Arthur C. What Art Is . Yale University Press, 2014.

Ethical Principles in Photojournalism
Andy Warhol's Biography
Andy Warhol's New Bohemia: Factory, Freaks, Films
Robinson, Emerson, and Photography as an Art
“The Valley of the Shadow of Death” the Photography by Roger Fenton
Photography Changes Who We Think We Might Be
A Distinct Camera Vision in Jacques-Henri Lartigue’s Photograph
Landscape Consciousness in Art
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

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Crafting a Personal Philosophy Statement

This essay is about crafting a personal philosophy statement, emphasizing self-reflection, clarity, and authenticity. It highlights the importance of understanding one’s core beliefs and values, presenting them clearly and honestly. The essay discusses how a philosophy statement serves as a compass, guiding personal and professional actions and decisions. It stresses the need for simplicity in expression, avoiding jargon, and the significance of authenticity through personal anecdotes. Additionally, it underscores the evolving nature of a philosophy statement, encouraging periodic revisions to keep it relevant. Ultimately, it illustrates how such statements can influence and enhance both personal growth and professional practice.

How it works

Creating a personal philosophy statement is a profound exercise in self-reflection and articulation of one’s core beliefs and values. It is not merely a document but a vivid representation of an individual’s guiding principles and ethical framework. This statement serves as a compass, providing direction and clarity in both personal and professional realms. As we delve into the art of crafting a philosophy statement, it becomes evident that this endeavor is a unique blend of introspection, clarity, and authenticity.

At the heart of a philosophy statement lies a deep understanding of one’s self. It requires an exploration of personal beliefs, experiences, and values that shape our worldview. This process is akin to peeling an onion, layer by layer, revealing the essence of what truly matters to us. It is essential to approach this task with an open mind and a willingness to confront our most fundamental convictions. This introspection is not always comfortable, but it is a necessary step in developing a philosophy that is genuine and reflective of our true selves.

When writing a personal philosophy statement, clarity and simplicity are paramount. The goal is to articulate complex beliefs in a manner that is both accessible and impactful. This does not mean simplifying the ideas themselves but rather presenting them in a clear and concise way. A well-crafted philosophy statement avoids jargon and overly complex language, opting instead for straightforward, honest expression. This clarity ensures that the statement resonates with both the writer and the reader, fostering a deeper connection and understanding.

Authenticity is another critical component of an effective philosophy statement. It is easy to fall into the trap of writing what we think others want to hear, especially in professional contexts. However, a philosophy statement should be a true reflection of our beliefs, not a tailored narrative designed to impress. Authenticity shines through when we write from the heart, sharing personal anecdotes and real-life examples that illustrate our principles. This personal touch not only adds depth to the statement but also makes it more relatable and impactful.

A personal philosophy statement is not static; it evolves as we grow and experience life. Our beliefs and values may shift over time, influenced by new insights, challenges, and achievements. Therefore, it is beneficial to revisit and revise the statement periodically, ensuring it remains aligned with our current perspective. This ongoing process of reflection and revision keeps the philosophy statement relevant and dynamic, much like our own personal development.

The impact of a well-crafted philosophy statement extends beyond personal reflection; it can significantly influence our professional life as well. For educators, for example, a teaching philosophy statement can guide their approach to instruction, classroom management, and student engagement. It provides a foundation for decision-making and helps maintain consistency in practice. In the corporate world, a leadership philosophy statement can inspire and motivate teams, fostering a positive and productive work environment. By clearly communicating our core values and expectations, we can build trust and credibility with those we lead or work alongside.

Crafting a personal philosophy statement is a deeply rewarding endeavor that demands honesty, clarity, and self-awareness. It is an opportunity to articulate what we stand for and why, providing a touchstone for our actions and decisions. Whether for personal reflection or professional guidance, a philosophy statement serves as a powerful tool for self-expression and growth. Embrace the process with an open heart and mind, and let your unique voice shine through in your words.

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How to Write a 300-Word Essay: Length, Examples, Free Samples

You might think writing a 300-word essay is easy because it is short. Well, it’s not all about the size. In a 300-word essay, you must express your thoughts and arguments concisely and within a very tight word limit.

The real challenge starts when you decide which sentence to leave out because every word matters and there’s no place for filler words. It is also tricky to fit the intro, arguments, and conclusion into a 300 word essay format. But are all these elements obligatory in such a kind of writing?

Let’s find out how to write a 300-word essay , its key elements, and where to find some excellent 300-words essay examples.

🖊️ How to Write a 300-Word Essay

📎 300-Words Essay Sample

🎊 More Essay Examples
🪄 Tips for a 300 Words Essay
🔎 300 Word Essay Topics

❓ 300-Words Essay FAQ

🔗 references, 📝 what does a 300-word essay look like.

The picture shows a basic structure of a 300-word essay.

Below, we will explain everything about 300-word essays. How many pages is a 300-word essay? What does it look like? Find a complete format breakdown here!

300 Word Essay Format

300 word essay types.

You can see a basic outline and its necessary elements above. However, these parts can change depending on the type of the essay. Each essay genre might imply a different structure and paragraph length.

Here are the most popular types of 300-word essays:

A narrative essay tells a story and is typically written in the first person.
A descriptive essay describes a person, place, or object in detail and uses sensory language.
An expository essay presents information and facts about a topic and provides an explanation or analysis.
A persuasive essay presents an argument or viewpoint on a particular topic and persuades the reader to agree with the author’s opinion.
A compare and contrast essay compares two or more subjects and highlights their similarities and differences.

300 Word Essay Length

The 300-word essay length depends on the font and page parameters. With Times New Roman, it is typically 0.6 pages if single-spaced or 1.2 pages if double-spaced. It is usually not more than 20 sentences long if your sentences are 15-20 words long.

How many paragraphs should a 300-word essay have? The number of paragraphs depends on the structure. A 300-word paper can be divided into five sections (1 – intro, 3 – body, 1 – conclusion), 2-5 sentences each if it follows the classical format.

🖊️ How to Write a 300 Word Essay – Simple Guide

Use this step-by-step explanation to write a winning 300-word essay:

The picture provides steps for writing a 300-word essay.

Step 1: Start with a Strong and Clear Thesis Statement

Your thesis should describe the essay’s main idea and guide both you and your readers throughout the essay. Spend some time researching the topic before you formulate the thesis statement. It will help create a more specific and focused thesis.

Step 2: Create an Outline

Outline preparation includes deciding on the paragraphs’ contents, order, and length . Think about the main idea that will be conveyed in each section. This will help organize the paper and ensure it flows logically and coherently . However, remember that each body paragraph should present a new thought with evidence that proves your point.

Step 3: Write the Essay

It is important to write clearly, using formal language that is easy to understand . In the beginning, highlight your essay’s core idea and prepare readers for what they will learn further. For each body paragraph, develop one topic idea and provide evidence and examples. In summary, briefly retell what you discussed in your paper: restate your thesis statement and touch on the significant points of the body.

Step 4: Reread and Edit the Essay

Take a break for a day or two before rereading the essay. It can help you gain a fresh perspective and catch errors you may have missed earlier . Check it for spelling and grammar errors . Don’t forget to ensure that the essay meets the word limit.

Here, you will find some examples of 300-word essays for college students.

300-Word Essay on Career Goals Examples

This is a 300-word essay on why I want to be a nurse topic:

Career goals provide a roadmap to success and help keep individuals motivated and focused. In this essay, I will discuss my career goals: becoming a healthcare professional, working in a hospital setting, and eventually obtaining a leadership role. My first career goal is to become a healthcare professional. My desire to help people and make a positive impact influenced this goal. I am pursuing a nursing degree, which will equip me with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide quality care. I plan to specialize in pediatrics or oncology, where I can make a difference in the lives of patients and their families. My second career goal is to work in a hospital setting. Hospitals are dynamic and challenging environments that require individuals to work well under pressure and think critically. Working in a hospital will allow me to gain experience in various areas of healthcare, such as emergency medicine and surgery. I also hope to work with a diverse patient population, which will broaden my perspective and deepen my understanding of healthcare. My third career goal is to obtain a leadership role. As a leader, I will be able to make a greater impact on patient care and healthcare delivery. I plan to get a master’s degree in healthcare administration or nursing leadership to prepare me for this role. I believe that effective leadership is essential for achieving positive outcomes in healthcare and ensuring that patients receive the highest quality of care. In conclusion, my career goals are to obtain a medical degree, a job in a hospital, and a leadership role. I am committed to achieving these goals by pursuing my college education, gaining experience in healthcare, and receiving advanced education in healthcare administration or nursing leadership. I am excited about these opportunities and look forward to positively impacting the lives of patients and the healthcare industry.

The picture provides the example of a 300-word essay on career goals.

🎊 More 200-300 Word Essay Examples

Check out our free 300-word essay samples on popular topics:

Romeo and Juliet essay 300 words. The paper analyzes the 1996 film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, directed by Baz Luhrmann. The author discusses the theme of forbidden love and the various ways in which Luhrmann adapts the play.
The person I admire most essay 300 words. The paper discusses Michael Jackson as a pop star role model. It explores his background, approach to discrimination, and life and career details.
Who am I essay 300 words. This 300-word sample discusses the role of culture in shaping an individual’s self-concept and development. The author argues that culture plays a significant role in an individual’s perception of themselves and the world around them, shaping their behavior and interactions with others.
My pet dog essay 300 words. The paper argues that dogs make the best pets. The author explores dog qualities, including loyalty, companionship, and their ability to improve mental and physical health.
Global warming essay in English 300 words. The paper is a discussion of the economic instruments to regulate global warming. While economic tools can effectively regulate CO 2 emissions, there are concerns about the irrationality of tax rates and people’s willingness to pay more for familiar technology.
Friendship essay 300 words. The paper examines the aspects of intimacy in female friendships. It explores the different levels of intimacy, including emotional, physical, and intellectual intimacy. The author discusses the importance of intimacy in maintaining long-lasting and meaningful friendships between women.
300 word essay about Thanksgiving. The paper discusses the history of the first Thanksgiving in the United States and compares it to modern Thanksgiving. The author explores the origins of Thanksgiving, its cultural significance, and how it has evolved.
Freedom of speech essay 300 words. The paper discusses the concept of freedom of speech and its relationship with censorship. The author explores the historical and philosophical underpinnings of freedom of speech and various forms of censorship.

🪄 BONUS Tips for a 300 Words Essay

🔎 300 word essay topics & examples.

If you feel ready to start writing a 200-300 word essay, get inspired by the topics we’ve collected below. Use these academic essay examples to make your 300-word essay flawless!

The impact of social media on society.
The benefits and drawbacks of remote learning.
The effects of regular fast food consumption on health.
The importance of exercise for mental health.
The impact of technology on communication.
The role of art during significant historical events.
The benefits and challenges of multiculturalism.
The impact of climate change on our daily lives.
The effects of stress on physical health.
The role of education in personal and societal development.
Religion in Chinese Society: Confucianism.
World War II: Impact on American Society.
Problems in the US Healthcare System.
Legalization of Marijuana: Pain Management.
The Future of Bio-Fuel in the Civil Aviation Industry.
Emotional Contagion Research in Psychology.
Curriculum Adaptation to the Needs of Students.
Aspects of the Global Surgical Package.
Subjective and Objective Description of Experience.
The Covid-19 Related Social Problems.
Communication Improved by “New Media in the News.”
Lego Company’s Core Values and Ethical Dilemmas.
The Major Causes of the Great Depression.
Strategies to Control Disease Incidence.
United AirlinesEnvironmental Sustainability Initiatives.
Activism and Extremism on the Internet.
Misinformation Online in Healthcare: Preventive Measures.
Freedom of Speech and Censorship.
Why Say “No” to Capital Punishment?
What Is Love?: Answer From the Different Points of View.
Budget Airlines and Their Growth Factors in Europe.
The Problem of Shooting in Schools.
Individual and Systemic Racism.
Three Dimensions of Sexuality.
The Issue of Homelessness.
Personal Responsibility and World Population.
Targeted Advertising in Business.
Femininity and Masculinity in Media and Culture.
Tesco Market Strategy: Outside-In and Inside-Out.
“ A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner.
The Corporate Social Responsibility in Sport.
Is Nuclear Power Renewable Energy?
Sex Education Among Young People.
The Unfair Control of Power.
Impact of Artificial Intelligence.

If you didn’t find anything suitable, try our free essay title generator , it will help you come up with a perfect 300-word essay topic!

How to write a 300 word essay?

To write a 300-word essay, start with drafting a thesis statement. Then create an essay plan with three main points to support your thesis. Begin each paragraph with a clear topic sentence and provide supporting evidence. Wrap up your essay with a concluding section that reinforces your thesis.

How long does it take to write a 300 word essay?

With adequate preparation and focus, it’s possible to complete a 300-word paper in 30 minutes to an hour. However, the actual time you need to write a 300-word essay varies depending on your experience and topic complexity.

What does a 300 word essay look like?

A 300-word essay typically begins with an introduction with a thesis statement. There are also three body paragraphs with supporting evidence. A concluding paragraph that reinforces the thesis is the final section. Each paragraph should contain no more than 70 words.

How many pages is a 300 word essay?

Let’s assume the font is size 12 with standard margins. Then a 300-word essay is generally one page if single-spaced or two pages if double-spaced. However, the formatting and spacing requirements may vary based on the assignment or instructor’s guidelines.

How long is a 300 word essay?

A 300-word essay is approximately one-third of a single-spaced page or two-thirds of a page if double-spaced. It’s essential to follow the formatting and spacing requirements outlined by the instructor or assignment guidelines.

Tips for writing short essays – Concordia University
How Many Pages Is 300 Words? – Capitalize My Title
Simple Ways to Write a Short Essay (with Pictures) – wikiHow
Essay Structure | Harvard Writing Center
12 Useful Tips To Improve Your Essay Writing Skills | Indeed.com
Develop a Topic & Working Thesis – How to Write a Good Essay – LibGuides at Bow Valley College
How to Write a Statement of Professional Goals | College of Education
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Management Philosophy essay

Philosophy is based on the principals that I have value and believe is what embodies a good leader. Following these principals will show you what to expect from me, what I expect of you, and so you can help me become a better leader. I lead by: Setting the right example by aligning actions and words with values. Making and keeping commitments. Earning credibility through the hard work efforts. Setting goals which are measurable and achievable. Encouraging others to reach their potential. Demonstrating integrity and character to others. Recognizing the success of others is paramount to the success of the company.

I express gratitude and thanks for the contribution of others. I place great value In: Knowledge. Sharing knowledge builds trust, gains credibility and Increases productively In our company and with our customers. Quality. Exceed the customer's quality expectations to generate customer satisfaction, trust, goodwill and repeat business. Honesty. Honesty is most essential. Trust. Trust is earned by action and also taken by action. Credibility. People who deliver what they promise build credibility and trust with those around them. Communication. Clear communication avoids error, mistakes and countermanding.

Talk to others the way you want to be talked to. Accuracy. Elimination of errors and inaccuracy builds confidence in our process. What I expect: Work towards your objectives daily. Keep them In focus and plan for success. Take pride In your work. Protect the company and Its Interest at all times. Give the company a full day's work for a full day's pay. Focus on getting results, meeting goals and help others do the same. Show respect for individuals. Learn from those you lead and value their contribution. Invest in their success. Be a team player and a team leader.

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Deontology Immanuel Kant’s deontological moral theory provides a strong base for making correct decisions and is a better ethics system than Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is.

A. Summary of "Sollicitudo rei socialis" John Paul II's message entitled "Sollicitudo rei socialis" speaks to the Catholic church's role in helping make better pressing social issues of the day, primarily.

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1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology
Welcome to 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, an ever-growing set of over 180 original 1000-word essays on philosophical questions, theories, figures, and arguments. We publish new essays frequently, so please check back for updates, follow us on Facebook, Twitter / X, and Instagram, and subscribe by email on this page to receive ...
What is Philosophy?
The question is itself a philosophical question. This essay surveys some answers. 'Philosophy' in a dictionary. 1. Defining Philosophy. The most general definition of philosophy is that it is the pursuit of wisdom, truth, and knowledge.[1] Indeed, the word itself means 'love of wisdom' in Greek.
PDF A Brief Guide to Writing the Philosophy Paper
arguments or theories in philosophy papers, you must always practice philosophy. This means that you should explain the argument in your own words and according to your own understanding of the steps involved in it. You will need to be very clear on the precise logical structure of an author's argument (N.B. this may not be
1,000-Word Philosophy: Philosophy for Everyone
"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. 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology is an open-access journal of philosophy. Its essays are introductions rather than argumentative articles.
CFP: 1000-Word Philosophy
1000-Word Philosophy 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.
300 Word Essay Examples & Topic Ideas
Materialism is a philosophy that places a high value on material possessions and physical comfort. In today's society, materialism is often seen as a negative trait, associated with greed and selfishness. ... A typical structure for a 300-word essay includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction should provide a ...
What is Philosophy: Meaning and Importance
Philosophy Definition: Socrates. Plato's Socratic dialogues convey that philosophy is self-examining, examining other features of existence and acknowledgement of knowledge limits. In the Euthyphro, Plato reveals the nature of philosophy through the dialogues of Socrates as he goes to face the trial against corrupting young men.
Reflections on Doing Philosophy in High School by Steve Goldberg
Followed by each dimension of philosophy, I sketch strategies for teacher assessment and student exploration through writing. I hope this blog sparks a conversation about how we feature writing in philosophy instruction. Philosophy is a reflective activity that invites students to make explicit their fundamental assumptions and beliefs. Self ...
My Philosophy of Life, Essay Example
It is what is known through my eyes, but it relies on my expanding my sight to make the most of it. More than anything, my philosophy of life is one that brings life right to me side, always. It holds to the conviction that, no matter how we make it happen, life is what the world around me and I shape every moment.
300 Words Essay Examples 2024: Best Samples
300 Words Essay Examples 2024: Best Samples. How can you fit all your thoughts in 300 words? To learn that you can look at our 300 words essay example texts showing all the structural nuances of brief papers.
Essay about The Importance of Philosophy
582 Words. 3 Pages. Open Document. The Importance of Philosophy. "All things in life are philosophical.". This is a well-known quote by the renowned Greek scientist/philosopher Aristotle. When one is to imagine life without thought, free will or knowledge, they are left to only imagine the oblivion they would be left to reside in.
300 Word Essay Examples
Example Essay: Throughout high school, I had always excelled in academics. My mother is a college professor and my father is a teacher, so learning was instilled in me at a very young age. During my junior year (a monumental year for future college students), I faced a significant setback when I received a failing grade on a crucial exam in a ...
300 Word Essay Examples & Topic Ideas
300-Word Essay Structure. A 300-word essay has a standard structure: an introduction with a strong thesis statement, the main body, and a conclusion. It usually has 3-4 paragraphs, each containing 3-5 sentences or 75-125 words. Each body paragraph should be written using the PEE principle (point, evidence, explanation).
Philosophy of Photography as an Art
Photography is regarded as a mere reflection of the reality that is created with the help of technology. This paper focuses on photography and its connection to art. It can be difficult to differentiate between photographs and pieces of art. However, Arthur Danto's notion of interpretation as a key component of art can help in identifying ...
Writing a Philosophy of Education
Your teaching philosophy should be 2-3 pages in length and written in first person and in present tense. It should state your goal of education and several ideas you have about how to reach that goal. You will want to include examples and descriptions so your reader can "see" you in your classroom—these may be specific teaching strategies ...
Freedom as a Philosophy of Life
Place an order. A philosophy of freedom is like Jean-Paul Satre, a French philosopher. According to him, freedom is absolute 'by oneself to determine oneself to wish'. Freedom is an act to do things without constraint. It is an act that we human being has a right to choose whether good or bad.
Crafting a Personal Philosophy Statement
The essay discusses how a philosophy statement serves as a compass, guiding personal and professional actions and decisions. It stresses the need for simplicity in expression, avoiding jargon, and the significance of authenticity through personal anecdotes. Additionally, it underscores the evolving nature of a philosophy statement, encouraging ...
How to Write a 300-Word Essay: Length, Examples, Free Samples
To write a 300-word essay, start with drafting a thesis statement. Then create an essay plan with three main points to support your thesis. Begin each paragraph with a clear topic sentence and provide supporting evidence. Wrap up your essay with a concluding section that reinforces your thesis.
Ethics
ETHICS. ACTIVITY: Write an essay consisting of 150-300 words with this topic: <Reason and Emotions: How They Affect Moral Behavior= Our behavior is always associated with a driving force. This driving force can be our logical way of thinking or it can also be our own emotions.
Management Philosophy essay (300 Words)
Management Philosophy essay. Philosophy is based on the principals that I have value and believe is what embodies a good leader. Following these principals will show you what to expect from me, what I expect of you, and so you can help me become a better leader. I lead by: Setting the right example by aligning actions and words with values.