The Problem with the 'Grue Problem'
Book review - 5 pages - Philosophy
Nelson Goodman, in his book 'Fact, Fiction and Forecast', presents a well known problem he calls The New Riddle of Induction. It seeks to criticize a basic kind of inductive reasoning most notably characterized by the phrase all emeralds are green. Goodman wants...
Sample Statement of Purpose - For a Philosopher
Course material - 2 pages - Philosophy
I haven't always wanted to be a philosopher. In fact, I've wanted to be many other things: a writer, a psychologist, an artist, perhaps even a scientist or doctor. As a child, I grew up imagining the things I wanted to be, but never what I wanted to do. "You can be anything you want to...
Women in Ancient Societies
Essay - 4 pages - Philosophy
The roles and treatment of women in ancient societies varied greatly. Depending on which society is observed, one would have witnessed many different rules for the female population. Some societies were cruel and others were much more lenient and fair. Women in ancient societies sometimes had...
Nietzsche's 'The Birth of Tragedy'
Essay - 4 pages - Philosophy
In Nietzsche's 'The Birth of Tragedy', he addresses a specific problem: how to establish a German nation-state in the modern social and political environment. Nietzsche begins with the question of how to model a state in the modern period that is not liberal, but, at the same time, is not...
Political philosophies of Edmund Burke and Jean Jacques Rousseau
Thesis - 4 pages - Philosophy
Jean Jacques Rousseau and Edmund Burke were great political thinkers with different views on human nature, civil society, government, religion, and the extent of human rights. Rousseau believes that men have inalienable rights and possess the ability to destroy and rebuild the government in...
Self-Love as it connects to the theme of "recognition"
Thesis - 4 pages - Philosophy
There is no concept of more importance to an individual's sense of recognition than the idea of self-love. Self-love helps one to better theorize recognition because it provides necessary contexts, reasoning and often difficulty to measure individuality in the topic of recognition. Self-love...
The Overman and the Eternal Recurrence
Thesis - 5 pages - Philosophy
In 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra', Friedrich Nietzsche concludes that in an infinite universe where there is no God, every finite event recurs eternally. As only the Overman can embrace this concept of eternal recurrence, it is necessary to attain mastery over the will to power. Since...
Market Islam: The other Conservative Revolution' by Patrick Haenni (2005)
Essay - 3 pages - Philosophy
The West, in the post September 11, 2001 days, is characterized by its mistrust of the currents of radical Islam, Islam is considered the new enemy. Among the hawks and those who fuel the enmity towards Islam, the confusion is common, and the lack of reliable information means that any...
"In twenty years' time, nobody will write letters"
Thesis - 1 pages - Philosophy
The advance of technology is more and more progressing. We use less paper and pen to communicate; these tools have been replaced by new technologies such as SMS or email. We can ask ourselves if in twenty years we will write letters. We'll see in the first part the advanced techniques which...
A new economic model: Development, justice and freedom - Amartya SEN
Thesis - 5 pages - Philosophy
From the beginning of the industrial revolution, development has been seen as the accumulation of capital. Several economists have tried to expand it, considering this definition to be simplistic and harsh. Until the sixties, the "human factor" was included in the concept of productive capital,...
Project of econometrics: Causes of infant mortality in Africa (2006)
Thesis - 20 pages - Philosophy
My study focuses on child mortality in Africa. According to UNICEF figures, the mortality rate among children under 5 years varies considerably from one country to another, and is amplified in certain countries. For this international organization whose responsibility is the protection of...
"Nagel argues that life is necessarily absurd" - An argument to prove the statement is wrong
Thesis - 3 pages - Philosophy
Nagel begins his article with a generic claim: Most people feel on occasion that life is absurd, and some feel it vividly and continually (Nagel, 1971) and then proceeds to offer standard arguments he feels are inadequate for the justification of such; the basic outlines (and...
If you were given a chance to create an ideal society, what would it be?
Essay - 2 pages - Philosophy
It always seems dangerous to talk about an 'ideal society' because this is exactly what all the totalitarian and authoritarian regimes have been looking for. It has also been the ultimate purpose of all politics since Antiquity and one of the biggest dream of humankind. First of all, an...
Hobbes and the question of Legitimate Authority in the Leviathan: liberalism or fascism avant la lettre?
Book review - 3 pages - Philosophy
Hobbes contends that the human state of nature exists where every man is at war with every other man and in order to free ourselves from this state, we must relinquish all of our rights to one unified authority. The intention of this sovereign body is supposedly to serve the good of the people,...
Analysis of Socrates' Crito
Book review - 4 pages - Philosophy
The Crito strikes us as an oddly shocking story simply because Socrates, who was once portrayed as a loyalist to the gods, now argues the importance and essentiality of obedience to the laws of the state. It is natural to find The Crito surprising because Plato had described Socrates in The...
Compare and contrast Rousseau's and Tocqueville's accounts of the civil function of religion in a democracy. Consider closely the respective merits of their case before offering your own assessment
Essay - 4 pages - Philosophy
Rousseau and Tocqueville fundamentally agree that the civil function of religion is to strengthen the bond that exists between the people and the law. However, the two men differ in their views on how this bond should be strengthened. Rousseau argues in favor of a new, civil religion being...
Comparing the ideas of sovereignty of Hobbes and Rousseau
Book review - 4 pages - Philosophy
As the study revolves around the notion of sovereignty, it is important to know what sovereignty is. Presenting the definition given by a dictionary might be of no use, but it could partially enlighten us of what we are discussing. Various dictionaries offer alternative definitions for...
Contemporary theories of Justice- Essay : is the principle of Fair Equality of Opportunity (FEO) defensible?
Essay - 4 pages - Philosophy
The principle of Fair Equality of Opportunity (FEO) is a part of Rawls' theory of justice, detailed in his Theory of Justice (1971) . This principle emerges from Rawl's distinction of the classical liberal of ?careers open to talents' -or "formal equality of opportunity?- from a more...
Race, culture, civilisation
Essay - 5 pages - Philosophy
As we can observe daily uses of concepts like race, culture, or civilization through newspapers, magazines, TV shows, etc. The need of defining them occurs repeatedly. What then are we talking about with respect to the concept of culture? Is it a political, artistic, or even ethnic pattern of...
Living spaces : Social construction of habitat: the anthropological and social-historical origins of the house and home from the point of view of its fundamental and continuing significance to civilization
Essay - 6 pages - Philosophy
What could possibly be the common features amongst Inuit Igloos, Native American tepees and Swiss chalets? At face value, there is not much of a similarity as they belong to three very unique cultures. Nevertheless in this situation, it is relevant enough to draw a comparison amongst all these...
Does Rawl's account of the original position imply any theory of the person, or of personal identity?
Essay - 5 pages - Philosophy
Rawls account of the 'original position' is subject to many criticisms from communitarian philosophers. While this account constitutes the very basis from which he derives his theory of justice, it is regarded as being flawed and thus compromises the validity of his whole theory. The...
What are the differences between Locke's and Hobbes' notions of the "state of nature"? - published: 29/09/2010
Essay - 6 pages - Philosophy
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are probably the most famous political thinkers of the 17th century. The generally accepted view asserts that these authors were poles apart, the first one advocating an absolutist regime and the latter recommending a stable civil society where powers are separated....
"The French lost the language war", argues John Kay. Do you agree?
Essay - 1 pages - Philosophy
Language has become an important issue due to globalization. Previously if a person spoke only one language it did not matter much. However the situation is completely different in the modern world. Learning English has become mandatory for every individual to surive in the globalized world. John...
Is Rawls' version of "Reflective Equilibrium" a defensible method of theorizing about social justice?
Essay - 6 pages - Philosophy
When John Rawls publishes his Theory of Justice in 1971, he was the first to use the expression "reflective equilibrium" (RE). Even if this kind of idea had been employed before by Nelson Goodman (Goodman, 1955), Rawls employs it as his method, to build a complete theory of justice and sort out...
Swinging London - 1963-1967 - published: 29/09/2010
Essay - 4 pages - Philosophy
The sixties were usually referred to as a period of joy and optimism, especially in England, as it was a span of time between two tougher periods in British history. Socially and economically speaking, the fifties was characterized as a period of severe struggle in the United Kingdom. The...
Does multiculturalism undermine the universal conceptions of justice? - published: 29/09/2010
Essay - 4 pages - Philosophy
The Greek philosopher Plato believed in the existence of a parallel world which he called the world of Ideas. This world represented true knowledge with the help of concepts called ?the Ideas'. Each Idea corresponded to something that existed in the world that we experienced, also called ?the...
Assess the claim that Utilitarianism fails to take sufficient account of the moral significance of our relations to others
Essay - 4 pages - Philosophy
A comparison of how people used to live when they were still cave-inhabitants, with current living conditions that provide an organized society, with concepts such as justice, respect, tolerance and morality, we can feel justifiably proud of the progress we have made. Mankind has progressed so...
John Rawls' Theory of Justice
Book review - 5 pages - Philosophy
In the Theory of Justice (1971), Rawls offered an alternative to utilitarianism that led to different conclusions about justice. He asserted that if people had to choose principles of justice from behind a "veil of ignorance" that restricted their understanding of their own position in the...
Adaptation of Henry V
Essay - 5 pages - Philosophy
By analyzing and studying the main themes (war, leadership, relationships between human being) developed in both the films (and the interpretation made by the two directors), we will see that, although adapted from the same play, the potrayal of Henry is quite different. In both versions of the...
The criticism of religion: Marx
Thesis - 6 pages - Philosophy
Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818. Both his uncle and grandfather were famous rabbis in their city. But in 1817, Marx's father converted to Protestantism. The reason behind this conversion was that there was actually a series of laws unveiled by the new King of Prussia (1816) which made the...