Familiarize yourself with self-interest and selfishness in human nature — In the history of philosophy, the topic of human nature comes up frequently. Admittedly I think it comes up less frequently than is stereotypical, but that’s beside the point. Specifically, questions about our ethical nature have been the subject of much debate. Premises and conclusions about how we act naturally…

The life and ideas of Aristotle — Biography Aristotle was born in 384 B.C.E in a northeastern Greek town called Stagira. Stagira was a coastal town that didn’t have much of a claim to greatness besides being the birthplace of Aristotle. It’s common knowledge that Aristotle was a student of Plato. …

An introduction — Introduction You will often hear the descriptors “analytic” and “continental” tossed around in all things philosophy. In my experience these terms can be very nebulous and a simple definition is usually not sufficient to capture the meaning that people are trying to convey when they say them. In this article my…

The impetus for the most interesting period in philosophy — The modern period of philosophy is, in my opinion, the richest moment in philosophical history. The disputes that would originate at this time would come to determine the character of philosophy as we see it today. …

Insight gained from a close look at a fundamental work of Aristotle’s Organon. — Among Aristotle’s vast array of achievements in the advancement of human knowledge, arguably the most notable example is his work on logic. For those who are unaware, Aristotle wrote six surviving works that have been classified as The Organon. …

The worrying trend of scientists who hate philosophy and why they’re wrong. — In our contemporary era, which is dominated by a reverence for STEM subjects, philosophy has become somewhat of an underdog. I attribute this mostly to a misunderstanding of what philosophy entails. This misunderstanding can be chalked up to a number of factors, I think. Whether it’s a kind of passive…

Part 2 of analyzing Aristotle’s Rhetoric: the mechanisms of rhetoric. — At the outset of his work on rhetoric, Aristotle succinctly separates his dissertation from the attempts that came before. While he was distancing the act of rhetorical persuasion from its negative reputation, he was also distancing his writing from the writings of those who gave it that reputation. His contention…

Part 1 of analyzing Aristotle’s Rhetoric: cheap manipulation or a valuable discipline? — “Rhetoric” is a word which, by my estimation, carries a questionable connotation. In my experience, similar people can have radically different reactions to the word. With some, it may be looked down on as mere manipulation that an honest person need not pay attention to. …

New philosophers, hold off on reading the Greeks. — As is the case with many things, the hardest part of getting into philosophy is the beginning. If you were to make a graph displaying difficulty over time as you read more and more philosophy, it would likely be a slope that starts very high and begins to fall exponentially…