Free essays on Philosophy are essays that are readily available on the internet for anyone to download and use. These essays cover a wide range of philosophical topics such as ethics, logic, metaphysics, epistemology, and many others. They are usually written by students, professors, or scholars who have a deep understanding of philosophical concepts and are willing to share their knowledge with others. Free essays on philosophy serve as an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to learn more about this fascinating philosophical discipline.
Michel Foucault and Postmodern Panopticons Around Us
In Michel Foucault's “Panopticism”, he discusses Jeremy Bentham's idea of the panopticon which is a prison that allows for the prisoners to be well lit and watched at all times; however, the prisoners never know when they are being watched because the watchers are behind blackened glass. Foucault rightly points out that this breaks the seeing/being seen distinction because the prisoner cannot see if he/she is being watched, but the watcher both can see inside and out. So, this instills…...
EthicsMichel FoucaultPolitics
Punishment Passed From the Body to the Soul of Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault gives an in-depth historical analysis of punitive punishment in order to diagnose the current state of the application of punishment. In Discipline & Punish Foucault suggests that punishment has moved from a focus on the body to that of the soul. Further, capital punishment has moved from an act of valor, to one in which the punishing party seeks to become opaque. That is, those who execute wish to alleviate themselves of the pressures and responsibility of the…...
Michel FoucaultPsychologyPunishment
Reliability and Its Present in the Adaptation of The Turn of the Screw
From the transition from text to film, the text can be distorted and altered to a point to affect the plat and the characters negatively or positively. In the adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, the Innocents correlates well with the text but there are subtle differences in particular instances. In the text, the reader is left to believe whether the protagonist is reliable emotionally as stable character. Opposed to the text, the film gives concrete evidence of the…...
GhostRealityThe Turn Of The Screw
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A Look Into Biological Determinism & Social Constructionism
In the article, “The Social Construction of Gender” by Judith Lorber, she discusses the fabrication of gender as a mass media manipulation. She goes into how gender is so bred into us, that we just associate it with our genes. Lorber does an excellent job of shining light on the issue of how we as humans, create “gender” from our everyday human interaction, social life, and the order of our social life. The main point that Lorber is trying to…...
Determinism
Ethics and Leadership at Emporia State University Logan Evans
Strategic Management Table of Contents Page Introduction Consumer Retention Employee Retention Productivity of Staff Legal and Regulatory Reasons Environmental Concern Ethical Decision Making Guidelines Conclusion Introduction Many define business ethics as being social responsible, Investopedia’s definition for social responsibility is the idea that businesses should balance profit-making activities with activities that benefit society. It involves developing businesses with a positive relationship to the society in which they operate. I will be discussing what is considered ethical behavior by business leaders.…...
EthicsLeadershipLeadership And Management
Kant and Mill’s contributions to 18th-19th century philosophy
Immanuel Kant, who was a German, was born in 1724 and died in 1804. He is considered to be a modern figure of philosophy as his viewpoint talked about the fundamental concepts of the human mind along with other important philosophical conceptions that are still recognized to this day, like epistemology and ethics, this is referred to as Kantianism‘i On the other hand, Utilitarianism was a concept primarily associated with Jeremy Benthamz, who was an English philosopher, a jurist and…...
John Stuart Mill
Mill of Rights: Government Interference
Political economist John Stuart Mill explains two unique, yet similar types of government interference on the economy and society, and describes some justifications of government interference in his influential work, Principles ofPoIiricaI Economy. A backer of utilitarianism, Mill concludes his Principles piece with a paired depiction of government interferences on the economy. First, be critically describes “the authoritative interference of government” as actions that enforce and regulate society, of which “may extend to controlling the free agency of individuals” (Medema…...
John Stuart Mill
Economic Theory of Value
Early economic writers—such as David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, William Stanley Jevons, and Alfred Marshallitheorized value differently in their own approaches, yet influenced each others work, In his renowned work, On the Principles ofPoiiticaI Economy & Taxation, Ricardo’s theory of value claims that the exchange value of a good is derived from the amount of labor required in its production, including raw materials and equipment, in addition to labor (Medema and Samuels 269) Ricardo cautions that this should also be…...
John Stuart Mill
Epicurus vs Mill on Peter’s Statement
In the following paper I will compare and contrast how Epicurus and John Stuart Mill would evaluate Peter’s claim. Peter says that pleasure and only pleasure is what makes life worth living, therefore, he is going to eat, drink, and have sex all day, everyday. Although Mill and Epicurus might agree that pleasure and only pleasure is what makes life worth living, I don’t think they would completely agree with his new lifestyle Epicurus is a hedonist, which means that…...
John Stuart Mill
The Addition of John Stuart Mill on Bentham’s Views on Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is “the View that the right action is that, among the open choices, results in the greatest good (usually defined as pleasure/happiness) for the greatest number of persons,” (class glossary). One such theorist is John Stuart Mill. Heavily influenced by Bentham, the father of utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill adopted the view of utilitarianism and strengthened it by altering the way in which happiness is defined. In this essay, I will explain how Mill adds on to Bentham’s version of…...
John Stuart Mill
A Critical Assessment of John Stuart Mill’s Principle of Liberty
Critically assess Mill’s principle of liberty John Stuart Mill was an English political economist and civil servant born in the nineteenth century. His ideas of liberalism, developed and deviated from his famous father, James Mill‘s, far surpassed any that had been popular at the time, Mill was an advocate of complete freedom from societal restraints and universal franchise, a concept alien in Victorian era England where only one in seven men had the right to vote. He was a member…...
Critical TheoryJohn Stuart MillPhilosophers
Phelps’ Belief-Certainty Link Critique
I challenge William Lyon Phelps's statemenabouten the relationship between certainty and belief, because while Phelps claims having a belief in something can be sufficient motivation to do something, the fact that you simply believe in something, does not make it certain. Belief is a powerful motivator. We hear many stories about blind people climbing mountains, or paralyzed people completing triathlons. These events start with the belief that one can accomplish, “... those things that other people are certain are impossible.”…...
Bertrand Russell
A Discussion on Rene Descartes’ Theory on the Mind-Body Problem
The Mind-Body Problem The topic of the mind-body problem starts with a well-known philosopher, Rene Descartes. Descartes proposes a theory with which many psychologists agree with also is the view known as common sense. Descartes answers no to the question, "Are we simply very complex parts of the physical world?” (Perry 239). Descartes explains that the mind is not part of the physical world at all. A continued explanation would be that physical things take up space, while our minds do not take…...
Bertrand Russell
The Proof of God’s Existence in Summa Theologica, a Book by Thomas Aquinas
In his work Summa Theologica, the 13th-century religious philosopher Saint Thomas Aquinas proposes his proof of the existence of God. He called this theory the Cosmological Argument. (Reichenbach 4.1) This argument consists of five distinct ways in which Aquinas proves the existence of the highest being who has the characteristics most would hold of a God. One of the most controversial of these ways is the Uncaused Cause Argument, which is his statement of God's existence as the “first cause”…...
Bertrand Russell
The Life and Philosophies of Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell was born in Trelleck, Wales on May 18, 1872. He was a descendant of a prominent Whig family. His grandfather was Lord John Russell, who had twice served as Prime Minister under Queen Victoria. Bertrand was orphaned at the age of three and raised by his grandparents. He was educated in private schools and later at Trinity College, Cambridge. He earned degrees in mathematics and philosophy. Eventually, he taught at Cambridge. Russell was a philosopher, logician,…...
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell’s Thoughts on the Value of Philosophy
At the beginning of class, the instructor asked what our thoughts were on philosophy; I said that philosophy is the discovery of life's meaning, and why things are there for a reason. Our very first reading was on the great philosopher; Bertrand Russell who addresses that "the value of philosophy” is equivalent to everyone “finding a way of escape” (p.xvi) Russell roughly gives his example by talking about the "Practical” men, he applies the "practical" men and comparing it to…...
Bertrand Russell
Logic Concept by Dewey and Russell
Logic. What is logic? The generally accepted definition, or the “popular conception,” states that logic is simply a set of rules for good, proper, or correct reasoning (the precise wording changes depending on who you're talking to, but you get the idea). On the surface, this is a grand description, it's enough to make us nod and feel that the issue is adequately tidied up. Upon analysis, however, we realize that this conception fails to hold up to much if…...
Bertrand Russell
An Overview of Ethics Accounting
Ethics Accounting The purpose of ethics in business is for individuals to abide by a code of conduct that facilitates, if not encourages, public confidence in their products and services. In the accounting field, the AICPA maintains and enforces a code of professional conduct for public accountants. Professional accounting organizations recognize the accounting profession's responsibility to provide ethical guidelines to its members. The AICPA's first principle of professional conduct states: "In carrying out their responsibilities as professionals, members should exercise…...
Accounting Ethics
Idealism in Taps Movie
Idealism is a central topic in Taps since it defines the state of affairs for Bunker Hill Military Academy. The young cadets are impeccably represented and have set their minds on protecting their school at all costs, driven by their leaders. The filmmaker seeks to point out how idealism is an essential factor in the various avenues. Idealism focuses on the creation of the ideal conditions of life out of the manifestation of the thoughts (Guyer). The lives of the…...
Idealism
Locke vs Sartre: Determinism vs Free Will
Many philosophers hover over the topic of determinism versus free will; do we live in a world where individuals can choose, think, and act voluntarily, where their actions can change the outcomes of events, or do we live in a deterministic world, where all outcomes and events are set to occur and avoiding them is impossible. John Locke believed in a deterministic world, where individuals cannot change the outcomes of events; in contrast, Jean-Paul Sartre believed in a world where individuals make their…...
Determinism
Thomas Nagel’s Argument on the Incompatibility of Determinism With Free Will
Thomas Nagel states that determinism and free will are two incompatible with one another as they completely contradict one another. Thomas Nagel states that in determinism, people do not have free will as the universe brings out the totality of circumstance that leads you to do certain actions, such as eating a cake instead f of a peach. As free will is an act where you, yourself choose what to do and carefree to act differently, dedeterminingwhere you could,t is…...
Determinism
The Argument Between Free Will and Determinism
The argument between free will and determinism has been contended about for hundreds of years. What are the main differences between the two viewpoints? If a person were to look in a dictionary, free will would be defined as the power, attributed to human beings, to freely make choices that are unimpeded by outside conditions or by an agency that would control such things as fate or divine will. Free will lets humans make choices of their own. On the other side of…...
Determinism
An Explanation of Human Behavior Through Social Determinism
Human behavior is the product of millions of years, and throughout our existence, our behavior has always been the subject of profound research and questioning. There exists a great diversity of various social, anthropological, or psychological theories, which tend to explain human nature and analyze our behavior by this or that particular idea. Such theories are known as deterministic ones, as they seek the clue in just one area of human performance. Among such an abundance of theories, it is…...
Determinism
Understanding the Existence of Free Will and Determinism
Does free will exist? On the surface, the answer may seem obvious free will exists. If you are hungry, you can choose to go grab a bag of potato chips or a yogurt. Do we have the ability to make conscious decisions in our lives or do we? If you dig a little deeper, the idea that free will doesn't exist doesn't sound so absurd. If all of our decisions are based on some combination of our genetic predisposition, environmental influences, and…...
Determinism
Determinism and Free Will’s Effect on Actions and Responsibility
Whether our actions are free, predetermined, or both is a topic that has been widely debated and remains unclear today. Is the relationship between our actions and responsibility accurately described by determinism, compatibilism, or free will? Analyzing the nature and implications of both free will and determinism reveals that neither one of the two completely accounts for all of our actions. We are not completely free when making our decisions because everything is a chain of cause and effect, with…...
Determinism
A Comparison of Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud
Friedrich Nietzsche in his “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” and "Beyond Good and Evi praise the uniqueness of the superman over the crowd of people, the latter ‘blinded’ by the self-imposed frame of morality, religion, the notions of good’ and ‘evil, the ‘right’ and the ‘wrong’. Nietzsche appeals to eject the deceitful chains of ethical restrictions to give ongoing to a new kind of person ~ radical egocentric, who dances throughout his life (praises life in its most extreme manifestations), a Creator…...
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Idea of Eternal Return in the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche
This life, as you live it now and as you have lived it, you will have to live once more and countless times more. And there will be nothing new about it, but every pain and every pleasure, and every thought and sigh, and everything unspeakably small and great in your life must come back to you, and all in the same series and sequence.” This is the description Friedrich Nietzsche uses to portray the idea of etemalrecurence famously presented…...
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Moral Concepts in Friedrich Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals
The origins of an individual's moral concepts exist as a confusing subject, often receiving no explanation. Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher passionate about writing religious and moral critiques, composed On the Genealogy of Morals to scrutinize and elucidate these perplexing moral concepts. Although the original text consists of three separate essays, only an excerpt of the first essay "Good and Evil, Good and Bad is printed in Classics of Western Thought Vol. il. This essay specifically observes the social class…...
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Ethnographic History of Native America People
Before the white man, the story of Iroquois Indians began long before the white explorers, traders, and settlers reached the shores of the New World. The Iroquois originally lived in some unknown part of North America. According to legend, these Indians were instructed by the Great Spin to move into the Northeast. There they carved a territory for themselves in the middle of a rival group of Indians, the Algonquins. The Iroquois settled in beautiful and rich lands of northern…...
Ethnographic
African American Return to the South: Analysis
Call to Home is an ethnographic account written by the author Carol Stacks following the lives of African American immigrants as they travel back south. The book reveals African American roots, emotions language, and family aspects, The book examines the motivation behind the new trend that has not been captured in other contexts. The interesting factor about the ethnography i that it recognizes the fact that the south is considered a ‘vexed place one of the least promising economic regions…...
Ethnographic
Aristotle & Virtue
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is Aristotle’s way of explaining what the good life is (eudaimonia). His Lessons are broken up into “books” that each feature a key aspect of his reasoning. Book II, chapters 5, 6 & 8 focuses on virtue. Aristotle states that “there are three things to be found in the soul – feelings, capacities, and states – so virtue should be one of these”. Feelings are described as feelings, anger, fear, joy, love, etc; “things accompanied by pleasure…...
Nicomachean Ethics
Technology’s Not to Blame for Stupidity by Goldberg
In David Theo Goldberg’s article “If Technology is Making Us Stupid, It’s Not Technology’s Fault,” he efficiently lets the audience know about how the effects that technology could have on the future generation’s education in a social environment. He presents prospected effects that can happen if the younger society gets too trapped within this system by conducting defined organization and adding unique comparisons. Through his article, Goldberg imparts rational arguments to persuade the audience to support his view. By using…...
Jacques Derrida
Movie Evolution
The first joint volume, Anti-Oedipus (1972), was a bestseller in France, a true success of the scandal, and placed Deleuze in the spotlight as a public intellectual. Then they wrote Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature (1975), followed by a book that, at least in the eyes of some, competes in Difference and Repetition for the title of Deleuze, “A Thousand Plateaus” (1980). The 1980s were a decade of independent works for Deleuze: “Francis Bacon: Logic of Sensation” (1981); “Cinema I:…...
Jacques Derrida
Nietzsche’s ‘Truth’ on Truth
Epistemological philosophers began musing over the theory of knowledge several millennia ago and continue to do so presently. The works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Jacques Derrida, and Steven Ward each present separate, yet comparable approaches regarding the origin and definition of knowledge, as well as its correlation to truth, suggesting that knowledge is relative. The relativity of knowledge would imply that truth, too, is relative and therefore dependent upon simulated concepts that vary, not only across man but as Nietzsche implies,…...
Jacques Derrida
Social Competence
Social competence is the ability to build a positive relationship while obtaining a personal goal within a social interaction (Rubin & Rose-Krasnor, 1992, p. 285). This essay will consist of a summary of eight characteristics of social competence and an example of a competent adolescent, followed by an analysis of two immature and two mature socially competent traits in early childhood, and ending with a real-life application. The purpose of this essay is to analyze eight characteristics of social competence.…...
Table Manners
Happiness And Lifestyle In The Article Nicomachean Ethics By Aristotle
In the article Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle talks a lot about how one should live their life. He speaks about happiness, what it is and how it should and should not look in everyday life. He speaks a lot about how we should treat each other along with how we should treat ourselves in order to live a very happy and healthy life overall. He also talked about reasoning and the differences between practical and theoretical reasoning which is important because…...
AristotleHuman NatureNicomachean Ethics
For What Reason Should People Do Good Things?
Plato’s Symposium details a conversation of many Greek intelligentsia which is comprised of multiple distinctive conjectures on the nature of love. Of all the speculations, it seems to me that Socrates’ was closest to transcending its theoretical nature. The concept of the desire to produce the eternal good is expressed as a central tenet in Plato’s account of Socrates’ expounded conviction.Before Socrates makes his ultimate case on the nature of love, he wants to make sure that he delineates the…...
AristotleNicomachean EthicsPhilosophersPlato
Samuel Langhorne Clemons (Mark Twain) And The Adventures Of Huckleberry
Samuel Langhorne Clemons began working at a young age to support his family after his father’s passing. In 1851, he started out working for his brother as a printer. He became a riverboat piolet, Horace Bixby. He began working for the newspaper shortly after and this is when he received his pen name, Mark Twain. In 1870, he married Olivia Langdon, the daughter of a wealthy coal dealer from Buffalo, New York. Soon after, he wrote his most famous book…...
AristotleHuman NatureNicomachean Ethics
Aristotle on Good Human Life
In the Nicomachean Ethics, philosopher Aristotle lays out his argument for what makes a good and happy human life. Aristotle believes the final end for a human is “eudaimonia”, a state of flourishing and living well. Aristotle says we will understand eudaimonia if we first understand the function of a human. He writes that a thing will be ‘good’ insofar as it performs its function well. For example, a knife will be ‘good’ if it is able to perform its…...
AristotleHuman NatureNicomachean EthicsPhilosophers
The Pursuit of Happiness
One of the common questions asked relates to how an individual can manage to live a satisfying and purposeful life. It can be stated that Greek philosophers were among the earliest thinkers to respond to this query. Plato and Aristotle represent two of the most influential Greek thinkers. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle uses the term eudaimonia; EU meaning well, and daimon meaning spirit. In some cases, eudaimonia is described as the study of happiness. Therefore, the primary focus of this…...
Nicomachean Ethics
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