Philosophy Now

Philosophy is one of the most spontaneous and profound activities humans can pursue; but, what can you do with a major in philosophy? Here are eleven reasons to choose the examined life .

Environmental ethics is that branch of philosophy dealing with the major ethical questions regarding the relationships between humans and the environment. This includes issues such as biodiversity, wildlife management, ecological preservation, hunting practices, farming techniques, and food regulations.

The idea of a self plays a central role in Western philosophy as well as in the Indian and other major traditions. Three main types of views of the self can be discerned. One moves from Kant’s conception of rationally autonomous self, another from the so-called homo-economicus theory, of Aristotelian descent. Both those types of views theorize...

The philosophy of hunting is a subfield of the philosophy of food, which deals most importantly with the ethical, environmental, and evolutionary aspects of the practice of hunting. Among its central questions: can hunting ever be regarded as morally good? Which methods for hunting are most ethical? Is hunting for sport rather than for food,...

Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy whose importance has extensively grown over the past century, in connection to the raising prestige and influence of disciplines such as physics, chemistry and – most lately – biology in understanding basic questions regarding the world as well as human identity and agency. Although its existence...

What do you know, really? And how did you arrive at it? These are the two central questions of epistemology, or "theory of knowledge", one of the most central branches in philosophy along with metaphysics and ethics. Epistemological views have been elaborated in all philosophical traditions. They divide primarily among so-called rationalist and...

Logic is one of the most important and oldest branches of philosophy and its subject matter falls at the core of philosophizing. Logic studies patterns of reasoning dividing them into those that are "valid" and "invalid" with respect to a set of given rules. Classical logic studies those arguments that are valid with respect to some rules as...

Philosophy of language takes central place in contemporary philosophizing and its dealt in quite different manners in the analytic and continental traditions (roughly, the modern-day Anglo-Saxon and German-French philosophical schools respectively). In the analytic tradition, philosophy of language has focused on the characterization of meaning,...

To what extent is the use of rhetorical figures in philosophical writing, such as metaphors and analogies, the mark of a weakness on the part of the author? Can we sort out different styles of philosophizing, such as analytic and continental, based on their use of rhetorical devices?

The idea of a West was initially also a geographic idea, when first used by the ancient Greeks to indicate the societal structure and culture of those societies that stood West of Persia. Later adopted also to describe the societies falling under the Roman influence, it has since been utilized by early and late medieval Christians, Europeans,...

Empiricism is the philosophical stance according to which the senses are the ultimate source of human knowledge. It rivals rationalism according to which reason is the ultimate source of knowledge. In a form or another, empiricism features in most philosophical tradition. In Western philosophy, empiricism boasts a long and distinguished list of...

Philosophy of biology is that branch of philosophy dealing with the major issues arising from biological sciences, such as the proper understanding of evolutionary processes, the demarcation between living and non-living entities, the nature of species and – more generally – of biological taxa.

Rationalism is the philosophical stance according to which reason is the ultimate source of human knowledge. It rivals empiricism according to which the senses suffice in justifying knowledge. In a form or another, rationalism features in most philosophical tradition; in the Western one, it boasts a long and distinguished list of followers,...

Political science studies governments in all their forms and aspects, both theoretical and practical. Once a branch of philosophy, political science nowadays is typically considered a social science. The history of the discipline is virtually as long as that of humanity. Its roots in the Western tradition are typically individuated in the works...

What are the best philosophy departments around the world, overall and by specialty? Here to the rankings of the Philosophical Gourmet Report, edited by Brian Leiter.

Palgrave Macmillan has a new anthology series out, aiming at presenting the work of next-generation philosophers. Check it out!

What are the ten best blogs in philosophy? Here is the ranking by Brian Leiter, to date one of the earliest and foremost bloggers in philosophy.

Where is the next cool philosophy conference taking place? Here is a list of resources compiled by EpistemeLinks.

Experimental philosophy is probably the hottest trend in contemporary analytic philosophy: it is characterized by its experimental methodology, which mixes philosophical expertise with the research tools proper of cognitive science. Here to a list of sources.