Philosophy Foundations
“What is out there?” “What does it mean to know?” “How should we live?” Our answers to these questions help shape the way we interact with the world on a daily basis. Philosophy is a chance to seek these answers for yourself. We’re excited to help you start your journey!
Brand new to philosophy? This is the intro pack for you! Below you’ll find some resources to help get you started studying philosophy on the right foot. Philosophy can seem overwhelming at first, but don’t let that scare you. Even if you had no formal exposure to philosophy, there is a good chance you have already thought about some of the most important philosophical questions at some point in your life.
Videos
What is Philosophy?
Crash Course Philosophy
- What is Philosophy?
- How to Argue — Philosophical Reasoning
- 6 Great Sayings from Western Philosophy
Want to Know More?
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The Value of Philosophy
Bertrand Russell -
What is Philosophy?
Florida State University -
What is Philosophy?
Philosophy Basics -
What is Critical Thinking?
Critical Thinking Web -
Eight Ways to Remember Anything
Psychology Today
Questions to Think About
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What is Philosophy?
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Why do we do Philosophy?
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What is out there?
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What does it mean to know?
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How should we live?
Key Texts
Classics
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Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle -
The Second Sex
Simone de Beauvoir -
The Stranger
Albert Camus -
The Critique of Pure Reason
Immanuel Kant -
Tao Te Ching
Laozi -
The Apology of Socrates
Plato -
On the Genealogy of Morals
Friedrich Nietzsche -
The Problems of Philosophy
Bertrand Russell -
Being and Nothingness
Jean-Paul Sartre -
The Art of War
Sun Tzu
Key Terms
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- epistemology
- the branch of philosophy that studies how we know things
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- metaphysics
- the branch of philosophy that studies existence
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- ethics
- the branch of philosophy that considers what we ought to do and how we ought to live
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- logic
- the branch of philosophy concerned with reasoning and the validity of statements using fancy symbols
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- aesthetics
- the branch of philosophy that studies what is beautiful