Essays on Philosophy

Martin Luther and Erasmus were both scholars whose work touched on Christianity and Biblical teaching, during the Renaissance period. The two had controversial and contrasting accounts on free will. Their works were highly controversial and drew widespread criticism from the church. Martin Luther maintained that there is nothing like free-will...

Marcus Aurelius was one of the exemplary emperors in Rome and known as the last of the five good Roman emperors. Marcus trained on Stoic philosophy, which emphasizes on personal ethics and happiness of human beings. Marcus Aurelius was thus able to note down his everyday experiences on journals guided...

The Concept of Free Will The philosophical term “free will” is used to describe the capacity of a rational agent to decide on a course of action from a range of varieties unimpeded. Although several philosophers have not agreed on what course is the free will course; they have at the...

The trolley problem is a thought experiment involving ethical conflict and moral paradox. It was first proposed by Phillipa Foot in 1967 and later analyzed extensively by Judith Jarvis Thompson. The trolley problem poses a decision making challenge wherein one has to decide between two tracks in the way of...

In “The Subjectivity of Values”, Mackie makes a case in favor of an error theory concerning objective morality. According to him, moral judgments essentially presuppose moral objectivity (Mackie 12). The essayist argues that moral objectivity necessitates two elements: the ability to unconditionally inspire people to act, and an intrinsic reason-giving...

THE ARTIST BARNETT NEWMAN COMMENTED:’AESTHETICS IS FOR ART WHAT ORNITHOLOGY IS FOR THE BIRDS.’ BASED ON IMMANUEL KANT’S PHILOSOPHY HOW WOULD HE RESPOND TO NEWMAN’S CLAIM? Aesthetics and the actual practice of art have been compared with the philosophy of science, modern physics and mathematics for several years. However, academic aesthetics...

In the paper “Desire and the Human Good,” Richard Kraut states that the theory used to defend pluralism, Desire Satisfaction Theory, is weak and cannot be able to provide the defense required, because of this, he offers an alternative.  In the paper, Kraut presents an argument against the Desire-Based Theories...

Philosophy explains the correlation between mind and body with some philosophers showing that there is dualism. Descartes’ position on mind and body dualism made his stance famous. Descartes believes that the mind and body exist as two separate substances that can exist apart (Heil 44). He believes that mind correlates...

Plato's Apology and Socrates' Trial Plato is famous for his teachings in philosophy, and also the lessons he recorded from Socrates and his teachings. One of the most famous passages about Socrates is the Apology, a statement by Socrates accounted by Plato about Socrates trial. It is necessary to understand the...

Theistic philosopher William Cage debated atheistic philosopher Peter Millican on the theme, Does God Exist? The debate was an enlightening and interesting one as it covered a wide range of topics each aimed at justifying their premise. The friendly nature of the debate was worth appreciating as no participant attacked...

The parties included in the article “Thinking Critically about Ethical Issues, Case 1, p. 60” are the Makah, Sea Shepherd, the US government and Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). The Makah is one of the Native American tribe whose culture is characterized by killing gray whales. The Sea Shepherd is...

The ethical conflict and justificatory structure of empirical knowledge The ethical conflict, in this case, is in regard to how one can determine whether any empirical belief is true. The argument that presents itself in this reading is in reference to the justificatory structure of empirical knowledge. Essentially, an empirical belief...