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Philosophy

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About Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument. In more casual speech, by extension, "philosophy" can refer to "the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group".

The word "philosophy" comes from the Ancient Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia), which literally means "love of wisdom".The introduction of the terms "philosopher" and "philosophy" has been ascribed to the Greek thinker Pythagoras.

Philosophy is divided into many sub-fields. These include epistemology, logic, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics.

Epistemology is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge, such as the relationships between truth, belief, and theories of justification.

Logic is the study of the principles of correct reasoning. Arguments use either deductive reasoning or inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is when, given certain statements (called premises), other statements (called conclusions) are unavoidably implied. Rules of inferences from premises include the most popular method, modus ponens, where given “A” and “If A then B”, then “B” must be concluded. A common convention for a deductive argument is the syllogism.

An argument is termed valid if its conclusion does indeed follow from its premises, whether the premises are true or not, while an argument is sound if its conclusion follows from premises that are true. Propositional logic uses premises that are propositions, which are declarations that are either true or false, while predicate logic uses more complex premises called formulae that contain variables. Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of reality, such as existence, time, the relationship between mind and body, objects and their properties, wholes and their parts, events, processes, and causation. Traditional branches of metaphysics include cosmology, the study of the world in its entirety, and ontology, the study of being.

Within metaphysics itself there are a wide range of differing philosophical theories. Idealism, for example, is the belief that reality is mentally constructed or otherwise immaterial while realism holds that reality, or at least some part of it, exists independently of the mind. Subjective idealism describes objects as no more than collections or "bundles" of sense data in the perceiver. The 18th century philosopher George Berkeley contended that existence is fundamentally tied to perception with the phrase Esse est aut percipi aut percipere or "To be is to be perceived or to perceive".

Ethics, or "moral philosophy," is concerned primarily with the question of the best way to live, and secondarily, concerning the question of whether this question can be answered. The main branches of ethics are meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Meta-ethics concerns the nature of ethical thought, such as the origins of the words good and bad, and origins of other comparative words of various ethical systems, whether there are absolute ethical truths, and how such truths could be known. Normative ethics are more concerned with the questions of how one ought to act, and what the right course of action is. This is where most ethical theories are generated. Lastly, applied ethics go beyond theory and step into real world ethical practice, such as questions of whether or not abortion is correct. Ethics is also associated with the idea of morality, and the two are often interchangeable. 1*

Ebooks and Texts: Philosophy

The Gift of Fire: HTML at sourcetext.com

Richard Mitchell's Publications Online: Multiple formats in AustraliaAccuracy not guaranteed 100%.

The Philosophy of Religion by Swami Krishnananda

The Philosophy of the Panchadasi by Swami Krishnananda

The Realisation of the Absolute by Swami Krishnananda

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Yoga by Swami Krishnananda

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Yoga by Swami Krishnananda

The Struggle for Perfection by Swami Krishnananda

Resurgent Culture by Swami Krishnananda

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: The Book of the Spiritual Man by Patanjali, trans. by Charles Johnston

The Light of the Soul, Its Science and Effect: A Paraphrase of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, ed. by Alice Bailey

The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali by Patanjali, trans. by William Quan Judge and James Henderson Connelly

Brahma Sutras by Swami Sivananda

Laws by Plato translated by Benjamin Jowett HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Charmides, or Temperance By Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Cratylus By Plat0HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Crito by Plato HTML at Bartleby, Gutenberg text

Euthydemus by Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Euthyphro By Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Gorgias by Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Laches, or Courage By Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Meno by Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Parmenides by Plat HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Plaedo by Plato HTML at Internet Classics, HTML at Bartleby, Gutenberg text

Phaedrus by Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Philebus by Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

Protagoras by Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text

The Republic (based on the 1892 edition) by Plato, trans. by Benjamin Jowett

The Republic by Plato (based on the 1892 edition; includes translator's full commentary) by Plato, trans. by Benjamin Jowett

Sophist by Plato HTML at Internet Classics, GGutenberg text

Symposiusm by Plato HTML at Internet Classics/a>, Gutenberg text

Theaetetus by Plato , HTML at Internet Classics, GGutenberg text

Timaeus by Plato HTML at Internet Classics, Gutenberg text, Gutenberg text; unofficial until 31 May 2003

On the Soul; by Aristotle, trans. by J. A. Smith

On Youth and Old Age, On Life and Death, On Breathing by Aristotle, trans. by G. R. T. Ross

On Generation and Corruption by Aristotle, trans. by H. H. Joachim

Eudemian Ethics by Aristotle (HTML at Perseus)

Nicomachean Ethics By Aristotle Written 350 B.C.E HTML at Internet Classics, HTML with chapter headings at nothingistic.org

 PDF at McMaster Ethics by Aristotle

Metaphysics by Aristotle, trans. by W. D. Ross

Prior Analytics by Aristotle, trans. by A. J. Jenkinson

Posterior Analytics by Aristotle, trans. by G. R. G. Mure

Rhetoric by Aristotle, trans. by W. Rhys Roberts

The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, with the Hymn of Cleanthes by Epictetus

The Golden Sayings of Epictetus by Epictetus, trans. by Hastings Crossley

The Discourses by Epictetus

Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, trans. by Meric Casaubon, contrib. by W. H. D. Rouse

Meditations HTML at Internet Classics, HTML at Bartleby

Augustine, de dialectica (trans. J. Marchand) : The Book of St. Augustine on Dialectic

Confessions (confessiones): Augustine: Confessions -- complete Latin text with commentary by JO'D. Latin text, English Translation (Pusey), English Translation (Outler) (in pdf format), Confessions in German, Confessions in Russian

City of God (de civitate Dei): Complete text, Christian Doctrine (de doctrina christiana): English Translation of Augustine's On Christian Doctrine from the series Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers

Philosophy and Fun of Algebra (London: C. W. Daniel, ca. 1909), by Mary Everest Boole (frame- and JavaScript-dependent page images at Cornell)

Philosophy and Modernization in China, ed. by Liu Fangtong, Huang Songjie, and George F. McLean (HTML at crvp.org)

Philosophy and the Social Problem (New York: Macmillan, 1917), by Will Durant (multiple formats at archive.org)

Philosophy as Absolute Science, by Ephraim L. Frothingham (page images at MOA)

Philosophy from St. Augustine to Ockham, by Ralph M. McInerny (HTML at Notre Dame)

Philosophy in Pakistan, ed. by Naeem Ahmad (HTML at crvp.org)

The Philosophy Of Alfarabi and its Influence On Medieval Thought (1947), by Robert Hammond (HTML at sacred-texts.com)

The philosophy of art: an introduction to the scientific study of aesthetics  page images at Google; US access only

The Philosophy of Art: Being the Second Part of Hegel's Aesthetik, in Which are Unfolded Historically the Three Great Fundamental Phases of the Art-Activity of the World (New York: D. Appleton and Co., c1879), by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, trans. by William McKendree Bryant (multiple formats at archive.org)

The Philosophy of Communism (New York: New Century Publishers, 1963), by James E. Jackson (multiple formats at archive.org)

The Philosophy of Creation (attributed to Thomas Paine dictating to a medium), by Horace G. Wood, ed. by H. A. Burbank (page images at MOA)

The Philosophy of Despair, by David Starr Jordan (Gutenberg text)

A Philosophy of Education, by Charlotte M. Mason (HTML at Ambleside Online)

Philosophy of Education Yearbook, by Philosophy of Education Society (U.S.) (partial serial archives)

The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (third edition; Boston: Luce and Co., 1913), by H. L. Mencken (multiple formats at archive.org)

The Philosophy of History, by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, trans. by J. Sibree, contrib. by Charles Hegel (PDF at McMaster)

The Philosophy of History, or, The Scattering of the Holy People: Tea Tephi; David's Daughter; Jeremiah's Ward; The Romance Within the Romance (New Haven: The Our Race Pub. Co, 1891), by Charles Adiel Lewis Totten (page images at HathiTrust)

The Philosophy of Humanism (eighth edition, 1997), by Corliss Lamont (PDF at corliss-lamont.org)

Philosophy of Islam, by M. Husayni Behishti and M. Jawad Bahonar (frame-dependent HTML at al-islam.org)

The Philosophy of Law: An Exposition of the Fundamental Principles of Jurisprudence as the Science of Right (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1887), by Immanuel Kant, trans. by W. Hastie (HTML and PDF files at libertyfund.org)

The Philosophy of Life: A Critical Exposition of the Fundamental Principles in Eastern and Western Philosophy in the Light of the Doctrines of Swami Sivananda, by Swami Krishnananda (HTML at Divine Life Society)

The Philosophy of Natural Magic (Chicago: De Laurence, Scott and Co., 1913), by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, ed. by L. W. De Laurence, contrib. by Henry Morley (HTML with commentary at sacred-texts.com)

Philosophy of Osteopathy (1899), by A. T. Still (HTML at Early American Manual Therapy)

Alexandria and Her Schools by Charles Kingsley

New Platonism and Alchemy by Alexander Wilder

De Dialectica by Saint Augustine, trans. by Jim Marchand

The Theological Tractates (English versions of the Tractates only) by Boethius, trans. by Hugh Fraser Stewart and Edward Kennard Rand

The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius, trans. by W. V. Cooper

The Six Enneads by Plotinus, trans. by Stephen MacKenna and B. S. Page

The Alchemy of Happiness by Ghazzali, trans. by Claud Field

Confessions (modernized, with commentary) by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, trans. by Claud Field

Historia Calamitatum: The Story of My Misfortunes by Peter Abelard, trans. by Henry Adams Bellows

On Being and Essence by Saint Thomas Aquinas, trans. by Robert T. Miller

St. Thomas Aquinas and Medieval Philosophy by Daniel Joseph Kennedy

Giordano Bruno: The Forgotten Philosopher by John J Kessler

Erasmus of the Low Countries (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997) by James D. Tracy

Oration on the Dignity of Man by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

The Spirit of Modern Philosophy (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1892) by Josiah Royce

On Practice by Mao Tse-Tung

On Contradiction by Mao Tse-Tung

The Philosophy of Humanism (eighth edition, 1997) by Corliss Lamont

The Genesis of a Humanist Manifesto by Edwin H. Wilson

Darwinism: Science or Philosophy? Proceedings of a symposium entitled "Darwinism: Scientific Inference or Philosophical Preference?" Held on the Southern Methodist University Campus in Dallas, Texas, USA, March 26-28, 1992, ed. by Jon Buell and Virginia Hearn

Pragmatism: A New Name For Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James

Scholasticism by Joseph Rickaby

Fiske, John . The Unseen World, and Other Essays HTML at Virginia, Gutenberg text

Essays in Radical Empiricism by William James

The Cosmopolitan Self: George Herbert Mead and Continental Philosophy (2001) by Mitchell Aboulafia (HTML at U-Illinois Press)

The New Organon by Francis Bacon

The Advancement of Learning by Francis Bacon, ed. by Hartmut Krech

Valerius Terminus: On the Interpretation of Nature (annotated version) by Francis Bacon, ed. by Robert Stephens and James Spedding, contrib. by Gisela Engel and Robert Leslie Ellis

Valerius Terminus: On the Interpretation of Nature by Francis Bacon, ed. by Robert Stephens and James Spedding, contrib. by Robert Leslie Ellis

Characters of Virtues and Vices by Joseph Hall

Of the Conduct of the Understanding by John Locke (HTML at Columbia)

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke

Geometry No Friend to Infidelity by James Jurin

A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge by George Berkeley

The Analyst: A Discourse Addressed to an Infidel Mathematician by George Berkeley

A Defence of Free-Thinking in Mathematics by George Berkeley

An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision (4th edition) by George Berkeley

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding   David Hume HTML at Bartleby, text at Wiretap

A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume

Adam Smith by James Anson Farrer

The English Utilitarians by Leslie Stephen 1900  volume 1: HTML at McMaster, volume 2: HTML at McMaster,

volume 3: HTML at McMaster

An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation Jeremy Bentham 1781 Batoche Books Kitchener 2000 PDF at McMaster

The Rationale of Reward by Jeremy Bentham

Harvard Classics, Vol. 25, Part 3   Characteristics 1831   Thomas Carlyle HTML at Bartleby

Autobiography by John Stuart Mill text at McMaster, HTML at Bartleby

Appearance and Reality: A Metaphysical Essay (second edition) by F. H. Bradley

First Principles by Herbert Spencer (HTML at McMaster; 1 MB)

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662): Penseés (Thoughts), 1660 HTML at Fordham,

Harvard Classics, Vol. 48, Part 1   Thoughts   Blaise Pascal HTML at Bartleby

The System of Nature: or, Laws of the Moral and Physical World by Paul-Henri Holbach, trans. by H. D. Robinson

Man a Machine by Julien Offray de La Mettrie, trans. by Gertrude Carman Bussey

Theosphic Correspondence Between Louis Claude de Saint-Martin (The "Unknown Philosopher") and Kirchberger, Baron de Liebistorf by Louis Claude de Saint-Martin and Nicolas Antoine Kirchberger, trans. by Edward Burton Penny

Auguste Comte Freely Translated and Condensed by Harriet Martineau with an introduction by Frederic Harrison volume 1: PDF at McMaster, volume 2: PDF at McMaster, volume 3: PDF at McMaster

A New Philosophy: Henri Bergson by Edouard Le Roy, trans. by Vincent Benson

The Range of Reason by Jacques Maritain

The Philosophy of Law: An Exposition of the Fundamental Principles of Jurisprudence as the Science of Right by Immanuel Kant

Kant's System of Perspectives by Stephen Palmquist

Philosophy of Right by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, trans. by S. W. Dyde

The Logic of Hegel (or, the "Shorter Logic") by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, trans. by William Wallace

Studies in the Hegelian Dialectic by John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart

Studies in Hegelian Cosmology by John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart

Hegel's Logic: An Essay in Interpretation by John Grier Hibben

The Origin and Significance of Hegel's Logic: A General Introduction to Hegel's System by J. B. Baillie

Letters Upon the Aesthetic Education of Man by Friedrich Schiller

THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA by Friedrich Nietzsche translated by Thomas Common, 1891,l text at eserver.org, Gutenberg text

The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche, trans. by H. L. Mencken, At Ebooks, Audio Recording, At Gutenberg

The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche by H. L. Mencken

Nietzsche by Paul Elmer More

Truth and Knowledge by Rudolf Steiner

Wittgenstein and Kierkegaard: Religion, Individuality and Philosophical Method by Charles L. Creegan

Gutenberg text; unofficial until 28 Feb 2003

On the Improvement of the Understanding Benedict Spinoza HTML at Santa Fe Institute, Gutenberg text

U.G. Krishnamurti: A Life by Mahesh Bhatt

The First Principles of Knowledge by John Rickaby

A New Logic (Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company, 1912) by Charles Arthur Mercier

Logic Primer by Colin Allen and Michael Hand

Elements of Logic by Henry Philip Tappan

The Tree of Philosophy (third edition) by Stephen Palmquist

The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell

Scientific Fact and Metaphysical Reality by Robert Brandon Arnold

The Revealing Word: A Dictionary of Metaphysical Terms by Charles Fillmore

Hypericum and Depression, by McWilliams, Peter.also by Harold H. Bloomfield and Mikael Nordfors

Essays in Life and Eternity by Swami Krishnananda (HTML at Divine Life Society)

The Philosophy of Life: A Critical Exposition of the Fundamental Principles in Eastern and Western Philosophy in the Light of the Doctrines of Swami Sivananda by Swami Krishnananda

By the Late John Brockman by John Brockman

Man Into Superman by Robert C. W. Ettinger

I Learn by Gora

On the Eternity of the World by Saint Thomas Aquinas, trans. by Robert T. Miller

On Causation, With a Chapter on Belief (London: Longman's Green and Co., 1916) by Charles Arthur Mercier

Suggestions for Further Reading

1*. The introduction is adapted from Wikipedia under the under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

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