Philosophy has inspired kings, emperors, generals, scholars, and ordinary people throughout the ages. Some of them, such as the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, have been philosophers themselves. Evidently, philosophy can help us understand the motives of individuals throughout history and thus can be an important asset for historical research. But what is philosophy?
The area is so broad and ever-growing that it is impossible to give a comprehensive answer. There are many different disciplines within the different schools of philosophy that have existed throughout the ages, many of which have absolutely nothing to do with each other. There are – in no particular order – Ethics, Metaphysics, Linguistic Philosophy, Logic, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Anthropological Philosophy, Nihilism, Existentialism, and many more. Articles concerned with some of the different schools of thought within the field of philosophy may be published here from time to time.
On Consciousness, Perspective, Constructivism and Morality
One of the fundamental issues within philosophy is that of human consciousness. What is consciousness, what does it mean to be aware of oneself? In the past it has been identified as a defining trait of humanity to be able to reflect on one’s own thoughts and actions, on that which we call “I” or…
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The Greco-Roman Concept of the Barbarian
‘Barbarian’ and ‘barbaric’ are nowadays commonly used to describe somebody or something behaving in a particularly uncivilized or – to the observer – foreign way, and in this regards differs surprisingly little from it’s ancient counterpart. This article seeks to examine the meaning and history of the term in short.
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Piecemeal Engineering vs. holistic Utopianism
An in-depth analysis of Karl Popper’s Piecemeal Engineering, introduced in “The Poverty of Historicism”, in comparison with it’s supposed antagonist, which he variably calls Holism, Utopianism or Activism.
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Justice in Aristotelian Ethics
Justice in Aristotle’s philosophy differentiates between general and particular justice, the latter of which can be divided further into distributive and equalising justice.
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European Origins 