Lehrman American Studies Center at ISI

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The Lehrman American Studies Center, a part of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, is dedicated to improving American universities' transmission of the political, economic, and moral principles that sustain a free and humane society. Read more about what we do and how you can help.

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Philosophy

Philosophy is the quest for comprehensive human understanding. The objective of philosophy is to consider the rational justification of logical inferences, human values, criteria for establishing claims of knowledge and certainty, and interpretations of the nature of reality. As a discipline, philosophy is unique from other fields because its subject matter covers every dimension of human existence and its techniques can be applied to any field of study. Philosophy may examine concepts and views drawn from science, art, religion, politics, or any other realm. Although the philosophical appraisal of ideas and issues may take many forms, philosophical studies often focus on the meaning of an idea and on its basis, coherence, and relations to other ideas.

The traditional subfields of philosophy are logic, ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, and the history of philosophy as described briefly below:

Logic is concerned to provide sound methods for distinguishing good and bad reasoning. It helps assess how well premises support conclusions, show what consequences may result from commitment to a certain view, and avoid adopting beliefs that lack adequate reasons.

Ethics is the study of moral concepts, such as right action, obligation, and justice, and formulates principles to guide moral decisions. Recently, ethics have become specialized into particular areas of study, such as medical ethics or business ethics.

Metaphysics seeks the criteria for determining the fundamental nature of reality and its objects.

Epistemology is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge, particularly about what constitutes truth and whether humans can know it.

History of Philosophy studies major philosophers and entire periods of development of philosophy, such as Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. It seeks to understand great figures, their influence on others, and their importance for contemporary issues.

Many branches of philosophy have grown from the traditional core areas, as sketched below:

Philosophy of Art is the study of all aspects of art and examines questions of aesthetics, such as how artistic creations should be interpreted and evaluated, and how art is related to beauty, morality, religion, science, and other important elements of human life.

Philosophy of Language treats a broad spectrum of questions about language: the nature of its meaning, the relations between words and things, the various theories of language learning, and the distinction between literal and figurative uses of language.

Philosophy of Law explores such topics as what is law, what kinds of laws exist, and whether law should be related to morality.

Philosophy of Mind focuses the mind and mental phenomena. Besides the study of the relations of the mental to the physical, the philosophy of the mind also addresses concepts that have an essential mental element, like belief, desire, emotion, feelings, sensation, and will.

Philosophy of Religion is concerned with the concept of God, including special attributes to it like omnipotent, omniscience, and moral goodness.

Philosophy of Science is usually divided into natural sciences and social sciences, and sometimes even into particular disciplines, such as biology, psychology, and economics. Philosophy of science clarifies both the quest for scientific knowledge and the results from that quest.

Political Philosophy concerns the justification and limits of governmental control of individuals as well as clarifies basic political concepts like equality, freedom, and democracy. Often, Social Philosophy is taught in combination with political philosophy and looks at moral problems that have large-scale social dimensions.

Other subfields in philosophy that are taught are Philosophy of Logic, Philosophy of History, Philosophy of Mathematics, Philosophy of Education, Philosophy of Linguistics, Philosophy of Criticism, and Philosophy of Culture.

articles Articles
books Books
  • The Basic Works of Aristotle by Aristotle, translated by Various
    • 5/5 Stars

    A collection of Aristotle's most important works.

  • Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by English Dominican Province
    • 5/5 Stars
  • The American Republic by Orestes A. Brownson
    • 5/5 Stars

    Orestes Brownson's The American Republic was first published in 1865. The nation had just survived a Civil War that threatened to destroy the very life of a country less than one hundred years old. In this magisterial work, Brownson emerges…

  • The End of the Modern World by Romano Guardini
    • 5/5 Stars

    An extended inquiry into the nature of the modern age, as well as an historical, philosophical, and theological analysis of modernity's prospects in the next millennium. This expanded edition includes the original text of The End of the Modern World…

  • Tolerance in the 21st Century: Prospects and Challenges by Gerson Moreno-Riano
    • 5/5 Stars

    Tolerance in the 21st Century investigates some of the key philosophical and practical dilemmas surrounding the implementation and realization of tolerance in the 21st century.

  • 37 more
images Images
  • The School of Athens - detail ( Wikipedia )
    • 5/5 Stars

    A detail from Raffael's famous fresco in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City. The figure on the left is Plato, and Aristotle is on the right.

websites Websites
  • The Unknown Citizen by W. H. Auden
    • 5/5 Stars

    This poem examines a single life from the point of view of the state.

  • Pictures of Famous Philosophers SpaceandMotion.com
    • 3/5 Stars

    This website has a beautiful collection of images of philosophers. It has pictures from: Ancient Greek Philosophy (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, ...); Eastern Philosophy (Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Gandhi, ...); Western Philosophy and Science (Galileo, Newton, Leibniz, Spinoza, Rousseau, Berkeley, Hume…

  • The Gallery of Philosophers: Waterloo University Waterloo University, Department of Philosophy
    • 3/5 Stars

    The website provides pictures of the philosophers from internet sources: Americans, Austrians, British, Danes, Dutch, French, Germans, Greeks and Romans. Please note that the images may not have proper credits.

Course level: Unknown
  • Ancient to Medieval Political Theory
    by Jeffrey Becker
    Course Description This is an upper division course in ancient and medieval political thought. Through analysis of major works of ancient and medieval political theory, this course examines the formation of social and political thought from approximately fifth century Greece…
  • Foundations of Social Science
    by Gerson Moreno-Riano
    Introduction Foundations of Social Science serves as an introduction to the social sciences from a philosophical and theological perspective in order to equip students to understand better the world in which they live. More specifically, this course is designed as…
  • History of Political Philosophy
    by Steve Skultety
    Course Description Since the 19th century to the present, nearly all Western political philosophers have maintained that democratic forms of government, focused squarely on the foundational concepts of liberty and equality, are vastly superior to any alternative. But among many of…
Course level: 100
Course level: 300
  • The Political and Social Thought of Rousseau
    by Jim Harrigan
    Course Objectives: This course will examine the political and social thought of Rousseau through a consideration of both original source material and a few outstanding secondary treatments. By the end of the term a clear picture of Rousseau specifically, and…
  • 5/5 stars

Rousseau: First and Second Discourses

3-4 Week Module The thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau can be a difficult task for the modern reader. Despite this, we continue to study his works because of the deep intellectual and practical influence he has had in the modern world.…