Philosophical Dictionary

Why do we call many of the most evil of political figures Machiavellian? Are there ethics when it comes to politics? Join us as we discuss the intricacies of Niccolo Machiavelli's OG self-help book for the ruling elite, The Prince.

Join us as we take a run through one of the most involved and methodical ethical theories around, Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative.

The Sartre quote all over Pinterest, "we are our choices," has no confirmed source in his writing. What he actually argued is heavier: we're "condemned to be free," stuck owning every choice with no rules or luck to blame. Sartre later admitted he'd pushed that idea too far, and this piece explains where it broke.

Prisoners chained in a cave take shadows for reality. One gets out, sees the sun, and comes back to tell the others, who laugh at him and would kill him if they could. Here is a simple summary of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, what every symbol means, how it connects to the theory of Forms, the sun and the divided line, why it ends with a threat of murder, and why it still describes our screens today.

Today we discuss the joys of informal fallacies in philosophical arguments, and how they can change how you treat people showcasing their opinions in real life, and how you make your own arguments for things you are passionate about.

Hedonism says pleasure is the highest good, yet history’s most famous hedonist lived on bread and water and called a pot of cheese a feast. The Cyrenaics, Epicurus, Bentham’s pig problem, Nozick’s experience machine and the hedonic treadmill.