Philosophical Dictionary

Absurdism is the philosophical position that human search for meaning conflicts with a meaningless universe. Learn what absurdism actually is, common misconceptions, and how it differs from nihilism and existentialism.

Absurdism, existentialism and nihilism start from the same uncomfortable silence: the universe does not answer our questions about meaning. Nihilism shrugs, existentialism builds its own meaning, and Camus called the believers’ leap philosophical suicide. So is absurdism just existentialism with good vibes?

The philosophy meme is blunt: open Kant or Hegel with no background and the book bites. Kant knew readers found the Critique dry and obscure, and Hume disowned his first book as juvenile work. So should beginners start with primary texts or secondary literature, and which books should a beginner read first?

“The only thing that is constant is change” is quoted in boardrooms and on mugs, and credited to Heraclitus. His surviving fragments never say it, and the river line may not mean what you think. Parmenides argued change is impossible. So who said it, and what did Heraclitus actually believe about change?

Discover how Plato's Theory of Forms divides reality into perfect ideals and imperfect physical copies. Learn why we inherently recognize "perfect versions" of objects and concepts, and how this ancient philosophy still influences modern thinking from education to religion.

Materialism and idealism disagree about what reality is made of, and the fight has run since Plato called it a war of giants and gods. A bishop denied matter, a critic kicked a stone, Marx flipped Hegel upside down. So what do the two camps actually claim, and which side are most philosophers on today?