Philosophy Essays

In his Self-Reliance essay, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. This quote shows that the only thing that keeps a man from reaching his potential is the strength of his mind. Emerson believes that to find integrity is the absolute …

“The Big Sleep” is about a private detective that is trying to solve a blackmailing case for a dying millionaire. The detective, Philip Marlowe, finds that the case not only involves blackmail, but also murder. This book was Raymond Chandler’s first novel and it explores the oppressive and corrupt society …

“He will choose you, disarm you with his words, and control you with his presence. He will delight you with his wit and plans. He will show you a good time, but you will always get the bill. He will smile and deceive you, and he will scare you with …

Imagine a man so absurd, yet so in tune with himself that he does not go through the motions of life for anyone. This man has been brought to life in The Stranger by Albert Camus. The story takes place in a costal town of Algeria. The main character is …

Good morning/afternoon class. I’m pleased to talk with you about a topic that is near and dear in everyone’s existence: The Meaning of Life. Is human life just a dream, from which we never really awake, as some great thinkers claim? Are we submerged by our feelings, by our loves …

There are two theories that have generally been used to analyze ethical questions. They are teleological ethics and deontological ethics. There are similarities and differences between the two that I will explain in more detail, but first I will define a few terms that need explaining. The telo in teleological …

Daniel Chandler tells us that a sign consists of two parts: the signifier and the signified. The signifier is the form that the sign takes, and the signified is a reaction of the signifier. For example: if the signifier is a symbol, then the signified could be a concept in …

Jamaica Kincaid grew up on the dependent island of Antigua. As a result of this, she had a very biased outlook on what England meant. She wrote about how some thought highly of the country, but she had other ideas regarding England. In the opening of the passage, Kincaid uses …

This weekend a new science-fiction movie staring Charlize Theron captivated my interest for one and a half hours. My boyfriend had given me the previous history of the original cartoon series (a cult hit) by Peter Chung. This short reaction paper will explore the movie’s costumes, location, and the meaning …

Marcus Tullius Cicero of the Roman Empire was not only a lawyer and politician, but was a writer and a philosopher. With his great orations, and essays on matters such as old age and friendship, it comes as no surprise to know that such a great intellectual wrote the following …