In this essay I will argue if Buddhism is a religion, philosophy, or both. The definition of the two terms suggests that Buddhism be a philosophy, not a religion. ... Additionally, since the devotion used in Buddhism has no emotional elements, the practice is a philosophy. ... The problem with this definition is that it does not oblige people to consider a religion as a tool for worshiping a deity. ... Despite having a few common elements with religion, Buddhism is more of a philosophy. ...

• Word Count: 1254
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

This paper seeks to verify the definition of political philosophy, to further analyze its origins and give evidence for the origin of political philosophy in Ancient Egypt. There has been great debate on what is political philosophy, Sabine and Thorson give a famous definition that political philosophy can be restricted to the disciplined investigation of political problems and as such it was invented at a particular place (among the Greek) at a particular time (5th century BC). ... James also criticizes their acceptance of philosophy, which he says is a replica of Ma'at, because they w...

• Word Count: 1943
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Aristotle had a lifelong interest in the study of nature and philosophy. ... In short, Aristotle was and still is, considered a master of his craft, a leader in the field of philosophy and the teaching of the surrounding environment. ... Despite his critique, Aristotle was influenced by Plato and so their works are easily comparable in the same fields of study and philosophy even if they are contradictory in subject. ... The definition of form, which simply is the physical shape or appearance of something, is what both men use to solve their particular problems with the issue of knowledge. ......

• Word Count: 1261
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The essay also assumes that Kantian philosophy is normative and not descriptive in order to lend clarity to the thesis. Initially, the definition of free will mandates the absence of coercion. Freedom from a definitional standpoint requires an action to be completely free. ... Political laws, by definition, limit freedom of action while moral laws, by definition, limit freedom of thought and action subversively. ... Here, a contradiction in the essay may seem apparent to the lay reader but to those versed in Kant's moral philosophy, it is readily dismissed. ...

• Word Count: 2143
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the simplest form, possible definitions of what it is to think can be separated into "wide and "narrow" definitions. ... However, if Descartes" definition of thought was really this broad it would need to be possible to assert that having sensory perceptions was indubitable as the ability to think. ... Despite this difficulty, Descartes" inclusion of, among others, imagination in the above definition of thinking demonstrates that he clearly does not interpret thinking in the narrow sense of being just a cognitive act of the intellectual kind. However, as Cottingham shows, this is partially ...

• Word Count: 1657
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In turn adopting Deming's philosophy, American corporations regained global prominence through the outwardly dichotomous ideas of increasing productivity and quality while cutting costs. ... Total Quality Management has as many names (Total Quality, (TQM), Quality Improvement, Customer Focus, etc.) as it has definitions. In essence, most definitions contain elements of the following as described by Siegel and Byrne (1994): "Total Quality Management is a philosophy and set of principles that uses leadership, quantitative methods, systems thinking and empowerment to continuously improve ...

• Word Count: 1323
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

After this quasi-definition of the sublime in the first part of his paper Lyotard goes on to discuss the sublime with reference to a text on rhetoric that was written by Longinus and translated with commentary by Boileau. ... After this continued definition of the sublime and the explanation of the way it effects how we understand art Lyotard goes on to claim that art, with the sublime implanted in it or rather art as the sublime, is both uncertain and certain. ... Lyotard's account of avant-garde art is one that is fairly complicated, especially due to lack of sufficient definitions. .....

• Word Count: 1414
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The World Is Too Much With Us by William Wordsworth basically encapsulates the definition of Romanticism in 19th century poetry as a result of Wordsworth adherence in the writing of this poem to most every aspect involved in the formation of that definition. Other famous poetry belonging to the same era also qualify as Romantic poetry based on the same definition, but none quite so fully as The World Is Too Much With Us. ... Romantic Poetry in the 19th Century Romanticism in the 19th century came about as a result of circumstances peculiar to the era, such as changes in philosophy, religious d...

• Word Count: 1321
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The definition of a skeptic as we know it is one who doubts the truth of something. This meaning is similar in philosophy, but it is more specific. "Skepticism in Western philosophy is the attitude of doubting knowledge claims set forth in various areas. ... With these given examples, we now fully understand what a skeptic in philosophy is and what philosophical skepticism means. ... What I mean by this is that he fits into some categories of the definition of as philosophical skeptic, but in some categories he doesn't quite fit. ...

• Word Count: 1852
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Through his self-evaluation during his conversion to Catholicism Maurin's philosophy of life was based off the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, particularly through his Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus declared the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the poor..." ... She expanded upon Kevin Schmeising's article A History of Personalism and the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's entry on personalism. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, personalism is a term that refers to at least 20 different philosophers and other scholars who, in general, defend the inviolabili...

• Word Count: 1895
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Finally, after traveling all over Europe, Descartes decided to end his travels and reside in Holland in 1628 where he began to write his three famous books, Discourse on Method, Meditations on First Philosophy and Principles of Philosophy where his passion for philosophy and mathematics could shine. In my term paper, I will be focusing on specific passages from Meditations on First Philosophy, which was written in 1641. Meditations on First Philosophy is a discussion of metaphysics, or what is real. ... This states that an essential property of a perfect being is existence, or that the ...

• Word Count: 1700
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Figuring Out Life Almost as pressing as our basic need for food, our desires to resolve the questions surrounding our existence have yielded countless philosophies. ... Because his philosophy was much easier to "Christianize," it seems reasonable to think that Platonism was more warmly adopted compared to Lucretius" non-teleological view of the universe. ... Man could have burst from ocean, from dry land the bearers of scales, and from thin air the birds; Thus everything cannot spring from anything, for things are unique.(5)" Instead of pointing to some supernatural force as the source o...

• Word Count: 1275
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

" To this effect, numerous conflicting definitions have been proposed, most of which can be classified as examples of one of three elementary types: intellectual definitions, affective definitions, and functional definitions. ... " Further, as Lindbeck observes, despite their considerable dissimilarities, intellectual and affective definitions are akin insofar as they are both religious types of definition. ... Another famous proponent of the affective definition is Friedrich Schleiermacher. ... Although his definition may be useful, it is clearly a reaction against intellectual defi...

• Word Count: 2282
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Regardless of the agreed upon definition of time, the philosophy involved in the comprehension of time truly does weigh heavily on the human psyche. ... It is this view that ties religious philosophies to those of time. ... The best definition of time is that it is a "continuum that lacks spatial dimensions" ("time"). This definition is precise, but still vague, and one must come to the realization that it is the possible explanations - the theories - that make time such an interesting topic. ... Time has many possible definitions, as it has numerous effects on human life. ...

• Word Count: 1525
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

These three interests found representation in the three dominant strands of Renaissance philosophy: (1) political theory, (2) humanism and (3) the philosophy of nature. ... Of all the practices of Renaissance Europe, nothing is used to distinguish the Renaissance from the Middle Ages more than humanism as both a program and a philosophy. ... Humanism was initiated by secular men of letters rather than by the scholar-clerics that had dominated medieval intellectual life and had developed the Scholastic philosophy. ... As its name implies, humanism was a philosophy that was characterized b...

• Word Count: 1970
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Although it appears Aristotle and Machiavelli disagree on the role of virtue should play in political life, it is important to note that their definition of virtue does not derive from the same source, and therefore these terms are not synonymous as they appear in the translations of these two texts. ...

• Word Count: 1841
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

On David Hume and Rene Descartes "There are more things in heaven and Earth than dreamt of in your philosophy" (Shakespeare, 211). ... It suggests that in our modern philosophy we have not even began to scratch the surface of what causes the nature of things around us. ... Our scientific truths, however unfailing they may seem, even by definition in science, they are not considered to be absolutely certain for everything. ... He was simply trying to demonstrate that causation is not something that is explicitly explainable in our philosophy. ... That is not ours to know, it is something t...

• Word Count: 1541
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Humanism was the emancipation and rediscovery of the individual, and it left an immense impact on literature, philosophy, and the arts. ... Neoplatonism during the Renaissance was a revival of Platonism, a dualistic philosophy based on Plato's Republic. ... Neoplatonism was a resurgence of these Platonic ideas, but humanistic thinkers attempted to integrate Christianity and philosophy into a harmonious theological-philosophical ideal (Plato" 1). It was a metaphysical philosophy, meaning it tried to develop a theory of reality and of what is genuinely "real"" (Kessler 5). ... The most huma...

• Word Count: 2321
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Through most of history discussions pertaining to the moral aspect of human nature lay in the realm of religion and philosophy. ... Controversial discussions over ecological conservation, human rights issues, genetic research, euthanasia, and definition of the institution of marriage in the recent time raised concern over deteriorating state of moral values and made understanding the nature of morality even more urgent. For centuries people looked to the religion and philosophy to enhance their understanding of this phenomena and chose the right path to follow. ... But in the last 150 years si...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

These things gave rise to a new type of scholar, the humanist, and a new philosophy, humanism. ... Many definitions are widely proclaimed by different groups and organizations. The American Humanist Association(AHA) defines humanism as a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. ... The humanists, however, were in no way the initiators of a particular "philosophy of life: they were not as a group any more anti-religious or this-worldly than their counterparts in the Middle Ages or than other groups in their own centuries" (Th...

• Word Count: 1505
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The meaning of the word "Sociology" is the "Science of Society" and the definition of the word "Sociology", according to the Oxford dictionary; is the study of development, structure and functioning of the human society. ... He saw sociology as a science and his main theory was known as "Positive philosophy" (Albrow M, 1997). ... Like Comte, he too was a teacher of philosophy. ... August Comte on the other hand, argued sociology as a science in his "positive" philosophy. ...

• Word Count: 1261
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The new scenarios, network environments, service environments, terminal environments and business models implicit in positing ABC as a key and integral feature of the 4G wireless world (4GWW) will require the setting down of carefully crafted definitions of many new terms and system components, first among which is the definition of ABC itself. Throughout this document effort is made to set out initial definitions and system components as they are encountered, as well as to explore their underlying concepts. 2.1. ... Some of the definitions of ABC include the following, each of which is...

• Word Count: 1530
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Thoreau uses the Transcendentalist philosophy to attack the state from an anti-slavery platform. ... The severe personal, societal, and humanitarian consequences that occur when their philosophy is applied to the lower and middle class majority demonstrate this deficiency. ... If we ascribe to Thoreau's definition of an unjust law as one that causes harm to others, someone could easily oppose the law preventing the bombing of abortion clinics based on the grounds that apparent harm is caused by their adherence to that law. ... Obviously Emerson lives for himself, or at least claims to, ...

• Word Count: 1633
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

However, in 399 BCE, Socrates argued that civil disobedience is never appropriate, and was so convinced that his philosophy, or social contract theory, was completely justified that he chose a to die rather than to live in order to become an example for others who would be faced with the same situation. ... Since Socrates' era, many acts of civil disobedience have occurred and, many people say, propelled society forwards in its development of the definition of justice. But as justice becomes more defined, society must also seek the definition of civil disobedience as opposed to criminal...

• Word Count: 1527
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

One of the most debated questions in metaphysics and philosophy is the one this essay will investigate. ... The main differing of reasoning is the definition of the word 'free', in which compatibilists suggest that being free is not being constrained psychologically or physically. ... The evidence given to support this argument of freedom is mostly intuitive and relies on theories of philosophy with no real scientific backing. ...

• Word Count: 1943
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate