The Meaning of Life (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) It has become increasingly common for philosophers of life’s meaning, especially objectivists, to hold that life as a whole, or at least long stretches of it, can substantially affect its meaningfulness beyond the amount of meaning (if any) in its parts
Loyalty (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Loyalty is usually seen as a virtue, albeit a problematic one It is constituted centrally by perseverance in an association to which a person has become intrinsically committed as a matter of his or her identity Its paradigmatic expression is found in close friendship, to which loyalty is integral, but many other relationships and associations seek to encourage it as an aspect of affiliation
The Cambridge Platonists - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The Cambridge Platonists have yet to receive full recognition as philosophers Evidence from publication and citation suggests that their philosophical influence was more far-reaching than is normally recognised in modern histories of philosophy
Plato (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) There is another feature of Plato’s writings that makes him distinctive among the great philosophers and colors our experience of him as an author Nearly everything he wrote takes the form of a dialogue
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy organizes scholars from around the world in philosophy and related disciplines to create and maintain an up-to-date reference work
Beauty (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) It is a primary theme among ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and medieval philosophers, and was central to eighteenth and nineteenth-century thought, as represented in treatments by such thinkers as Shaftesbury, Hutcheson, Hume, Burke, Kant, Schiller, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Hanslick, and Santayana
Plato’s Ethics: An Overview - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Like most other ancient philosophers, Plato maintains a virtue-based eudaemonistic conception of ethics That is to say, happiness or well-being (eudaimonia) is the highest aim of moral thought and conduct, and the virtues (aretê: ‘excellence’) are the dispositions skills needed to attain it
Retributive Justice - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The idea of retributive justice has played a dominant role in theorizing about punishment over the past few decades, but many features of it—especially the notions of desert and proportionality, the normative status of suffering, and the ultimate justification for retribution—remain contested and problematic
Eugenics - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Philosophers have contemplated the meaning and value of eugenics at least since Plato recommended a state-run program of mating intended to strengthen the guardian class in his Republic