Philosophy & Critical Thinking

Formal Argument Reconstruction

Required. Reconstruct a real philosophical argument from a named primary text: premises explicitly numbered, logical structure diagrammed, validity assessed, at least one objection identified and answered. The primary text and the specific argument must both be named and cited. A philosophy academic or logician confirms the reconstruction's accuracy and asks you to identify a second argument in the same text — your response is part of the proof. Argument reconstruction is the foundation before original argument construction.

Logic and Critical Reasoning Applied

Required. Identify and formally document logical fallacies or reasoning errors in a real named public argument (named political speech, media editorial, policy document, or public figure's published statement). For each error: name the fallacy type, quote the specific passage, explain why it commits the error, and describe what a valid version of the argument would look like. A logician or philosophy academic contests at least one identification — your written defence of your classification is part of the proof. Builds on formal argument reconstruction.

Applied Ethics Case Analysis

Elective. Analyse a real ethical dilemma (bioethics, AI ethics, business ethics, environmental ethics, or political philosophy) using ≥2 competing ethical frameworks (consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, contractualism, or equivalent). Name each framework, cite sources, and show what each concludes and why they conflict. A philosophy academic or applied ethics practitioner challenges your framework application — their written questions and your written responses are part of the proof.

Original Philosophical Argument with Socratic Defence

Elective. Construct an original philosophical argument (minimum 1,000 words) on a contested philosophical question: clear thesis, defended premises, acknowledged objection, and response to it. Proof requires a Socratic dialogue — this is a REQUIRED component of this outcome: a qualified philosopher, logician, or philosophy academic poses ≥4 substantive challenges; the full exchange is recorded or documented and submitted alongside the argument. This outcome cannot be completed without a real qualified interlocutor — the dialogue is the proof.

Free peer-reviewed encyclopaedia of philosophy with expert-authored entries on every major philosopher, philosophical problem, and framework. The authoritative free reference for understanding the ethical frameworks (consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics), the primary texts for argument reconstruction, and the contested questions for original argument construction.

Free access to public domain philosophical primary texts — Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Mill, Hume, and many others. Use for the argument reconstruction step: select a specific named primary text from Gutenberg and reconstruct a specific argument from it. The texts are citable and the specific argument you reconstruct can be verified by your reviewer.

The largest online bibliography of philosophy papers, with many open-access articles. Use for finding secondary sources on the philosophical framework you are applying in the ethics case, and for finding real contested philosophical questions for the original argument step. The bibliography makes it easy to see how professional philosophers structure debates.