OPEN PHILOSOPHY LIBRARY
Original comparative studies examining major disagreements between philosophers: their premises, arguments, objections, replies and unresolved questions.
Plato vs Aristotle
Should political life be directed by philosopher-rulers and a unified ideal of justice, or by law, practical wisdom and institutions adapted to a plural citizen body?
Read the debate →Seneca vs Epictetus
Two Stoic approaches to hardship: Seneca’s psychologically varied practice of consolation and moral recovery, and Epictetus’s uncompromising discipline of control, judgement and freedom.
Read the debate →Plato vs Epicurus
Does a worthwhile life require philosophical ascent towards objective truth and goodness, or can it be fulfilled through modest pleasure, friendship and freedom from fear?
Read the debate →Immanuel Kant vs John Stuart Mill
Are actions right because they follow universally binding duties and respect persons, or because they produce the best consequences for human happiness?
Read the debate →Epicurus vs Epictetus
Is tranquillity grounded in stable pleasure or in virtuous choice? This debate compares Epicurean simplicity with the Stoic ideal of freedom from dependence on external events.
Read the debate →Plato vs Aristotle
Do universal qualities exist independently of particular things, or only within them? This debate compares Plato’s theory of Forms with Aristotle’s account of substance, form and knowledge.
Read the debate →