Philosophy in 1000 Words or Less


Andrew Chapman, a philosophy graduate student at University of Colorado, has started a website called 1000-Word Philosophy, a collection of introductory philosophy essays, each 1000 words or less. From the site’s about page:

Professional philosophy can seem abstract, esoteric, and hyper-specialized. But we all ask and try to answer philosophical questions myriad times daily—philosophy is the purview not just of the expert, but of all thoughtful people. Our goal in writing and sharing these essays is to provide high-quality introductions to great philosophical questions and debates. We hope that philosophers and non-philosophers alike will benefit from perusing these essays. Our authors generally provide references or sources for more information for readers whose interest is piqued by a particular topic or debate.

tl;dr – philosophy for a world in which tl;dr is a thing. (not necessarily a bad thing, btw.)

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Nathan Nobis
6 years ago

This page is now at http://www.1000WordPhilosophy.com and new essays are wanted!

We’re always looking for authors to contribute and seek a diverse set of essays, on a wide range of philosophical issues, questions, figures and traditions. If you’re interested in contributing a 1000-word essay (or essays) on a philosophical topic that interest you and that you think would interest our readers, email us. Please either send us your full essay for review, or an essay proposal, or any other inquiries regarding the appropriateness and desirability of your topic and approach.

We are especially interested in essays on topics frequently addressed in introductory courses, as well as topics that are difficult to cover in introductory courses because the relevant literature is difficult for first-year students. We especially welcome material addressing under-represented philosophical traditions, including global philosophy, philosophy of race, LGBTQIA issues, and more. A Call for Papers flyer is available off the page.

A submission template is available in Word and Google Docs.

Why contribute? 1000-Word Philosophy currently has a few hundred online visitors each day, and we are working to increase those numbers, so your essay will be highly visible to a global readership. We are also looking into ways to try to track the use of the essays, for example, in teaching and as sources for online discussion. We are also planning to eventually compile the essays into an open-access and open-source print collection that will be ideal for classroom use, as well as the general reader. If you are interested in developing ideal materials for both teaching and public philosophy, then 1000-Word Philosophy is for you.