Brendan occasionally publishes some of the notes and reference documents that he creates for his students at Heritage College, so that other teachers and students around the world can use them. The titles you see here are available as free PDF downloads, and/or low-cost paperbacks.
There is simply no good reason why students must buy textbooks that cost hundreds of dollars, when resources of equal quality and usefulness are available on the internet for free or nearly-free. Students are under enough pressure as it is; let’s make their lives a little easier by making education a little less expensive.
Clear and Present Thinking
A handbook in logic and rationality. Second Edition, 2017.
This is Brendan’s popular, low-cost, Kickstarter-funded, college-level textbook in logic and critical thinking. Covering topics like worldviews, value programs, propaganda, fake news, and the history of logic, Clear and Present Thinking aims to make philosophy in general, and critical thinking skills in particular, as widely available to the public as possible.
Brendan’s Outline History of Western Thought
Version 2.1. January 2024.
Back in 2001, one of my professors gave his students, myself among them, his home-made outline history of philosophy. I carried my copy around with me everywhere I went: it was the first thing I looked up when I needed to contextualize whatever new branch of philosophy I was studying. But after twenty-two years, it was in terrible need of an update. Of course, I could have looked up other outline histories on the internet. But it was much more satisfying to create my own. At any rate, creating this outline helped me to identify gaps in my own knowledge that need filling, and to identify possible directions for the future.
This resource is not yet available as a paperback.
Brendan’s Glossary of Philosophy
Version 3.0. (January, 2024).
This is the glossary that appears as an appendix in Clear And Present Thinking, 2nd Edition, but massively expanded to include not only concepts in logic and reasoning, but also concepts in various philosophical theories and worldviews. It is intended to be used together with the Outline History. I will publish periodic updates, usually once a year.
This resource is not yet available as a paperback.
Brendan’s Style Guide For College Papers, Essays, and Reports
Version 2.0. January, 2022.
The purpose of a college-level philosophy essay to pose a serious and principled question, a philosophical question. It’s also to produce an answer to that question supported by the best argument that you can make. To explain this another way: the purpose of the essay is to practice the art and logic of persuasion.
This resource is not yet available as a paperback.