The branch of philosophy that applies the tools of formal logic and mathematics to traditional philosophical questions, producing arguments that are either airtight or reveal that the question was nonsense to begin with. Formal philosophers ask not just "what is truth?" but "what are the logical conditions under which a statement can be considered true?" and then write 200 pages of symbols that answer the question so precisely that no one can understand the answer. It's philosophy for people who found regular philosophy too vague and decided to fix that by making it incomprehensible.
Example: "He read a paper in formal philosophy that used modal logic to prove that God either exists necessarily or cannot exist at all. He understood the symbols, followed the proof, and concluded that the argument was logically valid. He then realized he had no idea whether God actually existed, which was where he'd started, but now with more symbols."
by Abzugal February 14, 2026
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