Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Philosophy and ethics for Baccalaureate

Aristotle: The Political Animal

For Aristotle, humans are inherently political animals. He believed that the city arises from a natural progression, starting with the individual, then the family (necessary for reproduction), and finally, society. This allows individuals to not only live but to live well, assuming favorable economic conditions that free some individuals from material tasks, enabling them to pursue uniquely human endeavors.

While Aristotle argued that humans are political animals (meaning they participate in the state's life, not merely live in society), he acknowledged that not all individuals fully realize this potential.

Hobbes: Absolute Sovereignty

Hobbes advocated for individuals to cede their power and strength to a single...

Theory of Knowledge

In The Discourse on Method (1637), Descartes summarizes the rules of method for attaining true knowledge in these four:

1. Do not accept as true anything that is not presented so clearly and distinctly that it does not fit doubt.
2. Divide the problems up to the simple natures.
3. Drive thoughts in order, going from the most simple to the more complex.
4. Make enumerations so complete and reviews so general that you can be sure not to forget anything.

It is, therefore, necessary to remove (considered as false) everything that is possible to doubt. In the Meditations, we can distinguish three levels of subsequent radicalization of methodical doubt:

1. He doubts that things are as they seem according to the testimony of the senses, as these have

Nietzsche's Critique of Philosophers: Denying Evolution

Rejecting Sensory Experience

Philosophers deny evolution and refuse the testimony of the senses, viewing them as deceptive. They deny the body and embrace the immaterial, focusing on concepts like God.

Heraclitus vs. Parmenides

Nietzsche admires Heraclitus's focus on evolution and criticizes Parmenides's commitment to being and reason. He argues that Heraclitus correctly rejects Parmenidean being but, like Parmenides, misinterprets sensory experience by positing a hidden order (logos), maintaining the distinction between essence and appearance. We believe our senses lie because we interpret them through reason.

Embracing Sensory Experience

Nietzsche praises the senses, particularly smell, as...

Item 4: Practical Rationality: Ethics and Political Philosophy

1. Practical Reason: What Should I Do?

Humans seek to find happiness, so they are aware of their actions and reflect on them. Moral acts are designed and directed by the question: "What should I do?"

Practical reason can:

• Be aware
• Encourage
• Judge

To choose correctly, you must take into account the following:

• The Memorandum: That which drives me to act in a certain way.
• The Ends: What I want to achieve and accomplish; my will moves me "towards" this.
• Means: That which is used to achieve the ends.

2. Moral Conscience

Conscience is the ability of humans to make moral judgments.

Moral conscience is defined as the capacity of practical reason that captures moral principles, capable of differentiating...

The Nature of Human Existence

1. On Human Being as 'Being-Itself'

• A) Human beings can exist like other objects, but they exist only as beings who are themselves. To the extent that they are aware, they can relate with themselves, and this means 'being-itself'.

• B) To be oneself is the way we are, and it is practical in a sense because it is a doing. We continually choose between continuing to exist or ceasing to exist. Any decision to make something is not just a mere implicit decision to continue to exist, but in addition, a specification of how we want to continue our existence.

• C) Only a being-itself is in the world. The world is not merely the sum total of things that compose the universe. Being in the world means to dwell in the world and be

Philosophy: The Love of Wisdom

The reflection method that reflects the articulation of knowledge and the limits of existence and modes of being is called philosophy. The term, of Greek origin, is composed of two words: philos (love) and sophia (thought, wisdom, knowledge). Therefore, philosophy is the love of knowledge.

The philosopher, in turn, is an individual seeking knowledge for knowledge itself, without a pragmatic view. They are moved by curiosity and inquire about the ultimate foundations of reality. Beyond the development of philosophy as a discipline, the act of philosophizing is intrinsic to the human condition. It is not just concrete knowledge, but a natural attitude of humans in relation to the universe and their own being.

Like...

Affirming Life

Nietzsche seeks to affirm life, accepting it as it is: a spontaneous instinct that manifests as a struggle of forces where some are created and others are destroyed, where nothing is permanent. Life is a creative force, asserting the will to power, which is the desire to live (vital force). In his critique of philosophy, Nietzsche states that decadence starts with Socrates and is reflected in the traditional concepts of Western culture, which is a reflection of Platonic Dualism.

Nihilism

Nihilism is a consequence of the decadence of Western culture, which has fundamentally denied life and affirmed nothing. There are two types of nihilism:

• Passive Nihilism: This is the discovery that all cultural values are false and everything Western

John Locke (1632-1704)

John Locke was a representative of philosophical empiricism, a thinker, an intellectual, and an advocate for a liberal regime. He was a philosopher, politician, physician, and chemist. In his *Essay Concerning Human Understanding* and his *Letter Concerning Toleration*, he defended religious tolerance.

Locke lived through the Middle Ages, a time marked by religious and political intolerance, centralization of power, and a lack of peace and security. Violence, bigotry, and inequality dominated the era. He believed that the solution to the disputes between the Christian sects that arose after the Reformation lay in tolerance. Today, his remarks advocate for a secular state.

His principal works include *Two Treatises of Civil...

ConoSentidos (Sensory Knowledge)

Sensory knowledge, like in the living area, incorporates living without the defined form. It sensitively captures perceived objects without material capture. Perception is accurate and characterizes existing qualities in the sensuous faculty in the world. The soul is the ability to receive forms, so instantly perception of the unit is a sensitive faculty that has taken shape.

ConoLogica (Logical Knowledge): The Syllogism

A study on investigations said that there was nothing prior to logic that deserves mention, so its creator is considered the founder of that branch of knowledge. If logic is not introduced in science, it is because it is considered an instrument for scientific knowledge, prior to science itself....

Historical and Sociocultural Context of the Enlightenment in Germany

Kant, one of the most important figures of the 18th century, along with the American and French Revolutions, defined the Enlightenment as the mental attitude by which man decides to leave his self-imposed immaturity, using his reason without the guidance of another. The Encyclopedia was a key work of this period.

The German Enlightenment

The German Enlightenment had its peculiarities. There was an increase in population and a relative improvement in the economy (higher agricultural yields and the inception of industry). Germany was divided into small states with an almost feudal structure (nobility, bourgeoisie, peasants).

The state of Prussia stood out. After economic and...