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

Philosophical Foundations: Rationalism and Empiricism

While Rationalism (a) is a form of idealism, Empiricism (b) fundamentally discards Platonic idealism.

Core Principles and Epistemology

• Rationalism (a): Focuses on the cogito (I think) and res extensa (extended substance).
• Empiricism (b): Emphasizes knowledge derived from sensory experience and ideas about the body, rejecting the notion of a separate soul as a source of innate ideas.

Early forms of both philosophies, particularly Rationalism, displayed a degree of dogmatism and confidence in rational knowledge and objective truth.

• For Rationalism, truth is accessed through intellectual intuition or eidetic insight.
• Rationalism posits that privileged ideas are innate, rejecting knowledge from mere

Epistemology: Understanding Knowledge, Truth, and Reality

Epistemology is in charge of analyzing knowledge, determining its source and limits. From the 17th century, it acquired importance for two reasons: the importance of natural sciences, and because before beginning an investigation, we must know if we can reach the end.

Distinguishing Belief, Opinion, and Knowledge

• Opinion: We are not sure, nor can we prove it.
• Belief:
  • Uncertainty: We are not really sure of what we affirm.
  • Assertive: We are sure of something, but we cannot prove it.
• Knowledge: A belief of which we are confident and can prove.

Types of Knowledge

• Theoretical Knowledge: Formed by information describing the world. It arises from the desire to know. It consists of:
  • Describing and verifying

The Three Substances in Descartes' Metaphysics

The Thinking Substance (Cogito)

In Descartes' philosophy, the starting point is the undeniable existence of the thinking self. He argues that even if one doubts everything, the very act of doubting proves that there is a thinking entity. This is the famous "Cogito, ergo sum" - "I think, therefore I am." The cogito, or the thinking self, is characterized by thoughts, ideas, and subjective representations. However, Descartes acknowledges that these internal experiences might not accurately reflect the external world. He grapples with the challenge of determining whether his ideas are mere imaginings or objective truths.

Descartes classifies ideas into three categories:

• Adventitious Ideas: These are images

Myth vs. Philosophy: Understanding Reality

1. Mythical Conception of Reality: It encompasses a way of conceiving reality, understanding knowledge about reality, and a way of behaving. The mythical conception (CM) of the ancient Greeks saw man as obedient to the whims of natural forces that threatened his existence. Reality was divided into:

• Divine Sphere: Immortal gods.
• The Wild: Nature, a chaotic force responsible for the processes of production and destruction. Sacred power resided in every force of nature, ruled by its god.

Myths: Anonymous accounts that crystallize the collective memory of a culture. They are ethnocentric and tell stories of gods, demigods, or heroes.

• Irrational: The account can be believed or not; the meaning of the myth is

Material and Formal Ethics

In the realm of media, material ethics considers actions as good or bad depending on the aim pursued. Immanuel Kant rejects this view because:

• Its imperatives are not universal.
• They are hypothetical, holding value only if we accept the good they seek as inherently good.
• They are heteronomous, meaning that humans determine what is good or bad.

In contrast, formal ethics views behaviors as inherently good or bad in themselves.

• It does not establish any ultimate good that humans should pursue.
• It merely dictates how we should act to behave morally, not the specific acts themselves.

Thus, moral principles are universal, necessary, and immutable.

Natural Law vs. Positivism

Natural Law is a legal tradition within the philosophy...

Cultural Context

Romanticism

Romanticism became the banner of the youth who wanted to spread the revolutionary spirit in politics, philosophy, literature, and the arts. This movement was a cry for freedom, both socially and artistically. The themes, cutting idealistic people, are the exaltation of the individual and privacy.

Artists from this period include Delacroix in painting, Chopin in music, and Victor Hugo in theater. Romanticism idealized history, society, and nature. For this reason, they were branded as evasive and replaced by realism.

Realism

Realism is an art movement concerned with the concrete reality of human beings. Thus, the usual topics are everyday life or the harsh conditions of workers.

In science and technology came breakthroughs...

Phenomenalism

Phenomenalism is a philosophical theory that states that the only things we can know are the reality of our perceptions. These impressions are phenomena that appear, flow, and disappear without implying something permanent beyond what these impressions cause. We do not perceive anything exterior to our minds, whether these impressions respond to an external cause. The perceived object is then devoted to the mind, forming part of our mental perception.

This involves a rejection of metaphysics: there is no substance or mind behind external or internal impressions. Skepticism, as a consequence of phenomenalism, leads to:

• Our understanding is limited.
• We doubt that we can know reality beyond the mind; there is no true knowledge of the

Bertrand Russell: The King of France Paradox

• Russell's philosophical inquiries often explored the limits of language and logic.
• He posited that certain statements, like "God cannot save humanity. He does not exist," reflect a particular stance on metaphysical claims.
• Russell also considered situations where "fighting is the best possible option" under exceptional circumstances.
• A paradox is a statement that appears to be true and false at the same time.
• The famous proposition, "The current King of France is bald," is considered false because there is no King of France today. This illustrates Russell's theory of definite descriptions and the problem of non-referring terms in logic.

A.J. Ayer: Verificationism and Emotivism

• A.J. Ayer, a prominent logical