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

David Hume's Sentimentalism

The Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) is one of the most representative philosophers of the philosophical current known as empiricism. Empiricism prioritizes the role of observation and sensitive experimentation against reason in both science and general thought.

Hume's Ethical Theory

From the point of view of ethics, Hume undertook a study of morality that changed the prevailing rationalist perspective in previous philosophies. He focused more on emotions, passions, and feelings as the foundation of the moral life; therefore, we speak of "sentimentalism" in Hume.

Morality as Experience

According to Hume's ethical theory, morality is a kind of experience clearly different from logical-mathematical or merely...

Ancient Philosophy: Plato and Aristotle

Plato

Plato, known for his Theory of Forms, believed in a dualistic reality. He distinguished between the constantly changing world of appearances (shadows) and the permanent realm of Forms, which are only accessible through reason. As a rationalist, he argued that knowledge is innate and discovered through reason, not sensory experience.

Aristotle

Aristotle, Plato's student, emphasized the importance of empirical observation and logic. He developed the syllogism, a system of deductive reasoning, and believed that knowledge is acquired through observation and logical analysis.

Medieval Philosophy: Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, a prominent figure in medieval philosophy, sought to reconcile faith and reason. He argued...

Essential English Vocabulary Definitions

Common Synonyms and Phrases

• Actually: Really
• Blind: Unable to see
• Broke out: To start a war
• Concessions: Favourable responses
• Cruelly: Brutally
• Despair: Extreme frustration
• Disobedience: Resistance
• Eventually: In the end
• However: Nevertheless
• To book: Reserve
• Large: Big
• Miserable: Wretched
• Murdered: Assassinated
• Not accepting: Refuse
• Nowadays: At present
• Peaceful: Non-violent
• Refusing: Not accepting
• Spilt: Divided
• Theft: Robbery
• To continue: Carry on
• To divide: Break up
• To murder: To kill
• To repair: To fix
• To return: To give back
• To spilt: To discord
• To state: To declare
• To struggle: To fight
• To sum up: Summarize
• To surrender: Give up
• Very angry: Furious
• Went back: Returned

Legal and Social Terminology

• Arrest: To catch someone using

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Core Theories of Human Nature

• Dualism: Human beings consist of both matter and spirit.
• Materialist Monism: Human beings consist solely of matter.
• Spiritualist Monism: Human beings consist solely of spirit.

Plato: Metaphysical Dualism

Plato proposed a dualistic view consisting of two worlds: the higher world of absolute standards and concepts, and the lower world of physical, particular things encountered through the body.

Aristotle: Matter and Form

Aristotle argued that humans are composed of matter and form. The body is matter, while the soul (psyche) is the immaterial form that organizes that matter. He identified three types of soul:

• Vegetative soul: Found in plants; governs nutrition, growth, and reproduction.
• Sensitive soul: Found in animals; allows

Introductory Paragraph: Purpose and Structure

Introductory paragraph. It is placed at the beginning of the essay. In short essays it consists of only one paragraph, but in longer essays it can have more than one.

Purpose of the Introductory Paragraph

The purpose of the introductory paragraph is to:

• Give some information to the reader about the general topic of the essay in the general statement.
• Give background information about the general subject that the text discusses.
• Tell the reader what the text is going to do: to explain, comment, compare, give an opinion, etc.

Three Main Parts of the Introduction

The introductory paragraph has three parts:

1. General Statement

The general statement introduces the topic of the entire essay. It should not be confused...

Nietzsche's Critique of Western Civilization

Nietzsche's philosophy includes a significant critique of Western culture, denying many of the traditional cultural and philosophical foundations of Western civilizations. The characteristics of this criticism are:

• Method: Psychological analysis of genealogical form to research the development and conditions in which moral values arise.
• Diagnosis: Western culture is steeped in nihilism, leading to its own self-destruction.
• Common Enemy: Christianity.

Nihilism: A Diagnosis

Nihilism, as used by Nietzsche, criticizes any doctrine that denies the values he considers important. It has two meanings in his work:

1. Passive Nihilism: Decadence and decline of the spirit's power.
2. Active Nihilism: The growing power of

Nietzsche on Tragic Art and Life Affirmation

Tragedy vs. Philosophy

For Nietzsche, philosophers often seem to hate life, killing everything they touch. Artists, with their fiction and lies, manage to be faithful to reality, expressing truth better than philosophers, especially tragic artists.

Affirming Life's Pain

In an original and profound way, Nietzsche sees tragic art as the antithesis of the decadent attitude, which is both pessimistic and nihilistic. Nietzsche maintains, against common opinion, that the tragic conception of the world is not pessimistic. Pessimism, for him, is indicative of resignation and regret, a sign of spiritual weakness.

Tragedy, however, is clearly a vigorous affirmation of reality. It teaches that one must always say...

Nietzsche: Nihilism

Nietzsche criticized the metaphysics and morality of slaves in the Western world, who despised the sensible world. He believed this had led to the decline, the annihilation of the will of man.

If Dionysus represented everything vital, strong passions, music, and so on, with the arrival of Platonism to Greece and then to Christianity, the values are reversed: life is sentenced, it devalues the sensible world for the benefit of the supersensible.

This devaluation, after two millennia of Christian rule, leads to nihilism, when God and the supersensible world lose their value in the currency of modernity. This is symbolized by Nietzsche with the expression "God is dead." It will be passed to say "God is truth," to say "everything...