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

Platonic Dualism and the Nature of Humanity

Platonic philosophy is the philosophical starting point of the dualistic vision that pervaded for centuries the intellectual worldview and common beliefs about human nature. Plato's objective was to reach an objective and universal definition of human nature, moving from the *nomos* (convention) to the *physis* (nature). His theory was born to defend this view, also held by Socrates, against the Sophists. The Sophists defended the subjective character of human nature, arguing that there is nothing absolutely stable or real. This relativistic approach was the logical conclusion of the remarks of Herodotus about the different ways to overcome life's challenges. Plato wanted to escape ethical and physical...

Epistemology: Foundations of Knowledge

Plato: Knowledge vs. Opinion

Plato distinguishes between science (knowledge) and opinion. Opinion is superficial knowledge based on the senses. The objects of opinion are appearances, material objects, and changing physical reality. In the world of opinion, there is no true knowledge, but it is distinct from ignorance. Science is knowledge of the eternal and immutable essence of reality—the Ideas—which can only be reached through reason.

Aristotle: Integrating Senses and Reason

Aristotle also distinguishes between sensible and rational knowledge, but in a manner different from Plato. He considers sensory input a source of knowledge. Rational knowledge is achieved through capturing the universal essences...

Thomas Aquinas and the Existence of God

Thomas Aquinas sought to integrate Christian faith with common sense and empirical observation (confidence in the senses). This approach influenced his quest for a rational demonstration of the existence of God. For Thomas, God's existence lies outside the scope of the obvious and, therefore, necessitates a rational demonstration. He believed that all human knowledge begins with the senses, so the existence of God can only be inferred from sensible objects. God, he argued, must have left significant clues in the world He created that lead us to prove His existence.

Thomas Aquinas' Five Ways

Thomas produced five ways to prove the existence of God. In these five ways, he argues similarly, following the same...

The Human Condition: Distinguishing Humanity

Humanity has always sought to differentiate itself from animals and the divine. Humans are unique, being neither purely animal nor divine. The shared similarities and relationship between animals and humans are evident, though it took centuries to clarify. In modern times, humanity has experienced three theoretical 'humiliations,' each rooted in scientific discovery and challenging religious dogmas.

Three Modern Humiliations of Humanity

• The Copernican Revolution

  The first: The Earth was shown not to be static, but revolving around the Sun.

• Darwin's Theory of Evolution

  The second: Darwin demonstrated that our species is merely one among all living beings, not divinely created, but evolved through mutations.

Events

Events that update being. That would be the ability or potency. Thomas Aquinas distinguishes between what things are (essence) and the fact that they exist (existence). The essence is potency ('can exist or not'); existence is act.

Absolute Good

One of God's attributes. As He is absolute being, He is absolute good.

Efficient Cause

In general, it is the causal principle that in some way influences being. The efficient cause or agent is the principle of change, that which makes it possible to actualize a being. Aquinas distinguishes between the primary cause (God, the ultimate cause, not caused by another) and secondary causes (those that were caused by another).

God

Pure Act. Being in which there is no composition of matter and form, or of essence...

Critique of Anselm's Ontological Argument

St. Thomas' Rejection of the Argument

St. Thomas, consistent with his realism, cannot accept an argument like the ontological argument, which derives God's existence from His essence alone.

Formulation of the Ontological Argument (AO)

Indeed, the AO can be formulated as a syllogism whose premises are:

• Major premise: God is perfect.
• Minor premise: Existence is a perfection.
• Conclusion: God exists.

Knowledge of God's Essence

St. John of Damascus would have raised the difficulty about rationally proving God's existence from His essence, because regarding God, we only have negative knowledge ("In God, one only knows what is not"). One cannot prove the existence of a substance that is unknown.

Aquinas' Counter-Argument

Hume on Causality and Kant's Response

David Hume argued that cause and effect cannot be discovered by reason, but only by experience. Any argument dependent on experience is based on the similarity discovered between objects in the past, leading us to expect similar effects in similar cases. Custom, therefore, leads us to believe events will repeat as they have previously. Confidence in the future is not based on reason, nor is it absolute security; it is merely a belief.

Immanuel Kant, responding partly to Hume, sought a solid foundation for Mathematical Physics. Judgments, Kant argued, should be synthetic (expanding our knowledge), yet also universal and necessary, valid in all circumstances and times. Science cannot rely solely on analytical...

Anatomical Differences: Humans vs. Animals

Key anatomical distinctions include a smaller jaw and teeth, the ability to shape the hand, foot, and leg, double the brain capacity, and a prolonged dependence of offspring on parents.

Human Behavior and Cognitive Abilities

Humans possess unique capabilities, including:

• Environmental control: The ability to manipulate surroundings.
• Symbolization: The capacity to represent reality through symbols.
• Self-awareness: Feeling one's own body and maintaining an open presence.
• Agency: The ability to choose and reason, acknowledging that nothing is ever truly finished.

Culture and Reality

Culture emerges as a result of living in a society, allowing humans to understand reality and navigate the world in specific directions....

Item 6: Subject and Object

Subject: Philosophy often refers to the subject as the entity that perceives or experiences (subject cognoscente).
Object: The object is that which is aware of the subject. It is aware of and ascertains the contents.

Ideal Objects, Real Objects, and Values

Ideal Objects: These are products of our intelligence that do not exist in reality; they depend on our thinking and our creations.
Real Objects: Objects that represent tangible things in the world.
Values: A third type of object that can be based on real or ideal concepts, but always maintains an essential relationship to humans.

The Three Properties of Experience

The sensitive experience is essential because it is through this that we relate to things that exist. Sensory...