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

The Origin of Philosophy

• It begins with the recognition of ignorance
• It's a theoretical type of knowledge that aims to transform reality
• It's universal
• It

Plato

Was a disciple of Socrates whose cornerstone of thought was his theory of Forms, in which there was another world of perfection. Uses thought to advance the Socratic dialogue. Dualistic Vision

Aristotle

Greek philosopher. A student of Plato, the tutor of Alexander the Great, and the author of works on logic, metaphysics, ethics, natural sciences, politics, and poetics, theory follows empirical observation and logic, based on the syllogism, is the essential method of rational inquiry. Pluralistic Vision

Socrates

Greek philosopher; Socratic method--questioning; sentenced to death for corrupting Athens youth

Alexander the Great

Student of Aristotle, King of Macedonia who conquered Greece, Egypt, and Persia

Academy

school of philosophy founded by...

The Ultimate Vocabulary Builder

From Pontificate to Preposterous

Pontificate - to speak pompously or dogmatically

Porous - filled with many tiny holes; permeable; absorbent

Posterity - future generations; descendants; heirs

Posthumous - occurring after one's death; published after the death of the author

Posture - to act or speak artificially or affectedly

Prattle - to chatter on and on; to babble childishly

Precarious - dangerously insecure or unsteady

Precocious - unusually mature; uncommonly gifted

Predecessor - someone or something that precedes in time

Predicament - a dangerous or unpleasant situation; a dilemma

Predispose - to make susceptible; to put in a frame of mind for; to incline toward

Predominant - most important; dominant; having power over...

Human Development: Soma, Psyche, and Pneuma

The tripartite nature of man—soma, psyche, and pneuma—is inherent in its evolution, development, growth, and maturation. Authentic human development is not merely the accumulation of years, indicated by chronological age, but the evolution of the guiding principle that directs and governs. Thus, childhood is characterized by the mastery of the soma over the other two components; youth, by the domain of the psyche; and maturity, by the domain of the pneuma over the other two components.

Maturation is contained within the very nature of form and is the evolution of man towards the pneumatic. This somatic evolution is achieved by denying the immediately preceding stage. In this evolution, we are driven...

Cultural Evolution

From Biological to Cultural

Biological evolution continues in cultural evolution. "Culture" encompasses all human inventions transmitted through learning: language, beliefs, and more. Cultural evolution has advanced at a pace Darwinian processes cannot match. Unlike our biological history, cultural evolution is Lamarckian in nature.

The Process of Humanization

Humanization refers to all the changes in human life since the emergence of Homo sapiens, summarized as "culture." Humans are the only creatures capable of education. Education encompasses care during infancy, the discipline that shapes humanity, and finally, the transmission of culture. This creates a three-way relationship: child, pupil, and student.

Discipline distinguishes...

Ethics as a Whole: A Moral Reasoning: Formula

Moral principle + Action = Moral value. Applying a moral principle to an action we are able to come up with moral evolution Issues. There can be 3 problems with moral reasoning: 1. Consistency 2. Lack of facts 3. Sources of moral principles. Moral principle= Killing innocent people is evil. Action= Billy killed an innocent person. Value= Billy is an evil person. Objective — Universal— Always time. Subjective — Particular—Time-Space. Moral Relativism General Characteristic — The belief that moral principles are values created by each culture's customs and conventions. No objective moral values. Moral relativism can lack consistency as it can be based on your opinion and change with every...

Understanding Business Ethics

Business ethics refer to the moral foundations that characterize the relationships companies maintain with stakeholders or interest groups. Ethics influences ordinary management and can also lead to modifying a company's strategy.

Impact on Decisions and Strategy

Business ethics affects different areas when making business decisions, especially economic and legal issues (Weiss, 2006). For example, companies involved in scams often see their reputation and share prices plummet due to a loss of confidence.

Consequences of Unethical Behavior

A recent example involves Volkswagen, following the scandal concerning the manipulation of polluting diesel engines. The collapse of companies involved in unethical practices is often...

Kant's Critique of Traditional Metaphysics

Kant conceives of traditional metaphysics as dogmatic speculation, unsubstantiated and false wisdom, founded only in analytic judgments. This widespread practice seeks truth by considering subjective and objective factors. Kant questions how metaphysical claims are possible. For Kant, the existence of metaphysics as a science (ciencia) depends on certain requirements. All scientific knowledge must expand our understanding and be universal, such that everyone can share in its consensus without doubt or differences. Metaphysical principles and presuppositions do not meet these requirements, as they are founded on analytic judgments that are necessary but do not contribute anything new to knowledge. Metaphysics...