Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Philosophy and ethics for Other courses

Organization Theory (1950–1960) — Herbert Simon

The Administrative Man — 1946

The Administrative Man (1946): Simon began to investigate change in the structure and functioning of government using more realistic, more human models. He shifted the emphasis toward how decisions are actually made and how cognitive limits affect choice.

1. Administrative Man: Focus on rational and cognitive development. Change the focus to how decisions are made; analyze decision functions and decision-making processes.
2. Holistic Approach: Consider the whole system, not only technical aspects, but also checking results. Analyze delegation and then control.
3. Equilibrium Model: Organizations are like a dynamic balance between members' contributions and the recognition

external purposes; The practical reason can not be expressed or through analytical or explanatory trials or through synthetic judgments, since it does not say what happens in the experience, but what should happen in it. Thus, the shape of practical knowledge, not a trial, but an imperative.
the moral ideal is formed by categorical imperatives that originate in the moral will, an autonomous will. What Kant seeks to offer an ethics based on universal rational laws which determine the will and can not be sustained in the plurality of ends, since these vary and are contingent. Kant says it will develop a metaphysics of nature but of manners, because he refuses to take into account human nature and moral foundation. Kant's merit to have made explicit...

Defining Virtue: Habit and Excellence

Virtue is a habit—a provision of the soul, ability, and aptitude—permanent and preferred, enabling one to act in a certain way. It is a willingness to do something, formed by the repetition of virtuous acts, which ultimately makes us better. Virtue lies within the soul of man. The Greek word arete signifies excellence.

The Intellectual Virtues

Intellectual virtues are those excellences that enhance our knowledge, enabling us to grasp truth, whether theoretical or practical. Two main groups are recognized:

Theoretical or Speculative Understanding

These virtues relate to knowledge of universal and necessary things:

• Science

  Provides demonstrative knowledge of universal and necessary things; it is the habit of

**Editorial: Rousseau, Thinker of Dualities**

Rousseau's dualities reflected the classic *matter-spirit*, *reason-senses*, *understanding-sensitivity*, virtually all philosophical, except materialism.

• This *body-soul* duality is at the base of another: *reason-feelings*. The reason as understood by Rousseau no longer has the Cartesian cold lead to a method for attaining truth. Now, that same reason converted into practice, is a man as a moral compass to be followed by a boost of awareness that is feeling. (...)
• Viewing intelligence and the senses as *active* and *passive* is another duality that serves Rousseau to accuse the first of certain errors when judging what the senses have glimpsed. Unlike Plato and Descartes, the senses are not wrong

The Dawn of Modern Philosophy

Renaissance Thought, spanning from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, marked the pivotal transition from medieval to modern philosophy. It was profoundly characterized by a humanistic turn.

From Divine to Human Focus

During this period, God and Christianity ceased to be the sole central points of thought, giving rise to humans as the primary focus. Concurrently, the Church began to lose its exclusive authority in intellectual matters.

Medieval Roots and Renaissance Reactions

The early Middle Ages had limited knowledge of Greek sources, and the period was largely influenced by the Platonism of St. Augustine's extensive work, and to a lesser extent, the Stoics, Skeptics, and Epicureans. However, the late Middle...

Conscience: The Categorical Imperative

Imperatives, which are mandates commanding us to act in specific ways, are divided into two types:

• Hypothetical Imperatives: These are specific, optional, and practical tips. They are not moral mandates but rather calculated actions where the mandate is a means to achieve an end. They only apply to those interested in a specific outcome.
• Categorical Imperatives: Central to Kant's formal ethics, these are universal and unconditional. They apply to all persons regardless of their desires. The mandate is simply: "You must do X."

Examples include moral mandates such as: "Do not kill" or "Do not lie," because these actions are not universally acceptable.

The Nature of Moral Duties

Moral duties possess formal features...

Truth

Fitness, or correspondence between a statement and the reality to which it refers. Truth does not lie in correspondence with reality, but is a property of ideas that depends on evidence and intuition. An idea is true when it is obvious or when it can be deduced correctly from obvious ideas.

Reason

The power of judging well and distinguishing truth from falsehood is equal in all men. Its correct use depends on the application of a suitable method. It is the only faculty that can conduct man to the knowledge of the truth; neither the imagination nor the senses can, as these are deceptive. Descartes possesses a blind faith in reason, as it always produces knowledge. There are two modes of authentic knowledge via reason: intuition and deduction....

Accidental Changes

When these changes are substantial, the substance is generated and is corrupted. Matter also includes the absolutely indeterminate concept, certainly a subject very close to that area from the Platonic demiurge that configured sensitive objects in the world according to the models of ideas.

Ends and Goods

There are many ends and goods, some of which are subject in a chain to more important ones. The supreme good that we would like to achieve by itself does make a supreme good, there are no others. This is the type of interpretation of happiness.

Three Interpretations of Happiness

• Happiness equals pleasure (vulgar nature)
• Happiness in political or public life, glory, and seeking honor
• Happiness in contemplative or intellectual knowledge

The...

Ioannes Caramuel and the Foundations of Logic

Ioannes Caramuel: 17th-Century Logician

Ioannes Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Bishop of Vigevano (Episcopus Vigevanensis): A prominent figure of the Spanish era, active in the 17th century. He dedicated a large part of his life to writing, producing more than 5,000 pages of logic in Latin.

Defining Logic

Logic is the science of formally valid inference and studies the structure of thought. It focuses on the results of thinking, not the psychological process itself.

Divisions of Logic

• Major Logic (General Logic): Studies the universal ways of thinking used by everyone.
• Minor Logic (Special Logic): Focuses on the specific forms and methods used in scientific inquiry.

Key Concepts in Logic

• Diction: The linguistic elements

Aristotle: Ethics, Virtue, and the Polis

The status of citizens and humans tends toward an end or highest good: happiness. This involves understanding why a contemplative life dedicated to rational activity is considered the ultimate aspiration. What in everyday life is often just a great aspiration.

The Pursuit of Happiness and Virtue

The soul's rational part encompasses intellectual virtues, such as dianoetic wisdom, and also has a function related to moral or ethical virtues.

Intellectual and Ethical Virtue

Dianoetic virtue is the result of instruction, while ethical virtue is achieved through habituation. This led Aristotle to state that ethical virtue is a habit. For this philosopher, it is not enough merely to know the rule; one must create...