Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Philosophy and ethics

Existentialism: Fundamental Analysis of Existence

Existentialism: This is the fundamental philosophical analysis of human existence as a starting point for any reflection on what is real. The precursors of this movement included Husserl, Kierkegaard, and others. We can outline the points:

1. Existential experience: Existentialism emphasizes existential experiences—fragility, the imminence of death, and feelings such as general nausea.
2. Primary topic: Its primary focus is existence as a "way of being human." Humans are the only animals for whom existence precedes essence.
3. Freedom and self-creation: Existence is conceived as something that creates itself in freedom; it belongs only to beings capable of living in freedom.
4. Subjectivity and creativity:

What is Philosophy?

Philosophy is an intellectual activity, though not always well-defined, linked to reflection and theorizing. It is also an activity related to adopting certain attitudes towards life and is linked to personal action. It is a discourse that claims knowledge is based on three basic elements:

• Rationality: Trying to give rational explanations.
• Totality: Attempting to explain everything and not be divided into parts.
• Radicality of Questions: Trying to reach the limit of knowledge.

Philosophy is a work in constant progress; it never ends. You can always find new questions and new answers. It is usually related to questions that are more important than the answers. Philosophy tries to clarify ideas critically, to justify and defend... Continue reading "Understanding Philosophy: Theory and Practice" »

The Renaissance Era

The Renaissance spanned from the fifteenth century until the seventeenth century. It marked a shift from the medieval religious sense of loss to the humanism that replaced Theocentrism.

Political and Geographical Changes

Profound political changes occurred during this time. The birth of states moderated the rise of the bourgeoisie, a process that ended with their triumph during the French Revolution. Geographical discoveries also took place, such as the introduction of the potato.

From a philosophical point of view, there was a reappearance of many Greco-Roman works that were unknown during the Middle Ages. This era also saw the emergence of a new science focused on astronomy and physics.

Political and Social Theories

Niccolò

Hume's Critique of the Idea of Substance

The Illusion of Extended Substance

Hume criticizes the idea of extended substance. The idea we have of substance is that it is an objective reality which acts as the support for qualities and impressions. However, because our idea of substance does not derive from any specific impression, this idea cannot be held as valid. All our impressions last only a moment and then disappear; substance, instead, is conceived as having a continuous and stable continuity through time. Since no impression can be attributed to substance, we are left with the conclusion that it is a creation of our imagination. Despite this, the idea of substance remains a useful invention or belief for our survival.

The Rejection of Infinite

The Core Problems of Modern Philosophy

Two main problems focused the interest of the philosophers of this period. The first is the theoretical question: finding out how things can be known. In this context, only those things that are knowable are declared real. The second, practical question concerns the justification for the existence of God and freedom. We shall concern ourselves in the first place with the theoretical problem.

Realism vs. Philosophical Idealism

Realism was the doctrine followed where the subject knows reality directly. In contrast, Idealism is characterized by the belief that we have to know a representation of the object, rather than reality itself. These representations of reality are what we call ideas. The metaphysical... Continue reading "Realism and Idealism in Modern Philosophical Thought" »

Hume vs. Descartes: Core Philosophical Differences

David Hume, a prominent empiricist, argued that knowledge stems fundamentally from experience. He famously used the example of pool balls to illustrate that we cannot logically deduce a cause-and-effect relationship between two successive events merely through reason; we only observe constant conjunction. For Hume, our belief in causality is an unjustified product of the mind, guided by custom or habit, arising from repeated observations.

Both Hume and René Descartes sought to justify their doubts about existing knowledge and outlined methods for finding absolute truth. However, their approaches differed significantly. Hume started from sense perception and used induction (forming general laws... Continue reading "Hume vs. Descartes: Empiricism & Rationalism Compared" »

7. Structure and Function Meet Human Faculty. For Kant, knowledge is a synthesis of concept and experience. When we expect to know by pure concepts, knowledge is empty. When we reduce everything to experience, knowledge is blind. Within the faculty of human knowledge, Kant distinguishes three functions: sensitivity, understanding, and reason, each with a peculiar formation and a particular role in the development of knowledge.

The sensitivity supplies knowledge through the senses. Understanding processes these materials and makes judgments. The reason argues and follows its base.

Sensitivity is the faculty by which humans have cognitive contact with reality. It is the world of the senses, providing the matter of knowledge. Through awareness,... Continue reading "Kant's Philosophy: Sensitivity, Understanding, and Reason" »

Hume's Philosophy of Causality

Hume's Critique of Causal Knowledge

The existence of causal knowledge, according to Hume, is not a relation of ideas. The mind can never find the effect in the supposed cause by the most rigorous examination, because the effect is distinct from the cause and consequently cannot be discovered within it.

Causal knowledge is not a demonstrative knowledge obtained through reason, as its opposite does not imply a contradiction or logical absurdity.

Empirical Basis of Causal Belief

The belief in the existence of causal relationships arises from experience, specifically from observing the spatiotemporal contiguity and constant conjunction of two facts. For instance, Adam, without prior experience, would never have known that... Continue reading "Hume's Philosophy of Causality and Empirical Knowledge" »

Argumentative Fallacies

A fallacy is an argument that is logically flawed or does not follow sound reasoning. These tactics are designed to deceive the listener.

Common Logical Fallacies

• Hasty Generalization: An inductive error where one assumes a small sample represents the whole (e.g., assuming all students are lazy because a few are).
• Ad Hominem: Attempting to refute an argument by attacking the person presenting it rather than the content of the argument itself.
• Appeal to Authority: Citing a person as an authority on a subject they have no expertise in.
• Appeal to Force: Using threats or power instead of rational arguments to force compliance.
• Red Herring: A distraction tactic used to divert the discussion away from the main issue.
• Ironic or Burlesque

Key Elements of Academic Writing

Conclusion: This is a summary of the grounds, which may include comments or suggestions.

Understanding Terminology and Resources

Use of Jargon: Words themselves are a science or art; terms of use are not so colloquial that to know their meaning, we must use a dictionary.

Resources: These are support means used to structure the speaker's referent and ensure that the content is accessible to all. They are classified into:

• Paratextual: Relates to the external appearance of the text or graphics. This includes the title, captions, size, placement, color, and typographical elements configuration. It also involves dividing the text into columns, photographs, graphics, summary tables by columns, and the MASP concept.
• Paralinguistic: