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

Foundations of Criminal Law

Criminal Law prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or endangering to property, health, and safety of people, inclusive of one’s self. It is established by statute; laws are enacted by a legislature.

A crime is an act or omission that is criminalized and unlawful; it also complies with the elements of mens rea and is punishable.

Classification of Legal Systems

• Civil Law: A codified system composed of domestic legislation.
• Common Law: A legal system based on practice, legal precedents, traditions, and customs (it fills gaps in the law).
• Hybrid Law: A combination of Civil and Common Law (C+C).
• Sharia Law: Based on Sunni Islam texts.
• Customary Law: Based on tradition, practice, and custom.

Rules of Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction... Continue reading "Fundamental Principles of Criminal Law and Jurisdiction" »

Scientific Methods

Scientific methods provide frameworks for investigation and understanding.

Deductive Method

This method moves from general statements to particular statements. From general judgments or definitions (premises), individual conclusions are deduced that are the necessary consequence of the first. The consistency and validity of this method are unquestionable. The deductive method is characteristic of formal sciences, although in empirical sciences it is also used in the initial part of the investigation.

Inductive Method

The inductive method starts from the particular to formulate a general conclusion. Scientists, after observing that a property or event is repeated in many individual cases, conclude that such a property belongs to... Continue reading "Understanding Scientific Methods" »

1)Which is the key concept of Socratic ethics?

His ethics around truth and good, the notion of good is a political category, not merely on individual one. This means that the good is what suits the polis or city, not this or that particular citizen. However, Socrates is aware of the need to limit this concept in a context in which the disparity of interests and expections leads to contradictory views about it. This is the meaning of the pedagogical work that will develop throughout his life and culminate with his sacrifice in favour of the laws of Athens. (His death sentence)

1. Which is the difference between selfish good and political good?
2. The knowledge of good precedes it’s application in the practical and political sphere: once the good is

Problems of the Hypothetical-Deductive Method

Hypothesis Formulation

It seems reasonable to assert that in the formulation of hypotheses, some factors come into play that may seem unscientific or completely removed from scientific procedure. For example, imagination, luck, or chance. The inability to respond to this explanatory gap has caused some thinkers, such as Paul Feyerabend, to extend the influence of imagination to the entire scientific procedure.

Hypothesis Validation and Confirmation

Although the formulation of hypotheses assumes a certain amount of imagination and luck, to accept the suggested explanation, the hypotheses have to be checked with the highest scientific rigor. To solve this problem, Karl Popper proposed falsification as... Continue reading "Hypothetical-Deductive Method: Problems and Knowledge" »

The Purpose of Philosophy

Philosophy challenges common knowledge and accepted wisdom, allowing you to formulate new ideas, evaluate your own perspectives, and analyze the views of others. It involves:

• Identifying basic assumptions.
• Developing a line of reasoning.
• Recognizing steps that lead to a conclusion.
• Determining the validity of arguments and defending against false statements.

Moral Philosophy and Ethics

Moral philosophy seeks to determine right from wrong. While categories like those studied by Aristotle and Socrates have distinct characteristics, they often overlap. Key frameworks include:

Deontology (Duty-Based Ethics)

This theory argues that morality is based on fundamental duties, including duties to oneself and duties to others.

Egoism vs.

1. The main sources of linguistic and lexicologists' data are:

• a. Only corpora
• b. Dictionaries and corpora
• c. Intuitions and corpora
• d. Intuitions, questionnaires, and corpora

2. Dictionaries:

• a. Never include nonce-formations or non-existent words
• b. Are always alphabetically ordered
• c. Answers "a" and "b" are correct.
• d. None of the above is correct.

3. Seal (a sea animal) and (to) seal (to close tightly) are:

• a. Polysemous words one in relation to the other.
• b. Full homonyms.
• c. Partial homonyms
• d. Conversion

4. Substitutability is used as a diagnosis for:

• a. Polysemy
• b. Synonymy
• c. Homonymy
• d. Antonymy

Historical and Applied Linguistics

5. Which of the following statements is true?

• a. Fast and quick have always been synonymous.
• b. Nice was a synonym of ignorant

The Fundamentals of Act-Utilitarianism

Act-utilitarianism is a utilitarian theory. It is the belief that an action becomes morally right when it produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Utilitarianism is a theory developed by John Stuart Mill, who was one of the most influential figures in the history of classical liberalism. Mill was a proponent of Utilitarianism, which is known as an ethical philosophy or idea in which the happiness of the greatest number of people in society is considered the greatest good.

Consequentialism and the Hedonist Principle

Utilitarianism is also a version of Consequentialism, which is a theory that the moral and ethical rightness of an action depends on the consequences of that action. The moral... Continue reading "Act-Utilitarianism: Ethics and the Greatest Good Principle" »

Describing People in Positions of Power

• Charismatic: Someone who has a magnetic character that makes people want to follow.
• Nondescript: Someone who is not recognizable or interesting.
• Inspirational: Someone who inspires others.
• Dignified: Someone who is well-respected for being calm and serious.
• Lacks gravitas: Someone who is respected for his or her intellectual seriousness has gravitas.
• Aloof: Not friendly; cold and distant.
• Approachable: Someone who is easy to talk to and friendly.
• Idealistic: Believes people should live according to high moral standards and principles.
• Down-to-earth: Someone who is practical and direct in a sensible, honest way.
• Tireless: Someone who never stops working because he or she has lots of energy.
• Lacking in drive and energy:

Pre-Conventional Morality

The pre-conventional level of moral reasoning is especially common in children, although adults can also exhibit this level of reasoning. Reasoners at this level judge the morality of an action by its direct consequences. The pre-conventional level consists of the first and second stages of moral development and is solely concerned with the self in an egocentric manner. A child with pre-conventional morality has not yet adopted or internalized society's conventions regarding what is right or wrong but instead focuses largely on external consequences that certain actions may bring.^[7][8][9]

Stage One: Obedience and Punishment Driven

In Stage one (obedience and punishment driven), individuals focus on the direct consequences... Continue reading "Pre-Conventional Level of Moral Reasoning" »

Karl Popper's Falsificationism

The principal topic of this text from The Logic of Scientific Discovery is the vision that Popper has on science, according to his falsificationism method. First, the author argues that science is not certain knowledge and that it is not possible to reach the truth. Instead, we can only elaborate simple conjectures. He affirms that these scientific conjectures must be subjected to rigorous and systematic tests, not to verify them but to demonstrate that the conjectures are false. To conclude, Popper says that the purpose of science is not to reach absolute truth but to provide increasingly deep answers to new problems and to submit them to progressively more complex refutations.

The Doctrine of the Point of View

This