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

Methodical Doubt in Cartesian Philosophy

Methodical doubt is an essential method of Cartesian philosophy, which aims at a radical foundation of knowledge. It seeks to reject as inadequate all beliefs that may give rise to doubt. The practice of methodological doubt calls into question the value of the senses and deductive reasoning. The physical world and the external body do not exceed the actual methodical doubt. Only the Cogito resists the ravages of methodological doubt.

This method was used by Descartes to discover the Cogito, a concept that expresses, on the one hand, the first, whole, and absolutely true truth ("I think, therefore I am"), and secondly, the fact that this truth concerns a self-conscious mind.

Methodical doubt, especially... Continue reading "Methodical Doubt and Raciovitalism: Key Philosophical Concepts" »

18th Century Philosophy and Science

The Enlightenment and Scientific Breakthroughs

The 18th century witnessed remarkable scientific advancements, particularly with Isaac Newton's breakthroughs. Newton emphasized the importance of combining experience and reason to understand the laws governing the motion of bodies. His method involved observing nature and ensuring that sensory observations aligned with the order of reason.

In philosophy, Immanuel Kant's work contributed significantly to the ongoing discussion on the origin and foundation of knowledge—a topic previously addressed by Continental Rationalism and British Empiricism. Both currents influenced Kant's thinking.

Another philosophical debate centered around the scientific nature of metaphysics.... Continue reading "18th Century Philosophy & Science: Enlightenment Era Thought" »

Roman Law Case Study: Family Status

Case Scenario: Faul and Dercy's Children

Faul, a 28-year-old Roman citizen and sui iuris, marries Dercy, a Greek woman, through confarreatio. A year after their wedding, Dercy becomes pregnant. Faul dies, and eight months later, a boy and a girl are born.

Question: Determine the legal status of each child.

Analysis of Children's Legal Status

In Roman law, an individual's legal status was defined by three key components:

• Status Libertatis (Freedom Status): Whether a person was free or a slave.
• Status Civitatis (Citizenship Status): Whether a person was a Roman citizen, a Latin, or a foreigner (peregrinus).
• Status Familiae (Family Status): Whether a person was sui iuris (independent, not under anyone's power) or alieni

Ortega y Gasset's Theory of Knowledge

In 1916, José Ortega y Gasset distinguished two major periods in the history of thought: the realist and the idealist. Ortega's philosophy critically examines both. Realism, originating from Greek thought, considers a thing as an independent reality, distinct from human perception. It posits that things leave their mark on the mind, imprinting their image like a seal on wax – a concept Ortega termed the "thing-as-substance" metaphor.

Idealism, conversely, discards this notion. It asserts that consciousness finds things, but these things do not emerge into consciousness as external entities. Instead, things are objects of consciousness, which are essentially ideas – a concept Ortega described as the "... Continue reading "Ortega y Gasset's Philosophy: Knowledge, Life, and History" »

Identity and Friendship

Identity

Identity is the awareness of being oneself, unique and unlike any other.

Friendship

Responsibility: A responsible friend acts for the other's good, avoiding harm.

Justice: A true friend doesn't ask for unjust things or engage in abusive behavior.

Solidarity: Friends stand together in good times and bad, sharing joys and sorrows.

Sex, Sexuality, and Family

Sex and Sexuality

Sex: The biological mechanism of reproduction in living beings.

Sexuality: A broader concept encompassing sex and affection.

Family Functions

• Reproductive
• Educational
• Emotional
• Economic
• Healthcare

Parenting Styles

• Authoritative: Demanding, rigid, with limited affection. Often disregards children's feelings and perspectives.
• Assertive: Demanding yet warm. Sets

Structure of the Ways

The tracks are five formulations with a common scheme in four steps: a fact of experience, the application of the principle of causality, the impossibility of an infinite causal process, and the term of the causal process.

1st: Starting from a fact of experience, movement, understood as the passage from potency to act, the application of the principle of causality leads to the conclusion that nothing can be both mobile and motor simultaneously. "Everything that is moved is moved by another."

2nd: In the world of the senses, there are efficient causes, which are subordinate to each other to produce effects (for the birth of a tree requires land, water, electricity, etc.). Nothing can... Continue reading "Aquinas' Five Ways: Demonstrating God's Existence" »

Understanding Key Concepts and Their Synonyms

1. Attributes

Fitness, property, power, ability, character

2. Temperance

Moderation, frugality, prudence, sobriety

3. Testimony

Declaration, revelation, assertion

4. Praise

Flattery, apologetics, exaggeration, exaltation

5. Inhibition

Inhibit, restrain, coerce, refrain, stop, withdraw

6. Premise

Hypothesis, proposition, history, idea

7. Peculiarities

Peculiarity, property, uniqueness, ownership

8. Entity

Being, individual, subject, essence, substance, nature

9. Purge

Evacuate, expel, laxar, medicine, atone for, suffer, pay

10. Contribute

Cooperate, collaborate, assist, subsidize, pay

11. Essence

Nature, substance, existence, character, property

12. Incur

To influence, make, earn, win, draw, fall

13. Avidity

Craving, desire,... Continue reading "Understanding Key Concepts and Their Synonyms" »

Foundations of Rational and Moral Action

Rationale and Rational Action

Rationale: The appropriate use of reason applies to our beliefs, motives, and actions.

Rational Action: Action based on good reasons, i.e., involving the formation of rational beliefs and motives, along with behavior that is reasonable.

Features of Rational Action

• Choosing the best option in every circumstance, considering the elements of each situation.
• Justifying the choice based on objective, universal criteria (i.e., criteria that would be chosen by any rational being).

Dimensions of Rational Action

Individual Rational Action

• Definition: The action of a single agent whose reasons for acting are good reasons.
• Awareness of Purposes: For any rational action, the agent must be aware

Key Characteristics of Enlightenment Reason

• Reason is autonomous and self-sufficient.
• Reason has internal limitations.
• Reason is critical: It critiques external factors that undermine its freedom. It performs a sharp analysis of all reality and engages in careful self-criticism. Reason tends to be analytical and tolerant.
• Reason is empirical: It must relate to experience and the empirical world to find a secular rationality.

Enlightenment Reason and Deism

The application of reason to religion led many Enlightenment philosophers to Deism. Deism defends the existence of God as the supreme being, a creator who set the laws of nature but is not concerned with the world, rejecting revelation and religious rituals.

Kant's Perspective on Enlightenment

For... Continue reading "Enlightenment Philosophy: Reason's Core Principles and Global Impact" »

Descartes' Philosophy: The Nature of Ideas and Reality

The Thinking Self: Res Cogitans

I am a thinking thing: a spirit, an understanding, a reason. I possess an absolutely certain truth: the existence of the self as a thinking subject. This truth does not seem to imply the existence of any other reality, because, though I think, perhaps the world does not exist in reality.

The object of thought consists of ideas; thought does not rest directly on things, but on ideas.

Universal Methodical Doubt and Undeniable Reality

Universal methodical doubt has led to an undeniable reality: the existence of a thinking being, i.e., a substance that thinks, a res cogitans, a soul.

Descartes concludes that I can doubt the existence of a body and the world around... Continue reading "Descartes' Philosophy: Doubt, Self, and the Nature of Ideas" »