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

Hume's Empiricism: Rejecting Innatism

David Hume's philosophy defends the view that all contents of the mind are derived from experience, leading him to reject innatism.

Hume's Theory of Perceptions

Perceptions are the contents of our mind and can be divided into two major classes:

• Impressions

  Impressions are the immediate, vivid data of experience, irreducible and basic. They are strong perceptions received through the senses.

  • Simple Impressions

    These are feelings that come directly to our understanding and cannot be decomposed into parts.

  • Complex Impressions

    Complex impressions are combinations of simple impressions, but derived from simple ideas.

• Ideas

  Ideas are copies of impressions in our minds. They are weaker perceptions.

  • Simple Ideas

    These are ideas

The World Against Chaos: Opposing Forces and Eternal Return

The world against chaos, the irreducible presence of opposing forces and the eternal return, the predominance of consciousness and rationality over the instincts, and the existence of a punitive God with the intention of weakening desires, feelings, the will to power, pride, ambition, the instinctive, the natural, and the passionate, will be collected by Judeo-Christianity, which sets the Jewish character of sin and resentment. The Jewish priest, due to his inability to satisfy their instincts, reverses the true values: good, noble, powerful, happy, and loved by God become miserable, poor, powerless, inferior, suffering, abstinent, sick, and deformed, while good and beloved by God become... Continue reading "Nietzsche, Kant, Socrates, and the Roots of Western Culture" »

Groundwork of Fundamental Rights

There are several positions regarding the groundwork of fundamental rights:

First Position: Natural Law as the Foundation

This position explicitly accepts natural law as the foundation for fundamental individual rights. It posits that "Man is a being endowed with reason and free will and has an end in itself. Consequently, the true philosophy of the human person rests on transcendent dignity."

Second Position: Rejection of Natural Law

This position rejects natural law as the basis for fundamental human rights. Instead, it argues that man, within the historical development of society, is covered with varying rights and subjected to the flow of history.

1. The Ius Naturalist Foundation

This perspective defines natural... Continue reading "Fundamental Rights: Natural, Historical, and Ethical Foundations" »

The Soul and Its Essence

Like Plato, Aristotle believed that humans are composed of body and soul. He viewed the soul as the form of the body, making it the essence of humanity. Aristotle distinguished three types of souls:

• Vegetative (plants)
• Sensitive (animals)
• Rational (humans)

Each type of soul imbues the being with its own tendencies. Humans, possessing a rational soul, are distinguished by their capacity for reason.

Human Activity and its Purpose

Aristotle argued that all human activity aims towards a certain end. He differentiated between praxis, actions performed for their own sake, and poiesis, actions performed for the sake of something external. He posited that the ultimate aim of humanity is eudaimonia, often translated as happiness... Continue reading "Aristotle's Philosophy of Soul, Virtues, and Happiness" »

The Sensible and Intelligible Worlds

Plato's theory of knowledge is intrinsically linked to his ontological dualism, which distinguishes between the sensible world and the intelligible world. In the ever-changing sensible world, we can only attain doxa (opinion), a sensory-based knowledge that, at best, coincides with reality. This inadequate knowledge, based on perception, satisfies only the ignorant.

The intelligible world, characterized by eternity, immutability, and permanence, offers episteme (true knowledge), providing wisdom and understanding of causes. This is the knowledge sought by the sage, who can demonstrate truth to others.

Levels of Knowledge: The Divided Line

In the Republic's allegory of the divided line, Plato further elaborates... Continue reading "Plato's Theory of Knowledge and its Ontological Foundations" »

Alma (Soul)

A finite spiritual substance. It is simple because it is not composed of parts and therefore immortal. It is an independent substance from the body and does not require it to exist. It is the principle of consciousness, that is, what makes us aware.

Certainty

An act of perfect understanding that fully recognizes the clarity, distinction, and conviction of truth. It is the security of possessing the truth. It is based on evidence. It refers to the evidence that something is true, as false certainty can exist: being sure of something that is actually wrong.

Clarity and Distinction

These belong to the first rule of the Cartesian method and are key features of evidence. Claro is what is transparent, clear, and visible to reason. Distinto... Continue reading "Cartesian Philosophy: Key Concepts and Definitions" »

Nietzsche vs. Kant: A Philosophical Comparison

Metaphysics

Kant argued that metaphysics isn't a science because it doesn't meet material conditions, yet it remains relevant due to humanity's inherent moral inclination towards it. Nietzsche countered that morality itself fuels false metaphysics, with humans creating it to bear life under a veil of lies.

Human Nature

Kant viewed humans as both phenomena and noumena, shaped by animality, humanity, and personality. He believed that while animality represents a selfish, unsocial being, humanity and personality drive ethical and social development. Nietzsche, however, saw the noumenal reality of humans as a fabrication. He posited that humans are intermediaries between animals and the Übermensch (Superman)... Continue reading "Nietzsche vs. Kant: Contrasting Philosophical Perspectives" »

The Theory of Knowledge: Epistemological Realism of Aristotle and Aquinas

General Characteristics

1. Two Levels of Knowledge: Distinguishes between sensitive (sensory) and intellectual (understanding) knowledge.
2. Empiricism: Sensitive knowledge captures aspects of reality, while intellectual knowledge grasps aspects beyond sensory experience, such as causality and logical implications. Both levels are integrated within human knowledge.
3. Realism: Knowledge is of reality itself, caused by the objects themselves. It is the faculty by which we become aware of reality.

Sensitive Knowledge

Human knowledge begins with the senses, capturing the sensible qualities of things, forming the base of knowledge content.

1. Sense Organs: The senses, both external (5 senses)

Language Games

A language game is the use we make of a term to mean something. For example, the term "white" can be used to mean, among other possible uses, "white is the clearest of all colors."

Therefore, the set of language games in which a term appears would be the meaning of that term: the meaning of a word is its method of use.

• Each of the "language games" in which a term appears is the ruling that indicates the "logical" or "grammar" of that term: what makes sense and what does not make sense to use that term, moves allowed and which are not.
• These rules are further instructions for learning this term: learning these rules involves learning the contents of that term and understanding their conceptual load, i.e., knowing how to use it correctly.

Thought and Language

The following positions can be held about the relationship between thought and language:

• Thought is based on and depends on language: Language allows thought to flow, shaping and limiting it. Thinking about nothing is easier than thinking about something concrete.
• Thought is language: Language is a system of signs, which do not necessarily have to be spoken or written.
• Language is based on thought: Thinking is an innate faculty that can be developed and perfected. Language is not innate; it is learned. No one is born knowing how to speak; therefore, thought precedes language.

Language and Reality

Relations between language and reality:

• Human language is conventional. Words do not emerge naturally from things; instead, "all our