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

Thomas Aquinas: Faith, Reason, and God

Philosophical Approach

Thomas Aquinas, a great scholar and teacher, dedicated his life to teaching and writing. A primary question throughout his work is the relationship between faith and reason. Aquinas sought a balance and reconciliation between the two, based on these principles:

• Clear distinction between reason and faith: Reason is a natural human faculty; faith is a supernatural gift from divine grace.
• Reason cannot contradict revealed truth: If reasoning conflicts with revealed truth, the reasoning is false by definition.
• Three kinds of truths: Truths of natural reason, preambles of faith, and revealed truths.

Aquinas stressed the importance of natural law and reserved a significant place for Aristotelianism.... Continue reading "Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham: Faith, Reason, and the Existence of God" »

Relations Between Reason and Faith

Saint Thomas Aquinas argued for the unity of truth, asserting that both reason (derived from sensory data) and faith (based on divine revelation) offer independent paths to understanding. While truths of faith are accepted without question, truths of reason (philosophy) can be explored through human intellect. Some truths of faith can be demonstrated rationally, such as the preambles of faith. Reason, faith, and theology converge, with theology illuminating natural theological truths. Philosophy and reason are erroneous only when their conclusions contradict faith.

Demonstration of the Existence of God

While accepting God's existence as revealed by faith, Aquinas offered five proofs based on sensory experience:... Continue reading "Saint Thomas Aquinas: Philosophy, Theology, and Existence of God" »

John Locke's Key Concepts in Political Philosophy

Consent

Consent can be either express or tacit:

• Express Consent: Free and voluntary individual agreement to join a political community. It is expressed in an explicit and clear way to establish a new community.
• Tacit Consent: Implicitly granted by any individual by the mere fact of living in and enjoying the benefits of an already established community.

State of Nature

The State of Nature is the hypothetical situation in which humans exist before forming a civil society through the social contract. In this state, individuals are governed by natural moral law, which grants them certain rights (life, liberty, equality, independence, and property) and the power to enforce the law.

Legitimate Government

A... Continue reading "Understanding Locke's Political Philosophy: Key Concepts" »

Modern Social and Political Theories

Thomas Hobbes, in his work Leviathan, discusses the social contract, where power is relinquished for societal order. He describes the state of initial human nature as a hypothetical situation of homo homini lupus (man is a wolf to man), where human nature is inherently destructive, leading to conflict and self-destruction. The welfare state, or life in society, necessitates suppressing destructive instincts and passions for security, achieved through acceptance of the law. The sovereign, possessing absolute power, represents this law, ensuring survival.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau's concept of the noble savage, an innocent primitive without original sin, proposes innate human goodness. Social... Continue reading "Modern Social and Political Theories: Hobbes, Rousseau, Aristotle" »

Will to Power

Zarathustra is the prophet of the will to power. The world, man, and life are capable of volition. Nietzsche does not clearly define it, but the expression is frequently used. It is the will of the psychologists. In Schopenhauer, or perhaps where Nietzsche says there is no will, it is voluntary for nothing, or the truth is a volunteer for life. On the contrary, life is voluntary power, and this is to be more, live longer; it is voluntary to create. It is a set force of will to power. Nietzsche is interested in moral values because the will to power is the voluntary creator of values.

Eternal Return

This concept comes from the mythology of the Pre-Socratics. In the 'power volunteers,' Nietzsche attempts to reject the linear view of... Continue reading "Nietzsche's Will to Power and Eternal Return" »

Nietzsche uses the figure of Zarathustra to develop and link the four main elements that are present throughout his work and are exhaustively treated in this book: Death of God, the Übermensch, the Will to Power, and (although not explicitly developed) the eternal return of the identical.

Zarathustra is a hermit who lives secluded in the mountains, where he reflects on the life of man and nature. Once he feels the time is adequate, he decides to return to the world to share the fruit of his knowledge.

Death of God

Nietzsche notes that 'God is dead,' meaning that God is no longer a central force in our culture. Society is no longer primarily moved by religious sentiments but by political, economic, or scientific reasons. This is why Nietzsche... Continue reading "Nietzsche's Core Ideas in Zarathustra" »

Truth and Adequacy

It is based on the correspondence between thought and reality, that is, between thought and deed. It rests on three basic principles: there is an objective reality external to thought, the truth is the concordance between thought and reality, and rational knowledge is the mental representation of reality, facts, and processes.

Truth is the conformity or fitness between thought and reality. Therefore, if we have trials (the truth is given in trials) in which the predicate affirms or denies something of the subject, if the affirmation or the negation matches facts, it is true, and if not, it is false.

Application of Truth as Adequacy: Realism and its Classes

Realism is the theory that supports the ontological distinction between... Continue reading "Understanding Truth: Adequacy, Realism, and Consistency" »

Specific Characteristics of Modern Science

Experimentation

Galileo Galilei introduced a significant shift in the scientific method by emphasizing the crucial role of observation and experimentation. Recognizing that certain hypotheses could not be observed in everyday life, he advocated for creating controlled "ideal situations" through experiments to confirm or refute them.

Mathematization

Galileo firmly believed that nature operates according to regularities that can be expressed using mathematical functions. This emphasis on mathematization became a cornerstone of modern science, contrasting with earlier approaches to physics. By quantifying reality, scientists could avoid the subjectivity and ambiguity inherent in everyday language.

Scientific

Freedom of Ideology (Art. 16.1) guarantees freedom of religion and individual beliefs. Ownership of these beliefs resides with individuals and communities. This encompasses:

• The state's inability to impose a religion.
• The ability to express one's own ideas, whether written or oral.
• Protection of individuals' beliefs.

Freedom of Expression vs. Right to Information

We distinguish between freedom of expression, which is more subjective and deals with ideas and opinions, and the right to information, which concerns data, facts, and behaviors and is more objective. Both are inherent to the individual and connected to human dignity, autonomy, and freedom.

These rights extend beyond the individual sphere to legal, social, and political groups. Their purpose... Continue reading "Fundamental Rights: Freedom of Expression and More" »

Understanding Empiricism, Causality, and Perception

2. Identified with the new licenses, empiricism maintains that experience is the basis of all knowledge. It rejects any conclusion not derived from experience and repudiates hypothetical thought. Locke, the creator of psychological empiricism, opposed innate ideas.

3. Most sciences have a link with human nature. Logic concerns knowledge and its foundation. Politics deals with humans living in society, depending on each other. Morality concerns our feelings, and criticism concerns taste. This text attempts to bring together a system of science.

4. This paper discusses the theory of knowledge, including both inductive and deductive reasoning. Deductive thinking demonstrates that conclusions are... Continue reading "Understanding Empiricism, Causality, and Perception: A Humean Analysis" »