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

Sartre: Life and Philosophical Context

Jean-Paul Sartre was born in Paris in 1905 into a bourgeois family. He studied philosophy in France. In 1940, as the Nazis advanced on France, he was taken prisoner, remaining so until the following year. This experience contributed to his transformation into a revolutionary thinker and a representative of the resistance against the occupation forces. It demonstrated for him the absurdity and hopelessness of the situation, and the concept that man is abandoned. In 1943, he published Being and Nothingness, his principal philosophical work, followed in 1946 by Existentialism is a Humanism. He died in 1980.

Key Ideas in Sartre's Existentialism

Sartre acknowledged the wide range of expressions and movements labeled... Continue reading "Sartre's Existentialism: Freedom, Choice, Responsibility" »

Jacinto Verdaguer: Atlantis and Canigó

Jacinto Verdaguer was born in 1845 in Folgueroles, a village on the plain of Vic. He was both a priest and was dedicated to the spiritual life as well as the literary one. The life is the creation of a romantic. The temperament of a passionate, idealistic, and rebellious artist led to moments of glory. Verdaguer is the creator of modern Catalan literature, he is the greatest Catalan poet, and he situated Catalan literature at the height of great European literature.

Atlantis

Atlantis is a complex work that blends religious items and paid items. The work gives much prominence to the cataclysms and catastrophes that unleash the elements of nature.

Canigó

Canigó explains the mythical and legendary origin of... Continue reading "Jacinto Verdaguer: Literary Works and Linguistic Concepts" »

The Superman

Nietzsche announced the death of God. He presents two contrasting figures: the last man and the superman. The superman is a god who will affirm earthly life. This absolute negation of old values opens the possibility of affirming new values. The superman represents the opposite pole to the last man. These new values are not based on a beyond. The superman represents the meaning of life, not merely to deny or reverse the old values, but to create new ones, faithful to the meaning of life. Not subject to the impositions of the dominant morality, the superman represents the new man who will emerge from the effort of will to power, replacing the decadent humans of Western culture.

Nietzsche describes three metamorphoses leading to the... Continue reading "Nietzsche's Philosophy: Superman, Will to Power, Eternal Return" »

Plato: Life and Context

Historical Context

Plato was born in Athens in 427 BC. The Greek polis, located around the Aegean Sea, occupied the continent, peninsula, islands, and extended throughout the Mediterranean, including northern Africa, the shores of Ionia, southern Italy, and Spain. Sparta and Athens were the most powerful and influential poleis.

Age of Pericles

The Medical War against the Persians occurred from 490 to 454 BC. This period saw the rise of Pericles' democracy in Athens and the supremacy of Athens through the Delian League.

Decline of Athens

The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta and their allies took place between 431 and 404 BC, resulting in a Spartan victory. This was followed by the Government of the Thirty Tyrants... Continue reading "Plato's Philosophy: Historical, Sociocultural, and Intellectual Context" »

Karl Marx: Value, Profit, and Alienation

Value and Profit

• Merchandise has a use value and an actual exchange value, which is an amount of money that depends on the working time necessary to produce the goods.
• Goods also have a market exchange value, which depends on the law of supply and demand.
• The difference between the market value of the product and its real value (or cost price) is the capitalist's profit.
• There is also a profit that comes from the difference between the actual value of work and the wages paid to workers.

Alienation

Marx believes that alienation occurs particularly within a specific social class: the proletariat. For Marx, there are historical and socioeconomic conditions that cause alienation.

Marx's concept of man is active,... Continue reading "Karl Marx: Concepts of Value, Profit, and Alienation" »

Events

Events that update being. That would be the ability or potency. Thomas Aquinas distinguishes between what things are (essence) and the fact that they exist (existence). The essence is potency ('can exist or not'); existence is act.

Absolute Good

One of God's attributes. As He is absolute being, He is absolute good.

Efficient Cause

In general, it is the causal principle that in some way influences being. The efficient cause or agent is the principle of change, that which makes it possible to actualize a being. Aquinas distinguishes between the primary cause (God, the ultimate cause, not caused by another) and secondary causes (those that were caused by another).

God

Pure Act. Being in which there is no composition of matter and form, or of essence... Continue reading "Thomas Aquinas: Core Metaphysical and Theological Concepts" »

Human Rights

Concept

The powers of the people that are acquired by the mere fact of their birth and which correspond to all individuals equally and cannot be altered or deleted by other persons or the state.

Features

1. Natural: Because they belong to the person, by the mere fact of their birth, without being recognized by law or by the state.
2. Universal: Because they pertain to all individuals equally, regardless of race, sex, religion, etc.
3. Mandatory: Because they must be complied with and respected by all.
4. Inviolable: Because they cannot be disturbed or altered by anyone.
5. Inalienable: Because they cannot be traded or waived by anyone. Example: the right to physical integrity.
6. Indivisible: For altering one of them puts at risk or alters any other.

Rationale

1. Philosophical:

The Evolving Family Model

Writers such as Octavio Estela Fernández Grassi and Mouján suggest that we are experiencing a profound transformation of the family model. This transformation may appear to be a sign of exhaustion, but there are many ways of being a family. This evolution can be considered a crisis, in the sense of concern or a terminal stage. The family is in an accelerated process of change, but it remains in good health when viewed from a contextual and evaluative framework different from that of our ancestors.

The Changing Role of Women

Some of these changes are related to the current modification of the role of women. Women can now enter the labor market, leading to higher expectations of personal satisfaction beyond marriage and... Continue reading "Understanding Family Structures and Dynamics in Modern Society" »

Marx's Conception of Man

Marx viewed man as an active, dynamic, and constantly evolving being who transforms reality. This transformation is undertaken through work, which represents the union of theory and practice. Man is reflected in his work and identifies with it.

However, in this society, man cannot fully realize himself through work because it is not truly his. The fruit of his labor belongs to another, the owner, leading to the alienation of the individual. The product of their work is taken away, becoming foreign, and the more one produces, the poorer one becomes. The worker also feels alienated in their relationships with other men and ultimately becomes distanced from themself, as alienation affects their inner world. Human relationships... Continue reading "Marx, Nietzsche, and Ethical Indeterminism: A Deep Dive" »

Argumentative Text

Subject: The subject on which the question is presented in the argumentative text. The matter should be contested in a manner that is easily approached from different points of view.

Thesis: The position on the subject that the issuer adopts.

Arguments: The reasons the issuer provides to defend their opinion or thesis.

Conclusion: A summary of the basic ideas provided in the intervention.

Purpose of an Argumentative Text: To defend an opinion and persuade the reader.

The Debate

A debate is an oral argumentative essay in which there are two opposing views on a controversial issue, and in which each party defends its point of view. For a debate, there should be a moderator who is responsible for establishing speaking turns and ensuring... Continue reading "Argumentative Texts, Debates, Journalism, and Literature" »