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

Knowledge and Empiricism

Hume, taking empiricism to its ultimate consequences, refused to formulate hypotheses, arguing that the passage from particular experience to general law cannot be rationally justified. He sought to discover psychological laws and base knowledge on them, setting real limits to what we can know. Hume stressed that our ideas are merely representations of reality, and the laws of nature are never certain. He identified two elements of consciousness: impressions (perceptions) and ideas (representations of impressions in the mind). Ideas derive from impressions and are weaker, less vivid versions of them. Ideas can be simple or complex, but there are no innate or abstract ideas. An idea is true if it corresponds to a sensory... Continue reading "David Hume: Empiricism, Skepticism, and Morality" »

Active listening: Letting others talk, using expressions of reinforcement or compliments, avoiding being the center of attention, and being aware of nonverbal language.

Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Critical Thinking: Examining beliefs, opinions, decisions, or behaviors. Addressing problems individually with concrete critiques and proposed solutions.

Self-Control: Consciously regulating impulses, avoiding the accumulation of negative emotions, and refraining from reproaching past events.

Final Thoughts on Human Relationships

Human relationships are structured around rules.

Understanding Love

Love is a spontaneous feeling of affection or esteem for another person. It is complex, easy to communicate, difficult... Continue reading "Understanding Love, Relationships, and Self-Esteem" »

Understanding Truth and Knowledge

Truth is a quality that applies to knowledge.

Types of Knowledge:

• Conjecture: Uncertain knowledge.
• Faith: Knowledge that cannot be proven.
• Knowledge: Uncertain knowledge that can be demonstrated.

Philosophical Perspectives:

• Epistemological Sense: The study of reality.
• Ontological Sense: The understanding of something's existence within reality.

Knowledge: Objective knowledge, which is a provable belief corresponding to reality.

Ignorance: The state of not having any knowledge, neither true nor false; an unknown truth.

Ignorant: Believing one knows something when they do not.

Dogmatic: Asserting or believing something without justification, often with anger, believing it to be self-evident. Dogmatic individuals do not... Continue reading "Understanding Truth, Knowledge, and Reasoning" »

Rationalism: The Primacy of Reason

René Descartes is widely considered the father of rationalism. Other prominent followers of this doctrine include Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

Rationalism posits the following key theses:

1. Geometry as the Model of Knowledge

   Geometry serves as the authentic model of knowledge. From a few axioms, and using deductive reasoning and logical laws, a set of theorems can be derived. For rationalist philosophers, all knowledge must follow this rigorous model.

2. Distrust of Sensory Information

   Rationalism distrusts information about the world obtained through the senses. By contrast, the successes of geometry demonstrate that deductive reasoning can establish and expand knowledge reliably.

   For Descartes, the

Plato's Vision: Philosophy, Politics, and the Academy

Plato (428-347 BC) lived during a period of significant social and political turmoil, stemming from the Peloponnesian Wars between the city-states of Athens and Sparta. This was a time marked by political corruption, evident during both the period of the Thirty Tyrants, who staged a coup in 404 BC, and the subsequent democratic period. Plato criticized the latter as an ignorant majority, prone to mistaken beliefs. The injustices of the oligarchic order and the flaws of democracy compelled Plato to seek a more rational and just approach to governance. He articulated these views in his Seventh Letter, a fundamental document for understanding the authenticity of many of his writings.

Plato famously... Continue reading "Plato's Legacy: Shaping Ancient Greek Philosophy and Politics" »

Abortion

Abortion is the interruption of a pregnancy before the fetus can develop independent living. There are two types of abortion: natural and induced.

Methods of Abortion

Methods include:

1. Suction or Aspiration: First trimester.
2. Dilation and Evacuation: Second trimester.
3. Hysterotomy.
4. Pill RU486.

According to the criminal code of 1995, abortion is illegal, except in some exceptional cases:

• Endangerment of the Mother's Health: If the mother's physical or psychological health is endangered, as ruled by two doctors.
• Pregnancy Resulting from Violation: If the pregnancy is a result of a violation, a doctor's note is not needed, but a complaint is required, and the procedure cannot be performed beyond 12 weeks.
• Fetal Malformation: If there is a presumption

Spanish Grammar: Key Components

Nouns

A noun is a word that refers to animals, people, concepts, and things. Nouns are classified:

• According to their form:
  • Gender: Masculine and feminine
  • Number: Singular and plural
• According to their meaning:
  • Common or proper
  • Concrete or abstract
  • Individual or collective
  • Countable or uncountable
  • Animate or inanimate
• By function: Nucleus of the nominal group

Determinants

Determinants accompany the noun. They are classified as:

• Articles
• Demonstratives
• Possessives
• Indefinites
• Numerals
• Interrogatives

Pronouns

A pronoun refers to the noun and assumes all of its syntactic functions in a sentence. Types of pronouns include:

• Personal
• Demonstrative
• Possessive
• Indefinite
• Numeral
• Interrogative
• Relative

Adjectives

An adjective expresses the qualities... Continue reading "Understanding Spanish Grammar: Nouns, Verbs, and More" »

Nature vs. Culture

Nature

Nature is innate, that which is born because it is genetically preprogrammed or develops in the embryo and fetus.

Culture

Culture is acquired or social learning, from the time when we are born.

Evolution and Species

Evolution

Evolution is the process by which individuals of a species undergo qualitative changes that lead to slowly changing the species from more primitive life forms into more organized ones.

Species

Species refers to each of the groups in which gender divides living beings.

Theories of Evolution

Fixism

Fixism was a theory established in the scientific community and the dominant concept until the nineteenth century.

Transformational Theory

Transformational theory is the first explicit theory of species evolution given... Continue reading "Nature vs. Culture in Human Evolution: Key Concepts" »

Nietzsche's Critique of Abstract Philosophy

Friedrich Nietzsche criticizes philosophers who deny the reality of change and the dynamism of real life, replacing them with "mummified concepts" – a substance always equal for all eternity. He vehemently rejected the lack of historical sense, arguing that denying change renders history meaningless. Nietzsche also criticized what he termed "Egypticism," which he saw as a taste for the eternal and immutable, akin to Egyptian mummies.

Nietzsche and Heraclitus: Embracing Flux

Nietzsche's perspective resonates with Heraclitus's philosophy, which recognizes that reality is multiple and in continuous change and transformation. For Heraclitus, this change is caused by the constant struggle of opposites (... Continue reading "Nietzsche's Critique of Metaphysics and the Embrace of Reality" »

The Essence of Community: Aristotle's View

In the fourth century BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle defined man as a "political animal." Aristotle did not mean that man should necessarily participate in politics; he was referring to the fact that man, by nature, has to live with other men, and that means living in community. For Aristotle, the community best for the individual should be self-sufficient and autonomous.

Fostering Citizenship in the European Union

The European Union includes the objective of promoting school community learning, valuing democratic participation, and preparing people for citizenship.

Cultivating Responsible Global Citizens

This course is intended to help young people learn to live in a pluralistic and global society,... Continue reading "Building Strong Communities: Civic Values and Conflict Resolution" »