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

Understanding Motivation

The behavior is motivated.

If you ask a student why they remain in class hour after hour, day after day, week after week for years, what would they answer? Maybe: "I want to graduate," "I want to be a professional," "I want to be somebody," "I hope to earn lots of money," or "I hope to be a great researcher," or something similar.

That's why psychologists say that behavior is motivated.

Motivation Defined

The terms motivate, motive, and motivation come from the Latin verb "movere," which means to incite or move to action. Certainly, when a person has a goal, they do something to achieve it.

The term motivation is used generically to describe the conditions or states that activate or energize the body and lead to implementing... Continue reading "Understanding Motivation: Types, Characteristics, and Patterns" »

Marx on Human Essence: Social Relations

For Marx, humanity is primarily defined by its social relations. He stated, "...the human essence is no abstraction inherent in each individual. In reality, it is the ensemble of social relations." These relationships are not purely spiritual, existing only between consciousnesses, but represent the unity of spiritual and material interactions established as humans engage in the production and reproduction of both material and spiritual life.

• Humanity as a natural-active being.
• Humanity as essentially a social being.
• Humanity as a historical being.
• Humanity as a subject of study.

Nietzsche: Humanity Between Beast and Superman

For Nietzsche, humanity is a transitional stage between ape and what he termed the... Continue reading "Philosophical Views on Human Nature: Marx, Nietzsche, Kant, Feuerbach" »

Influence and Departure from Rousseau

Kant's political thought, rooted in contractualism, flourished during an era of optimism. Influenced by Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Hobbes, Kant introduced the social contract in his practical philosophy, echoing Rousseau's work. However, Kant's approach diverges significantly. For Kant, the social contract isn't a historical event but a regulative idea of practical reason—a benchmark against which real policies are judged. It compels legislators to act "as if" laws originate from the general will, making it an ideal, not a utopian aspiration.

Sovereignty and the Role of Citizens

Unlike Rousseau, who vested sovereignty in the united will of the people, Kant identifies the sovereign as the monarch or elected... Continue reading "Immanuel Kant's Social Contract Theory" »

Plato's Allegory of the Cave: A Philosophical Journey

Plato's Allegory of the Cave is arguably his most famous philosophical concept. It explains his Theory of Ideas, his epistemological theory (theory of knowledge), and his anthropological theory (theory of human nature).

The story places us in a cave where prisoners have been forced to look at shadows cast by a fire and moving objects throughout their lives. In this first metaphor, the author identifies the prisoners chained to the human soul, which is tied to an earthly body and belongs to the world of things. This world is imperfect and sensitive, and its characteristics are mere shadows of reality.

In the myth, Plato wonders what would happen if one of the prisoners were to stand and see

Understanding Relativism

Cultural and Moral Relativism

Cultural Relativism claims that good and evil are relative to each culture, so the same value can be both good and bad. Moral Relativism is the claim that every moral system acquires meaning internally, and there is no objective value across different systems.

The Relativist Outlook

Relativism, as an outlook, can lead towards moral indifference, the negation of all values, and therefore also to the denial of ethical tolerance.

Universalism: Seeking Moral Truth

Universalism maintains that there is a good and a bad, defending that there is only one valid moral code. It posits that a regulation cannot be right or wrong depending on circumstances or cultures. The difference between relativism and... Continue reading "Foundations of Morality and Ethics" »

Human Action

Human action is a conscious and voluntary act caused by human behavior, resulting in a specific event. It must be personal, intentional, and conscious. Human actions have several key elements:

• Intention: The conscious trends and acceptance by the subject that initiate an action. Intentions are mental and can only be inferred by others.
• Purpose: The aim that the subject consciously and explicitly tries to achieve through the action.
• Motivation: The combination of intention and purpose that drives the action. Motivation is the effect of the action.
• Consequences: The events or states caused by the action. Consequences depend on the resources used and the knowledge possessed. Unintended consequences are common and raise the issue of the

Hume's Empiricist Theory of Knowledge

Hume's Theory of Knowledge, unlike others, is skeptical. This means it doubts the possibility of developing concepts of universal value based on facts that are constantly changing and transforming (e.g., the concept of 'I' or personal identity, the physical world). Hume considered the senses the only possible source for knowledge. Before him, many other philosophers linked knowledge to experience—to data obtained through the senses. This was the case, for example, with Aristotle who, against his teacher Plato, argued for sensitive experience as the origin of ideas. For Aristotle, we can only speak of the concept 'man' after knowing individual men (like Raymond or Augustine). In this sense, his approach... Continue reading "David Hume's Empiricism: Knowledge from Senses and Skepticism" »

Nietzsche's Core Ideas

The Death of God

The "death of God" thesis states that belief in God, and by extension, belief in any absolute entities, is dead. Belief in God served as a comfort against the misery and suffering in this world. When Nietzsche declared that "God is dead," he meant to indicate that humanity lives disoriented, no longer guided by the ultimate horizon in which it has always lived. With this "death," humanity cannot live without the Absolute in the "innocence of becoming." It is the condition for the appearance of the Übermensch (superman).

Culture that believes in an absolute reality with objective values like Truth and Good is, for Nietzsche, nihilistic. He saw the entire Christian and Western culture as nihilistic, directing... Continue reading "Nietzsche: Death of God and Übermensch" »

Classifying nouns according to their meaning is complex, as it involves establishing an order for the realities or beings they designate. However, understanding the traditional classification is essential, as it is the most common:

Common Nouns vs. Proper Nouns

Common nouns designate all members of the same class (e.g., pine, balcony). Proper nouns identify or individualize a being distinct from others of the same class. Proper nouns for people are called anthroponyms (e.g., Gabriela, Eduardo), while those for places are called toponyms (e.g., Madrid, Júcar).

Proper nouns, used to designate individual beings, often accept the plural form. They typically reject the article, except in specific cases:

1. When the proper noun is specified:

• You are advised

Understanding Your Vocation

Your destination is an imperious tendency toward a particular way of life for the realization of your potential. Vocation is a force that operates both inside the individual, pushing them to act in pursuit of their life project, and outside, where the needs of society provide a real and concrete framework for its expression.

It is the inner force that drives and energizes a person to be held in society. This force is a double called Vocation: EXTERIOR (requirement of the company) and INTERNAL (internal needs).