Notes, abstracts, papers, exams and problems of Philosophy and ethics

Thomistic Principles: Aristotle's Influence

St. Thomas Aquinas retains many Aristotelian principles to explain the material world, incorporating elements from Plato's system. Thomistic metaphysics is therefore both Platonic and Aristotelian.

Preceding thinkers, including St. Thomas, sought to understand what distinguishes the world and what explains its existence. Through an analysis of the concept of creation, St. Thomas concluded that the difference between God and other beings is that they are created. In contrast, God necessarily exists and cannot not exist; He is necessary being.

Essence and Existence

This led Aquinas to distinguish between essence and existence, defining essence as what things are—their inherent nature—and existence as... Continue reading "Thomistic Principles: Aristotle's Influence on Existence" »

The Struggle for Equality

The movement for women's equality began in England, with Mary Wollstonecraft arguing that inequality between men and women is not natural but a product of society and tradition. March 8th is International Women's Day.

The Condition of Women Today: Two Laws

The Law of Integral Protection Against Gender Violence: This law strengthens public awareness, introduces care systems for victims, increases penalties for aggressors, and focuses on prevention.

The Law of Equality Between Men and Women: This law promotes work-life balance, greater equality in family matters and reproductive rights, and equal opportunities in public administration jobs.

The Law as a Guarantee of Rights

• The principle of legality: The law is debated, approved,

Item 4: Practical Rationality: Ethics and Political Philosophy

1. Practical Reason: What Should I Do?

Humans seek to find happiness, so they are aware of their actions and reflect on them. Moral acts are designed and directed by the question: "What should I do?"

Practical reason can:

• Be aware
• Encourage
• Judge

To choose correctly, you must take into account the following:

• The Memorandum: That which drives me to act in a certain way.
• The Ends: What I want to achieve and accomplish; my will moves me "towards" this.
• Means: That which is used to achieve the ends.

2. Moral Conscience

Conscience is the ability of humans to make moral judgments.

Moral conscience is defined as the capacity of practical reason that captures moral principles, capable of differentiating... Continue reading "Practical Rationality: Ethics and Political Philosophy" »

A-E

• Appeal: The action of appealing.
• Bison: A troop or a soldier.
• Cloying: To puddle the ground or form a pool of water.
• Concoct: To prepare the threads in the loom to pass.
• Coto: Bounded land.
• Demarcate: To draw the boundaries or confines of a country or area.
• Deplorable: Deserving to be deplored.
• Discern: To distinguish something from something else, noting the difference between them.
• Discreet: Endowed with discretion.
• Disfunción: Derangement in the operation of something or its rightful role.
• Drastic: Rigorous, energetic, radical, draconian.
• Eager: Having an impetuous force.
• Effectiveness: The ability to achieve the desired effect or expected result.
• Espadrille: Footwear with a sole of esparto or hemp canvas, which is secured by a simple adjustment

Specificity of Human Action

Action is the activity of a conscious, voluntary being; only humans can be considered agents of this type.

• Animal behavior: Animals are more conditioned by their genetic endowment. When animals act, they do not do so spontaneously and freely, but rather execute a genetic program. Many of their actions are automatic.
• Behavior of a computer: This is very similar to that of animals. It is defined by a computer program that determines its responses and actions.
• Human behavior: This behavior is spontaneous and not the repetition of an inherited pattern. The specificity of human behavior is choice; it is a voluntary agency.

Types of Human Action

• Individual Action: An activity produced in a conscious, voluntary way.
• Collective

Freedom and Perfectibility in Rousseau's Philosophy

Freedom

In addition to basic feelings, humans possess freedom in nature. In his Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau calls animals "ingenious machines," meaning that their behavior is absolutely predetermined by nature or by instinct. Animals are not moral agents because they lack the basic requirements: reason and freedom. Rather, we should regard them as amoral beings, because they cannot choose their behavior and are therefore not responsible for it.

But unlike animals, humans are free. The peculiarity of human behavior is that it can be the result of a choice, and freedom is just that. We say that humans are moral agents.

Because humans are free to choose their actions, they are responsible for... Continue reading "Human Freedom and Perfectibility: Rousseau's Philosophy" »

Nietzsche's Philosophy: A Critical Analysis

Nietzsche, a philosopher of life, strength, and absolute discretion, critically examines Western culture, adopting an intellectual approach to life. He begins by critiquing philosophy and its synthesis of reason and life, united in a world of constant evolution.

Critique of Socrates and Plato

Socrates starts with a model of knowledge based on surplus, an error accentuated by Plato, who invents a world of Ideas. Language and reason become tools in the service of life. From this cult of grammar emerges metaphysics and science, which Nietzsche views as empty values.

Moral and Intellectual Critique

Nietzsche undertakes a critique of the unnatural moral and intellectual stances of Socrates and Plato, who understand... Continue reading "Understanding Nietzsche: Key Concepts and Critique of Culture" »

Phaedo: The Immortality of the Soul

The Meeting of Phaedo and Echecrates

Plato's Phaedo, a seminal work from his mature period, delves into his most important theories and influences. This dialogue can be divided into six thematic parts. It begins with the meeting of Echecrates and Phaedo. Phaedo, who was present during Socrates' last days and death, recounts these events and describes Socrates' demeanor.

Those Present at Socrates' Last Day

Among those present were Apollodorus, Hermogenes, Epigenes, Aeschines, Antisthenes, Ctesippus of Paeania, Menexenus, Critobulus, his father, and others. As was customary, they arrived very early to await Socrates' release from his cell, hoping to engage in dialogue with him. However, they unexpectedly learned... Continue reading "Phaedo: Plato's Dialogue on the Immortality of the Soul" »

Understanding Agency and Intelligent Agents

An agent is a system that acts to produce certain effects on its environment. Agency refers to the functional and structural qualities of the agents themselves. Intelligent agents are adaptable to changing environments, learn from experience, and choose the right actions based on a finite process of displaying information. They exhibit goal-directed behavior to achieve their objectives.

Essential Features of Intelligent Agents

Intelligent agents possess several key features:

• Attitudes such as beliefs and intentions
• Ability to gain knowledge
• Problem-solving capabilities
• Awareness of the limits of their own knowledge and abilities
• Potential for originality
• Ability to generalize
• Ability to perceive and understand

Rationality

Hume: The Negation of Reality

Hume believed that the negation of reality does not have important empirical consequences for ethics. He argued that moral duty is not an empirical fact, and attempted to demonstrate its inconsistency. One of the main tenets of ethical empiricism is the inability to transition from 'being' to 'ought,' a philosophical position known as Hume's Law. Hume's exclusion of values contradicts the evidence because duty is not an empirical fact (it can be something, but one does not have to pay because of it).

Kantian Apriorism

Bridging rationalism and empiricism, Kant proposed that knowledge is a synthesis of intuitions and sensitivity with understanding and concepts. Without feeling, there is no serious purpose. Thought without... Continue reading "Hume, Kant, Marx: Key Philosophical Concepts Explained" »