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

Ortega y Gasset's Theory of Knowledge

In 1916, José Ortega y Gasset distinguished two major periods in the history of thought: the realist and the idealist. Ortega's philosophy critically examines both. Realism, originating from Greek thought, considers a thing as an independent reality, distinct from human perception. It posits that things leave their mark on the mind, imprinting their image like a seal on wax – a concept Ortega termed the "thing-as-substance" metaphor.

Idealism, conversely, discards this notion. It asserts that consciousness finds things, but these things do not emerge into consciousness as external entities. Instead, things are objects of consciousness, which are essentially ideas – a concept Ortega described as the "... Continue reading "Ortega y Gasset's Philosophy: Knowledge, Life, and History" »

Argumentative Composition: Structure and Writing

Understanding Argumentative Composition

• Definition: An argumentative composition requires you to present your opinion on a topic, analyzing both sides by presenting arguments for and against.
• Introduction: This section is very important because it gives the reader the first impression of the text.
• Body: Write the ideas for and against the topic.
• Conclusion: This is also very important. It closes the composition, aiming to convince the reader that your essay has covered all the most important arguments about the topic.

Steps to Write an Argumentative Text

1. Make two lists: one for advantages and another for disadvantages.
2. Decide the order in which you will mention the points or ideas.
3. Plan what to include

Current Curriculum Objectives and Cycle Capabilities

The current curriculum objectives are expressed in the form of cycle capabilities, which are explained below:

• Cognitive and Intellectual Capabilities: These refer to mental structures that enable us to understand, synthesize, and analyze. One must know how to use these skills. These capabilities enable us to achieve certain objectives, such as identifying and raising questions and problems from daily experiences using knowledge and collaborating with others.
• Motor Capacities: These refer to skills and movement—in short, everything related to the musculoskeletal system. The objectives pursued are to know your own body and develop habits that contribute to health and quality of life.
• Personal

Identity and Friendship

Identity

Identity is the awareness of being oneself, unique and unlike any other.

Friendship

Responsibility: A responsible friend acts for the other's good, avoiding harm.

Justice: A true friend doesn't ask for unjust things or engage in abusive behavior.

Solidarity: Friends stand together in good times and bad, sharing joys and sorrows.

Sex, Sexuality, and Family

Sex and Sexuality

Sex: The biological mechanism of reproduction in living beings.

Sexuality: A broader concept encompassing sex and affection.

Family Functions

• Reproductive
• Educational
• Emotional
• Economic
• Healthcare

Parenting Styles

• Authoritative: Demanding, rigid, with limited affection. Often disregards children's feelings and perspectives.
• Assertive: Demanding yet warm. Sets

Dialectic and Refutation

First sense of dialectic and disputation

This dialectic consists of accepting premises approved by the adversary and then refuting his reasoning and conclusions. This art of refutation corresponds to an argument with significant offensive or defensive value. This is an ad hominem argument, i.e., directed against the adversary.

The Sophists and Rhetoric

The Sophists

They invented rhetoric: the art of speaking to persuade, especially in political and legal discourse. Their pedagogy was argumentation-based: they taught the mechanisms of debate, argument, and persuasion.

Socrates and the Inductive Method

Socrates

Socrates applied the inductive method that goes from the particular to the general and from the general to the particular,... Continue reading "Dialectic and Classical Rhetoric — Socrates, Plato & Aristotle" »

Philosophical Doctrines

Empiricism

Empiricism is often summarized in the formula: all knowledge comes from sensory experience. Since through experience we can only know particular events, contingent and relative, any generalization of such data as necessary laws of nature is illegitimate.

Critical to Chance

This associative relationship exists only between my perceptions and mental phenomena, and cannot say anything about how these things are connected outside of my mind, much less assert the existence of a real chance relationship between them. In short, the empiricist, while recognizing the demands of theoretical reason, notes that such demands are unrealistic illusions. On the other hand, empiricism leads to solipsism. Since the sensory organs... Continue reading "Philosophical Doctrines: Empiricism, Pragmatism, and Rationalism" »

The right, therefore, ceases to be all done in the sources of law (written or legal) which only need to go looking for him, the remedy should be in every moment by a specific and accurate research technique (ars inveniendi) that gives a large role in speech research and casuistic.

5.4.1.2. Factors related to the nature of the medieval system of legal sources

The explanation for the emergence of legal knowledge addresses the philosophical factors and how to be the system of legal sources  must take into account the special place occupied by the Justinian law, before which the lawyers were in a state of complete dependence theory.

The most striking features and original method of commentators were faithful to the text Justinian and dispersed... Continue reading "Concept of education" »

Kant's Metaphysics of Morals: Imperatives and Duty

This commentary discusses a fragment of Chapter 2 of Kant's Metaphysics of Morals. The text exposes the difference between the hypothetical and categorical imperatives and affirms the latter as the maxim that must become the standard for all men.

The text can be divided into two parts, consistent with Kant's formal ethics. The first part covers the initial paragraphs (concerning the nature of the imperative) and the second part (the third paragraph) expressly states the categorical imperative.

The Distinction Between Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives

When analyzing the first part, we deduce that an imperative is simply a principle that commands. However, for Kant, this command need not be... Continue reading "Kant's Categorical Imperative and the Foundations of Formal Ethics" »

René Descartes (1596–1650)

Discourse on Method

The Structure of Reason in Cartesian Philosophy

As reason is unique and responsible for our knowledge, we must understand its structure and functioning to apply it effectively. As observed in the rationalist model of mathematics and science, there are two fundamental modes of reasoning:

Modes of Reasoning

• Intuition: The ability to obtain the simple elements of knowledge directly and immediately. It enables us to grasp simple ideas unambiguously, such as mathematical principles.
• Deduction: A procedure in which reason discovers the connections between simple ideas. Inference is deriving an idea from earlier ones; it is like a succession of intuitions.

Descartes' Quest for Certainty and Method

In principle,... Continue reading "Descartes' Rationalism: Method, Doubt, and the Cogito" »

Hume on Moral Emotivism: Feeling Over Reason

David Hume notes that one cannot rationally prove something is good or bad, because moral issues are not relevant to the understanding. Understanding, according to Hume, can only perform two operations: relating facts or ideas. If moral issues could be treated as relations of ideas, one would arrive at absurd conclusions. For example, describing the behavior of any human (rational or irrational) as good or bad, despite their very different purposes. That is, even a computer could evaluate whether actions are good or bad based on specific parameters.

If we treated moral issues as matters of fact, there would be nothing called good or bad, because the quality of good (or bad) does not inherently belong... Continue reading "David Hume's Philosophy: Morality, Knowledge, and the Mind" »