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

Plato's Republic and Socrates' Philosophy

In Plato's Republic, Socrates is portrayed as a proponent of egalitarian principles, although the historical Socrates' stance on democracy is complex. Plato's dialogues often depict Socrates advocating for justice and individual rights. However, Plato himself, through the character of Socrates, expresses a preference for a structured society.

Socrates believed in individual freedom and critical thinking, while Plato favored a hierarchical society with distinct classes, led by philosopher-kings. Socrates famously stated, "I know that I know nothing," emphasizing humility and the pursuit of knowledge. He championed individual action and ethical conduct, independent of societal norms. In contrast, Plato... Continue reading "Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle: Ancient Greek Philosophy" »

The comment text can be made to distinguish the rules of the method, so we can say that for Descartes, the method is the set of "rules certain and easy, thanks to whom that will not ever look exactly the false for real and reach, without spending unnecessarily effort of the mind, but science always gradually increasing, the true knowledge of anything that is capable of." The method should serve to discover new truths, not to prove what has already been found. The four rules of method are:

• Evidence: The Criterion of Truth

  Do not accept anything as true unless we know with evidence that it is. The evidence consists of clarity and distinction. We must avoid two fundamental defects in the search for truth: precipitation and prevention.

  • Precipitation:

Epistemology

Your project needs, as a starting point, a real, universal, and objective knowledge (Episteme), which underpins universal ethical concepts. Humans can achieve universal knowledge, valid, stable, and objective (Episteme), to follow a sound basis for knowing this knowledge ethically in its practical, individual, and socio-political aspects, and for the world. For him, true knowledge should inform the stable and permanent, free of change. And this can only be offered by Reason, using a rigorous and systematic method to search within oneself. Developing such concepts would only be possible if one accepted the existence of objective realities that correspond to these concepts, and to give them the characteristics of stability, universality,... Continue reading "Epistemology: Achieving Universal Knowledge" »

Nietzsche's Critique of Philosophers: Denying Evolution

Rejecting Sensory Experience

Philosophers deny evolution and refuse the testimony of the senses, viewing them as deceptive. They deny the body and embrace the immaterial, focusing on concepts like God.

Heraclitus vs. Parmenides

Nietzsche admires Heraclitus's focus on evolution and criticizes Parmenides's commitment to being and reason. He argues that Heraclitus correctly rejects Parmenidean being but, like Parmenides, misinterprets sensory experience by positing a hidden order (logos), maintaining the distinction between essence and appearance. We believe our senses lie because we interpret them through reason.

Embracing Sensory Experience

Nietzsche praises the senses, particularly smell, as... Continue reading "Nietzsche's Critique of Philosophy: Embracing Becoming Over Being" »

St. Thomas Aquinas' Anthropological Theory of the Middle Ages

**Life and Works of St. Thomas Aquinas**

St. Thomas Aquinas was a Christian theologian, the main representative of the scholastic tradition, and founder of the Thomist school of theology and philosophy. He wrote numerous works, among which are his commentary on Aristotle's thought and theological works such as Summa Theologica, Summa Contra Gentiles, and De Ente et Essentia.

**The Conception of Man in St. Thomas Aquinas**

The conception of man in St. Thomas is based on Aristotle's conception. But, as with the other aspects of his thought, it must be reconciled with the basic beliefs of Christianity: the immortality of the soul and creation. The human being is a substance composed of... Continue reading "St. Thomas Aquinas' Anthropological Theory: Soul and Body" »

Technical vs. Practical Rationality

1 - The concept of technical rationality:

a) Animal behavior adaptation to the drive for survival can be considered an example of technical rationality to the extent that it is a skill used to achieve a certain purpose. Humans use this kind of rationale for self-preservation or self-assertion, to obtain benefits or follow dictates of vanity.

b) When humans apply this kind of rationality, it's about controlling power over our environment, external nature, or other humans. To the extent that we use something as a means to our ends, we objectify it, even a subject, i.e., a person. That is why technical rationality is strategic or instrumental and is guided by criteria such as efficiency, economy (media and effort)... Continue reading "Technical vs. Practical Rationality: Concepts & Applications" »

Understanding Professional Ethics

The concept of ethics applies to all situations in which professional performance should follow a system of both implicit and explicit moral rules of different types.

Professional ethics seeks to regulate the activities undertaken within the framework of a profession. In this sense, it is a discipline included in applied ethics as it relates to a specific part of reality.

General Professional Ethics

Professional ethics is intended to raise awareness of responsibility in each and every one of those who exercise a profession or trade. This stems from the assumption that every value is closely related to the idea of 'a good'. Professional ethics or decision-making is based primarily on the rational nature of man.... Continue reading "Understanding Professional Ethics Principles" »

Ortega y Gasset: Life as Radical Reality

Early Life and Career

O., born into a bourgeois family in Madrid with ties to journalism, pursued a doctorate at the University of Madrid and furthered his studies in Germany. He became a full professor of metaphysics at the Central University in 1919. During the following years, he alternated his university teachings with the publication of numerous books and articles. He also engaged in publishing initiatives, conferences in America, and political intervention, becoming one of the most important Spanish social and intellectual figures. O.'s thought is always open to the world and its problems. In his writings, he blends the intellectual depth of a philosopher with a treatment of the most current issues.... Continue reading "Ortega y Gasset's Philosophy: Life as Radical Reality" »

Plato's Theory of Forms

It is not possible to give a common definition of objects that change continuously, unlike other beings. These beings were called "ideas." Things are separate ideas, but they are related. Throughout Plato's work, the term "idea" is mentioned, first in the Euthyphro about the idea of piety, where it means a model or criterion of truth. However, its definitive formation is found in the dialogues of maturity, especially in the Republic. The theory posits that ideas exist apart from particular things. They are not a "commonality" within things, nor are they concepts or mental representations. These are entities that have real and independent existence; every idea is a substance (ousia). The theory implies a doubling of the... Continue reading "Plato's Theory of Forms and Hume's Problem of Reality" »