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

Foundations of Political Power and Legitimacy

Politics is an activity carried out by its members, aimed at determining how a community must organize its coexistence. Political power is the ability of a person or persons to impose their decisions on a community occupying a given territory.

Max Weber's Types of Legitimation

Max Weber distinguishes the following types of legitimation of power:

• Charismatic: Based on the character and personal qualities of the leader or chief.
• Traditional: The guarantee of power lies in customs and tradition.
• Legal-Rational: Power is justified by specified legal proceedings and instituted rules.

Naturalistic Theories on Society: The Polis

The social-political organization characteristic of Classical Greece was the polis,... Continue reading "Foundations of Political Power and Social Organization Theories" »

What is Politics?

The human being is a social creature who lives and organizes in groups. This social life also involves tensions and conflicts. Therefore, being social doesn't just mean being part of a group, but actively participating in community life to make it viable and respond to new needs. This active participation is called politics.

Core Principles of Politics

The common good is the set of conditions that ensures the dignity and full development of all people, allowing everyone's needs to be met. Therefore, politics should seek the best outcome for everyone, while also responding to specific needs such as health and education.

Democracy is a formula for reconciling various interests with the common good.

Political Ideologies

The diversity... Continue reading "Understanding Politics: From Common Good to Citizen Action" »

The Categorical Imperative and Postulates of Practical Reason

The Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives

An imperative is always a term of general ethical character. Imperatives are classified into two main types:

1. Conditional or Hypothetical: These are conditioned by the pursuit of certain purposes, meaning the action is a means to an end.
2. Categorical or Unconditional: These are absolute maxims formulated as actions prescribed by themselves.

Kant states that the categorical imperative represents the practical necessity of a possible action that is good in itself. All hypothetical imperatives must be rejected as principles of morality; only the categorical imperative provides universality and necessity. As such, it requires the rational will to... Continue reading "Kant's Categorical Imperative and the Postulates of Morality" »

Rationalism in the Seventeenth Century

Rationalism in Europe developed during the seventeenth century. It emphasized order, an order analogous to mathematics, which was presented as a model of knowledge. The traditional topics covered were the world, man, and the idea of God. The most important authors included Descartes and Spinoza, among others.

Rationalism initiated modern reflections on knowledge, questioning its possible value. The core rational belief is metaphysical: truth originates from being in the thinking subject. If one thinks correctly, the emphasis is placed on what is innate rather than acquired, prioritizing a priori knowledge over a posteriori experience.

René Descartes: Father of Modern Philosophy

René Descartes, in France,... Continue reading "Seventeenth-Century Rationalism and Cartesian Philosophy" »

Descartes' Methodical Doubt and the Cogito

From a young age, René Descartes held a profound interest in learning, yet he felt that the knowledge he was taught failed to address the pressing problems of his era. He sought to establish a philosophy that could explain the entire situation. This search led him to define a straight path—a method, a set of rules that were certain and easy to follow, making it impossible to mistake the false for the true, and which would gradually lead to the knowledge of everything capable of being known. He emphasized that having good sense is not enough; 'in fact, having a good mind is not the main thing, the main thing is to apply it well.'

The foundation of this method had to be reason. Descartes began by doubting... Continue reading "Descartes' Method: Certainty, Cogito, and the Mechanistic Universe" »

The first step is understanding substance as composed of a single body (matter) and soul (form). The soul cannot know the intelligible in itself, but knows things intellectually through sensation. There are two types of knowledge: sensible and intellectual. Sensible knowledge is the collection of aspects of knowledge in things through the senses, being converted into sensible form. Intellectual knowledge is the knowledge as the thing itself is present in the soul as an intelligible form. This is possible through understanding patient and agent. The agent produces the intellectual form through the sensitive. This is called abstraction: the act of taking the sensible form and converting it into an intelligible form. This goes to understanding... Continue reading "Rational Theology: Faith, Reason, and Knowledge" »

The Nature of Reality

1) Common Sense Realism: There is a real, external world perceived through our senses and analyzed by science.

2) Skepticism: Our senses may not provide a reliable picture of the outside world, sometimes deceiving us with illusions.

3) Idealism: When we analyze the world, we only have our ideas about it. There is only the universe of our minds and perceptions.

4) Phenomenalism: It is not possible to provide a general picture of the world. The real world is the set of sensory phenomena and perceptions.

Metaphysics

Metaphysics is the study of the fundamental features of reality and being.

Metaphysical Traits

1) Knowledge of Principles: Metaphysics analyzes the first principles of reality, from which all other principles are derived,... Continue reading "Understanding Reality: Metaphysics, God, and the World" »

The Principle of Solidarity

Solidarity is the search for the good of all and each, encompassing both legal and economic rules, as well as the relationships between people.

Solidarity: Moral Virtue vs. Principle

As an ordering principle of social institutions, solidarity serves the common good and helps overcome "structures of sin" arising from selfishness, lust for power, and exclusive profit.

Solidarity is not a vague feeling of compassion. It is the firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good, that of all and each, because we are all responsible for each other.

Defining the Common Good

The common good is the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment... Continue reading "Foundational Social Principles Explained" »

Theories of Truth

The Correspondence Theory

Truth is achieved when a statement matches reality. For centuries, this has been considered the most reliable way to ascertain truth. However, when reality is not material, truth becomes more subjective. Truth can never be subjective.

The Coherence Theory

Truth lies in consistency and the absence of contradictions within a set of statements. Logic is essential to determine consistency. Any change in information must maintain coherence. Hegel believed that truth encompasses everything. One ideal of science is to integrate all existing scientific theories.

The Pragmatic Theory

Truth is what produces useful results. This aligns with the idea that the end justifies the means, making it an a posteriori theory... Continue reading "Theories of Truth and the Possibility of Knowledge" »

Xenophanes

Xenophanes: After the Persians destroyed his hometown, he fled to Greece and traveled extensively, including visits to Elea. He was a singer who used satire in his work. He argued that anthropomorphism does not support religion and advocated a form of pantheism, stating that God and the cosmos are the same. According to him, God is unique, eternal, and immobile despite all the changes. His concept of Arche is the foundation and cause of all things. He attributed the cause of fossils to the fluctuations of sea levels.

The Pythagoreans

The Pythagoreans: Born in Samos, they moved to Crotona. The driving force behind their philosophy was the desire to save their immortal soul and escape the divine cycle of reincarnations. To free the soul... Continue reading "Pre-Socratic Philosophers: Xenophanes, Pythagoreans, and Heraclitus" »