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

School Failure in the Valencia Region

A Growing Concern

The Valencia region faces a growing challenge: school failure. A recent study in Teacher magazine revealed a 39.7% school failure rate, second only to Ceuta, and a significant increase of 14.4 points between 2000 and 2006. This alarming trend places the Valencian education system on the brink of collapse. We must address this issue to prevent future problems.

Exploring the Causes

Several factors contribute to rising academic failure among students. This raises important questions about the underlying causes:

• Is the allure of "easy money" without effort a contributing factor?
• Do students find studying too demanding?
• Are schools setting unrealistic expectations?
• Is academic failure perceived as

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" »

St. Thomas Aquinas: Theory of Knowledge

St. Thomas Aquinas's Theory of Knowledge explains intellectual knowledge through the theory of abstraction. Drawing essentially from Aristotle, Aquinas posits that the agent intellect abstracts (i.e., separates, though not physically) the intelligible (universal) from the individual sensible images (particulars). This abstracted universal is then presented to the patient intellect, enabling it to know the act of knowing. This process leads to the understanding of concepts through the essences of things. The attribution of one concept to another results in a judgment, which is true if what it asserts corresponds to reality.

St. Thomas Aquinas: Ethical Philosophy

In Ethics, St. Thomas Aquinas adopts Aristotle'... Continue reading "St. Thomas Aquinas's Core Philosophical Doctrines" »

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" »

Understanding Logic and Reasoning

Early Concepts and Ambiguity

• Modes: 1: AB, 2: AB, 3: AB, 4: AB
• Relationships: AC, CA, BC, CB, CA, CB, CA, CB
• Abstract Thought: "A-whole-E is no. Or is it some? Some I is not."

An example of ambiguity: "The pig of the child" (Does this mean "The pig belongs to the child," "The pig is the child," or "The child is dirty like a pig?").

Signs and Symbols: Semiotic Entities

Signs and symbols are semiotic entities with distinct properties. A sign is defined by the relationship between the signifier, the signified, and the interpretant, while a symbol is a graphical representation that can be part of a larger sign system. Both convey ideas effectively in pre-literate or functionally illiterate cultures. However, their utility... Continue reading "Logic and Reasoning: Deductive, Inductive, and Semiotics" »

Understanding Argumentative Writing

Argumentation is a form of expression that aims to defend or refute an idea or thesis through a series of arguments or reasons to demonstrate its validity.

Parts of an Argument

• Thesis Exposure: States the idea we intend to defend or refute. This should be done simply and accurately.
• Reasoning: These are the arguments or reasons provided to support our point of view.
• Conclusion: Here, we concisely summarize all arguments.

Key Rhetorical Devices & Literary Resources

Phonic Resources

• Alliteration: Occurs when several consecutive words repeat a single sound.
• Anaphora: Consists of repeating one or more words at the beginning of two or more lines or clauses.

Syntactic Resources

• Hyperbaton: This device alters the logical

Nietzsche's Philosophy: 19th Century Context

Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy emerged during the second half of the nineteenth century, a period marked by significant revolutions across Europe. The ongoing struggle for rights and freedoms fueled the rise of liberalism and socialism, ideologies that played a crucial role in the Revolutions of 1848. These uprisings, however, were met with suppression, repression, and persecution of the burgeoning labor movement.

Concurrently, powerful nationalist movements gained traction in Germany, culminating in German unification and the establishment of a state under Prussian hegemony. Otto von Bismarck spearheaded this movement, and a young Nietzsche initially shared these nationalistic ideals. In France,... Continue reading "Nietzsche's Philosophy: Historical Context and Key Influences" »