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

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" »

Rational and Political Animal (Aristotle)

Aristotle's concepts of humanity as a rational and political animal are foundational, reappearing constantly throughout philosophy. This understanding arises within a philosophical context characterized by:

• A fixist, essentialist, and hierarchical worldview. In this view, the human being is considered different from and superior to other beings due to possessing rationality.
• A contemplative and theoretical conception of both humanity and nature.
• This philosophical context also served to justify the existing social order, including practices like slave society and the subordination of women.

Judeo-Christian View of Humanity

The Judeo-Christian conception offers a distinct perspective on human nature, with... Continue reading "Philosophical Perspectives on Human Nature" »

Freedom

• According to the ancients, freedom meant taking part in the discussions of the city, joining the community, accepting their laws, and demanding their rights.
• According to modern society, freedom is an individual matter, at least in principle.

Freedom: refers to non-dependence and non-interference from others. This is a negative freedom.

Freedom: refers to the commitment and loyalty to oneself. It is internal and positive.

Plurality of Liberties

• Physical: the possibility of movement.
• Privacy: the ability to exercise our political rights of participation in the political life of our communities.
• Civil: ability to exercise our civil rights.
• Thinking: ability to think what we want and to express it.
• Religious: possibility to select and exercise a

Nature's Influence

Enlightenment philosophy found nature central to all its ideas, not just in science, but also in morality, politics, and education. Values were taught through nature, as it was considered self-sufficient, eliminating the need for the supernatural. Everything was naturalized, distancing religion. The Enlightenment discovered reality through nature, approaching it scientifically through natural history. Science, configured from nature, became the tool to interpret the world.

Secularized Culture

Religion's role as the source of values was displaced. Autonomous consciousness emerged, demanding rights, leading to secularization in all aspects of life: economic, political, scientific, and even religious education. This critical... Continue reading "The Enlightenment: A Revolution in Thought" »

Cosmological Doctrines

Cosmological Monism

Thales, Heraclitus, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Parmenides

Cosmological Dualism

Pythagoras

Cosmological Pluralism

Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Democritus

Anthropological Doctrines

Anthropological Monism

Protagoras, Gorgias

Anthropological Dualism

Hippias, Antiphon

Key Figures and Their Ideas

Thales

"The principle of all things is water." Geometry: early (green) → development, conclusion (green). Water, earth, air, fire.

Anaximander

"First of all there is apeiron (indeterminate)" from where the bodies come and where they should return, because things are given mutual satisfaction and reparation for their injustice, according to the order of time. Apeiron (unlimited) ↔ cosmos (loop). APEIRON: Something finite but unbounded.... Continue reading "Ancient Greek Philosophers: From Cosmology to Humanism" »

Fuenteovejuna: A New Comedy

Fuenteovejuna features new comedy elements:

• Metric: Written in verse, using the lope stanza, adjusting the rate of speech. Tenths are suitable for expressing complaints, sonnets for serious matters, and ballads sound better when spoken by pastors or laborers.
• Structure: The play is divided into 5 acts, but the new comedy favors a division into 3 acts (approach, development, and outcome). Short, humorous interludes and festive parties occur between acts and at the play's end.
• Purpose: The play aims to please the audience with vulgar humor, prioritizing entertainment above all else.
• Genre: Classic plays clearly distinguish between social classes. Tragedy typically features plebeian characters experiencing humorous or visible

Attitudes Toward Death

Attitudes toward death can be categorized as:

• Agnostic: Not wanting to acknowledge the existence of such questions and avoiding the question of death (e.g., "I do not think, I do not plan").
• Dogmatic: Believing one has the answer and ceasing to inquire further (e.g., "My religion says death is a transition, so I don't need to consider other solutions").
• Tragic: Experiencing constant agony and anguish, continually searching for an answer but certain of not finding it.
• Hopeful-explorer: Continuously searching, potentially finding answers from beliefs, but remaining open to further questions.

Philosophical Anthropology

Philosophical anthropology is the philosophical reflection on human beings, incorporating insights from science... Continue reading "Humanity: Death, Philosophy, Perception, and Intelligence" »

Alienation and Disposition

Alienation or disposition is the phenomenon of eliminating personality, depriving the individual of their personality, or breaking an individual's personality, controlling and overriding their free will to make the person dependent, dictated by another person or organization. The alienated person stays within themselves, absorbed by their social disorientation. It is a process that can be self-induced.

Theocentrism

Theocentrism is the doctrine that God is the center of the universe, all things were created by Him, are directed by Him, and there is no reason to desire anything other than the will of God.

Humanism

Humanism is an intellectual, philological, and philosophical movement closely linked to Europe's cultural Renaissance,... Continue reading "Understanding Alienation, Theocentrism, and Humanism" »

Bohemian Lights and Reality and Social Policy

Bohemian Lights is a national political satire, touching upon society, religion, and the status of Spain in its era. It evokes the political and social environment of the time. The work reacts against the established power, and aligns with the behavior of Max Estrella. The anti-bourgeois attitude is embodied in the criticism of figures such as politicians, the Academy of Language, and Alfonso XIII. It alleges political corruption, as the characters understand corruption as a necessary evil associated with Spanish politics.

Historical and Social Context

Bohemian Lights shows a concrete historical and social picture in time and space. However, it does not limit the chronological location to the decade... Continue reading "Bohemian Lights: Satire of Spain's Social Reality" »

Historical Framework: The Age of Enlightenment

The historical framework for Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) spanned the period from the English Revolution (1688) to the French Revolution (1789). This era was characterized by the critical use of rationality under the motto Sapere Aude ("Dare to know"). Also significant were the dissemination of the Encyclopedia (by D'Alembert, Diderot) and the prevalence of enlightened despotism, a disguised absolutism, in European monarchies like those of Louis XIV and Frederick II of Prussia. However, the spread of Enlightenment ideas contributed to the decay of the Ancien Régime, reflected in the Declaration of American Independence (1776) and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789).

Philosophical