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

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: Happiness and Virtue

Aristotle wrote several treatises on ethics, the most important of which is the Nicomachean Ethics. In his Ethics, Aristotle starts from the ultimate goal: the goal of all men is happiness. Surely all men, whatever their creed or belief, will agree with this statement. Disagreement begins when trying to realize what happiness is.

What is Happiness According to Aristotle?

To answer the question of what constitutes happiness, Aristotle discusses human nature. Every person is happy doing the activity that is proper and natural (this principle is a consequence of his teleological conception of nature: everything tends to an end that is their right). For Aristotle, happiness, therefore, is not a... Continue reading "Understanding Aristotle's Philosophy on Happiness and Virtue" »

Descartes' Methodic Doubt

Descartes resolved to doubt all the beliefs he had hitherto accepted as true, subjecting them to trial so that reason might accept them again only if they proved certain.

The Search for a New Method

He recognized the need to find a new method, reflecting on the studies he pursued in his youth: Logic, Mathematics, and Algebra.

Learning from Past Studies

After thorough study of these arts and sciences, he found many imperfections, which led him to conceive of another method that would bring together the advantages of these three while being free of their defects.

Principles of the Method

This method aimed to achieve certainty by avoiding lengthy chains of reasoning. It would be based on intuitive and concrete reasoning, as... Continue reading "Descartes' Method for Certain Knowledge" »

Ethical Indeterminism

Indeterminism posits that when we choose and act freely, we act independently.

This trend's origins trace back to classical Greece, the ethical relativism of the Sophists, and Plato's moral intellectualism. It regained importance from the eighteenth century.

Kant

Kant believed in different uses of the same reason. Human reason has two main uses:

• Pure Reason deals with understanding the physical world, where phenomena are inescapable, and freedom doesn't exist.
• Practical Reason deals with how we should act, the principles of human behavior, and the laws guiding behavior. Freedom exists only here.

Kant focused on the principles that move humans to action. These principles form our conscience, which governs our behavior and tells... Continue reading "Ethical Theories: Determinism vs. Indeterminism" »

1. Define the word 'society'.

   Answer: A group of human beings who collectively pursue shared goals through common means and coexistence.

2. What is meant by 'politics'?

   Answer: Throughout human history, groups have been linked by fundamental political structures, inevitably involving the presence of law, from primitive forms to the modern state.

3. Describe what is meant by 'legal order'.

   Answer: Three constitutions regulate the basic progress of the Mexican state: the constitutions of 1824, 1857, and 1917. The current state is restructured based on the 1917 constitution and its reforms.

4. What is the purpose of state theory?

   Answer: It aims to investigate the specific circumstances of state life around us.

5. Name the first constitution that took effect in New

Comparison with Leibniz

René Descartes, considered the father of modern philosophy due to his immense influence on subsequent knowledge, employed a destructive method to arrive at truth. However, Leibniz offered a critique of Cartesian philosophy, attempting to resolve the dichotomy between res extensa (extended substance) and res cogitans (thinking substance) raised by Descartes.

Leibniz replaced the Cartesian mechanistic dynamism and substance with his concept of monads—simple, indivisible, and independent substances. These monads, as diverse as reality itself, possess an internal energy that contrasts with Cartesian mechanism. Independent and unrelated to the outside, each monad has its own principle of action, independent of the external... Continue reading "Leibniz's Critique of Cartesian Philosophy: A Comparative Analysis" »

Relationship between Kant, Descartes, and Hume

Kant's thought can be understood in relation to other philosophers, such as R. Descartes and D. Hume. A comparison between Descartes and Kant reveals key differences in their approaches to epistemology.

Descartes vs. Kant

Descartes, in his quest to understand knowledge, prioritized ideas meeting the criteria of clarity and distinction, effectively dismissing empirical data derived from the senses. He believed only mathematical and metaphysical truths met this standard. Descartes' method of doubt aimed to establish a foundational principle for all human knowledge, not solely mathematical knowledge.

Kant, with his central question, "What can I know?" (addressed in the *Critique of Pure Reason*), similarly... Continue reading "Kant, Descartes, and Hume: Comparative Philosophy" »

Ethics of Minimum and Maximum: Foundations of Justice and Happiness

Understanding Minimum Ethics: Civic Foundations

Minimum ethics contains the essential requirements of justice that are absolutely necessary to ensure citizens live in peace and can develop their own idea of happiness. This ethic is also known as civic ethics. It implies that citizens understand and uphold fairness. Its five core principles are:

• Freedom: Understood as moral autonomy—the capacity to make moral decisions for oneself; and political autonomy—the ability to participate in political institutions without coercion.
• Equality: Involves the elimination of domination, ensuring everyone can enjoy a reasonable amount of all goods. Citizens must have minimum social and cultural

Plato and Aristotle: Understanding Their Metaphysical Differences

Similarities Between Plato and Aristotle

To understand the main differences, it is first necessary to know the similarities. Both Plato and Aristotle understood that reality is constituted by two basic principles, one active and one passive, or intellectual and material. The active ingredient is, in both authors, the essence of things.

• For Plato, the active principle is Ideas. The material world is sensitive, and things are what they are because they "participate in those ideas."
• For Aristotle, the active ingredient is the form, and the passive principle is matter. Consider an equestrian statue made of cast iron. Its shape is a horse with a leader on top; the material is cast iron.

The Foundation of Empiricism

David Hume is one of the leading philosophers of empiricism. He proposes a philosophy that considers something true only if it is based on experience or impressions. One important aspect that characterizes his thought is the negation of the Cartesian philosophy of res cogitans. He denies the res infinita and res extensa.

The Origin of Knowledge

As for the origin of knowledge, experience reduces all to sensitive evidence. For empiricists, experience is the fundamental concept of philosophy, as it differentiates what is true from what is not. No one can say that something is true if they have no experience of it. For this reason, Hume denies the validity of abstract ideas and distinguishes two types of ideas:

• Relationships

Mill argues that no individual or group should dictate another's life choices, even with good intentions. This stems from his belief that people's judgments are often clouded by prejudice, superstition, and self-interest. As J.S. Mill states in On Liberty, external power can only be legitimately exercised to prevent harm to others, not to improve an individual physically or morally.

This principle applies to individuals with mature faculties, capable of rational discussion. Mill champions freedom of thought, sentiment, expression, and the freedom to pursue one's own tastes and purposes, provided they do not harm others. He also defends the freedom of assembly and association.

Freedom of Thought and Expression

In On Freedom of Thought and Expression,... Continue reading "John Stuart Mill on Individual Liberty and Its Limits" »