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

Lesson 3: 19th-Century Scientific Paradigm

Analytical Jurisprudence in England

The motion encoder also develops its own characteristics in England, where we speak rather of analytical jurisprudence. We might say that the notion is more properly analytic, beginning in the 19th century, and that is mainly due to Austin. In England, the most complete theory of coding was carried out. Coding, in this case, will not be as in France. England did not establish codes as strict as in France, but Bentham developed the possibility of a codification of general validity.

Bentham's Legal, Political, and Economic Reflections

Bentham reflected on the legal, political, and economic, and to some extent, adopted a perspective that deals with an analytical stance.... Continue reading "19th-Century Legal Theories: Bentham's Utilitarianism and Jurisprudence" »

Plato and John Stuart Mill both appear to support a correspondence between the development of human intellectual capacities and the development of morality. They claim these are determining factors for the establishment of a just society.

Divergent Conceptions of Human Nature

Despite this common ground, they start from fundamentally different conceptions of human nature. Plato believes that full intellectual and moral development—the knowledge of good—is reserved for the few, specifically the philosopher-kings. His principle of functional specialization, which states that everyone should pursue that for which they are best suited, presupposes the presence or absence of different capacities in individuals from birth and commits to an educational... Continue reading "Plato and John Stuart Mill: Freedom, Morality, and the Just Society" »

Plato's Dual Reality: Sensible and Intelligible Worlds

Foundations of Plato's Metaphysics

The reality, for Plato, is dual, characterized by a fundamental hierarchy: the distinction between the sensible reality and the intelligible reality. For the characterization of the sensible world, Plato draws upon the principles of Heraclitus, emphasizing change and flux. Conversely, for the intelligible world, he adopts the principles of Parmenides, highlighting permanence and unity.

The Essence of Platonic Forms (Ideas)

Characteristics of the Forms

In the Platonic conception of reality, the most real objects are the Ideas (or Forms), serving as the ontological cause of all that exists at the sensible level. They are ontologically primary and epistemologically... Continue reading "Plato's Theory of Forms: Metaphysics and Reality" »

Plato's Philosophical Connection to Pythagorean Thought

The Pythagorean school, due to its significant popularity and the encounters Plato had with its members, exerted various influences on his philosophy.

Shared Philosophical Foundations

Mathematics as a Path to Knowledge

Plato, in some ways, agreed with the importance attributed by the Pythagorean school to numbers, famously encapsulated in the maxim: "Numbers are the essence of all things." He also adopted their division between body and soul.

Plato believed that mathematics serves as a crucial tool for attaining knowledge of the Forms (or Ideas). While the Forms represent the true essence and occupy the highest ontological plane, mathematics, though a notch lower (similar to the Divided Line'... Continue reading "Pythagorean Influence on Plato's Philosophy" »

Plato's Anthropological Dualism: Body and Soul

For Plato, the human being is composed of two distinct realities: body and soul.

The Soul: Spiritual Nature

The soul possesses a spiritual nature and originates from the intelligible world. Plato described the body as the temporary prison of the soul.

The Body: Material Nature

The body is material in nature and belongs to the world of sense. While attached to the body, the soul desires to be free from the ties binding it to the sensible world. The soul moves the body, which is inanimate by itself.

The union of body and soul is considered accidental.

Arguments for the Soul's Immortality

Plato provides several arguments for the immortality of the soul:

• Argument from the Succession of Opposites: Plato argued

The Crisis of the 17th Century

René Descartes lived in a period marked by uncertainty and confusion arising from the crisis suffered by the man of the seventeenth century. The old skills were no longer valid and were discussed and questioned by the intellectuals of the time. Two main causes contributed to this malaise and confusion: the scientific revolution and the loss of religious unity.

• The scientific revolution dismantled theories that had been maintained for centuries, like the geocentric, Aristotelian theories, or the scholastic method.
• The loss of religious unity led Christian Europe to be divided into three groups: Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican. This division was the cause of many conflicts for centuries, such as the Thirty Years'

Block I (Kant): Summary - Overcoming Rationalism and Empiricism

"Sapere Aude!" (Dare to think!) The Enlightenment ideal champions Reason's independence from external authority, emphasizing progress through science. Kant merges rationalism and empiricism, inspired by Newton's synthesis of reason and experience. Rationalism, focusing on innate concepts, risked detachment from reality, while empiricism, grounded in experience, struggled with universality. Kant critiques rationalism's dogmatism and empiricism's skepticism, proposing that knowledge arises from perceptions shaped by inherent mental structures.

Classification of Judgments

Scientific judgments must expand knowledge and hold universal validity. Analytic judgments are inherent in the subject,... Continue reading "Kant's Philosophy: Unifying Rationalism and Empiricism" »

Key Definitions of Justice

• Ulpiano's Justice: The Roman philosopher Ulpiano defined justice as the constant and perpetual will to give each his own, to act appropriately, not to harm anyone, and to give everyone his due.
• St. Thomas Aquinas on Justice: Following in the footsteps of Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas added the concept of general, social, or legal justice, according to which community members must adapt their behavior to the common good.

Classes and Parts of Justice

Justice is shown in three dimensions:

1. The state requires the citizen to adjust its behavior to the common good.
2. The matter requires the state to reverse the cumulative delivery of efficient public services or to distribute equitably the charges and public burdens.
3. Individuals

The Unique Method of Reason

The ideal of universal science rests on a unique method valid for all sciences. This method, based on the structure of reason, applies to all individuals and fields of knowledge. To understand this method, we must analyze reason itself. Descartes identifies two fundamental operations of reason: intuition and deduction.

Intuition and the Simple Natures

Intuition is the immediate and effortless grasp of a clear and distinct idea. These intuited objects are "simple natures" or "clear and distinct ideas," the foundation of all knowledge. Key examples are extension and thought, considered innate ideas—potentially present in the mind and revealed through experience.

Deduction and the Composite Natures

Deduction involves... Continue reading "Descartes' Method and the Ideal of Universal Science" »

Metaphysics

Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the study of the fundamental nature of reality, including the first principles of things, such as being, knowing, identity, time, and space. It also examines the causes of our knowledge, universal principles, and spiritual beings.

According to Professor Lash, this definition sparks some philosophical discussion because it raises the question: "Is metaphysics truly a science?" Science typically deals with what can be measured and observed, while metaphysics often delves into the intangible and spiritual. Every individual engages in metaphysics through their actions and thoughts, with the clarity of their reasoning reflecting their level of progress.

The Role of Belief

The sensitive... Continue reading "Metaphysics, Belief, and Religion: Understanding the Interplay" »