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

Philosophical Schools of Thought

Major Philosophers and Their Ideas

Key Concepts and Arguments:

1. Accepted both ideas of permanence (higher forms) and impermanence (lower forms). Plato
2. Reality is divided into two parts: the visible and the invisible. Plato
3. Believed humans are born without any knowledge. Locke
4. Created a synthesis between rationalism and empiricism. Kant
5. Thought the mind and body are connected in the pituitary gland. Descartes
6. Concluded there is as much reality in the cause as in the effect. Descartes
7. Found the mind to be structured to apprehend “Sense reality.” Kant
8. Said, “The seen is changing. The unseen

True or False

1. Space and time are forms of sensibility and objects given in intuitions. T
2. A unicorn is a simple idea, but horse and horn are complex as they result from sensations. F
3. For Descartes, the mind is an infinite substance trapped in the finite body. F
4. Since babies cannot count, quantity is learned and is not an a priori category of the understanding. T
5. Reflections, for Locke, are acts of the mind while sensation provides ideas of the external world. T
6. Kant believed self, cosmos, and God offer unity and completeness. T
7. Although Kant argued that minds move towards wholeness, the way the mind analyzes raw data differs by culture. T
8. While odor and taste are part of objects, motion depends on the observer. F
9. The word empiricism is derived from the

active:

Learning from Mistakes: Popper and Kuhn

Science progresses not by proving theories right, but by recognizing when our understanding of reality is false. Scientists actively try to disprove their theories.

• Induction: If you observe that it rains every Thursday for four weeks, you might conclude that it always rains on Thursdays.
• Science aims to avoid the problem of induction.
• Scientists propose a hypothesis and then test it, seeking evidence that could falsify it. If falsified, the hypothesis is rejected.
• Kuhn: Argued that there are no objective facts waiting to be discovered. Progress occurs through "paradigm shifts," where existing frameworks of thought are overturned.

The Runaway Train and the Unwanted Fiddler

These thought experiments by Philippa... Continue reading "Key Philosophical Concepts: From Popper to Singer" »

Stages in Customer Service

A set of quick and flexible procedures is fundamental to avoid problems.

Usual stages are:

1. Ordering: Using a computer management tool to fill in data such as customer name and number code.
2. Information Request: This has improved tremendously in many companies.
3. Claim and/or Complaint Management: Nowadays, this is mainly done through contact centers, but the internet is rapidly growing.

When dealing with claims, consider:

• Who the claims should be addressed to.
• What data to send to the customer.
• Establish three levels of response: serious claims for superiors, and lower and middle-class claims to solve internally.
• General claims that do not require any actions.
• False or imaginary claims caused by misunderstandings should be addressed,

Metaphysics-the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space.

Epistemology-the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope.Distinguishes justified belief from opinion.

Ethics-The field of ethics (or moral philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.

Thales-known as the father of western philosophy, famous story about his having once fallen into a cistern because he was looking up at the heavens

Anaximander-believed that nature or the world came to be our of the struggle of fundamental oppositions(like hot and cold and light and dark) cyclid... Continue reading "Human relation theory was an improvement scientific management theory of organigation" »

Scientific Methods

Scientific methods provide frameworks for investigation and understanding.

Deductive Method

This method moves from general statements to particular statements. From general judgments or definitions (premises), individual conclusions are deduced that are the necessary consequence of the first. The consistency and validity of this method are unquestionable. The deductive method is characteristic of formal sciences, although in empirical sciences it is also used in the initial part of the investigation.

Inductive Method

The inductive method starts from the particular to formulate a general conclusion. Scientists, after observing that a property or event is repeated in many individual cases, conclude that such a property belongs to... Continue reading "Understanding Scientific Methods" »

1)Which is the key concept of Socratic ethics?

His ethics around truth and good, the notion of good is a political category, not merely on individual one. This means that the good is what suits the polis or city, not this or that particular citizen. However, Socrates is aware of the need to limit this concept in a context in which the disparity of interests and expections leads to contradictory views about it. This is the meaning of the pedagogical work that will develop throughout his life and culminate with his sacrifice in favour of the laws of Athens. (His death sentence)

1. Which is the difference between selfish good and political good?
2. The knowledge of good precedes it’s application in the practical and political sphere: once the good is

Problems of the Hypothetical-Deductive Method

Hypothesis Formulation

It seems reasonable to assert that in the formulation of hypotheses, some factors come into play that may seem unscientific or completely removed from scientific procedure. For example, imagination, luck, or chance. The inability to respond to this explanatory gap has caused some thinkers, such as Paul Feyerabend, to extend the influence of imagination to the entire scientific procedure.

Hypothesis Validation and Confirmation

Although the formulation of hypotheses assumes a certain amount of imagination and luck, to accept the suggested explanation, the hypotheses have to be checked with the highest scientific rigor. To solve this problem, Karl Popper proposed falsification as... Continue reading "Hypothetical-Deductive Method: Problems and Knowledge" »