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

The Naturalistic Fallacy, Utilitarianism, and Moral Ethics

The naturalistic fallacy, utilitarianism, and moral ethics must guide us at the moment of action. The criteria for morality are defined as follows:

• Reason: You cannot base rules on reason or use it to move the will. Reason, as a collection of innate ideas, cannot contribute anything. Reason moves us, but it only justifies what has already been decided.
• Experience and the Naturalistic Fallacy: Morality is not derived from experience because that invokes the naturalistic fallacy (the transition from "is" to "ought"). Depending on how we describe things as they are (determined by experience), we categorize the action. We cannot derive moral obligation from experience because they belong to

Augustine of Hippo: Faith, Reason, and Society

A medieval Christian philosopher is distinguished from a Greek philosopher in that the Christian seeks truth already known to have been revealed by God, making further independent seeking unnecessary. Therefore, in Christian philosophy, in addition to the natural powers of sense and reason, a third, much more powerful option is added due to its supernatural nature: faith, capable of knowing the truth without error (which is God Himself).

Hence, in Christian philosophy, reason is subordinate to faith, acting in its service to demonstrate rationally what faith knows intuitively. If heretics attacked dogma using rational arguments, Christians also defended their positions with reason.

In Augustine, this... Continue reading "Augustine and Aquinas: Faith, Reason, and Society" »

Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)

Augustine of Hippo, born in Tagaste in 354 AD, explored the relationship between faith and reason.

Faith and Reason: Credo ut intelligam (Believe in Order to Understand)

Augustine sought absolute truth, navigating through Manichaeism and the skepticism of the Platonic Academy before embracing Christianity. Influenced by Neoplatonism, he developed a theory asserting that divine illumination, stemming from innate ideas implanted by God, guides the soul. To maintain this inner light, faith and obedience to God are essential.

Faith, according to Augustine, is not irrational but rather a supernatural and divine source of knowledge obtained through illumination. Through faith, we gain understanding that would otherwise... Continue reading "Augustine & Aquinas: Faith, Reason, and the Existence of God" »

Principles of Social Work

Human Rights and Human Dignity

Social work is based on respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and the rights arising therefrom. Social workers should uphold and defend the integrity and physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual development of each person. This means:

1. Respecting the right to self-determination: Social workers should respect and promote the right of individuals to choose for themselves and make their own decisions, regardless of their values and life choices, provided they do not threaten the rights and legitimate interests of others.
2. Promoting the right to participation: Social workers should promote the full commitment and involvement of users to empower them in making decisions

The Political and Cultural Superstructure

The economic basis of society supports the political and cultural superstructure. This superstructure consists of two main structures:

• The Legal and Political Structure: This is the set of rules and laws determining social consciousness. This structure manifests as the State, which Marx views as a political instrument used by the exploiting class to subdue the exploited.
• The Ideological Structure: This is the set of ideas, beliefs, customs, and social consciousness.

While every class consciousness has a representation of reality, it is the consciousness of the ruling class that is projected onto the whole social fabric. These cultural forms are interpreted by Marx as ideologies. These ideologies serve... Continue reading "Karl Marx: Superstructure, Alienation, and the Power of Praxis" »

David Hume: The Principle of Humanity

Theme: Human beings have feelings because we share a common moral universal principle of humanity that makes agreement and harmony possible.

Core Ideas

• 1. When a man expresses his feelings that arise from particular circumstances of egoism, he uses language.
• 2. When a man expresses sentiments common to him and others:
  • 2.1. To call someone "hateful" considers them odious to the whole of society.
  • 2.2. Expressing qualities harmful to society affects the principle of humanity that all human beings share.

Relationship: Points 1 and 2 show a contrast: expressing individual feelings versus those shared by others. Point 1 is complementary to point 2. The main thesis is idea number 2.

William of Ockham: Rights and Papal

Rousseau: On Freedom and Equality

Historical Context

Jean-Jacques Rousseau belongs to the 18th century, a period dominated by the Enlightenment in both England and France. This era was characterized by full confidence in reason as the primary means to solve human problems.

Theme

The central theme of Rousseau's work, as presented here, is the importance of equality and freedom as the foundation of human coexistence.

Main Ideas

• Equality is necessary for liberty.
• Equality is central to human relations and respect for the State.
• Equality under the law prevents any form of slavery.

Relationship of Ideas

The individual transitions from a state of nature to civil society as a member of a group, yet remains free while subject to the general will, expressed through... Continue reading "Rousseau and Kant: Enlightenment Philosophers on Freedom and Equality" »

Plato: Core Philosophical Concepts

Context

Historical and Cultural Context

• Born 427 BCE.
• Peloponnesian War, Thirty Tyrants.
• Socrates condemned to death.
• Conflict between three powerful states.
• Influences: Aristophanes, Xenophon.
• Focus on beautiful style and education.
• Involvement with Dionysius II of Syracuse.

Philosophical Context

• Sophists: Rhetoric, Phenomenalism, Subjectivism, and Relativism.
• Socrates: Concept, inductive reasoning, moral intellectualism.
• Pre-Socratics: Pythagorean school (shared features with the Theory of Ideas), Parmenides (Being), Heraclitus (vision of the sensible world's becoming).
• Atomist mechanism.
• Theology close to Anaxagoras.

Topics

Five major topics addressed.

Relevance Today

• Education and values.
• Foundation of Human Rights.
• Prison

Conception of Man in St. Thomas's Thought

IV. Conception of Man

1. The Structure of Created Reality

The contingency of all being, the finite radical destitution of all finite beings, requires a being that is the foundation of self and all reality: God. All creatures have a metaphysical composition of essence and existence contrasted with the single necessary and infinite God, who is the cause of their existence. From God, St. Thomas offers us a vision of reality created in a hierarchical fashion. To refer to the creatures he uses Aristotelian concepts: action and power, substance and accident, matter and form, adding the distinction essence/existence. The hierarchy of beings is given by their degree of simplicity and their greater proximity to... Continue reading "St. Thomas on Human Nature: Essence, Existence & God" »

Humans: Theory of the Soul

Both philosophers believe in the duality of human beings. While for Plato, the human meaning is an accidental union between body and soul, for Aristotle, these two elements make up a substantial unity, where the body is matter and the soul is the form (Hilemorphism: man is the unit substantially).

Plato's Perspective

For Plato, the soul is the perfection that belongs to the world of ideas and possesses true knowledge. It has three parts: the rational (Auriga), the irascible (white horse), and the concupiscent (black horse). These three parts are explained in the myth of the winged chariot: when the soul loses control of the other parts, it is represented as a chariot that inhabits the world of ideas. In the world, it... Continue reading "Understanding the Duality of Human Existence" »