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

Renaissance Themes and Motifs

Topics Carpe diem, which invites the reader to enjoy the present moment. Collige, virgo, rosas, a young exhortation to enjoy love before time withers her beauty. Locus amoenus, which recreates a green meadow, fresh and clear, that is a haven for the poet to express their amorous suffering. Second half of the sixteenth century: Golden mean, offering a moderate praise of life, detached from any ambition. Beatus ille, expressing regret for a life away from the chaos of the world; seeking peace and harmony with nature. Topics Nature, Love — love in the Renaissance is influenced by Neoplatonic philosophy and has a Petrarchan conception: free from carnal appetites, it raises man from the material to the immaterial.... Continue reading "Renaissance Themes: Carpe Diem, Love, Mythology & Mysticism" »

Aristotle's Politics

Aristotle's Politics is regarded as a fundamental science. Following the Sophists and Plato, Aristotle views humans as inherently social beings, famously stating that "man is a political animal" and the only creature endowed with speech.

The Structure of the City

Aristotle outlines the progression of human organization:

• Family: The basic unit.
• Village: A collection of families.
• City (Polis): The most perfect community of free men oriented toward living virtuously. In this view, politics is absorbed by ethics.

Political Methodology

Aristotle's study is not a utopia but an empirical analysis of 158 existing constitutions to determine the most effective models. He critiques Plato's utopianism, specifically the abolition of private... Continue reading "Aristotle's Politics and Epistemology: Core Concepts" »

Aristotle's Theory on the Powers of the Soul

The Vegetative Power: This power involves reproductive, nutritional, and growth functions. It is common to all living beings, with plants (vegetals) occupying the first place.

The Sensitive Power: This is more complex. Within this, two degrees of function can be distinguished: primary sensibility (proper to lower animals: pain, fear, and organic alterations) and higher sensibility (proper to superior animals: common sense, imagination, and intelligence).

The Intellective Power: This is the function of the higher soul, specific to the human being. It has two main functions:

• Intellectual: Aristotle refers to two types: the agent intellect and the patient intellect. The agent intellect is a cosmic intelligence

Cartesian doubt: From the philosopher Descartes. Questioned everything. From laexistencia the world to his own. Is to doubt everything will gradually be able to at least discover a truth beyond doubt. The only indubitable truth that was discovered by the "cogito ergo sum". I think, therefore I am.

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