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

A written text is a unit that discusses a specific topic with a specific purpose. It is composed of a series of sentences that maintain syntactic relations between them.

Key Elements of Effective Writing

• Consistency is the proper management of ideas. A paragraph, a portion of text that is enclosed by a full stop, helps us to verify consistency. Depending on how ideas are ordered, the structure can be analytic or synthetic.

• Cohesion refers to lexical items that connect different sentences, linking them together. Discourse markers are linked by lexical-semantic relationships or repetition.

• Adequacy occurs when there is a good correspondence between what is said and how it is said.

Discourse Markers

• Order: First, after
• Consecutive: Therefore, for
• Contrastive:

Life and Culture

Culture, the set of tools and techniques shaping human communities, provides the objective foundation of life and sustains societies. A historical understanding is crucial to avoid repeating past mistakes and build a better future. Life and culture intertwine to form a synthetic identity, encompassing dynamic notions such as events, news, opportunities, freedom, projects, and vocation, leading to a fulfilling life.

Project and Circumstances

Early childhood experiences, whether positive or negative, shape initial life projects. Maturity involves assessing these projects against existing circumstances, navigating primary and secondary challenges, and adapting to new situations.

Truth and Perspective

Ortega y Gasset emphasizes the... Continue reading "Spanish Society, Culture, and Ortega y Gasset's Perspective" »

Philosophers Who Have Spoken of Methods

Francis Bacon

According to Francis Bacon, the purpose of knowledge is dominion over nature and transformation for the benefit of man. Through science, human beings must be able to establish on Earth "his kingdom or domain." This domain first requires a deep understanding of nature and its mechanisms. In his work, the English philosopher sought to overcome the inductive method of Aristotle (syllogism) by replacing it with a new inductive method. The inductive procedure is only effective if one first identifies and rejects prejudice.

Galileo Galilei

The experimental method of Galileo was presented and made public in the book Il Saggiatore, the most philosophical of his works. This method is divided into the... Continue reading "Philosophical Methods: Bacon, Galileo, and Descartes" »

Hans Kelsen's Pure Theory of Law: Ethics and Legal Science

According to Hans Kelsen, ethics is a manifestation of morality, which, unlike law, is not coercive. Kelsen views law as a system of coercive norms.

Kelsen's Pure Science of Law

Kelsen proposes a "pure" science of law, drawing inspiration from Kant's concept of pure reason. To achieve this, he separates legal science, as a normative science, from the empirical sciences. He also distinguishes between the concepts of law and morality. Kelsen defines law, not morality, with a set of coercive norms. Morality, while influencing behavior, lacks the coercive enforcement mechanism inherent in law. This analysis is conducted by examining the object (natural or social) and the method (causal –... Continue reading "Hans Kelsen's Pure Theory of Law: Ethics, Interpretation, Integration" »

Social Contract Theories

The justification of the state: contractualism: Social Contract: "According to the agreement among the community to enforce laws and make the state appear." They are the citizens who decide to cede power to an authority and legitimacy. These theories are contractualism. Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. Two forms of state:

• a) State of nature: Describes Life as it would not exist without the state
• b) Welfare state: People are forced to organize on the basis of an agreement or covenant.

Thomas Hobbes

First to use the term social contract. He understood the state of nature and justification of the rule as follows:

1. a) State of Nature. "Homo homini lupus" Man is a wolf to man, without a state is governed by the law of the jungle. The

Hume and Descartes: Shared Ideas

Similarities between Hume and Descartes:

1. Hume, a learned individual, shares with Descartes the ideal and pursuit of autonomous reason—a reason liberated from all authority, serving as the sole guide in understanding reality, morality, and societal theories.
2. Both Descartes' rationalism and Hume's empiricism share a concern for the problem of knowledge: reason, nature, scope, and limits. They place the theme of knowledge at the center of their philosophies.
3. The emergence of both philosophies is closely connected with modern science. Hume applied Newton's physics method to the study of human nature. His greatest aspiration was, as he stated, to become the Newton of moral sciences.

Key Differences: Rationalism vs.

Plato's Dialectics: A Path to the World of Ideas

Dialectics, the superior form of knowledge, refers to the World of Ideas, to the immutable, universal, and eternal. It is identified with philosophy itself. Plato conceived dialectics in two ways: firstly, as a rational method that uses no sensible signs, employing only reason. It rests on "assumptions" but attempts to dispense with any recourse to the senses. Philosophy, which is synonymous with dialectics, is a more reflective knowledge, one that leaves no question without examination or assessment. The goal of dialectics is to discover the relationships between ideas and to seek the ultimate foundation of all: the Idea of the Good. True philosophy is "an ascent to being": the philosopher must... Continue reading "Plato's Dialectics and the Theory of Ideas: Understanding Reality" »

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" »