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

Immanuel Kant's *Perpetual Peace*: A Philosophical Sketch

First Definitive Article for Perpetual Peace

This passage analyzes the first definitive article of *Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch*, written by the philosopher Immanuel Kant in 1795. The publication of this short treatise on political philosophy was inspired by a treaty of perpetual peace signed around that time.

Kant's Critical Metaphysics

Kant rejects all dogmatic metaphysics and instead proposes a critical metaphysics. This critical metaphysics must be limited to investigating the system of *a priori* forms of experience, whether of nature or of customs. The method used to discover these forms is called the transcendental method. Starting from a given experience, this method... Continue reading "Immanuel Kant's Perpetual Peace: Republican Constitution" »

Religious Beliefs as a Basis of Human Rights

From this perspective, human rights can be understood as a new way to express the idea that everyone is our neighbor and we should treat each other like brothers because we are all children of God.

Human Nature in Common

Many philosophers throughout history have held the idea that all humans share a common nature, are of the same species, and we have basically the same needs, fears, and aspirations to happiness. Human rights are one more discovery in the process of adaptation and survival of the species (either we fulfill human rights with each other or we risk disappearing).

Communicative Rationality and Mutual Recognition

Other philosophers say we can find a basis for human rights in our capacity to... Continue reading "Foundations of Human Rights: Religious Beliefs, Nature, and Rationality" »

Moral Latin *Morem*: Customs

• Ethics *Ethos*: Customs
• Both terms refer to the science of morals.

• Moral: The set of behavioral standards and values that govern a society at a given time.
• Ethics: Theoretical reflection on the behaviors and norms that shape moral values.

Moral Act

These are actions that can be approved or rejected by society. They must be performed consciously and voluntarily.

• Immoral: Disagreement with moral norms.
• Amoral: Indifferent to moral standards.

Moral Values

Qualities possessed by human actions according to whether they advance the subject in the process of humanization.

Countervalues

They are unfavorable and considered negative.

• E. Purpose: Human beings have a specific purpose in life.
• E. Duty: Seeking ways to ensure that moral standards

Understanding Political Power

Political power is defined as the ability of a person or group to impose its will on others, especially when the imposed behavior is contrary to the wishes or inclinations of those being subjected to it. Power translates into a relationship where one element is controlled, influenced, or determined by the other component of the relationship. Power permeates all aspects of our lives, being exercised within the family and in education. Power relations exist across the entire social fabric.

While there are many areas of power, there are also varying degrees of intensity and different ways it can be exerted. Relationships can be defined as power relations, however, the procedures upon which they are based are very different.... Continue reading "Understanding Political Power and the Social Contract" »

Christian Thomasius: Distinguishing Spheres

In modern times, the distinction between law and morality began to be elaborated by Christian Thomasius (1655-1728). He distinguished three spheres of conduct:

• Moral
• Legal
• Social conventions (customs)

He argued the latter are mere rules of conduct and courtesy without direct reflections in the other two spheres.

Defining Morality

The word 'moral' comes from the Latin mores: a set of practices, customs, standards of conduct within a particular social segment. Every nation, in every era, has its own morality – rules of conduct that meet certain functions and have specific goals. Therefore, what was once considered moral may not be so today (like human sacrifice), and what is considered moral by one people... Continue reading "Law and Morality: Philosophical Distinctions" »

Kant's Critique of Metaphysics

Immanuel Kant posits that the transcendental dialectic functions as the logic of transcendental illusion. Science, he argues, is confined to the realm of experience. Reason, however, is inevitably drawn to questions that extend beyond these limits, questions it cannot ultimately answer but also cannot ignore. This compels reason to venture further.

Metaphysical Objects and Ideas of Reason

The objects of metaphysics are essentially ideas of reason. Kant subjected the three primary ideas of reason—the self (I), the world, and God—to critical examination. These are the traditional subjects of metaphysical inquiry.

The Thinking Subject and Paralogisms

The thinking subject gives rise to four paralogisms concerning substantiality,... Continue reading "Kant's Critique of Metaphysics: Illusion and Experience" »

Historical, Philosophical, and Cultural Context of Kant's Moral Philosophy

Immanuel Kant (18th-19th century) wrote Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals in 1785. Kant experienced the government of a "king sergeant" under Frederick William I (1713-1740), but his work was published during the reign of Frederick the Great (1740-1786), an enlightened despot who housed figures like La Mettrie and Voltaire in his court. Their policy reflected an effort of rationalization. The influence of enlightened ideas, primarily from France, was significant in Kant's thinking.

Some key ideas that influenced Kant include:

1. Religion: A position close to deism, exemplified by Voltaire. Kant's writings on religion, particularly "Religion within the Limits of Reason

Negotiation: Strategies and Conflict Resolution

Negotiation is a process in which two or more parties make deals to reconcile their differences. It involves:

• Two or more parties
• A common goal
• Each party looking after its interests
• Peaceful problem-solving

Types of Negotiation

By Object

• Organizational and Management: Relations within the company
• Commercial: Sales
• Legal: Conflict resolution
• Social: Negotiation between employers and workers

By Subject

• Interpersonal: Negotiation between two people in conflict
• Intergroup: Negotiation between groups in conflict
• Direct: Persons involved directly in the negotiation process
• Delegate: Negotiation through a representative
• Third-Party Intervention: Involving a neutral party

By Maneuverability and Influence

• Competitive: Negotiators

Marxism: Theory and Social Transformation

Marxism proposes a reversal of the Hegelian system, advancing a materialist dialectics focused on the consciousness of society and history. Against a purely interpretative view of the world, Karl Marx argued for a philosophy capable of transforming society: first theory, then practice. It proposes communism as an economic system and understands history through a materialist lens, rooted in natural concepts.

Historicism and Vitalism: Life as Experience

Historicism and Vitalism propose that life and history, understood in a biological sense, should be approached as a biography. For thinkers like Nietzsche, life is an experience.

Phenomenology: Philosophy as Strict Description

Phenomenology views philosophy... Continue reading "Key Philosophical Movements and Their Core Ideas" »

Marx's Critique of Political Economy and Ideology

This text serves as a preface to Karl Marx's Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, published in 1889. Political economy is the theoretical analysis of the economic relations of production and the mode of modern society. One of the main objectives of Marx's work was to conduct a critique of political economy as it had developed until his analysis.

Intended as a contribution to the critique of classical political economy, this critique would later find its most rigorous and profound expression in Das Kapital. Indeed, the subtitle of Das Kapital is 'A Critique of Political Economy,' emphasizing the central role of the critique of ideologies.

The concept of ideology and the critique of... Continue reading "Marx's Critique of Ideology: Understanding Social Distortion" »