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

Empiricism: A British Philosophical Tradition

Empiricism, a prominent British philosophical thought stream, flourished from the 16th to the 17th century. It emphasizes the supremacy of experience over reason in the acquisition of knowledge.

Key Empiricist Thinkers

• Thomas Hobbes (author of Leviathan)
• John Locke (proponent of the "blank slate" or tabula rasa)
• George Berkeley (known for "Esse est percipi" – To be is to be perceived)
• David Hume (often referred to as "the enlightened" or "the skeptic")

Core Characteristics of Empiricism

1. Origin of Knowledge: Empiricists assert that all knowledge originates from experience, which is acquired through our senses. While they do not deny the existence of reason, unlike Descartes, they deny its omnipotence.
2. Rejection

Aristotle's Philosophy of Happiness

The Pursuit of the Supreme Good

Happiness is a subject that has preoccupied humanity since its inception, and similarly, philosophy. For Aristotle, happiness is the supreme good that everyone must strive for, because every purpose of action leads to happiness, just as an architect's purpose is to create buildings.

I agree when he says that we all want to achieve happiness, but not all reach it alike. Many people believe that having wealth and a good life constitutes authentic happiness, but they are mistaken. True happiness is about always doing well.

Happiness as Activity, Not Pleasure

Happiness, to speak effectively, is to fulfill whatever role we perform. As we come to know and understand its fullest extent,... Continue reading "Aristotle's Path to Happiness: A Contemporary Reflection" »

Medieval Philosophy: Faith and Reason

The germ of medieval thought lies in the gradual assimilation of philosophy. After an initial negative attitude towards philosophy, thinkers eventually embraced it, justifying its use for claims about reality and truth. The first Christian philosopher to significantly influence scholasticism was Augustine of Hippo. His thinking reflects his personal and intellectual life. Augustine recognized the limitations of human reason and the necessity of faith, believing in an immutable truth attainable when the soul transcends itself to seek God. For Augustine, faith and reason are not incompatible; his conception of God and man as a rational soul incorporates Platonic and Neoplatonic concepts, reinterpreted to express... Continue reading "Medieval Philosophy: Augustine, Aquinas, and Ockham" »

Kant's Concept of Duty and Imperatives

Duty and Good Will

The concept of duty implies that 'goodwill' is not absolute but subject to limitations. Humans are not purely rational but also driven by inclinations such as love, hate, sympathy, pride, greed, and pleasure. These inclinations often conflict with rationality and the moral law. Good will manifests in the struggle against these tendencies. When this conflict arises, goodwill is called duty.

A purely rational will, unaffected by inclinations, would be a 'holy will,' spontaneously adhering to the moral law without obligation. For such a will, 'duty' would be meaningless, as 'want' and 'must' would naturally coincide. However, for humans, the moral law often conflicts with desires.

Types of

René Descartes' Philosophy: Key Concepts and Comparisons

Comparison with Plato

Both Descartes and Plato defended the idea that knowledge was innate. However, Plato believed innate ideas were known from the Anima before being joined to the body, while Descartes held that ideas are intrinsically linked to true reason.

Both authors also defended the duality of man, composed of soul and body. For Plato, the soul is where truth resides, and it is a perfect, naturally pre-existing, divine entity before joining the body. In contrast, Descartes' concept of the soul is tied to the "Cogito" ("I think") and does not have a separate existence or reality apart from the body in the same way Plato conceived it.

Both philosophers are rationalists, arguing that... Continue reading "René Descartes' Philosophy: Core Concepts and Influence" »

Children and Literature

Definition

Children's literature is the body of written works addressed to children from birth to adolescence, covering topics of relevance and interest to children of those ages, through prose and poetry, fiction, and nonfiction.

Children's books are about the experiences of childhood, both good and bad. The content of children's books includes diverse topics that are of interest to children, such as dinosaurs, Egyptian mummies, world records, and fighter planes.

The manner helps to define children's books. Forthright, humorous, or suspenseful manners are appropriate for young readers.

Quality in writing has to do with originality and importance of ideas, imaginative use of language, and beauty of literary and artistic style.... Continue reading "Understanding Children's Literature: Benefits and Development" »

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 contains a wide range of guarantees of cultural diversity for groups and formations in which the personality of members of the Spanish population unfolds. There is a significant development of ensuring pluralism of the major cultural communities, inserted into a system of territorial autonomy with a wide capacity to govern for the development of their cultural interests. Moreover, the Constitution guarantees the protection of the common culture of Spain. However, the guarantee of non-territorial cultural groups (ethnic diversity) is confined to the generic non-discrimination principle. The Constitution also guarantees, specifically, cultural pluralism with regard to certain institutions, as in the case of education... Continue reading "Cultural Pluralism and the Spanish Constitution of 1978" »

The fundamental drive in animal life is to perpetuate the species through its members, preserved thanks to ingenious mechanisms. In humans, however, life transcends mere biological perpetuation. As biologists and zoologists study the mechanisms of survival, human life reveals a dimension requiring a symbolic existence.

Mankind yearns for something more difficult and risky: the perpetuation and spread of the unique individual. Saint Augustine said that man represents a new beginning, a model defined by singularities.

For Hegel, the task of life is to "think" – to think about life in order to value actions.

Can We Speak of an Art of Life?

We call "art" a skill practiced in a particular field, whose general principles can be learned. However, its... Continue reading "The Art of Living: Hygiene, Ethics, and Meaning" »

Aquinas: Harmony of Faith and Reason

The position of Aquinas is both harmonizing and innovative. Many truths are treated by both faith and reason, albeit differently. While paths and perspectives may initially diverge, they ultimately converge at the same point: truth.

Reason and Philosophy

Philosophers, Aquinas reminds us, employ principles accessible to human reason. Thomistic epistemology incorporates the Aristotelian perspective, distinguishing between sensible knowledge and intellectual knowledge, utilizing the mental tool of abstraction. Both philosophers and theologians use reason, but theologians also accept the principles of authority, faith, and divine revelation.

Faith and Theology

Theology and philosophy cannot contradict each other,... Continue reading "Aquinas: Harmonizing Faith and Reason" »

Hypotheses and Scientific Theories

Hypotheses

Hypotheses are educated guesses proposed in response to scientific problems. Their function is to guide the principal research, indicating what causes must be analyzed. The hypothesis is a bridge or link between theory and research. A well-formulated hypothesis serves as a guideline for research and, after verification, generates new knowledge that becomes part of human knowledge. The construction of the hypothesis is supported by a system of organized knowledge, forming a theoretical framework demonstrated through empirical verification, to explain and predict possible events or phenomena if the stated relationship is found.

Inductive Hypothesis

An inductive hypothesis arises from the specific observation... Continue reading "Hypotheses and Scientific Theories: Definitions and Features" »