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

Contemporary Philosophy: The 19th Century Context

Contemporary philosophy extends from the early 19th century to the present day. The most visible feature of this period is the lack of unity in its problems and approaches. Therefore, one cannot speak of a unified vision for this stage of philosophy, as the variety and disparity of interests and philosophical movements, motivated by profound and rapid societal changes, became its only common characteristic.

This article focuses on the 19th century. While historically known as the century of revolutions, from a philosophical perspective, the 19th century is defined by the rise of idealism and the subsequent reactions against it.

This period of philosophy can be broadly divided into two main stages:... Continue reading "19th Century Philosophy: Idealism, Critiques, and New Movements" »

Aristotle's Core Philosophical Concepts

Metaphysics: The Study of Being

Being and Substance

Aristotle observed that the concept of "being" has multiple meanings. However, he argued that these meanings ultimately relate to a primary concept: substance (ousia). Substance is fundamental because it exists independently, serving as the underlying subject for its various properties or accidents (e.g., quality, quantity, relation). Accidents cannot exist on their own but must belong to a substance.

Categories

The Categories represent the different fundamental ways predicates can apply to a substance, classifying the types of accidents and also including what Aristotle termed secondary substance (universal concepts like genera and species, e.g., "human"... Continue reading "Aristotle's Metaphysics, Ethics & Hellenistic Philosophy" »

Descartes' Theory of Substances

The theory of the terms of commonality is the weakest part of Cartesian theory. The Cartesian doctrine of reality is based on the cogito, from which the self is sensed as a substance whose whole essence is to think. Descartes defines substances *a priori* under existing concrete entities, but one that does not need anything else besides itself. He distinguishes three types:

• Res Cogitans: The human being is conceived as a thinking substance; its body does not need thought to exist.
• Res Infinita: The thinking being is imperfect, so it needs a perfect being (God).
• Res Extensa: The thinking being has a body, just like everything else.

Descartes' concept of the thinking substance assumes that the only thing beyond doubt... Continue reading "Descartes' Substance Theory: Mind, Body, and God" »

David Hume

His Impact on Philosophy and the Critique of Causality

David Hume (1711-1776) is one of the most influential philosophers, and exerted a profound impact on Immanuel Kant. Among the most important aspects of his philosophy is his criticism of the principle of causality.

Limitations of Knowledge and Future Events

According to Hume, our knowledge of facts is limited to current and past impressions. We cannot have knowledge of future events because we cannot have impressions of an event that has not yet happened. However, in our daily lives, we constantly assume that certain events will occur in the future. For example, we place a container of water on the fire, expecting it to heat up. But if we initially only feel cold water over the flame,... Continue reading "David Hume's Critique of Causality: Impact on Philosophy" »

20th Century European Philosophy

Vitalism and Historicism

In the 20th century, two prominent schools of thought emerged in Europe: vitalism and historicism. Vitalism posited that the essence of reality transcends reason, while historicism emphasized the crucial role of history in human understanding. These trends significantly influenced the philosophy of José Ortega y Gasset, particularly his concepts of vital reason and historical reason. Thinkers during this period grappled with the complex relationship between knowledge and reality, with language often serving as a starting point for exploring existence.

The Influence of Krausism

The intellectual renewal movement spearheaded by Giner de los Ríos and the Free Institution of Education, known... Continue reading "20th Century European Philosophy: Vitalism, Historicism, and Ortega y Gasset" »

Nietzsche's Critique of Christian Religion

Nietzsche argues that Christian morality, which he considers 'vulgar,' originates from the concept of God. He posits that religion is born of fear, anguish, and impotence, and therefore, it needs no inherent truth.

Christianity, in Nietzsche's view, reversed the life-affirming values prevalent in ancient Greece and Rome. It invented an ideal, heavenly world, thereby despising the earthly one. The moral values promoted by Christians, he contends, encourage a 'petty' existence, fostering a flock subservient to God. This, for Nietzsche, makes Christian morality a mortal enemy of the Übermensch (Superman), a concept also touched upon by thinkers like Feuerbach.

Critique of Traditional Philosophy (Plato)

Traditional... Continue reading "Nietzsche's Radical Critique: Values, God, and the Übermensch" »

Accidental Values of Gender

Some nouns have alternating genders that refer not only to sex but also to other non-sexual characteristics. Pottier refers to this as dimensional gender, where the alternating male/female forms refer to size. For example:

• El jarro (the jug) / La jarra (the jar)
• El cesto (the basket) / La cesta (the basket)

In these cases, the feminine form often implies a larger size. Similarly, when referring to trees and their fruit, the masculine form often denotes the tree, while the feminine form denotes the fruit:

• El naranjo (the orange tree) / La naranja (the orange)

When referring to people, the feminine form often denotes the female counterpart. For example:

• El alcalde (the mayor) / La alcaldesa (the mayor's wife)

Gender of Proper

Plato: Philosophy Forged in Athenian Turmoil

Plato (428–347 BC) was born and lived during a period of great social and political turmoil resulting from the Peloponnesian Wars between the peoples of Attica (Athens) and the Peloponnese (Sparta). It was a time of political corruption, evident both during the period of the Thirty Tyrants, who staged a coup in 404 BC, and in the subsequent democratic period. Plato harshly criticized this democratic government, viewing it as an ignorant majority that brought mistaken beliefs to power.

Plato's Critique of Athenian Society

The injustices of oligarchy and the errors of democracy led Plato to seek a more rational and just form of governance. This critique of democracy and oligarchy is famously presented... Continue reading "Plato's Philosophy: Athenian Turmoil, Cave Allegory, and the Academy" »

Immanuel Kant's First Definitive Article for Perpetual Peace

We present here a fragment of the "First Definitive Article for Perpetual Peace" authored by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). In this excerpt, the author presents the constitution that a state must have to achieve perpetual peace, along with its characteristics. This is the republican constitution, a constitution based on the principles of liberty, a single law imposed upon the subjects, and equal acceptance under the law by the state's citizens at a collective level. For Kant, this was the best civil constitution so that rights could be established within a state, thus leaving the state of nature and finally arriving at eternal peace. The author did not speak of perpetual peace as a utopia,... Continue reading "Immanuel Kant's Perpetual Peace and Philosophy" »

Descartes' Skepticism Towards Scholasticism

The starting point of René Descartes' philosophy is the disillusionment caused by traditional scholastic knowledge. He considered this knowledge entirely insecure, where everything was doubtful, and all issues presented a variety of conflicting opinions. This skepticism extended to philosophy in general and, consequently, to all sciences dependent on it, as none seemed to possess sufficiently secure foundations.

The Tree of Knowledge and the Quest for Certainty

Descartes envisioned knowledge as a unified "great tree," with metaphysics as its roots, physics as its trunk, and various sciences like medicine, mechanics, and morals as its branches. His fundamental objective was therefore to demolish the... Continue reading "Descartes' Quest for Certainty: Rebuilding Knowledge" »