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

Myth vs. Philosophy: Understanding Reality

1. Mythical Conception of Reality: It encompasses a way of conceiving reality, understanding knowledge about reality, and a way of behaving. The mythical conception (CM) of the ancient Greeks saw man as obedient to the whims of natural forces that threatened his existence. Reality was divided into:

• Divine Sphere: Immortal gods.
• The Wild: Nature, a chaotic force responsible for the processes of production and destruction. Sacred power resided in every force of nature, ruled by its god.

Myths: Anonymous accounts that crystallize the collective memory of a culture. They are ethnocentric and tell stories of gods, demigods, or heroes.

• Irrational: The account can be believed or not; the meaning of the myth is

Man's Place in the Universe

Is man the center of the universe? The Greeks thought the Earth occupied the center of the cosmos and that man was the center of the universe, a microcosm; that is, everything is surrounded, there is also behind him, and vice versa. Thus arose the idea of man as the center of the universe (anthropocentrism). Later, the Earth ceased to occupy that prominent place. If our planet does not occupy the center of cosmic space, is man the goal and purpose of the evolution of the universe?

Teilhard de Chardin asked: "What sense is this becoming? Is evolution directed? What I intend in this essay is to build a picture of the physical world around the individual, chosen as a significant element within the whole system..." So,... Continue reading "Humanity's Place: Cosmic Significance and Social Nature" »

Descartes: Impressions and Ideas

Impressions: Our perceptions are more intense when we hear, see, feel, love, hate, desire, or want. We feel so strong and alive.

Ideas: The copy is saved in the mind as diffused memory and representation. Impressions and ideas can be simple or compound.

Work Experience and Association of Ideas

Work experience is the association of ideas by space-time contiguity. Experience is a product of custom and habit that leads us to relate ideas and to expect that events will occur in a certain way.

Laws of Association

Ideas mutually attract; this attraction is not arbitrary but responds to certain laws.

• Similarity Law: Act 1 is the association of ideas designed to compare ideas with others.
• Contiguity Spatial-Temporal Law: Ideas

Plato's Theory of Knowledge: Four Levels

Sensible and Intelligible Worlds

In Plato's theory of knowledge, each level of reality, encompassing both the sensible and intelligible worlds, corresponds to a specific type of knowledge. The Allegory of the Cave illustrates this concept, emphasizing the challenges in transitioning between levels of knowledge and the moral and political implications for those who attain supreme knowledge, the Idea of the Good.

Four Levels of Knowledge

Plato divides knowledge into four levels. The first two belong to the visible world and constitute opinion rather than true knowledge. The remaining two pertain to the intelligible world and represent true knowledge.

1. Imagination (Eikasia)

Eikasia is the lowest level of knowledge.... Continue reading "Plato's Theory of Knowledge: Levels and Dialectics" »

Types of Meetings

Meetings serve various purposes, such as exchanging information, coordinating projects, planning goals, solving problems, and making decisions. Key types include committees, quality circles, and working groups, each playing a significant role.

Committees

• A group of people delegated by a corporation or authority to address specific matters affecting them.
• Can be volunteer-based or mandated by legal regulations.
• All members typically hold equal importance in discussions and decisions.

Quality Circles

• Composed of 5-10 employees.
• Recognize and leverage an employee's expertise to contribute to improving business tasks and processes.
• They do not typically address labor conflicts; such issues are usually directed to a committee.

Working Groups

Working... Continue reading "Effective Meetings & Core Management Principles" »

The Person as an End in Themselves

From a moral perspective, and stemming from fundamental postulates, Kant emphasizes the concept of the person. This definition of the human being underwent significant discussion from Scholasticism to Kant. According to Kant, the human being is only knowable as a moral entity. Moral law manifests in humans as an imperative, because the will is not subject solely to reason, but also to other influences like impulses and inclinations.

Kant distinguishes between two types of imperatives: the categorical imperative, where the action is presented without reference to any purpose and is the sole basis for moral law, and the hypothetical imperative, which represents an action as good in relation to achieving a specific... Continue reading "Understanding the Person: Dignity, Personalism, and Historical Perspectives" »

Game Theory: Foundations and Economic Impact

Compared to those achieved in the case of zero-sum two-player games, von Neumann and Morgenstern abandoned any attempt to specify optimal strategies for individual players. Instead, they specified models where proposed coalition formation is consistent with rational behavior. They denied that game theory played such a role in resolving the inherent indeterminacy of problems between two people. In fact, they endorsed the view that had prevailed among economists at least since the time of Edgeworth, whereby problems of interaction between two people are inherently indeterminate.

Applications of Game Theory in Economics

Game theory now has many applications, but economics is where the main ideas produced... Continue reading "Future Tech Unveiled: AI, Biochips, and Game Theory" »

Context: René Descartes and 17th-Century Philosophy

René Descartes, a prominent figure of the seventeenth century, is considered the father of modern philosophy. A great mathematician, he is known for inventing analytic geometry. He founded the influential school of continental rationalism, characterized by:

• Confidence in Reason

  Reason, as opposed to sensory experience, is the primary source of truth. It is infallible and capable of uncovering innate truths independently of sensory experience. From these foundational ideas, more complex truths are derived through deduction. There is a parallel between the world and reason, as both operate according to logical laws.

• Mechanistic Worldview

  The world is viewed as a machine governed by laws. This mechanistic

Mystical Experience: Feeling the Believers in Direct Contact with Divinity

A mystical experience is an experience of spiritual union where the person feels a connection with God. To achieve this state of union between the human soul and divinity, the mystic uses a series of purification activities to become worthy of such a meeting. The mystical experience is difficult to communicate.

The Problem of Good and Evil

The problem of good and evil arises in the context of being, with abstract concepts derived from daily situations in very special circumstances: war and hunger, for example, in the case of evil, and love and friendship in the case of good.

The Nature of Good and Evil

Human actions can be categorized as good when they are pleasant and beautiful,... Continue reading "Understanding Mystical Experiences and the Nature of Good and Evil" »

Types of Problems and Decisions

Program: Not scheduled.

Relationship between alternatives and consequences: Certainty, risk, uncertainty, competition.

Number of individuals who have to make a decision: Individual, group.

Number of objectives: One, more than one.

Forms of Decision

• From experience: Whether to be guided by past actions.
• For Democracy: The agreement considering the opinion of each.
• Study of the problem: To act as a logical plan.

Factors Influencing Decision-Making

Resources at our disposal, the more time we think and analyze the consequences, beliefs, values, and way of thinking.

Methods for Making Decisions

• For most: Proposal most voted.
• Unanimously: All agree.

Process in Decision-Making

• Having a goal: What is to be achieved and what problems