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

Foundational Concepts in Morality and Ethics

Understanding Morality: Core Concepts

• Moral: Principles of Conduct and Values

  A Moral framework encompasses a set of moral norms (a moral code) and values. The term 'moral' originates from the Latin mores, signifying custom, habit, character, or dwelling. It represents the fundamental structure within which our lives are lived and decisions are made.

• Moral Norms: Guiding Principles of Behavior

  A Moral Norm is a regulative principle of conduct that establishes what we ought to do and what we must avoid to behave morally. These norms invariably express a value. They are prescriptive, meaning they command or forbid specific behaviors, often with implied consequences for adherence or transgression.

• Value:

Descartes' Quest for Absolute Certainty

In the seventeenth century, rationalists and empiricists thus formulated a transcendental philosophical question: What are the limits of knowledge? From the rationalist point of view, deductive scientific developments that took place since the sixteenth century were especially important. René Descartes thus sought to achieve absolute certainty in the metaphysical field, just as mathematics offers irrefutable truths, such as "2 + 2 = 4" or "the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides."

To this end, Descartes undertook the path of methodical doubt. To achieve absolute certainty, one must begin by doubting. This doubt is universal, as it questions all previously held... Continue reading "Descartes' Methodical Doubt: Path to Certainty" »

Politics, Ethics, and Freedom

Politics concerns the governance of citizens. Politics and ethics share a common objective: ethics seeks individual welfare, while politics aims for the collective well-being of the people. According to Aristotle, humans are social and political animals; only beasts and gods are apolitical. Politics enables us to live in society rather than as savages. However, the problem lies in determining who should rule. It's challenging to identify who should hold power because the majority can sometimes impose a "tyranny of the majority," where individual or minority interests suffer. The division of powers (legislative, executive, and judicial) emerged from the 17th and 18th centuries to address the problem of corruption... Continue reading "Politics, Ethics, and Freedom: A Philosophical Examination" »

Scientific Texts

According to the issuer: research, informational, instructional, and teaching.

According to the receiver: specialized academic and informative.

• Objectivity: denotative lexicon, indicative mood, specified adjective propositions, declarative sentences, and plural of modesty.
• Universality: generalizing value, gnomic or timeless tense, and abstract nouns.
• Accuracy and clarity: structures and links with explanatory value, clauses with commas, enumerations, restatements of certain words, specified adjectives, use of definition, jargon, and extra-sentential links (1st, 2nd) and italics.

Humanistic Texts

According to the issuer: research, educational, informational, instructional, and descriptive.

According to the receiver: specialized academic... Continue reading "Scientific, Humanistic, and Newspaper Texts: Key Features" »

5. Therefore, although these things - the old opinions that things exist and are as I perceive them - are very likely a form that is more reasonable to believe in than to deny, I will temporarily pretend to be doubtful that they are entirely false and misleading. 6. Assume, therefore, not that God - which is all goodness and the supreme source of truth - deceives me, but that a genius or evil spirit, an astute and powerful trickster, has put all its deceiving industry into thinking of the sky, air, earth, colors, shapes, sounds, and all other external things as illusions and deceptions to get my credulity. I impose resisting the wiles of the great deceiver.

Critique of Cartesian Skepticism

The critical question is why?

1. Establishing a universal

Volition

Knowledge can be an asset to a person, and if so, they tend to possess it intentionally. However, knowing is insufficient; the will is decisive in personal life. The will's existence is the power to will and act. Intellectual knowledge seeks the good, as the object level involves volitional good for humans to be the proper object of goodwill.

Will depends on intellectual activity because to desire something, we must grasp it as good, hence the intellect's superiority. However, once this principle is established, the will takes precedence over understanding because personal fulfillment depends on it. The best person acts rightly, and it is the will that moves the mind to think of an object.

In short, the will decides specifically human... Continue reading "Understanding Volition and Morality: Human Actions and Ethics" »

Rationalism vs. Empiricism: Core Tenets

Shared Ground and Key Differences

Rationalism and empiricism share common ground:

• The subject is central, deciding the truth or falsity of statements.
• Both begin with an analysis of knowledge to determine its scope.

However, they diverge significantly. Rationalism places the criterion of truth in the autonomy of reason, constructing knowledge deductively from innate principles, independent of sense experience. Conversely, Empiricism starts with experience and uses induction to reach explanatory hypotheses about phenomena.

Descartes: A Rationalist Landmark

Influence and Platonic Parallels

René Descartes profoundly influenced his era and subsequent philosophy. His work fits within a philosophical lineage, connecting... Continue reading "Rationalism vs. Empiricism: Descartes' Quest for Certainty" »

Human Dignity: A Foundation for Law and Ethics

Kant posited that human dignity is what distinguishes a moral being. Using a human as a means or tool undermines their inherent worth. A person has value, but is priceless and cannot be bought.

The 1948 Declaration of Human Rights states that "freedom, justice, and peace are universally desirable values, which depend on the recognition of the dignity of all."

Human dignity is not a scientific fact but a concept within the vocabulary of ethics. Many philosophers derive human freedom or rights from it, but they are describing reality, not establishing rules. The most justifiable approach is to assert, as a constitutional fact, the dignity of every human being and act accordingly.

The Crisis of Morality

When... Continue reading "Human Dignity: Foundations, Crisis, and Moral Philosophy" »

Aristotle's Major Philosophical Works

Aristotle's philosophical output is traditionally categorized into several major areas:

• Logic (The Organon): A collection of writings dedicated to the principles of reasoning and argumentation.
• Physics and Natural Philosophy: A wide range of writings devoted to the study of nature and biology, including works on the physical world, meteors, generation and corruption, and the soul (De Anima).
• First Philosophy (Metaphysics): A set of books devoted to the theoretical study of reality, later known as Metaphysics.
• Practical Philosophy: Works such as the Nicomachean Ethics, which address all that possesses an internal principle of movement.

The Dynamics of Change and Movement

In his study of nature, Aristotle analyzed... Continue reading "Aristotle's Core Philosophy: Works, Causes, and Metaphysics" »