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

Plato vs. Aristotle: Core Philosophical Differences

For Plato, there are two distinct worlds: the sensible and the supersensible. The intelligible world, for him, is the most real and transcendent. By contrast, for Aristotle, the only world that exists is the sensible one, consisting of unique, specific, external, individual objects.

Key Contrasts Between Plato and Aristotle

• The Concept of Form and Essence

  The notion of Plato's Idea as the essence of things coincided with Aristotle's concept of the Formal Cause. The key distinction lies in their nature: for Plato, the Idea is transcendent and separate from the world, while for Aristotle, the form is immanent, existing within matter itself.

• Cosmic Order and Prime Mover

  The Platonic concept of the

Nature's Influence

Enlightenment philosophy found nature central to all its ideas, not just in science, but also in morality, politics, and education. Values were taught through nature, as it was considered self-sufficient, eliminating the need for the supernatural. Everything was naturalized, distancing religion. The Enlightenment discovered reality through nature, approaching it scientifically through natural history. Science, configured from nature, became the tool to interpret the world.

Secularized Culture

Religion's role as the source of values was displaced. Autonomous consciousness emerged, demanding rights, leading to secularization in all aspects of life: economic, political, scientific, and even religious education. This critical... Continue reading "The Enlightenment: A Revolution in Thought" »

Cosmological Doctrines

Cosmological Monism

Thales, Heraclitus, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Parmenides

Cosmological Dualism

Pythagoras

Cosmological Pluralism

Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Democritus

Anthropological Doctrines

Anthropological Monism

Protagoras, Gorgias

Anthropological Dualism

Hippias, Antiphon

Key Figures and Their Ideas

Thales

"The principle of all things is water." Geometry: early (green) → development, conclusion (green). Water, earth, air, fire.

Anaximander

"First of all there is apeiron (indeterminate)" from where the bodies come and where they should return, because things are given mutual satisfaction and reparation for their injustice, according to the order of time. Apeiron (unlimited) ↔ cosmos (loop). APEIRON: Something finite but unbounded.... Continue reading "Ancient Greek Philosophers: From Cosmology to Humanism" »

Fuenteovejuna: A New Comedy

Fuenteovejuna features new comedy elements:

• Metric: Written in verse, using the lope stanza, adjusting the rate of speech. Tenths are suitable for expressing complaints, sonnets for serious matters, and ballads sound better when spoken by pastors or laborers.
• Structure: The play is divided into 5 acts, but the new comedy favors a division into 3 acts (approach, development, and outcome). Short, humorous interludes and festive parties occur between acts and at the play's end.
• Purpose: The play aims to please the audience with vulgar humor, prioritizing entertainment above all else.
• Genre: Classic plays clearly distinguish between social classes. Tragedy typically features plebeian characters experiencing humorous or visible

Attitudes Toward Death

Attitudes toward death can be categorized as:

• Agnostic: Not wanting to acknowledge the existence of such questions and avoiding the question of death (e.g., "I do not think, I do not plan").
• Dogmatic: Believing one has the answer and ceasing to inquire further (e.g., "My religion says death is a transition, so I don't need to consider other solutions").
• Tragic: Experiencing constant agony and anguish, continually searching for an answer but certain of not finding it.
• Hopeful-explorer: Continuously searching, potentially finding answers from beliefs, but remaining open to further questions.

Philosophical Anthropology

Philosophical anthropology is the philosophical reflection on human beings, incorporating insights from science... Continue reading "Humanity: Death, Philosophy, Perception, and Intelligence" »

Alienation and Disposition

Alienation or disposition is the phenomenon of eliminating personality, depriving the individual of their personality, or breaking an individual's personality, controlling and overriding their free will to make the person dependent, dictated by another person or organization. The alienated person stays within themselves, absorbed by their social disorientation. It is a process that can be self-induced.

Theocentrism

Theocentrism is the doctrine that God is the center of the universe, all things were created by Him, are directed by Him, and there is no reason to desire anything other than the will of God.

Humanism

Humanism is an intellectual, philological, and philosophical movement closely linked to Europe's cultural Renaissance,... Continue reading "Understanding Alienation, Theocentrism, and Humanism" »

Bohemian Lights and Reality and Social Policy

Bohemian Lights is a national political satire, touching upon society, religion, and the status of Spain in its era. It evokes the political and social environment of the time. The work reacts against the established power, and aligns with the behavior of Max Estrella. The anti-bourgeois attitude is embodied in the criticism of figures such as politicians, the Academy of Language, and Alfonso XIII. It alleges political corruption, as the characters understand corruption as a necessary evil associated with Spanish politics.

Historical and Social Context

Bohemian Lights shows a concrete historical and social picture in time and space. However, it does not limit the chronological location to the decade... Continue reading "Bohemian Lights: Satire of Spain's Social Reality" »

Historical Framework: The Age of Enlightenment

The historical framework for Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) spanned the period from the English Revolution (1688) to the French Revolution (1789). This era was characterized by the critical use of rationality under the motto Sapere Aude ("Dare to know"). Also significant were the dissemination of the Encyclopedia (by D'Alembert, Diderot) and the prevalence of enlightened despotism, a disguised absolutism, in European monarchies like those of Louis XIV and Frederick II of Prussia. However, the spread of Enlightenment ideas contributed to the decay of the Ancien Régime, reflected in the Declaration of American Independence (1776) and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789).

Philosophical

Functions of Language

Language serves multiple functions:

• Expressive/Emotive: Expressing the speaker's attitudes and feelings.
• Conative: Capturing the listener's attention, offering counsel, issuing orders, or influencing.
• Representative: Reporting or describing something.
• Phatic: Verifying that the communication channel remains open.
• Metalinguistic: Using language to explain the language itself (e.g., defining terms).
• Poetic: Utilizing the language's own resources, often found in literary language.

Language and Its Varieties

Language exhibits several types of variation:

• Diatopic (Geographical) Varieties: Features of a language specific to a particular place.
• Diastratic (Social) Varieties: Determined by socio-cultural differences.
• Diasphasic (Functional)

European Union Human Rights

The European Union has the European Court of Human Rights, to which citizens can appeal if national courts do not recognize their rights and even to sue their own state. It is located in Strasbourg, France.

Human Rights:

Human rights are a set of powers and institutions that, in each particular historical moment, demand human dignity and equal freedom, which must be recognized positively by national and international law.

Citizen Attitudes and Liability:

• Liability: It means to act knowingly, taking into account the consequences and duties to fulfill oneself and others.
• Solidarity: It's a feeling that binds us to others, recognizing the need for mutual aid and respect.
• Justice: A good citizen has to be fair, impartial, and