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

Understanding Political Power

Political power is defined as the ability of a person or group to impose its will on others, especially when the imposed behavior is contrary to the wishes or inclinations of those being subjected to it. Power translates into a relationship where one element is controlled, influenced, or determined by the other component of the relationship. Power permeates all aspects of our lives, being exercised within the family and in education. Power relations exist across the entire social fabric.

While there are many areas of power, there are also varying degrees of intensity and different ways it can be exerted. Relationships can be defined as power relations, however, the procedures upon which they are based are very different.... Continue reading "Understanding Political Power and the Social Contract" »

Christian Thomasius: Distinguishing Spheres

In modern times, the distinction between law and morality began to be elaborated by Christian Thomasius (1655-1728). He distinguished three spheres of conduct:

• Moral
• Legal
• Social conventions (customs)

He argued the latter are mere rules of conduct and courtesy without direct reflections in the other two spheres.

Defining Morality

The word 'moral' comes from the Latin mores: a set of practices, customs, standards of conduct within a particular social segment. Every nation, in every era, has its own morality – rules of conduct that meet certain functions and have specific goals. Therefore, what was once considered moral may not be so today (like human sacrifice), and what is considered moral by one people... Continue reading "Law and Morality: Philosophical Distinctions" »

Realism in Spain: Historical Context

Historical, Cultural, and Ideological Foundations

The date of 1868, which coincides with the historical event of La Gloriosa (the removal of the monarchy of Isabel II) and the bourgeois revolution in Spain—leading to the 1869 Constitution and later the First Spanish Republic (1873)—marks the beginning of Realism in Spain. Realism is therefore closely linked to the bourgeoisie; it is the literary movement associated with this class. With this movement came a new literary genre: the realistic novel, which became the protagonist. However, the heyday of Realism in Spain occurred during the period of the Restoration.

Regional Trends and the Thesis Novel

Spanish Realism has a marked regional trend. Each writer... Continue reading "Realism and Naturalism in Spanish Literature" »

Plato's The Republic: Historical and Philosophical Context

The Political Setting of 5th Century Athens

Plato's major work, The Republic, is situated in the second half of 5th century B.C. Athens, a period when the newly born democracy was on the rise, largely thanks to the management of Pericles. Following the victory in the Greco-Persian Wars (often called the Medic Wars), the population's feeling of participation in the administration of the city-state grew. This era eventually led to the defeat of Athens against Sparta in the Peloponnesian Wars and the subsequent Government of the Thirty Tyrants.

Plato was invited to participate in the government of the Thirty Tyrants but declined the offer due to his violent opposition to a regime that sought... Continue reading "Plato's Republic: Context, Influences, and Political Philosophy" »

Kant's Critique of Metaphysics

Immanuel Kant posits that the transcendental dialectic functions as the logic of transcendental illusion. Science, he argues, is confined to the realm of experience. Reason, however, is inevitably drawn to questions that extend beyond these limits, questions it cannot ultimately answer but also cannot ignore. This compels reason to venture further.

Metaphysical Objects and Ideas of Reason

The objects of metaphysics are essentially ideas of reason. Kant subjected the three primary ideas of reason—the self (I), the world, and God—to critical examination. These are the traditional subjects of metaphysical inquiry.

The Thinking Subject and Paralogisms

The thinking subject gives rise to four paralogisms concerning substantiality,... Continue reading "Kant's Critique of Metaphysics: Illusion and Experience" »

Marxian Anthropology and the Essence of Labor

Marxian anthropology conceives of man as a natural being who is, on one hand, the subject of needs, but on the other, is equipped with a set of capabilities that allow him to meet those needs through the processing activity of nature. This activity Marx called work, and it is the defining feature of man.

Defining Man Through Productive Activity

Marx argues that work is the essence of man, distinguishing humanity from animals. While animals are limited to taking from nature what they need to meet their immediate needs, man is capable of producing the material conditions of his existence—that is, his means of life. In work practice, man realizes his own being so that productive activity determines... Continue reading "Marxian Anthropology: Labor, Alienation, and Capitalism" »

Friedrich Nietzsche: Critique of Western Morality

Friedrich Nietzsche performed the third major criticism of Western culture. He promoted life affirmation as a fundamental value and strongly criticized Western morality, which is based on Christian values and the rationalism stemming from Socrates and Plato. For Nietzsche, the result of these values is a decadent culture that destroys authentic human life. Thus, the Judeo-Christian moral system causes man to forget the concrete and the real because:

• It places the key to transcendent life in another world, causing contempt for this earthly life.
• It claims that someone outside the world (God) directs human existence.
• It uses punishment and guilt to destroy the noblest values of life, such as innocence.

Historical, Philosophical, and Cultural Context of Kant's Moral Philosophy

Immanuel Kant (18th-19th century) wrote Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals in 1785. Kant experienced the government of a "king sergeant" under Frederick William I (1713-1740), but his work was published during the reign of Frederick the Great (1740-1786), an enlightened despot who housed figures like La Mettrie and Voltaire in his court. Their policy reflected an effort of rationalization. The influence of enlightened ideas, primarily from France, was significant in Kant's thinking.

Some key ideas that influenced Kant include:

1. Religion: A position close to deism, exemplified by Voltaire. Kant's writings on religion, particularly "Religion within the Limits of Reason

Negotiation: Strategies and Conflict Resolution

Negotiation is a process in which two or more parties make deals to reconcile their differences. It involves:

• Two or more parties
• A common goal
• Each party looking after its interests
• Peaceful problem-solving

Types of Negotiation

By Object

• Organizational and Management: Relations within the company
• Commercial: Sales
• Legal: Conflict resolution
• Social: Negotiation between employers and workers

By Subject

• Interpersonal: Negotiation between two people in conflict
• Intergroup: Negotiation between groups in conflict
• Direct: Persons involved directly in the negotiation process
• Delegate: Negotiation through a representative
• Third-Party Intervention: Involving a neutral party

By Maneuverability and Influence

• Competitive: Negotiators

Marxism: Theory and Social Transformation

Marxism proposes a reversal of the Hegelian system, advancing a materialist dialectics focused on the consciousness of society and history. Against a purely interpretative view of the world, Karl Marx argued for a philosophy capable of transforming society: first theory, then practice. It proposes communism as an economic system and understands history through a materialist lens, rooted in natural concepts.

Historicism and Vitalism: Life as Experience

Historicism and Vitalism propose that life and history, understood in a biological sense, should be approached as a biography. For thinkers like Nietzsche, life is an experience.

Phenomenology: Philosophy as Strict Description

Phenomenology views philosophy... Continue reading "Key Philosophical Movements and Their Core Ideas" »