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

Kant and Enlightenment: Key Concepts

The 18th century, the century of Enlightenment, was decisive for the history of the West. In this century, the concept of rationality and human questioning arose: What is man? Philosophers investigated the possibilities and limits of man. A set of improvements in politics and in the treatment of people occurred, preceding the French Revolution, as people fought for rights, freedoms, peace, justice, and tolerance. Immanuel Kant was an enlightened thinker who defended these precepts.

Born in Konigsberg (Germany) in 1724, within a humble family that professed German Protestant pietism, Kant held profound moral and religious values. He dedicated his life to studying and teaching. At the university, he became interested... Continue reading "Kant and Enlightenment: Key Concepts Explained" »

Origin of Political Power

The origin of political power addresses the question: How did it arise? It is a matter of fact, related to history, and can be investigated independently of the state's legitimacy.

Nietzsche's Perspective on Origin

Nietzsche suggested that political power originated from "a horde of blonde beasts, an animal race of conquerors and lords, organized for war, and endowed with the power to organize, placed without any qualms about their terrible claws upon a population."

Legitimacy of Political Power

Legitimacy answers the question: Are there good reasons to accept its existence? This is a question of right, often studied in philosophy. It corresponds to what can be established regardless of its origin.

Locke's View on Political

Analysis of 'The House of Bernarda Alba'

The House of Bernarda Alba is an avant-garde play from the twentieth century. It is one of Federico García Lorca's most popular works, exploring themes such as social class distinctions, the role of women in society, traditions, conservative morality, Bernarda's authoritarianism, and her daughters' desire for freedom.

Social Class and Relationships

As in previous centuries, the distinction between social classes is a prominent theme. In this work, it is clearly represented by Bernarda and Poncia. Although they have known each other since childhood, Bernarda makes clear her superior status, emphasizing the distance between them. Bernarda speaks with contempt about those she considers beneath her, stating,... Continue reading "Analysis of Social Themes in 'The House of Bernarda Alba'" »

Descartes' Philosophy: Rationalism and the Cartesian Method

Rationalism

Descartes was the founder of rationalism, which posits that reason is the superior source of knowledge and provides us with truths.

Cartesian Method

Descartes' conception advocated for the unity of knowledge, meaning all knowledge is based on reason. However, it is necessary to understand its structure to achieve it. To do this, he took mathematics as a model and used the appropriate method. Reason is based on intuition, which enables simple concepts without error, and deduction, which is deriving knowledge from several intuitions. The discourse of the method consists of:

• **Evidence:** Nothing can be taken as true without knowing what it is.
• **Analysis:** Divide complex problems

Descartes' Knowledge

Rationalism is the philosophy initiated by Descartes. Reason is the only power that can lead to knowledge of the truth. Descartes, aided by reason and motivated by the disappointment generated by most of the knowledge he acquired, proposes the development of a scientific method that would unite all the sciences. He chooses to formulate the mathematical method, aiming for universally accepted solutions.

The Cartesian Method

His new method is based on the pillars of intuition and deduction, with conclusions being apparent through reason. Thus, he tries to build a method which brings us to absolute truth.

Intuition, being one of the pillars of the new method, is revealed as the search for the first indubitable truth on which to... Continue reading "Descartes' Rationalism and Method" »

The Interplay of Reason and Desire

Two Classes of Mind Processes

We can distinguish two main classes of mind processes. On one hand, we have rational processes like thinking, remembering, judging, and imagining. With these, we are aware of ourselves assenting to or dissenting from a proposition. On the other hand, we have desires, affections, and feelings. These are characterized by a lack of awareness; we don't choose our wishes or feelings. Rational processes are based on reason, while desires, emotions, and feelings, traditionally considered passions, are not.

Reason vs. Passion

Traditionally, it was believed that both rational and irrational processes were driven by opposing forces within us. This "battle" between reason and passion takes... Continue reading "The interplay of reason and desire in human action" »

Understanding Reason, Knowledge, and Truth

Reason: Practical and Theoretical Rationality: Reason can be understood as the power and the act of explaining something. Theoretical reason is oriented toward the contemplation of the world, that is, to the knowledge of reality. Practical reason, according to Kant, guides action, leading us to a moral idea.

Philosophy and Theoretical Rationality

Philosophy uses theoretical knowledge about reality and truth with the greatest possible rigor. However, unraveling reality requires specifying how we truly know it.

Metaphysical Knowledge

Metaphysical knowledge aims to go beyond scientific explanations. For example, science might discover the human genome, but metaphysics asks if we can reduce ourselves to our... Continue reading "Understanding Reason, Knowledge, and Truth: A Philosophical Analysis" »

Procedural ethics emerged in the 1970s. It shares similarities with deontological ethics, such as Kantian ethics, but differs in its approach. Unlike Kant, it posits that it is not a single person who must determine if a rule can be universalized, but rather those affected by it, using rational approaches. This is the foundation of discourse ethics, as developed by Apel and Habermas.

The starting point of discourse ethics is the recognition that people debate standards, and we seek to identify which ones are morally right. There are two distinct attitudes:

• Acting sicut without any desire to ascertain if the rule is correct.
• Taking the dialogue seriously, because we care about the problem and want to know if we can understand.

The first attitude... Continue reading "Discourse Ethics: Principles and Application" »

Mature vs. Immature Personality Traits

Immature Characteristics

• Inability to see and accept their mistakes: Proud, arrogant, does not mind being alone.
• Antisocial: Not adapted to social norms and society.
• Criticizes everyone and everything: Is a plaintive, unhappy, conflictive person.
• Does not provide adequate and lasting emotional bonds.
• Impulsivity: Passes the decision to act without reason; the unconscious dominates.
• Inability to learn from experience: Inability to learn lessons from their failures and modify their behavior.
• Irresponsible: Does not stay in any job.
• Sexuality is driven by promiscuity: Impersonality in the relationship and the difficulty of integrating sex and love (inability to love).
• Contempt for truth and spirituality: Their state

Possibilities of Knowledge

The most radical question presented by knowledge is your chance. Six types of response:

• Dogmatism: Expresses the naive attitude of those who are sure of knowing.
• Skepticism: Considers it impossible to obtain reliable knowledge, never accepting something as true. There are several types:
  1. Radical skepticism
  2. Moderate skepticism: This has two areas of human knowledge:
     • Statements expressing relations of ideas
     • Statements that express external issues and real existence
• Subjectivism and Relativism: Subjectivism finds that what is true depends on each subject. Relativism means recognizing something as true or false depends on the culture or time.
• Pragmatism: Identifies the true with the useful.
• Criticism: An intermediate position between