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

Plato's Anthropological Dualism: Body and Soul

For Plato, the human being is composed of two distinct realities: body and soul.

The Soul: Spiritual Nature

The soul possesses a spiritual nature and originates from the intelligible world. Plato described the body as the temporary prison of the soul.

The Body: Material Nature

The body is material in nature and belongs to the world of sense. While attached to the body, the soul desires to be free from the ties binding it to the sensible world. The soul moves the body, which is inanimate by itself.

The union of body and soul is considered accidental.

Arguments for the Soul's Immortality

Plato provides several arguments for the immortality of the soul:

• Argument from the Succession of Opposites: Plato argued

The Crisis of the 17th Century

René Descartes lived in a period marked by uncertainty and confusion arising from the crisis suffered by the man of the seventeenth century. The old skills were no longer valid and were discussed and questioned by the intellectuals of the time. Two main causes contributed to this malaise and confusion: the scientific revolution and the loss of religious unity.

• The scientific revolution dismantled theories that had been maintained for centuries, like the geocentric, Aristotelian theories, or the scholastic method.
• The loss of religious unity led Christian Europe to be divided into three groups: Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican. This division was the cause of many conflicts for centuries, such as the Thirty Years'

Block I (Kant): Summary - Overcoming Rationalism and Empiricism

"Sapere Aude!" (Dare to think!) The Enlightenment ideal champions Reason's independence from external authority, emphasizing progress through science. Kant merges rationalism and empiricism, inspired by Newton's synthesis of reason and experience. Rationalism, focusing on innate concepts, risked detachment from reality, while empiricism, grounded in experience, struggled with universality. Kant critiques rationalism's dogmatism and empiricism's skepticism, proposing that knowledge arises from perceptions shaped by inherent mental structures.

Classification of Judgments

Scientific judgments must expand knowledge and hold universal validity. Analytic judgments are inherent in the subject,... Continue reading "Kant's Philosophy: Unifying Rationalism and Empiricism" »

Key Definitions of Justice

• Ulpiano's Justice: The Roman philosopher Ulpiano defined justice as the constant and perpetual will to give each his own, to act appropriately, not to harm anyone, and to give everyone his due.
• St. Thomas Aquinas on Justice: Following in the footsteps of Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas added the concept of general, social, or legal justice, according to which community members must adapt their behavior to the common good.

Classes and Parts of Justice

Justice is shown in three dimensions:

1. The state requires the citizen to adjust its behavior to the common good.
2. The matter requires the state to reverse the cumulative delivery of efficient public services or to distribute equitably the charges and public burdens.
3. Individuals

Plato's Vision of Education

For Plato, education is a profoundly important process by which an individual moves from ignorance to wisdom. He believed that from the ages of 7 to 21, a person must be diligently studying, forming their character during adolescence, and acquiring knowledge of a mathematical or philosophical nature.

The Journey from Ignorance to Wisdom

Central to Plato's educational philosophy is the concept of anamnesis, a way of remembering or recollecting innate knowledge. For Plato, true knowing is a process of acknowledging what the soul already possesses. Educating someone, therefore, is guiding them along the path of historical and philosophical truth.

The Philosopher-Ruler and Dialectic

Plato envisioned a state ruled by philosophers—mature... Continue reading "Platonic Education: Cultivating Wisdom and the Just State" »

The Unique Method of Reason

The ideal of universal science rests on a unique method valid for all sciences. This method, based on the structure of reason, applies to all individuals and fields of knowledge. To understand this method, we must analyze reason itself. Descartes identifies two fundamental operations of reason: intuition and deduction.

Intuition and the Simple Natures

Intuition is the immediate and effortless grasp of a clear and distinct idea. These intuited objects are "simple natures" or "clear and distinct ideas," the foundation of all knowledge. Key examples are extension and thought, considered innate ideas—potentially present in the mind and revealed through experience.

Deduction and the Composite Natures

Deduction involves... Continue reading "Descartes' Method and the Ideal of Universal Science" »

Metaphysics

Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the study of the fundamental nature of reality, including the first principles of things, such as being, knowing, identity, time, and space. It also examines the causes of our knowledge, universal principles, and spiritual beings.

According to Professor Lash, this definition sparks some philosophical discussion because it raises the question: "Is metaphysics truly a science?" Science typically deals with what can be measured and observed, while metaphysics often delves into the intangible and spiritual. Every individual engages in metaphysics through their actions and thoughts, with the clarity of their reasoning reflecting their level of progress.

The Role of Belief

The sensitive... Continue reading "Metaphysics, Belief, and Religion: Understanding the Interplay" »

Empiricism: A British Philosophical Tradition

Empiricism, a prominent British philosophical thought stream, flourished from the 16th to the 17th century. It emphasizes the supremacy of experience over reason in the acquisition of knowledge.

Key Empiricist Thinkers

• Thomas Hobbes (author of Leviathan)
• John Locke (proponent of the "blank slate" or tabula rasa)
• George Berkeley (known for "Esse est percipi" – To be is to be perceived)
• David Hume (often referred to as "the enlightened" or "the skeptic")

Core Characteristics of Empiricism

1. Origin of Knowledge: Empiricists assert that all knowledge originates from experience, which is acquired through our senses. While they do not deny the existence of reason, unlike Descartes, they deny its omnipotence.
2. Rejection

Aristotle's Philosophy of Happiness

The Pursuit of the Supreme Good

Happiness is a subject that has preoccupied humanity since its inception, and similarly, philosophy. For Aristotle, happiness is the supreme good that everyone must strive for, because every purpose of action leads to happiness, just as an architect's purpose is to create buildings.

I agree when he says that we all want to achieve happiness, but not all reach it alike. Many people believe that having wealth and a good life constitutes authentic happiness, but they are mistaken. True happiness is about always doing well.

Happiness as Activity, Not Pleasure

Happiness, to speak effectively, is to fulfill whatever role we perform. As we come to know and understand its fullest extent,... Continue reading "Aristotle's Path to Happiness: A Contemporary Reflection" »

Augustine of Hippo: Philosophy and Faith

With the advent of Christianity, philosophy acquired a new dimension. The object of reflection shifted focus from physis (nature) to God. This created a distinction in reality: a superior, primary reality, the Creator of all known things, and the created reality, which is contingent.

Challenges in Early Christian Philosophy

Christianity emerged as a doctrine peculiar to the lower social classes. This lack of formal training presented a significant difficulty for various thinkers in developing a comprehensive philosophical theory of Christianity. Consequently, they adopted structured classical philosophical theories, adapting them to be compatible with Christian doctrine.

Augustine's Philosophical Approach

Augustine... Continue reading "Augustine of Hippo: Integrating Faith and Reason" »