Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Philosophy and ethics for Primary education

Superman

According to Nietzsche, there are two different moralities: the master and the slave. The master creates their own moral code, while the slave adheres to a code they lack the courage to challenge. To establish a master morality, the creative Übermensch (superman) is necessary. The Übermensch embodies the will to power, overcomes nihilism, and creates a new set of values. They reject slave morality and herd behavior, possessing the capacity and determination to create values faithful to life. The Übermensch lives finitely, accepts life's meaninglessness, and faces existence's terrors bravely. They embrace risk, suffering, and life's intensity, opposing egalitarianism. In essence, the Übermensch is the energetic affirmation of life,...

In order to achieve happiness

, Aristotle believed it is necessary to live our lives in accordance to reasons and virtues. Intelligence and virtue are these fundamental ideas he believed can help us become the “supreme good”. Furthermore, happiness seems to be more of a pursuit rather than a state of being. Hence, I believe his definition of happiness lies on the dependency of ourselves. If we were to choose a virtuous path, it can give us the best way to live our lives and more importantly, finding our true form of happiness in the process.

Eudaimonia

is the pursuit of true happiness in our lives. For Aristotle, he believed we should obtain good habits; helping others in need in order to bring greatness into our lives. By displaying many...

The Role of Sympathy in Economics

Adam Smith's Perspective on Sympathy

Adam Smith described sympathy as an automatic reaction that influences our economic behavior. He observed that people tend to reflect the emotions of others, feeling happiness or pain in response to the emotions displayed by those around them. However, Smith noted that sympathy has its limits, as we tend to sympathize more with those closer to us, such as family and friends, than with strangers.

For example, Smith argued that a person would be more distressed by the loss of their own finger than by an earthquake in a distant country, simply because they lack a personal connection to the victims of the earthquake. This limitation of sympathy, according to Smith, influences our...

Moksha: Liberation

- Moksha is the end of the death and rebirth cycle and is classed as the fourth and ultimate artha (goal). It is achieved by overcoming ignorance and desires.

Jivas: Individual Souls

- Jivas are individual souls that come from water (chaos, universe) then illumination (order, liberation) then reincarnate.

- They are bound by maya, which hides their true self, which is characterized by eternal existence, consciousness, and bliss. There are an infinite number of jivas.

Mahayana: The Big Raft/ Karuna (Compassion)

- It literally means "Great Vehicle" and teaches universal salvation with emphasis on social concerns.

Bhagavad: Hindu Text

- Became an important work of Hindu tradition in terms of both literature and philosophy.

Tanha: Life

Understanding Sympathy

1. Earthquake in China vs. Pinky

2. Using imagination to understand someone else’s pain

3. Challenge of 'blind' sympathy

Adam Smith described sympathy as an automatic reaction. Whenever we see people in pain, we cringe. Whenever we see people happy, we cannot help but smile. Through our own faculties and senses, we attempt to imagine what it is like to feel another person’s life with our own. But the sympathy we feel for others is limited by their relative closeness. We tend to sympathize with those closer to us in a single moment than a multitude of people we have never met. Smith uses the example of an earthquake in China against the threat of a severed finger. Although people claim the loss of a finger is nothing to...

Understanding Utilitarianism

The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number

You have probably heard a politician say he or she passed a piece of legislation because it did the greatest good for the greatest number of citizens. Perhaps you have heard someone justify their actions because it was for the greater good.

In this article, we are going to talk about the philosophy behind such actions. The philosophy is known as utilitarianism. Although it is a long word, it is in common usage every day. It is the belief that the sole standard of morality is determined by its usefulness.

A Teleological System

Philosophers refer to it as a “teleological” system. The Greek word “telos” means end or goal. This means that this ethical system determines morality...

• Even in this place where there is no competition for power (the king is absolute) nor for goods (they are common), there is still a place for malice (cf. XII.35).
• Rasselas's encounter with the aeronautical engineer (VI) provides a pattern that is repeated throughout the narrative.
• The engineer's project would have seemed futile to Johnson's contemporaries: The attempt at human flight, though rational, is doomed to failure; the engineer's fall into the lake is typical of all human aspirations.
• The story of Imlac also prefigures the rest of the narrative: Though his father aspires only to the increase of wealth, Imlac recognizes that his own desire for the increase of knowledge does not bring him happiness.
• The possession of knowledge cannot prevent

Prison and Punishment

Today, people have different ideas about prison and the punishment. They have many questions about whether the treatment given to prisoners is fair or unfair.

Advantages of Prisons

The main function of prisons is to separate normal people, whose behavior is good, from those who commit crimes. Another advantage is that criminals have a chance to rejoin society and become valuable citizens.

Disadvantages of Prisons

The biggest disadvantage is the lack of privacy, as prisoners live in small rooms with others. I believe the punishment should involve work for society, as staying in prison surrounded by criminals may not be helpful in returning to society as an ordinary person.

Proposed Changes

Prisons should provide more space, job...

True or False Statements

1. Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE. (Maximum score: 2 points)

a) A small minority of people cannot identify other people's faces easily.

TRUE: "In fact, about 2 percent of the population has prosopagnosia, a condition characterized by great difficulty in recognizing faces."

b) Super-recognizers are only able to recognize people who have the same appearance as when they met.

FALSE: "Often super-recognizers are able to recognize another person despite significant changes in appearance..."

Questions Based on the Text

2. In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy from the text. (Maximum...

Satire

Satire refers to any writing, in poetry or prose, with the purpose to ridicule, censure (criticize unfavorably), and correct the vices, follies, stupidities, and corruptions of society that threaten good moral order and literary discipline. The best and most representative works are found in those written by Pope and Swift, two masters of satire. Some satire is meant to make us laugh at human foolishness and weaknesses; some satire is meant to make us angry about human vices and crimes. Satire can be aimed at humanity in general, stereotyped groups, or a particular person.

Techniques of Satire

There are some common techniques used in satire:

• Exaggeration: To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes