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

Key Concepts in Logic and Language

• Logical Structure: Represents the structure of reality or organizes the theories and arguments with which we structure reality and discuss it.
• Ambiguity: The ability to understand something in several ways, admitting multiple interpretations, potentially leading to confusion.
• Paradox: A statement that appears accurate but may lead to a contradiction.
• Contradiction: Saying the opposite of what was previously stated or denying what is considered certain.
• Metalanguage: A language used to describe another language.
• Object Language: The language being described by the metalanguage, often referring to objects.
• Use: Designating something using linguistic expressions and terms in place of the object itself. Use occurs within

Power and Authority

• How is it used?
• What effects do the people in power have on others?
• What effect does it have on someone who has none?
  • Tituba
  • Does not having any power and authority make you an easy victim?
• How does fear increase the court's power?

Thesis

By exposing how power is protected through the scapegoating of the innocent, The Crucible critiques the way fear is weaponized to uphold authority and suppress dissent.

Supporting Arguments

• Thomas Putnam’s search for power by accusing people to get their land.

Control and Suppression

• Parris: "There is a faction that is sworn to drive me from my pulpit. Do you understand that?" (Miller 10)
• Those in power often use their authority to suppress opposition and protect their status.
• Parris is more concerned

Foundations of Criminal Law

Criminal Law prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or endangering to property, health, and safety of people, inclusive of one’s self. It is established by statute; laws are enacted by a legislature.

A crime is an act or omission that is criminalized and unlawful; it also complies with the elements of mens rea and is punishable.

Classification of Legal Systems

• Civil Law: A codified system composed of domestic legislation.
• Common Law: A legal system based on practice, legal precedents, traditions, and customs (it fills gaps in the law).
• Hybrid Law: A combination of Civil and Common Law (C+C).
• Sharia Law: Based on Sunni Islam texts.
• Customary Law: Based on tradition, practice, and custom.

Rules of Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction...

Ontological Argument

This argument was formulated by rationalist and idealist philosophers such as Saint Anselm of Canterbury and René Descartes. The ontological argument is an argument for God's existence based entirely on reason. It is based on ideas, not on realities. There is no need to search for physical evidence of God's existence.

• Everyone has an idea of God as the greatest conceivable being.
• It is greater to exist than not to exist.
• Therefore, God exists.

This is an a priori argument because it doesn't need experience. God's existence is proved before having any experience of Him.

The First Cause Argument

This argument is based on experience of the universe. The first cause argument is used by realist philosophers, such as Saint Thomas Aquinas....

Immanuel Kant: "Doing What You Ought"

Highest Principle: Justice

Kant's highest principle is justice, emphasizing respect for individual rights. Moral rules can be broken, even if it makes people happy.

The Importance of Motive

Only the motive matters. The only morally good motive is the motive of duty, doing the right thing because it is right.

Acting Freely

When we satisfy our appetites, we are not acting freely because we are driven by the laws of our biology. We act freely in accordance with moral law, which is reason.

The Categorical Imperative

The moral law tells us what our duty is through the categorical imperative, an unconditional moral obligation that is binding in all circumstances and is not dependent on a person's inclination or purpose....

Medieval Property Rights: The Plurality of Real Situations

In medieval law, the concept of dominium (a right over a thing) was not necessarily unique. It allowed multiple rights holders over the same asset to coexist. In reality, things, even if a single substance, possess various utilities and are susceptible to various consistent levels of use. Each of these levels may not represent an absolute right for a single individual.

The Divided Domain Theory

While the dominium over all profits of a thing (property) represents the most comprehensive real right and occupies the highest level, the ability to enjoy or utilize any specific value, if sufficiently rooted in the asset, still constitutes a form of ownership with equivalent connotations.

This...

Notion of Freedom

What defines freedom is the power to direct and dominate one's actions, the ability to set a goal and head toward it. It is more about self-control than governing others' actions. In the free act, two higher faculties of the soul come into play: intelligence and will. The will chooses what has previously been known by intelligence. To do so, before deliberately choosing, the mind considers various possibilities, with their different advantages and disadvantages. The decision is the result of that mental consideration of possibilities. I decide when I choose one of the possibilities discussed. It is not the possibility that forces me to take it; rather, I am the one who makes it happen.

To be human is to be free. There is physical...

Coordinated Propositions

• Intercourse: and, or
• Dilemmas: or, or
• Adversity: but, however
• Explanation: that is, or
• Dilemma: because...because, well...well, some...others

Subordinate Clauses

Adjective Clauses

Introduced by: what, who, where, when, how, whose, which.

Noun Clauses

Introduced by: that, if, who, what, where, how, when.

Adverbial Clauses

• Time: then, later, soon, now, today, if, etc.
• Place: here, there, where, far, near, up, down, etc.
• Manner: so, as, as if, following, well, badly, fairly, etc.
• Comparison: as much as, rather than, less than, more than, equal to, greater than, less than, better than, worse than, etc.
• Cause: because, since, as, having been produced, etc.
• Consequence: so that, so, therefore, etc.
• Condition: if, provided that, etc.
• Concession:

Plato's Enduring Legacy in Western Thought

Plato's immense body of work profoundly influenced all subsequent philosophy. The 20th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche even contended that all Western philosophy bears the imprint of Plato's thought, albeit with a somewhat negative valuation. Indeed, Alfred North Whitehead famously asserted that "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."

Plato's Political Theory: A Modern Debate

Plato's political theory, however, is viewed very differently today. While some, like the philosopher Karl Popper, criticized what he called "democratic open societies," believing that the "government of specialists" could lead to...

Ethical Theories and Moral Philosophies

Classical Ethical Theories: Socrates

Socrates laid foundational groundwork for Western ethical thought, emphasizing virtue and moral reasoning.

Eudaimonism: Aristotle's Pursuit of Flourishing

Aristotle championed Eudaimonism, a philosophy centered on achieving human flourishing or well-being. He believed that the ultimate goal of human life is to live well and do well, which leads to happiness.

Hedonism: The Pursuit of Pleasure

Derived from the Greek word "hedone" (pleasure), Hedonism posits that the primary goal of life is to obtain pleasure. Epicurus (Hellenistic period) argued that pleasure is a natural criterion for what is good and desirable, advocating for a life of moderate pleasures and tranquility....