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

Vocabulary Definitions and Meanings

1. Impute

To attribute, impute to someone or something a crime, fault, defect, or misfortune, usually with malice or without foundation.

• Synonyms: blame, accuse.

2. Basting

Pour boiling marinade over someone; punishment formerly used.

• Synonyms: Soil, oil (Note: Context suggests 'soak' or 'drench' might be more appropriate depending on the intended meaning, but retaining original terms).

3. Lad

Person who is at the beginning of adolescence.

• Synonyms: Boy, youth.

4. Savvy

Shrewd and cautious, which provides and prevents things.

• Synonyms: Nibs, intelligent.

5. Avaricious

Person who reserves, hides, or spares something.

• Synonyms: Stingy, selfish.

6. Ooze

Manifest or to betray a quality or feeling.

• Synonyms: Filter, exude.

7. Happens

Occur...

Analysis of Don Juan: The Universal Archetype

The figure of Don Juan originates from ancient romances, specifically the seducer and the guest in Spanish tradition. In the universal drama by Tirso de Molina, the character embodies the struggle between good and evil, life and death. He is of noble lineage, bold, and devoid of traditional ideals or values. Selfish, seductive, and attractive, he possesses inexhaustible energy. He is cynical, driven by conquest rather than love, acting solely to satisfy his vanity and desire for power. As an egocentric figure, he breaks laws and mocks religious beliefs.

Don Juan in Literature and Philosophy

Don Juan is a universal literary type, often linked to the Celestina tradition. Comparisons are frequently drawn...

Descartes' Concept of Substance

Descartes identified the first element of reality in the self as a thinking substance. He conceived clearly and distinctly that the 'I' did not need other things to exist, thus establishing his concept of substance. The self is real, and what is real is substance. Thinking substance is the primary substance identified, distinct from Aristotle's concept of substance as a substrate for attributes; for Descartes, it is a kind of substance conceived by reason.

Alongside thinking substances, Descartes posits God, identified through the attribute of infinity as the infinite substance. The definition of substance in its purest form belongs to God, for God alone needs no other thing to exist; God exists in Himself and...

God Remains Constant

4.8. The Three Substances: Attributes and Modes

Descartes defines substance as that which does not need anything other than itself to exist. The only being that subsists by itself is God, res infinite. Other beings require creation and preservation by God. While God is the only substance in the truest sense, by analogy, we may also consider created beings who only need God's concurrence to exist as substances. This distinguishes two created substances: the ego or thinking substance (res cogitans) and extended substance or bodies (res extensa). We have clear and distinct ideas of them: they are autonomous or independent. We know substances by their attributes. Descartes also speaks of modes, which are variable modifications...

Personal Identity

Personal identity is the awareness of oneself as a separate entity from the outside world.

Questions Concerning the Human Condition

Questions concerning the human condition are those that attempt to respond to the great enigmas of life.

Moral Inquiry

Moral inquiry refers to questions that try to answer dilemmas such as: "What should I do?"

Societal Challenges and Ethical Responses

Addressing societal challenges and ethical responses involves responding to the aspirations and difficulties of daily life in our societies.

Personality

Personality is the set of characteristics that determine the way of being and acting in a person.

Feelings

Feelings are all emotions, sensations, and sentiments that arise in us when we relate to the things...

Moral Latin *Morem*: Customs

• Ethics *Ethos*: Customs
• Both terms refer to the science of morals.

• Moral: The set of behavioral standards and values that govern a society at a given time.
• Ethics: Theoretical reflection on the behaviors and norms that shape moral values.

Moral Act

These are actions that can be approved or rejected by society. They must be performed consciously and voluntarily.

• Immoral: Disagreement with moral norms.
• Amoral: Indifferent to moral standards.

Moral Values

Qualities possessed by human actions according to whether they advance the subject in the process of humanization.

Countervalues

They are unfavorable and considered negative.

• E. Purpose: Human beings have a specific purpose in life.
• E. Duty: Seeking ways to ensure that moral standards

The Struggle for Equality

The movement for women's equality began in England, with Mary Wollstonecraft arguing that inequality between men and women is not natural but a product of society and tradition. March 8th is International Women's Day.

The Condition of Women Today: Two Laws

The Law of Integral Protection Against Gender Violence: This law strengthens public awareness, introduces care systems for victims, increases penalties for aggressors, and focuses on prevention.

The Law of Equality Between Men and Women: This law promotes work-life balance, greater equality in family matters and reproductive rights, and equal opportunities in public administration jobs.

The Law as a Guarantee of Rights

• The principle of legality: The law is debated, approved,

Descartes' Method of Doubt

To construct this imaginary tree, we start by looking into metaphysics, a foothold firm and sure, an absolute truth on which it can rely to keep on climbing. For this, a method that uses the idea as a guide: the method of doubt or the evidence. It has four rules:

1. Evidence: Accept as true only the obvious (intuitive). Everything has to possess two obvious characteristics: clarity and distinction.
2. Analysis: Break down problems into simple parts, do not address them in complex ways.
3. Synthesis: After analyzing the simple parts, rebuild the complex and confirm or not its validity.
4. Enumeration: Check (list) all our steps to make sure that we were not wrong.

The Process of Doubt

I suspect that it remains high, especially considering...

1. Antah-karanas: The Four Inner Instruments

In Western psychology, we use the broad term "mind." However, Indian philosophy divides the mind into four distinct functional parts called the Antah-karanas (literally, "inner instruments"). They work like an internal assembly line to process information:

1. Manas (The Sensory, Deliberating Mind)

• What it does: It gathers data from the outside world through your five senses. It is the part of the mind that toggles between options, doubting and deliberating (Sankalpa-Vikalpa).
• How it works: It acts like a screen or receiver. If you see a fruit, Manas notices its color, shape, and smell, wondering, "Should I eat this or not?"

2. Buddhi (The Intellect / Deciding Faculty)

• What it does: It is the higher intellect

Virtue Ethics: The Character of the Agent

While other theories focus on the action or the outcome, Virtue Ethics—pioneered by ancient philosophers like Aristotle—focuses entirely on the character and disposition of the person performing the action.

• The Core Meaning: Instead of asking "What should I do?", Virtue Ethics asks "What kind of person should I become?" Morality is not about memorizing a list of rules; it is about cultivating good habits of character, known as virtues (such as courage, temperance, justice, honesty, and wisdom). Aristotle emphasized the Golden Mean, which suggests that a virtue is always the perfect balance between two extremes: deficiency and excess.
  • Example: Courage is the virtuous middle ground between Cowardice