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

Criteria of Truth

Criteria of truth: The procedure by which we distinguish truth from falsehood. The main criteria are presented below.

Authority

Authority: A statement is accepted as true because it comes from an authority who is granted credibility for knowledge of the subject. Example: a judge talking about laws.

Tradition

Tradition: Something taken as true because it has been accepted over time. Example: when my people drink a glass of oil in the morning because they believe it improves health.

Coherence (Logical Consistency)

Coherence (logical consistency): You check that there is no contradiction between the statements within the same system. Example: In the sea there are fish.

Utility

Utility: A claim is held as true when it is beneficial or...

Defining Political Power and State Authority

Power is the ability of an individual, group, or institution to condition or determine the will of another. It is expressed in many forms, including economic, religious, social, and cultural power. Political power, which is the power of the State, is characterized by two essential elements:

• Representation: Whoever holds power acts on behalf of the community.
• Management: The holder manages the interests of the entire community and all its citizens.

Sovereignty and the Relationship of Command

Power connects two extremes: those who command and those who obey. Political power unites rulers (those who command) and the governed (those who obey). Political or State power is a sovereign power. Sovereignty signifies...

A written text is a unit that discusses a specific topic with a specific purpose. It is composed of a series of sentences that maintain syntactic relations between them.

Key Elements of Effective Writing

• Consistency is the proper management of ideas. A paragraph, a portion of text that is enclosed by a full stop, helps us to verify consistency. Depending on how ideas are ordered, the structure can be analytic or synthetic.

• Cohesion refers to lexical items that connect different sentences, linking them together. Discourse markers are linked by lexical-semantic relationships or repetition.

• Adequacy occurs when there is a good correspondence between what is said and how it is said.

Discourse Markers

• Order: First, after
• Consecutive: Therefore, for
• Contrastive:

Plato's Theory of Knowledge

For Plato, the soul belongs to the intelligible world but resides in the material world. This leads to the Theory of Reminiscence, which posits that knowledge is acquired through experience, but we already possess it within us. We must realize that ideas are tools that help the soul remember what it already knows. Knowledge, therefore, comes from memories; to know is to remember. Socrates believed that truth lies within the soul. We should not seek what we do not know, because everything is already inside us.

There are other ways of knowing, such as the dialectic, which is the true knowledge of essences. It involves dialogue and discussions to understand Ideas. Dialectic is above reason, and scientific discourse constitutes...

Hume's Empiricist Theory of Knowledge

Hume's Theory of Knowledge, unlike others, is skeptical. This means it doubts the possibility of developing concepts of universal value based on facts that are constantly changing and transforming (e.g., the concept of 'I' or personal identity, the physical world). Hume considered the senses the only possible source for knowledge. Before him, many other philosophers linked knowledge to experience—to data obtained through the senses. This was the case, for example, with Aristotle who, against his teacher Plato, argued for sensitive experience as the origin of ideas. For Aristotle, we can only speak of the concept 'man' after knowing individual men (like Raymond or Augustine). In this sense, his approach...

The Core of Human Affectivity

Emotions and Feelings Defined

Emotions are the ability that binds us to people and connects us with others in our lives. Through emotions, we generate feelings that can be pleasant but also, in some cases, unpleasant. Emotions are spontaneous expressions of feelings, of short duration, and are manifested by our reactions: laughter, tears, etc. Emotions are primary; they do not pass through any filter before their manifestation.

Owning Our Feelings and Shaping Character

Emotions are not voluntary; however, feelings are different. We are often aware of our feelings, and together with emotions, they form the basis of our personality. Together with other elements of affectivity, this forms the baggage with which we are...

Understanding Philosophical Anthropology

Anthropology, at its core, refers to the study of humanity. Philosophical anthropology is a distinct discipline within philosophy that delves into the fundamental question: "Who is man?" While many disciplines, such as psychology, medicine, and cultural anthropology, also study human beings, philosophical anthropology differentiates itself by focusing on the essential characteristics and determinants of what it means to be human. It questions what makes a human being truly human, and how this distinguishes us from other entities. This field does not primarily reflect on the specific actions of human beings or the characteristics of what it considers real, but rather examines the very essence of human...

Descartes' Philosophy: Substance and Mechanism

The attribute of infinity is that which cannot exhibit any change, so modes do not apply to this attribute.

Regarding matter, its attribute is extension. Modes are supported. Movement is primarily the mode of extended substance. The problem is that extension does not inherently involve movement, but movement is observed in extended substance. This leads to the conclusion that movement is not inherent to matter itself.

To explain this, something external to matter is needed, and Descartes introduces God. He states that when God creates the world, He introduces the necessary movement. Bodies then transmit movement to others through contact. This explains the mechanics of the world.

This is the origin...

The Role of Myth in Ancient Greece

Mythology attempts to provide a comprehensive explanation of the universe, often based on the deification of natural phenomena, with explanations revealed by supernatural beings. Alternatively, it can be defined as a primitive explanation relying solely on imagination to find answers.

In ancient Greece, early poets like Homer and Hesiod composed myths. These poets were visionaries connected with nature, not philosophers. Their narratives reflected humanity's effort to formulate coherent answers to questions about reality, serving to organize societal conduct. Oral poetry, with its voice, sounds, and tone, expressed emotion and was inherently mythic or mythographical.

A key characteristic of mythic narratives...