Rationalism vs. Empiricism: Descartes’ Dualism and Locke’s Theory of Ideas
Descartes: Existence of Material Fact
The existence of God warrants the correspondence between being and knowledge. God is perfect because He is omnipotent.
Three Areas of Reality (Substances)
Descartes established three areas of reality. One area is identified with Extended Substance (Res Extensa), which is characterized by extension and motion. That is, the world is a physical entity that occupies space.
The Mechanistic Worldview
Descartes defines the world as mechanistic (a quantity of matter with
Read MoreAristotle’s Philosophy: Ethics, Causality, and Knowledge
Aristotelian Ethics: The Pursuit of Eudaimonia
Aristotle addresses ethics in works such as the Nicomachean Ethics and the Eudemian Ethics. For him, the ultimate goal of humanity is the search for the best life possible—the happy life (eudaimonia).
He poses the question: What is happiness, and how is it achieved?
- Happiness as a Means: If happiness is merely a means, or dependent on external means, we fall into relativism. Aristotle argues that this view would prevent the establishment of a universal
Kant’s Transcendental Philosophy: Aesthetic and Analytic
Transcendental Aesthetic: Sensory Knowledge
The Aesthetic is the part of Kant’s work devoted to analyzing the functioning of our sensory knowledge capacity. Furthermore, Kant calls transcendental the knowledge we possess of a priori intuitions and concepts, and how these are related, allowing experience to organize knowledge. Joining these concepts, the Transcendental Aesthetic is the transcendental knowledge of how our sensibilities operate. It demonstrates how our sensitivity utilizes elements
Read MoreCore Concepts in Ethical and Political Philosophy
Material Ethics
Eudaimonism: Aristotle
- Aristotle would not agree with the elementary hedonism that affirms that good is simply sensible pleasure; this type of good is characteristic of animals and plants.
- Three Types of Soul:
- Vegetative soul (owned by plants).
- Sensitive soul (characteristic of animals).
- Rational soul (exclusive to human beings): Gives us radically different potentials than those of other living beings. Therefore, only by developing our rationality can we achieve a good human life.
- According
Rethinking Zoos and Championing Pet Adoption for Animal Welfare
The Ethics of Caging Animals for Entertainment
A Childhood Memory and a Moral Shift
I remember when I was much younger, my dad and mom took me to the zoo in Atlanta. I was amazed when I first set eyes on all of the tigers, elephants, lions, seals, and bears. I remember thinking how great it was that someone had brought all these animals from all over the world and placed them in a zoo for my entertainment. Now, as I have grown older, it has become clear to me: animals should not be caged for our entertainment.
Read MoreEarly Greek Philosophy: From Myth to Socrates’ Reason
The Dawn of Western Philosophy
Before the rise of philosophical thought, the Greek mythical way of thinking dominated. Across the world, stories were invented to explain key events and phenomena.
The Milesians: Early Scientists
The Milesians, often considered the first European scientists, began to set aside divine explanations. They sought rational answers to questions about the nature of things, striving to increase wisdom.
Key Pre-Socratic Thinkers
- Heraclitus: Stressed the concept of constant change