Plato’s Philosophy: Politics, Anthropology, and Metaphysics
Plato and Aristotle: Teacher and Student
Life and Context
Plato was born into an aristocratic Athenian family with a strong interest in politics. He was a student of Socrates. Following the death of Socrates, who was condemned to death by the Athenian democracy, Plato’s philosophy aimed to create a just political system. He believed that “philosophy is necessary for justice until philosophers become kings or kings become philosophers.” Plato believed that happiness is a condition of justice for all
Read MorePhilosophical Perspectives on Humanity and Society
On the Human Being
- Descartes: The human being is understood as self-consciousness.
- Kant: Reason orders and imposes its laws on the world and, therefore, has the power to configure it.
- Rousseau: Argues that men have lost their state of natural goodness because of society, and they must decide what nature should be for them.
- Nietzsche: A thinker who dares to bring the moral autonomy of modernity to its logical conclusions.
- Foucault: The idea of human dignity is not only a Christian and enlightened cultural
Argumentation: Structure, Types, and Resources
The Argumentative Text: Key Elements
The primary purpose of an argumentative text is to be convincing. It utilizes various elements to support its ideas, such as facts, opinions, and evidence. These elements constitute the arguments, and the thesis is the central vision that the issuer aims for the receiver to accept.
Deductive and Inductive Arguments
- Deductive: The thesis appears in the introduction. It moves from the thesis to the conclusion (the cause).
- Inductive: The thesis appears at the end (the
Kant’s Moral Philosophy and Human Dignity
Kant’s Moral Philosophy
Kant’s moral philosophy is his defense of a wider recognition of human dignity and its confidence in human progress. The categorical imperative remains an excellent proposal because it puts humanity as the supreme objective. Human rights align perfectly with the categorical imperative, while respect and promotion are in line with the mandatory condition to be desirable as a universal standard of behavior.
Currently, thinkers do not doubt the validity and universality of human
Read MoreAristotelian Ethics: Happiness and Virtue
Aristotelian Ethics
Introduction
Ethics studies human nature and focuses on how the individual reaches well-being. The central concept of Aristotelian ethics is eudaimonia, which is usually translated as happiness or excellence. Eudaimonia, or happiness, is the ultimate goal of human behavior. Ethics is therefore purposive, valuing actions that lead to the desired end. Happiness, or eudaimonia, is realized throughout one’s whole life. It is the end to which every human being aspires. Eudaimonia has
Read MoreUnderstanding Epistemology: Knowledge, Truth, and Ideas
Epistemology: Knowledge and Truth
Epistemology seeks a basis for knowledge while addressing the problem of truth.
1. The Nature of Knowing
Knowing involves reaching new discoveries, which are true when combining existing ideas. These ideas must correspond to sensory impressions, but knowledge is an intellectual act of the mind, occurring between ideas that should, in turn, correspond to impressions.
Any new knowledge arises from combining ideas already present in the mind, caused by previous impressions.
Read More