Philosophical Methods and Criteria of Truth
Empirical Method
The empirical method also began in the modern age with the current known as “empiricism,” whose most prominent representative was Hume (18th century). Empiricism considers two kinds of truth that human knowledge can access:
- Truths of reason: Based on the deduction of a set of principles from others. These are only rational operations; hence, they can aspire to be correct and infallible, but they do not provide information about external reality.
- Truths of fact: Characteristic of empirical
Aristotle: Life, Work, and Philosophical System
Aristotle: Life and Work
Aristotle
Life and Work
- Born in Stagira in 384 BC.
- His father was a doctor in the royal court of Macedonia.
- At 17, he was admitted to the Academy, where Plato was teaching until his death.
- In 344 BC, he was named preceptor (teacher) of Alexander (the Great).
- After King Alexander’s death, he returned to Athens where he founded his school, the Lyceum.
- After the king’s death, he had to flee Athens, driven by growing anti-Macedonian sentiment.
- He died in 322 BC in Chalcis.
Aristotle’s
Read MoreKant’s Philosophy: Copernican Revolution, Imperative, and Social Contract
Kant’s Key Philosophical Concepts
Copernican Revolution in Philosophy
The Copernican Revolution, as Kant termed it, signifies a radical shift in understanding the process of knowledge. Knowledge is not merely a passive reception of information, but an active interpretation of the world by the individual. This involves perceiving reality and explaining it. The ‘knower’ interacts with the ‘known reality’ or ‘object.’ To know is to perceive reality through the filters of space and time, interpreting
Read MoreRational Decision-Making: Profit, Risk, and Time
Rationality: Making Decisions
If problem-solving and logical reasoning are fundamental characteristics of human intelligence, another element ultimately determines the range of that power: rationality. This human rationality is the faculty that allows us to assess the impact over a period of time and calculate costs and benefits. This is possible because humans can assess means and find the best solution to a problem. However, the solution offered does not necessarily have to be the most rational.
Read MoreUnderstanding Friendship, Freedom, and Social Concepts
Friendship: A Natural Bond
Friendship encompasses natural tendencies, sociability, and love. Types of friendship include those based on utility, pleasure, virtue, and civil connections. Self-esteem is crucial, stemming from wanting and being accepted. It involves self-evaluation, reflection, and active listening.
Benefits: Acts of Kindness
A benefit is something given freely. Types of benefits can be essential, useful, or convenient. A true benefit is a benevolent action that brings pleasure to someone,
Read MorePlato’s Influences: Socio-Historical and Cultural Impact
Plato’s Influences and Socio-Historical Impact
The Presocratics who most influenced Plato were Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides. From them, Plato adopted ideas that he later used to form his Theory of Ideas. From Parmenides, he took the concept of unchanging being, and from Heraclitus, the idea of a constantly changing reality. Plato attempted to reconcile these two concepts, giving rise to the dualism that characterized his Theory of Ideas: an intelligible world of immutable ideas (Parmenides)
Read More