Key Concepts in Philosophy
Key Philosophical Terms and Concepts
Matching Terms
- 1. Tabula Rasa – C. Blank Slate
- 2. Solipsism – E. The philosophical idea that “my mind is the only thing that I know exists”
- 3. Epistemology – F. The study/science of knowing
- 4. Monist – H. Believe “being is singular, eternal, and visible, and that things don’t come into and out of being”.
- 5. Cogito ergo sum – I. I think, therefore, I am
- 6. Metaphysics – A. The study of the physical world and ultimate reality
- 7. Deduction – D. Orderly logical
Nietzsche’s Philosophy: Eternal Recurrence, Vitalism, and Critique
Nietzsche (1844-1900): Background and Influences
Nietzsche’s philosophy resonates with Heraclitus, especially concerning becoming and constant transformation. This is where the theory of Eternal Recurrence arises.
The influence of the Sophists is also critical in unleashing instincts, the law of the strongest, and the pursuit of pleasure.
Nietzsche belongs to a group of philosophers whose greatest concern revolves around life. They are known as Vitalists (Dilthey, Bergson, and Ortega).
The Era of Technical
Read MoreKant’s Enlightenment Philosophy: Context and Impact
Historical Context
Kant’s philosophy is a clear manifestation of Enlightenment thought.
The Enlightenment, a philosophical and cultural movement, spanned from the Industrial Revolution to the French Revolution in Europe. It represented the culmination of a centuries-long struggle against the Old Regime, encompassing economic and political dimensions.
In the Anglo-Saxon movement, the Enlightenment was primarily economic, linked to modern science, empirical investigations, and methodological critiques
Read MoreMarxist Anthropology: Alienation and Human Nature
Marxist Anthropology
New Humanism: Marxism promotes a critical struggle against the alienation of human beings, calling for freedom, rationality, and individuality. It maintains the rational-Enlightenment ideal of man.
Marx denies the existence of a being superior and different from nature and man: this is atheism, the denial of the existence of God. He affirms the autonomy and sufficiency of human beings.
Man is the subject of history, the basis of its theoretical explanation of the world and history.
Read MorePlato’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