Aristotle’s Philosophical Foundations: Soul, Ethics, and Governance
While Plato viewed man as an accidental composite of two distinct substances (body and soul), Aristotle presented a unified, spiritual, and non-biological perspective. For Aristotle, man is a single substance, a complete living organism, composed of a body (the subject) and a soul (the form). Aristotelian psychology is organized as follows:
Aristotle’s Anthropology: Body and Soul
Unlike Plato, who believed the soul and body were separable substances, with the soul potentially surviving the body (implying
Read MorePhilosophical Foundations: Knowledge, Intelligence, Tradition, and Reason
Understanding Knowledge: Definitions and Models
Knowledge is the understanding of things or a state of being. It involves two main components: the subject (the one who knows or performs the activity of knowing) and the object (what is known or understood). Knowledge also has two aspects: the process of knowing (the activity, the search for truth) and the outcome of knowing (the result, the truth found).
Models of Knowledge
Realism (Aristotle)
In realism, the object has priority. It is considered a fundamental
Aristotle’s Core Philosophical Concepts Defined
Form (Morpho): Essence and Distinction
Discussing how we perceive the features of an object and its forms. Aristotle distinguishes substantial form from accidental form. Substantial form is the essence of a thing. Aristotle’s position on forms differs significantly from Plato’s. For Plato, the forms or ideas of things are separated from them, existing in a ‘World of Ideas.’ In contrast, for Aristotle, forms are inherent in individuals. This concept of composition accounts for the metaphysics of matter
Read MoreCore Concepts: Society, Culture, and Knowledge in Philosophy
State and Society Fundamentals
Society: A group of people, peoples, or nations that coexist under common rules.
Definition: Society is a system of usages and procedures of authority and mutual aid, of many groupings and divisions, of controls of human behavior and liberties. This ever-changing complex system, which is called society, is a web of social relationships. —MacIver and Page
- A collective of people who coexist, share a space, and collaborate with each other to survive.
- Common standards, which
Humanity’s Symbolic Universe: Language, Signs, and Meaning
The Human Symbolic Universe
Many capacities make human beings unique creatures, but they all share at least the use of a symbolic universe. From the realms of science, morality, art, and more, the human world is not merely a world of physical capabilities. The realities of representation allow us to work in a thousand different ways on reality without having to act directly upon it. The world of representation is not a copy of objective reality but the recreation of a world seen through human eyes;
Read MorePhilosophical Concepts of Truth and Existence
States of Mind Regarding Truth
Ignorance
A state of mind admitting ignorance about a particular matter.
Questioning
A state where one cannot affirm or deny the truth, because the reasons for and against are quite similar.
Subjective Certainty
A state where one’s mind accepts the truth of claims without admitting any possibility of equivocation.
Criteria for Determining Truth
Authority
A statement is accepted as true because it comes from someone credited with knowledge of the subject.
Tradition
A certain concept,