Plato’s Dualism: Soul, Body, and Reincarnation
Plato’s Anthropological Dualism
Plato believes that human beings are composed of two distinct elements, the body and the soul, which are accidentally united. This dualistic view results from a confluence of Orphic-Pythagorean influence and metaphysical elements inherent in Platonic philosophy itself. Without this view, his theory of knowledge could hardly be explained, as developed in his dialogues of maturity: Phaedo, Phaedrus, and The Republic.
Platonic anthropology is developed through the following
Read MoreThe Essence of Philosophy: Concepts, Critiques, and Purpose
Features of Myths
- People turn to gods and heroes.
- Forces of nature are personified and deified.
- Myths are imaginative or fantastic stories.
- Mythical knowledge, though based on observation of nature, is not rational because explanations are not justified or demonstrated.
- The author of the myth is always unknown; it arises from a group, in contrast to scientific or philosophical theories.
- Myths have a traditional and uncritical character; they are anonymous.
The Miletus School
The Miletus School was a group
Read MoreHuman Society: Coexistence, Governance, and Well-being
The Essence of Social Living
Human beings are inherently social creatures. We need to live in company, together. We are born totally vulnerable and helpless, and our long period of dependency as infants creates deep family ties.
Why We Live in Society
To Survive
Living in groups makes survival easier. Humans are genetically predisposed to live in society, unlike some animal species that live alone, while others live in groups.
To Connect and Communicate
Human beings have an essential need to communicate.
Hume’s Empiricism: Causality, Knowledge, and Ethics
Hume’s Empiricist Principles
From the law of cause and effect arises the problem of causality. Applying this principle to empirical fact and attempting to find a corresponding idea or impression, if none exists, the cause-effect relationship should be rejected. Although one phenomenon may always succeed another, there may be no impression of their relationship. The connection between them is simply a product of imagination, and therefore, that relationship would not be considered true knowledge.
This
Read MoreThe Evolution of Human Rights: From Freedom to Solidarity
Human Rights: Definition and Evolution
Definition of Human Rights
Human rights encompass all faculties and demands of dignity, freedom, and human equality that, in every historical moment, must be positively recognized at national and international legal levels.
Key Characteristics of Human Rights
- Universal: They must be recognized for all human beings without exclusion. They are universal in law and are progressively becoming universal de facto.
- Precedence: When in conflict with other rights, human
The Cave Myth: Plato’s Philosophy on Knowledge
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
Plato explicitly states that the myth serves as a metaphor for our nature, our education, and our lack thereof. It illustrates issues related to the theory of knowledge. However, it also carries significant implications for other philosophical domains, including ontology, anthropology, politics, and ethics. The myth describes our situation concerning knowledge: just as prisoners in a cave see only shadows of objects, we live in ignorance when our concerns are limited
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