Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau: Comparing Political Philosophies
Hobbes
STATE OF NATURE | Aggressive individuals. Natural Rights: everything, even property. War of all against all. Man is selfish, wanting to meet their needs and have more power. There is no law that governs self-interest. This interest leads him on one side to live in society, as this can leave the state of war and live more secure and comfortable. But on the other hand, he is afraid of others, so a contract is necessary. |
SOCIAL CONTRACT | Between: Individuals (in favor of its ruling). Assumes: All Rights |
Medieval Philosophy: Reason, Faith, and Existence of God
1. The Relationship Between Reason (Philosophy) and Faith (Religion)
This dominant theme is divided into:
- The relationship between spiritual and temporal power
- The subject of “double truth” or Latin Averroism: How to reconcile reason and faith when they offer different answers to the same question.
Averroes argued against the theory of double truth, positing two levels of wisdom: religious and scientific-philosophical. God, as the unique, universal, and eternal first cause, governs the cosmos through
Read MoreIntercultural Dialogue: Relativism vs. Universalism
Understand the complexity of the relationship between various cultures, both in personal and community contexts. Assist in finding answers to global problems. Interculturalism suggests learning to live in a pluralistic world and understanding that diversity is a source of wealth.
Dialogue Among Cultures: Relativism or Universalism?
The dialogue between cultures is a requirement of our time, to look for solutions to the challenges and issues that affect all of mankind.
According to relativism, dialogue
Read MoreKant’s Transcendental Idealism: Understanding Reality
Kant’s Transcendental Idealism
Descartes is correct in some aspects (there are a priori ideas), but incorrect in others (innate ideas are useless if not applied to sensory perception in space and time). Hume is also correct in a certain aspect (knowledge originates in sensitivity), but incorrect in another (we need more than passive sensitivity; we need active understanding). The Kantian project, therefore, overcomes the limitations of both rationalism and empiricism. It proposes a rational basis
Read MoreThe Dawn of Logical-Rational Thought in Ancient Greece
The logical-rational thought began its long process of separation from mythical thought in Western culture in the Greek polis of the sixth century BC. This separation occurred at the hands of pre-Socratic philosophers who focused on the question of the physical operation of the cosmos and its origin from chaos. These thinkers, while not entirely free of mythical features, attempted to understand the world around them by examining observable elements such as water or fire. Reason could detect regularities
Read MoreThomas Aquinas: Understanding Knowledge, Ethics, and Society
Thomas Aquinas: Knowledge, Ethics, and Society
Thomas Aquinas on Knowledge
How do we understand particular concrete things? Aquinas explores the relationship between our senses, imagination, and intellect. He posits that:
- The senses grasp the sensible and concrete.
- The image is recorded in the imagination, which Aquinas calls the fantasma.
- The understanding agent (active intellect) abstracts and strips away the non-essential to create an especie inteligible impresa.
- The understanding liable (passive intellect)