The 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)
Understanding Human Knowledge: Philosophy and Science
The Nature of Knowledge: Why and How
Human knowledge encompasses various approaches, including scientific and philosophical perspectives. There are two dimensions to knowledge: what we know and our ability to know. Neurobiology studies the brain’s role in knowledge acquisition, while cognitive psychology examines cognitive processes and their relationship to the psyche. Philosophy questions the nature of knowledge itself, with epistemology addressing the problem of knowledge and metaphysics exploring
Read MoreAristotle’s Metaphysics and Cosmology
Aristotle’s Influences
Aristotle’s philosophy was significantly influenced by several predecessors:
- Plato: While influenced by Plato’s concept of the universal soul as the principle of knowledge and his eudemonistic ethics, Aristotle diverged by asserting that the essence of things resides *within* the things themselves, not in a separate realm of Forms.
- Parmenides: Aristotle adopted Parmenides’ concept of the universality and immutability of being, but he accounted for the multiplicity of being.
- Heraclitus:
Sex and Gender: Understanding the Differences
Biological Category: We are born with physical and biological differences. These physiological differences in genital organs, along with specific endocrine and reproductive roles, are transmitted by a genetic code.
Cultural Category: This refers to the set of psychological characteristics, social and cultural rights assigned to individuals in a society and a specific historical time. These characteristics are transformed over time. They are practices, symbols, standards, representations, and values
Read MoreCritical Appraisal of Nietzsche’s Philosophy
Critical Appraisal of Nietzsche’s Thought
Nietzsche’s philosophy represents a radical break with the Christian humanism of the Western tradition and the philosophy of consciousness advocated from Descartes to Kant. Given this, there are some elements that deserve special mention in this critical appraisal.
Nietzsche on Finitude and Interpretation
Nietzsche, in my opinion, better than anyone recognizes the finitude and contingency of the subject: the man is here and now; there is no beyond to which
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