Aristotle’s Philosophy: Virtue, Intellect, and Politics
Virtue (arete), according to Aristotle, is a kind of second nature, an artful habit that helps humans achieve the various goods and purposes for which they are trained, ultimately leading to happiness and resembling God as much as possible. Aristotle distinguishes between dianoetic (intellectual) and practical virtues. Dianoetic virtues, like wisdom and understanding, bring us closer to God’s immutability.
Dianoetic Virtues and the Intellect
Theoretical knowledge (wisdom and understanding) is acquired
Read MoreEthical Obligations: Rights-Based and Virtue Ethics
Approaches to Determining Ethical Obligations
Rights-Based Ethics
Being ethical is acting within our rights and according others the right to act within their rights.
- Negative rights correspond to liberties.
- Positive rights correspond to entitlements to benefits from society.
Robert Audi, author of Business Ethics and Ethical Business, writes that the main criticism of rights-based ethics is that it is too narrow and too minimally demanding on us as individuals. Is it always possible to have situations
Read MorePhilosophical Theories of Truth and Knowledge
The Knowledge and Truth
The fundamental philosophical problem underlying the question of knowledge is the distinction between true and false, and, above all, the question of whether it is possible to reach the truth. The philosophical question of knowledge is: Can we really know?
Parmenides, in the sixth century BC, distinguished between truth and opinion. For Plato, there was only one kind of knowledge, *true*, and that knowledge is an infallible authority; the error falls within the view. For Plato
Read MoreNietzsche’s Critique of Platonic Philosophy
Relationship with Other Philosophical Positions
Nietzsche’s philosophy is a critique of Western cultural tradition and philosophy, which stems from the ideas of Parmenides and reaches its finest expression in Platonic philosophy. Therefore, we will relate the ideas of the text with the Eastern Greek philosopher, Plato.
Plato (Athens, 4th century BC) develops a philosophy that aims at the achievement of justice in the state. This objective can only be achieved if wise men (philosophers) govern the
Read MoreAristotle’s Metaphysics: Substance, Hylomorphism, and Soul
Metaphysics
The Greek tradition, particularly with Parmenides, had already engaged with the concept of metaphysics. Metaphysics, as the science of being, developed to discuss principles, essence, and the ways of being. This is the central argument of the work. Abundant evidence from Greek literature before Plato and Aristotle suggests that ‘being’ was synonymous with ‘life’. Metaphysics deals with the study of being *as being* and its essential attributes. It is considered the first philosophy because
Read MoreNietzsche and Marx: Critique of Religion and Values
Nietzsche’s Key Concepts
Explanation of Terms
- Christian Morality: Nietzsche criticizes Christian morality, claiming it promotes “slave morality”—values like humility, submission, and weakness. He sees it as vulgar, resentful, and destructive of the noble values of the ancient world. Christianity, in his view, is the “mortal enemy of the higher type of man.”
- Life: Nietzsche contrasts Christian values with a Dionysian life, characterized by disorder and licentiousness. He argues that religion suppresses