Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: Understanding Reality and Knowledge
The Core of Platonism
The myth of the cave is a core element of Platonism. It is presented at the beginning of Book VII of the Republic. Plato describes the plight of prisoners bound by their feet, hands, and necks, locked in a cave and forced to constantly look at a wall. On this wall, they only see occasional projected shadows of people passing by, illuminated by a small fire and screened as if by puppeteers. The prisoners, confined within the cave, end up with an incorrect view of reality, confusing
Read MoreUnderstanding God: Existence, Evidence, Nature, and Creation
Theology
1. God
Aquinas affirms that the existence of God is evident. The only problem that arises is that of the divine essence. The solution has an existential character. The proof of the existence of God is necessary, and it is possible using the appropriate method of proof. There are two kinds of demonstration: “therefore” (cause to effect, a priori) and “quia” (meaning to search for cause, a posteriori). Aquinas rejects any a priori proof. Subsequent tests are presented with characters that assume
Read MoreAristotle’s Core Teachings: A Comprehensive Summary
Metaphysics
Background: A critique of the theory of ideas. Things are immanent, not transcendent. Ideas do not explain movement. Metaphysics is the science of being *qua* being and its fundamental attributes. It discusses first philosophy and theology. Being is said in many ways, as many as there are categories. The fundamental category is the substance. The remaining nine categories are accidents.
Hylomorphism
Substance is a composite of matter and form. Matter is the indeterminate principle; form
Read MoreRelationships, Communication, and Conflict Resolution in Society
Solo
Being open to living in a relationship with others. Sometimes, we seek solitude or spending time alone, but this is not a satisfactory personal development. Human beings have the capacity for language to communicate through any system of linguistic signs that we know. We can relate to those we do not know yet.
Neighbors
We interact with people because they live near us.
For Love
It’s one to have the other.
Friends
Friendship means compromise. It is a relationship in which there is love and connection,
Read MoreLudwig Wittgenstein: Life, Philosophy, and the Tractatus
Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Life in Philosophy
Early Life and Education
Ludwig Wittgenstein was born on April 26, 1889, in Vienna. He was the youngest son of a wealthy family of Jewish origin, baptized into Catholicism. Wittgenstein studied at a technical school in Linz, where he received a strong foundation in mathematics and physics. During this time, he experienced personal turmoil, partly due to the suicides of three of his brothers. He abandoned his studies and later enrolled in engineering in Berlin,
Read MoreNietzsche’s Critique of Reason and the Two Worlds
The Error Lies in Reason, Not the Senses
For Nietzsche, the error is not in the senses, but in reason. Reason forces us to develop supreme concepts to regulate, organize, and make sense of infinite existence, to survive, to become, to change. Be aware that the error occurs there; we can prevent it from occurring. This makes us see ourselves caught in error, the need for error.
While we know by concepts of reason such as unity, identity, substance, and thing, we know that reality is not so. However,
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