Analysis of the Declaration of Independence
What was Jefferson’s stated reason for writing the Declaration?
The purpose is to explain why it was necessary for the US to dissolve its political ties and become a separate nation.
According to Jefferson, what is a people’s duty when their government is abusive?
It is their duty to overthrow the government and establish safeguards to prevent future abuses.
Why does Jefferson begin with human rights before discussing specific grievances?
Jefferson is setting the stage to contrast the rights the colonists
Read MoreProfessional Deontology: Ethics, Morality, and Corporate Impact
Professional Deontology
Deontology: Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong. Some moral rules should never be broken.
Consequentialism: Morality is about doing whatever has the best consequences, even breaking some moral rules to achieve the best result. Consequentialists differ on what constitutes the Good: Utilitarians focus on pleasure/happiness, while Pluralists consider the distribution of the Good among people. Deontologists and consequentialists have
Read MoreMachiavelli’s Political Philosophy and the Shift from Medieval to Renaissance Thought
Machiavelli’s Political Philosophy: A Departure from Ethical Norms
Machiavelli signifies a shift from the earlier belief that politics could not exist outside of ethics. With Machiavelli comes the separation between ethics and politics, introducing a double standard of morality and an anthropologically pessimistic view of human nature. This perspective posits that man is inherently evil, a being solely driven by self-interest. Any ruler must acknowledge this, and any politician aiming to maintain
Read MoreProof of God’s Existence: 5 Rational Demonstrations
Proof of God’s Existence
The Problem of Demonstration
We might think that God can be directly perceptible by reason, the way we see truths like “triangles have three sides.” Saint Thomas calls these propositions self-evident. In them, the predicate is included in the subject because the essence of its objects is the property referred to in the proposition. They are also evident to us when we see them as real with just understanding the concept subject.
If the existence of God is included in its essence,
Read MoreNietzsche’s Philosophy: Nihilism and Value Transmutation
Nihilism in Nietzsche’s Philosophy
Nihilism, as conceived by Nietzsche, is a multifaceted concept:
Nihilism as a Sign of Vital Decline
Nietzsche posits that any culture believing in an absolute reality is inherently nihilistic. Christianity, by focusing on God as the ultimate reality and negating the natural world, exemplifies this. Such a culture, fixated on a non-existent “higher” realm, neglects the tangible reality of life and the senses. In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche uses the metaphor of
Read MoreDescartes’ Philosophy: Reality, Cogito, and Society
Reality
Methodical Doubt
One must doubt everything that is not based on clear and distinct ideas, everything that does not obviously present itself to the natural light of reason. Methodical doubt is required by the final method of not accepting as true anything that might have the slightest hint of falsity. Descartes’s doubt is not skeptical; it is a question that seeks to lay the foundation for all knowledge that intends to pass as true in the future.
Descartes will doubt anything that does not submit
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