Kant’s Transcendental Aesthetic: Space and Time
Transcendental Aesthetic
Time is nothing objective. We propose that space is not different from bodies. If something other than bodies were to be bodies and space, but it is something in the bodies that does not differ from them, as Leibniz thought, then we would not talk about space. These two positions lead to two intractable paradoxes, as they always leave space and time as two more or less objective realities. For Kant, space is an a priori form of sensibility, something that we construct when
Read MoreRene Descartes: Life, Philosophy, and the Cartesian Method
Rene Descartes: A Life in Philosophy
René Descartes (1596-1650) was born in La Haye, France, into a small and wealthy noble family. He did not have to work and lived on the income of his parents. Sent to “La Flèche,” a Jesuit finishing school, he later decided to travel due to his discontent with what he had learned and his desire to find answers to his questions. He joined the army and, after a significant dream, felt compelled to bring something new to science—a new method. In 1618, he went
Read MoreCosmology and the Scientific Method: Understanding the Universe
The Necessity of Explaining the World
Human beings have always wanted to understand their environment to satisfy their curiosity and answer the need for meaning. At first, they were concerned with what was closest to their experience. Then, distancing themselves from immediate reality, they wondered about the universe and the order of things. From these questions, humans built cosmogonies. They sought new tools to enhance and improve the accuracy of their observations, and dismissed lax opinions.
Read MorePlato’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
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