Fixism vs. Evolution: Understanding the Origin of Species
Fixism: The Position Opposed to Evolutionism
Fixism was the dominant concept until the nineteenth century. Fixism may also be referred to as: creationism or intelligent design. According to this theory, species are:
- Fixed
- Created by God
- Unchanging
- Not derived from each other or related
The most important representative of this theory was Linnaeus. Linnaeus established the first classification of animals and plants according to the degree of similarity between them, which is called taxonomy.
Philosophical
Read MoreNatural Religion vs. Revealed Religion: Core Differences
Natural Religion vs. Revealed Religion
Religion: Revealed and Natural
Revelation is a divine manifestation; God reveals and communicates hidden and sacred truths to humans. God establishes the Decalogue, which is a behavior taken by the divinity that reveals his will for man. All religions based on some kind of revelation are called “Revealed Religions” (RR), such as Islam and Christianity.
Rousseau states that traits about RR are:
- They emphasize particularism, an inherent element in any expression
Heraclitus and Parmenides: Impact on Philosophy
Heraclitus: Being-Thought and the Ever-Changing Reality
Any rational certainty that provided no new information to knowledge, he finds, is a logical impossibility, since there is only Being-Thought, as described by Heraclitus. A character dark, enigmatic, misanthropic, and socially problematic, Heraclitus represents a departure from previous thought. He can be considered a mathematician or a physicist. According to him, the task of the wise is to reveal the secrets of reality and find its truth.
Read MoreHuman Rights: Evolution and Core Principles
The Relationship of Morality to the Law
Respect for human dignity can be secured only if it becomes a duty required of everyone, not just morally, but also legally.
- A moral imperative: It depends on the conscience of the individual.
- A legal requirement: It enforces the individual from outside.
Life cannot be organized only with the moral conscience of the people; it needs an external force that compels us to act.
Human Rights and Guaranteeing Respect for Human Dignity
Human rights are fundamental rights
Read MoreScholastic Philosophers: Aquinas, Augustine, Anselm, Averroes, Plato, and Aristotle
Thomas Aquinas and Augustine
Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine are part of both the scholastic and the patristic traditions. In the conflict between faith and reason, faith prevails in Saint Augustine, but two alternatives are presented. One is the *credo ut intelligam*: “I believe in order to understand.” First, I believe to understand later if I can demonstrate it with reason. The other is *credo ut intelligam*: reason to understand the truth given to us by faith.
Anselm and Aquinas
Both belong
Read MoreHuman Action: Freedom, Responsibility, and Choice
Human Action: Freedom and Responsibility
Human Action
Approach to the Human Being
Operations are conscious and voluntary for the agent.
Specificity of Human Action
- Animal Behavior: The actions of animals are conditioned by their instincts.
- Behavior of a Computer: Their actions are defined by software.
-
Behavior: It is a voluntary agent because their behavior is spontaneous and not inherited. Therefore, the term “action” will address the human.
Individual Action and Collective Action
- Individual: Produced