Legitimacy of Political Power: Origins and Social Impact
Origin and Concept of Legitimacy
What is Legitimacy?
We often question whether political authorities are legitimate. Is this phenomenon good or bad? Should it continue or be improved? We seldom question its origin.
Political power is essential for the proper functioning of society, and the more people involved, the more urgent it becomes. However, not all political power is legitimate. We need criteria to distinguish what is legitimate from what is not. To determine whether legitimate political authorities
Read MoreEarly Greek Philosophy: From Thales to Anaximenes
The Dawn of Philosophy in Miletus
Philosophy, meaning “love of knowledge” or “wisdom,” or the desire to know, began with a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world. This curiosity was expressed in fundamental questions: What are things really like? What substance underlies them? How do we understand the process of change?
The birth of philosophy is traditionally traced to Miletus, a city in the Aegean region, located opposite Athens on the western coast of Ionia in Asia Minor. The year 585 BC
Read MoreIdealism vs. Realism: Understanding Will and Happiness
Idealism vs. Realism
Idealism
a) Radical distrust of the senses: This means that one has no access to reality.
b) Truth is the idea that each person forms, regardless of reality.
c) Truth is immanent: This means that the truth emerges within the subject. The truth is contained in the subject because it refers to nothing outside the subject.
d) Since immanent truth presents the problem of how communication is possible between human beings, if each has their own idea of things. Communication is possible
Read MorePhilosophy: Key Concepts and Thinkers
Features of Philosophy: Interrogative Reason
Interrogative reason emphasizes the importance of questions over answers. Knowing at a deeper level is based on scientific data but viewed from a different perspective. It employs constant criticism with arguments, fosters a broader outlook, and integrates knowledge and science.
Forms of knowledge include:
- Science: Philosophy considers scientific data.
- Religion: Based on faith, it is subjective and meets on reason to explain the meaning of life.
- Literature:
Plato’s Philosophy: Epistemology, Anthropology, Ethics, and Politics
Plato’s Theory of Knowledge (Epistemology)
In Theaetetus, Plato concludes that knowledge cannot be mere perception. He asserts that varying degrees of knowledge correspond to different degrees of reality. As Socrates argues, true knowledge is infallible. Since the sensible world is fallible and constantly changing, knowledge cannot be derived from it. While Plato accepts Protagoras’ relativism in that we all perceive our own reality, he disagrees that perception equates to knowledge. He posits that
Read MoreRene Descartes: Philosophy and the Foundations of Modern Thought
Rationalism: Faith and Reason
Rationalism addresses the tension between faith and reason. According to St. Augustine, they were completely united: faith is necessary to achieve truth, which is God. We can define Rationalism as the self-sufficiency of reason as a source of knowledge. Rationalism is the philosophical doctrine that explains:
- Origin of knowledge:
- Empiricism: knowledge comes from the senses.
- Rationalism: valid and true knowledge about reality comes from reason.
- The science of ideas and principles