Plato’s Philosophy: Ideas, Soul, Knowledge, and Ethics
Duality of Worlds
Plato presents a duality of worlds:
- Physical: Particular objects, characterized by continuous change.
- Ideas: Ideas in themselves, the truly real. These ideas are intelligible and are the essence of things. They are separate from the physical but exist in themselves. The way to discover them is through thinking, and they are therefore subject to scientific study. Each idea is unique, eternal, and unchanging, unlike physical entities, which are limited representations of the ideas as
Saint Thomas Aquinas: Philosophy and Theology
Saint Thomas Aquinas: Key Philosophical and Theological Concepts
The Five Ways: Proofs for the Existence of God
First Way: Argument from Motion
It is evident from our senses that the world contains things that move. Everything that moves is moved by another. To be moved requires potentiality, and to move requires actuality. It is impossible for something to be both mover and moved in the same way simultaneously. Therefore, it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, a pure act, that is not moved by
Read MoreCatholic Principles: Virtues, Morals, and Social Teachings
Catholic School Teaching
Catholic school teaching mixes learning with Catholic beliefs. The founding principle of Catholic school teachings is to educate students in faith, knowledge, and moral values based on Catholic teachings.
Virtues
Virtues are good qualities that help people live right. The two types are:
- Cardinal virtues: Good judgment, fairness, courage, and self-control.
- Theological virtues: Belief, hope, and love.
Morals
Morals are rules about right and wrong behavior.
Conscience
Conscience is
Read MoreOrtega y Gasset’s Philosophy: Relevance in Modern Times
The existence of a thinker is always present and patent. Given that José Ortega y Gasset died in 1955, we can say that his thinking is still fully relevant today. The late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have been distinguished, among other things, by a concern for the vital or existential, and hence the influence of Ortega is crucial. Just walk through a bookstore or view catalogs specializing in publications to check how there is a huge interest in the issues of daily life, from self-
Read MoreKant’s Critiques: Pure Reason vs. Practical Reason
Differences between Critique of Pure Reason and Critique of Practical Reason
Critique of Pure Reason | Critique of Practical Reason |
Rejects metaphysical objects (soul, world, community, God) | Treats metaphysical objects (the will is free, the immortal soul and God exist) |
Tries to know how things are, why we make judgments. | States how acts should be, therefore made mandatory. |
It refers to being. | It refers to what can be. |
Theoretical knowledge. | Moral knowledge. |
I. Theoretical Use of Reason
The right to use theoretical
Read MorePhilosophical Methods: Transcendental, Linguistic, Hermeneutic
***Transcendental Method***
Created by Kant, it seeks the base of knowledge and to give it reason. Because all rational human knowledge is necessary, Kant tries to answer three questions: What can I know? What should I do? What am I allowed to expect? In summary: What is man? To give reason for our being, it is necessary to discover the conditions necessary for every individual, time, and place. Kant looks for the conditions that allow us to learn, act, and expect in the way we do, the human way.
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