From Renaissance to Postmodernism: A History of Philosophical Thought
Contemporary Philosophy
A first phase of optimism and confidence in the forces of man, in his reason and freedom, manifests itself in the philosophy of German Idealism. This provides the ideal reflection of the optimism with which bourgeois society saw their principal values rising: freedom of the French Revolution and the ratio of the Enlightenment. It presents man as an expression in the world of infinite reason. Then, awareness begins to grow regarding the serious problems and injustices of the
Read MoreNietzsche and Hume: Key Philosophers of Their Time
Nietzsche: A Philosophical Journey Through Time
Nietzsche’s Context: Friedrich Nietzsche was born in Röcken in 1844. From 1858 to 1864, he was trained in the humanistic study of the classics. He then studied theology and classical philosophy at the University of Bonn. In 1868, he met Richard Wagner and admired his free spirit, seeing in him a potential German resurgence of classical values against Christianity. In 1870, he wrote The Birth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Music. During the following
Read MorePersonalism and Freedom: A Philosophical Perspective
Personnel
A school of thought advocates the dignity of the human individual. According to Ferrater Mora, “Personalism is any doctrine that holds the higher value of the individual against the impersonal.” Emmanuel Mounier is the best-known representative of personalism. To Mounier, the human being is not merely a material object, nor is it a spirit. Nor can a person be divided into two distinct substances: mind-body, or mind-brain. Its design is unitary: the person does not live inside a body but
Read MoreEthical Theories, Happiness, and Human Rights
Ethical Theory
In the moral sphere, we hold elections to elect. We begin to move both our hearts (sentiments, desires, and affections) as our reason (intelligence). If we make decisions, it is because we want things, but we also want to make reasonable choices.
Negative duties are formulated as a prohibition, ordering what should not be done. Positive duties require a particular action to be performed. For example, not killing is a negative duty, while assisting a wounded person is a positive duty.
Read MoreUnderstanding Religious Consciousness and Belief Systems
Enigmas of Man
Who are you? Where are you from? Where are you going?
The Religious
1. Personal Appearance
Man tries to discover the absolute ground of reality and of himself and tries to get in touch with him. That is, to try to know what all are and guide their lives accordingly.
2. Social Aspect
Religion has a social aspect that includes:
- A set of common beliefs.
- A group consciousness.
- A common worship.
Levels of Approach to Religion
1. Sociology of Religion
Questions the reality and the social significance
Read MoreKantian Ethics: Duty, Morality, and the Categorical Imperative
A man expresses his freedom when he determines his actions by the idea of duty, by the mandate of reason. Unconditioned morality should be the only autonomous morality, unlike all those that support the validity of moral norms in an extra-human term or the achievement of a goal outside the action itself (the case of happiness). To subordinate the action for this purpose means making it depend on an empirical element, sensitive, not from the inherent nature of man, which is reason. In this, ethics
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