Rousseau and Mill: Social Contract, Education, and Utilitarianism
Rousseau: Principles and Tensions
His principles and tastes walked several paths; his life was a constant tension between the ideal and the real. His life and work were an anticipation of Romanticism, followed by the Enlightenment.
Man’s Nature and Historic Home
Rousseau (like Hobbes) speaks of a natural state of man, but in radical opposition to Hobbes. Imagine a man being good and naturally happy. The primitive man described by Rousseau is as innocent and generous as a child; in him, there is no
Read MoreUnderstanding Desire, Passion, and the Concept of Person
Desire: A Driving Force in Human Experience
Wish: Movement of our psychic activity drives us to achieve an object that we consider a source of satisfaction. Features:
- First Foul: The desire to want something involves not the presence, but the absence of something.
- Living in the World of Excess: It is beyond the need to always address a world of possibilities in a world of excess.
- Based on Conflict: It dies when it gets its goal, but new desires emerge.
Acceptance of Desire: Essential Reality
Desire is
Read MoreNietzsche’s Philosophy: Will to Power and the Overman
**First,** Criticism of the Platonic-Christian Tradition and Nihilism
A: Critique of the Platonic-Christian Tradition
The object of his critique is not see above dogmatic philosophy, but Platonism. Concretely, the guidelines in his criticism are:
- Moral
- Traditional metaphysics and the ontological-epistemological
- Positive sciences
1. Morality
Nietzsche’s critique with regards to morality opposes an unnatural life, and Platonic-Christian morality goes against its base instincts. The philosophical moral of
Read MoreContract Classifications, Sales, and Leases in Civil Law
Classification of Contracts
Unilateral: Obligations are created for one of the parties (e.g., donation) and bilateral or synallagmatic for both (e.g., sales).
Onerous: There are reciprocal obligations, where the provision of one party is in consideration of the other (e.g., lease) and gratuitous, where there is no payment (e.g., donation).
Consensual: These are perfected by mere consent of the contracting parties (e.g., partnership) and real, which need the delivery of the thing to be perfected (e.
Read MoreAristotle’s Philosophy: Key Concepts and Ideas
Potency and Act
Aristotle explains change in nature through the structure of potency and act. Individual beings, in addition to matter and form, undergo transformations. In nature, individual beings are born and die; everything is evolving, everything moves. Potency is the set of possibilities that something contains. These possibilities are not yet developed but are inherent within. The act is the process by which the possibilities of a thing come true, where their contained capabilities are realized.
Read MoreDescartes’ Method: Rationalism, Doubt, and the Existence of God
Descartes’ Method: A Path to Certainty
The problem of modernity was to avoid error. To this end, a method of scientific research should be ordered. Descartes aimed to create a universal science of knowledge, and science was joined. But mathematics is not a single method. In addition, the contents are non-abstract and useful. He emphasizes the practical value of philosophy. The Greek contemplative nature of knowledge (theory) is lost. Descartes started from scratch. He did not have any confidence
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