Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas: Reason, Faith, and Knowledge
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo was born in Tagaste to a pagan father and Christian mother, St. Monica, who greatly influenced his conversion to Christianity. He lived a busy life, experiencing various intellectual stages. Cicero’s Hortensius deeply impacted him, leading him to Manichaeism, which posits two principles: good and evil. Disappointed, he moved to Rome to teach rhetoric, then embraced skepticism. In Milan, he heard St. Ambrose’s sermons and, influenced by his mother and Ambrose,
Read MorePower, Politics, and the State: Theories and Concepts
The Power and Politics
Politics is a human activity. Through it, people are socially organized, creating and modifying community rules to seek common goals. Unlike ethics, politics must conform to laws and impose order. Policy, a human construct, should be supervised by ethics, as laws are not always fair, and power can be misused.
The Notion of Power
Power is an abstraction with a visible impact on those who experience its consequences. It often involves a dominant position in various settings: workplaces,
Read MoreNietzsche: Life, Thought, and Cultural Impact
Historical, Cultural, and Philosophical Nietzsche
The life and thought of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) significantly shaped the nineteenth century, a period marked by profound changes and contradictions that define our time. This era witnessed rapid advancements in knowledge, both theoretical and practical, alongside the social development of a growing European population. The nineteenth century was characterized by workers’ revolutions, the rise of socialism and anarchism, and a conservative
Read MoreMarxist Materialism: Class Struggle, Ideology, and Historical Evolution
Materialism
Materialist Doctrine
Materialism posits that all matter is the ultimate cause of reality. In historical materialism, according to Marx, man is not a passive object but an active protagonist of their life and history. History is determined by the economic relations of production, which are in turn determined by the means of production.
Production Relations and Class Struggle
Production relations are established between the owners of the means of production and the direct producers (workers
Read MoreNietzsche’s Critique of Western Culture and Comparison with Plato
Nietzsche and the 19th Century
Nietzsche lived in the second half of the nineteenth century, a time of great change in all areas. From an economic standpoint, there was a consolidation of industrial capitalism and European colonialism in Asia and Africa. This involved the substitution of a society stratified by class, represented by the capitalist bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Politically, European nationalities (Germany, Italy, Greece) arose, and liberal revolutions extended the political triumph
Read MoreMetaphysics: The First Science of Reality and its Principles
1. Philosophical Reflection on Reality
1.1 The Need for a Foundational Science
The positive sciences, as outlined in unit 1, start from postulates, formulate hypotheses, verify them through experience, and transform them into laws and theories. Science, therefore, begins with premises that are as universal, necessary, and obvious as possible to achieve the most certain and true knowledge. The more universal a premise, the more reliable it is, and the more necessary it is, the less likely it is to
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