Modern Philosophy: Rationalism vs. Empiricism
1-General Characteristics of Modern Philosophy: The Historical Background
(17th-18th Centuries): A time of clashes between European countries and colonial expansion. The modern state consolidated, with absolute monarchy as the dominant political system. The commercial bourgeoisie rose as the ruling class.
Cultural and Philosophical Context: The Baroque era saw the emergence and development of science as a distinct field of inquiry. Science rapidly separated from philosophy. Philosophers grappled
Read MoreHuman Nature: Freedom, Dualism, and the Immaterial Soul
The Place of Man in Nature
Following his metaphysical proofs of God’s existence, Rousseau investigates humanity’s place within the divine order. He posits that man is the center of creation, supporting this claim with several arguments:
- Dominion over animals
- Mastery of nature through technology
- Knowledge and intelligence about the universe
- Possession of moral capacities (reason and innate sense of justice)
- Capacity to connect with God through worship
Rousseau argues that this worship stems from self-love
Read MoreEthics of War: Pacifism, Realism, and Just War Theory
Ethics of War: Key Concepts
Soft Power vs. Hard Power
1. Soft power: Co-optive strategies inducing desired outcomes.
2. Hard power: Strategies compelling through military coercion and force.
Pacifism
3. Pacifism: A rule-based ethic; violence is never morally legitimate for national security or moral goods (human rights, justice, peace).
4. Highest norms in pacifism: Peace and nonviolence (take priority over other norms).
5. Historical supporter of pacifism: Erasmus (“You will lose much more than you
Read MoreOrtega y Gasset’s Ratiovitalism: Reason, Life, and History
3.1. Ratiovitalism
Ratiovitalism, Ortega’s fundamental philosophical attitude, is a theory of knowledge that considers life—that knowledge is rooted in life. It attempts to overcome extremes: not only rationalism (Plato and Descartes), nor only irrational vitalism (Nietzsche), but finds a balance where reason and life are intimately related.
Ortega believed that rationalism somehow kills the story, stopping it by abstracting time. His ratiovitalism proposes a close union of reason and life, reason
Read MoreMarx and Nietzsche: A Critical Analysis of Power, Morality, and Alienation
Historical materialism.
2.2. In the social production of their existence, humans enter into definite relations that are indispensable and independent of their will; relations of production which correspond to a certain degree of development of material productive forces. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation on which rises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness.
Read MorePhilosophical Perspectives on Human Existence and Governance
Sartre
Sartre believed that man is “condemned to be free,” meaning driven to action and fully responsible for it, without excuses. Sartre conceived of human existence as conscious existence. Man’s being is distinguished from the being of a thing by awareness. Human existence is a subjective phenomenon, in the sense that the world is consciousness and self-consciousness. The influence of Cartesian rationalism on Sartre is notable.
Hobbes
At the dawn of the modern age, the Italian philosopher Niccolò
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