Plato: Life, Philosophy, and Impact on Justice
Plato (427-347 BC): A Philosophical Journey
Early Disillusionment: Plato’s initial hopes in aristocracy and Athenian democracy were dashed. He witnessed political turmoil, including the Tyranny of the Thirty, in which Charmides and Critias invited him to participate. Plato missed the previous political order. The fall of the tyranny briefly renewed his hopes, but he was soon disillusioned again when the restored democracy condemned his teacher, Socrates, to death for impiety.
Travels and the Founding
Read MoreAristotle’s Core Philosophical Concepts
Aristotle’s Method: Logic and Syllogism
Aristotle was a methodical thinker. He argued that most philosophical problems arise from the absence of method. This includes a method for designating everything with its proper name and a method for correctly using these names in arguments. Aristotle identified four basic types of judgments:
- Affirmative
- Negative
- Universal
- Particular
A combination of judgments sharing a common term (middle term) can often lead to a conclusion connecting the terms of the initial
Read MoreHuman Dignity as the Foundation of Ethics and Rights
Human Dignity
According to Kant, what characterizes a human being from a moral perspective is their dignity. It undermines those who use a human being merely as a means or a tool. A person must always be treated as an end in themselves. They have value but are priceless; therefore, they cannot be bought. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 states: “freedom, justice, and peace are universally desirable values, which depend on recognition of the inherent dignity… of all members of the
Read MoreAristotle on Human Nature, Ethics, and Happiness
Aristotle: Anthropology and Ethics
Aristotle’s vision of nature significantly influences his binomial view. The metaphysics of matter/form and potentiality/actuality determines the Aristotelian conception of human beings.
The Soul and the Body
The human is an animated being, a being with a soul and life, which are two related, virtually similar concepts. The Soul gives life to the substance or body (cuerpo) and differentiates animate beings from inanimate ones. Aristotle maintains a dualistic position,
Read MoreOrtega y Gasset’s Philosophy: Vital Reason and Context
Ortega’s Vital Reason Explained
This text addresses the fundamental ideas of José Ortega y Gasset, specifically the need to overcome the opposition between rationalism and vitalism. Ortega proposed integrating both concepts, reason and life, into a unified framework: Vital Reason (Razón Vital). The philosopher sought to resolve the historical clash between rationalism, dominant in the 17th and 18th centuries, and Nietzschean vitalism. While rationalism prioritizes human knowledge through reason,
Read MoreEpicurean Philosophy: Attaining Happiness and Pleasure
Epicurean Philosophy Explained
Founded by Epicurus of Samos as a response to the political and human crisis of the moment, Epicureanism addressed the citizen of the polis who felt disappointed and helpless, turning inward—an individuality in pursuit of lost happiness. It resulted in a system comprising a canonical philosophy (theory of knowledge) and a physics (philosophy of nature), leading to an ethics focused on achieving a happy life. Knowledge is not an end in itself but merely a means; one
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