Understanding Truth, Existence, and Science: A Philosophical Inquiry
Truth and Knowledge
Truth: Truth is that which goes unnoticed in objective knowledge (Aletheia). This implies revealing what happens unnoticed. The Hebrew word for trust is certainty, which references knowledge that cannot have error and is justified; otherwise, truth is falsehood.
Criteria of Truth
The criteria serve to distinguish truth from falsehood. The criteria are:
- Authority: An assertion is accepted because someone of higher authority deems it certain.
- Tradition: Based on and taken as true because
Aristotle’s Scientific Knowledge: A Deep Dive
Aristotle’s Scientific Knowledge
Aristotle maintained a consistent concept of science as a fixed, stable, and true form of knowledge. He diverged from Plato’s theory of Forms, focusing instead on particular substances and individuals categorized into three levels: terrestrial, celestial, and divine. He also rejected the concepts of participation and imitation.
Orders of Knowledge
Aristotle distinguished between two orders of knowledge: sensory and intellectual. Sensory knowledge, derived from our senses,
Read MoreNietzsche’s Philosophy: Values, Morality, and the Superman
Nietzsche’s Life and Intellectual Context
Nietzsche was born in 1844 in Weimar, during a period of significant upheaval. The French Revolution of 1789 had ended absolute monarchy, ushering in a new era of political, economic, and social development known as liberalism. The liberal-bourgeois revolutions facilitated the transition from a stratified society to a class-based society, primarily composed of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The proletariat would soon become aware of their subjugation,
Read MoreUnderstanding Truth, Reality, and Philosophical Perspectives
Truth and Reality: A Philosophical Exploration
Philosophers consider that facts and objects can be true or authentic, but propositions can also be true.
Truth of Facts
The “truth of facts” is established when we use the words “true” and “authentic.” This refers to objects and facts. Truth, in this sense, is identified with reality, authenticated against apparent reality. The pursuit of truth becomes a process of unveiling the authentic, which would otherwise remain hidden by appearances.
Truth as Propositions
This
Read MoreUnderstanding Metaphysics, Ethics, and Morality: Aristotle vs. Epicurus
Metaphysics: Aristotle’s Perspective
Metaphysics: Aristotle defines philosophy as the study of first principles (that which is fundamental) and causes (found in its forms and processes).
According to Aristotle, there is no science except of the universal (speculative science), being as a being and its essential attributes. Wisdom relates to knowledge as art relates to experience. Wisdom understands the causes of why, which differs from experiential knowledge, a concept with a restricted scope.
For
Read MoreUnderstanding Plato: Reality, The Soul, and Politics
Plato’s Philosophy: Background and Context
Historical Setting in Athens (5th-4th Centuries BCE)
Plato’s work originates in Athens during the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, a city shaping philosophical thought. Influenced by the Presocratics and the Sophists, reason began to challenge myth as the primary means of explaining the world, spurred by contact with other cultures through trade.
Democracy, established by Pericles, was spreading from Athens to other Greek cities. It was based on isonomy, meaning
Read More