Descartes, Spinoza, Occam, and Machiavelli’s Philosophies
Descartes
The Method
Descartes’s new conception of truth is truth as certainty—something indubitable, something that cannot be doubted. For Descartes, certainty is linked to clarity and distinction. A truth is clear if present, and distinct if defined and differentiable from others.
Descartes realized that many truths believed to be true are later discovered to be false. He sought to create a new philosophy where everything is clear, and truth is easily distinguishable from falsehood. To achieve
Read MoreThe Philosophy of St. Augustine: God, History, and the City of God
Theology and Anthropology
The Existence of God
While there is no definitive proof of God’s existence, St. Augustine points to the “world order” as evidence of an ordering intelligence. He posits that God’s existence is a dogma of faith—credible, but not demonstrably proven.
Anthropology
Humans are composed of body and soul, though St. Augustine emphasizes the soul as the immortal and transcendent essence. Within the soul, two types of reason exist:
- Lower Reason: Focuses on mutable realities, material
José Ortega y Gasset’s Philosophy and the Crisis of His Time
Historical and Sociocultural Context of Ortega y Gasset
Spain During Ortega y Gasset’s Life (1883-1955)
- 1904-1908: Sunday rest law, right to strike law, and regulating working hours to 8 a.m.
- 1919: Crisis of ’98 and Regeneracionalismo.
- 1931: Proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic.
- Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and Ortega’s self-exile.
- 1945: Ortega’s return to Spain.
Political Transformations in Spain
- Monarchy of Alfonso XIII (1902-1931).
- Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939).
- Francoist Spain (1939-1975)
Citizenship: From Ancient Greece to Modern Political Thought
1. What Makes a Citizen?
A subject belongs to a society and is under its political and legal order. A citizen, however, is recognized by the state as having rights and obligations. In democratic societies, citizens share equal freedoms, rights, and duties.
2. Aristotle’s View on the City’s Origin and Purpose
Aristotle believed the city emerges chronologically from the house (family) and village, but its essence precedes them. The city’s purpose is to establish a just and good life, fulfilling humanity’
Read MoreHume’s Empiricism and Skepticism: A Critical Analysis
Hume’s Theory of Knowledge
Types of Knowledge
Hume distinguishes between two types of knowledge:
- Knowledge of Relations Between Ideas: This knowledge pertains to analytic propositions where the predicate is contained within the subject (e.g., “The whole is greater than its parts”). These propositions are independent of facts and are necessarily true.
- Knowledge of Facts: This knowledge is based on experience and impressions. It relies on causal inference, which Hume critically examines.
Hume’s Critique
Read MoreThe Concept of Law, Justice, and the Rule of Law in a Democracy
1. The Concept of Law
Law is a system of rules governing human behavior in society. These rules of conduct, established by regulatory standards, guide social relations and responses to inappropriate behavior. While society can exist without law, law cannot exist without society. Legal rules, established by the state, are mandatory and enforced through its coercive power. Moral standards, residing in individual consciousness, involve free action. Social practices, while repeated and constant, are
Read More