Ethics in Western Philosophy: A Historical Overview
Aristotelianism
Ethics
His ethics is finalist, according to his doctrine. The aim of human actions is to achieve a specific goal. This is also called eudaemonism because the order sought is that of supreme happiness.
Goods
Goods are things that humans work towards, not as a means to achieve something else, but as an end in themselves. Goods are not subjective; they do not depend on each individual, but rather, all human beings have a tendency towards them.
Happiness and Intellectual Virtues
The greatest
Read MoreMarxism vs. Hobbesianism: Contrasting Views on Society & State
Marx is a Marxist close connection to real life.
On the one hand, reduces the idealistic theories and utopian aspirations of socialism to real and concrete limits imposed by the analysis of the new industrial society.
Marx waiver to pure philosophy (theory) to study the economic situation philosophically, in order to transform it through political action. On these bases, Marxism provides the concept of pure philosophy, not considered either as a theoretical speculation, nor as a moral practice, but
Introduction to Economics and Economic Liberalism
What is Economics?
Economics, derived from the Greek words “oicos” (house) and “nomos” (law or treaty), is the management of household or family assets. In a broader sense, it refers to the administration of scarce resources.
Laws of Dialectics
What are the laws of dialectics, their stages, and the difference between Hegel’s and Marx’s dialectic?
The laws of dialectics include:
- The law of unity and struggle of opposites
- The transformation of quantitative to qualitative changes
- The law of negation of negation
The
Read MoreThe Entrepreneur: Theories and Evolution of the Concept
The Entrepreneur
Classical Economists
Richard Cantillon: Defined the entrepreneur as an individual who buys the means of production at certain prices to combine them into a product that will sell at an uncertain price in the future.
J.B. Say: Viewed the entrepreneur as an agent who combines other economic factors in an agency or production company.
Adam Smith: Considered the capitalist employer and the owner to be the same person.
Karl Marx: Equated the capitalist employer with the entrepreneur.
Alfred
Read MoreAn Examination of David Hume’s Empiricism
David Hume’s Empiricism
Key Figures in Empiricism
The three key empiricists are: Locke, Berkeley, and Hume.
Hume’s Philosophical Stances
Does Hume accept empiricism and reject innate ideas? Yes.
Does Hume accept metaphysical empiricism? No.
Hume’s Treatise on Human Nature
Hume commented that his Treatise “fell dead-born from the press” due to its poor reception.
Hume’s Academic Challenges
Hume was twice denied a philosophy chair due to his avowed opposition to religion.
Influences on Hume’s Thinking
- Newton
- The
Presocratic Philosophers: Thales, Anaximander & More
Presocratic Philosophers
Thales of Miletus (6th Century BC)
Considered one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Thales was the first to view the world as a manifestation of a single principle: water. He believed that water was the arche (origin) of nature, the source of all things and the beginning of life. This concept of water had both mythological (e.g., the Titan Oceanus) and ontological (e.g., the primordial sea, Tethys) dimensions. Thales’ philosophy was based on observation and considered water as
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