Kantian Ethics vs. Humean Morality: Duty, Will, and the Categorical Imperative
Section B: Theme of the Text
Kantian Ethics vs. Humean Morality
This text explores the contrasting ethical frameworks of Immanuel Kant and David Hume, focusing on the concepts of duty, will, and the categorical imperative.
Kant’s Formal Ethics
After his Critique of Pure Reason (1781), Kant addressed the question of moral action in his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) and Critique of Practical Reason (1788). These works emphasize the role of reason in determining moral principles. Kant
Read MoreMetaphysics and Anthropology of St. Thomas Aquinas
Metaphysics of St. Thomas Aquinas
Aquinas distinguishes between what things are (essence) and what they exist as (substance). Essence: A set of characteristics that make a thing what it is, the essence of a human being is to be “rational animal.” Existence: the act of being, in essence received by the intervention of “secondary causes” (parents) or “first cause” (God). There is no distinction in God, God is a necessary being: it exists and cannot cease to exist. Consequently, its essence exists in
Read MoreThe Rise of Greek Philosophy: From Myth to Logos
Factors of Philosophy
Greek philosophy emerged in Miletus in the 6th century BC. Several factors contributed to its birth:
Economic Factor
The Greek economy relied heavily on trade, leading to a high standard of living. People had leisure time, as they were not obligated to work the land, allowing them time for intellectual pursuits. Maritime trade brought diverse cultures into contact, challenging existing ideas and fostering new ones, including philosophical thought.
Religious Factor
The Greeks had
Read MoreGlossary of Philosophical and Anthropological Terms
A
Accidental Property: Quality that completes or perfects an object or being but is not essential.
Acculturation: Process by which the members of a culture incorporate the features of a different culture.
Anthropocentrism: Doctrine that positions human beings at the center of philosophical reflection.
Anthropologic Dualism: Philosophical doctrine that claims that human beings are made up of two realities: body and mind.
Anthropomorphism: The attribution of human characteristics and properties to non-
Read MoreAristotle’s Philosophy: Theory of Knowledge, Ethics, and Politics
THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
Aristotle agrees with Plato that true scientific knowledge should be fixed, but differs in:
1 –
Scientific knowledge is not about ideas but about the essences of things.
2 –
Plato only recognizes as valid the knowledge of reason which leads to ideas, Aristotle also admits to the senses as a source of knowledge.
3 –
Plato admits the real existence of separate ideas of individuals. In this theory called exaggerated realism. Aristotle does not support the existence of ideas apart from
Read MorePhilosophical Concepts and Thinkers
Social Contract Theory
Hobbes
The instinct of self-preservation provokes fighting, which necessitates societal order. The social contract, as a mutual agreement, aims to mitigate this conflict. The first step is to “give up” the freedom to undermine others, and the second is to “transfer” individual rights that impede peace to the state.
Leviathan
Hobbes named his concept of the state after the Leviathan, a biblical sea monster. It is an “artificial man,” higher and stronger than any other, designed
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