Early Greek Philosophy: Pre-Socratics and Socrates
Pre-Socratic Philosophy: The Cosmos
Philosophy historically started with the cosmological period, comprising approximately 600 to 450 BCE. During this period, the main subject matter for philosophers was the cosmos (the universe). They sought answers about how the world originated, seeking to know its raw material or fundamental element. Aristotle called these philosophers ‘physicists’ because they studied physis (nature).
Thales of Miletus
The first philosophical school was established in the city
Read MoreHuman Freedom vs Deterministic and Reductionist Views
Deterministic Perspectives
This section outlines five modalities, all suggesting that humans are not masters of themselves but victims of unseen forces:
- The practice of sorcery.
- A growing interest in horoscopes or astrology.
- Belief in reincarnation.
- Providential Passivity: The mistaken belief among some Christians that everything is fatally determined and imposed by God.
- Social Fatalism: Based on misconceptions about fundamental human equality leading to fatalism.
Psychological Reductionism
Human beings
Read MoreDeconstructing Romantic Love: Analysis of ‘Dear John’
Deconstructing Romantic Love in ‘Dear John’
Hello, my name is Victoria Menendez Simonutti, and I will be presenting my final year project, titled ‘Deconstructing Romantic Love in Dear John’ by Nicholas Sparks.
Introduction
First, I would like to outline the structure of this presentation. It will be approximately 15 minutes long and divided into the following sections: an introductory part (which I am currently delivering), the topic of this project and the reasons for choosing it, the methodology
Read MoreLife’s Tapestry: Memory, Time, and Western Expectations
Amputated. What does all that that person has accumulated mean? I do not mean material possessions, the transmission assets which regulate the civil codes. I refer to the repertoire of experiences that each of us treasures: these ways of seeing, of viewing the world, to act upon it.
Each of us is, of course, the son of his time, but we are not merely a case comparable to the rest of our contemporaries. Each of us is unique, and with the death of each one disappears what no one else can resume. Death
Read MorePhilosophical Quotes and Glossary of Terms
Philosophical Quotes
We must follow the argument wherever it leads (Socrates)
Love is desire for the perpetual possession of the good (Plato)
Life is long if you know how to live it (Seneca)
The truth is the whole (G.W.F. Hegel)
He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how (Friedrich Nietzsche)
The limits of my language are the limits of my reality (Ludwig Wittgenstein)
A theory that explains everything, explains nothing (Karl R. Popper)
It is better for rulers to be feared than loved (Niccolo Machiavelli)
Read MoreDescartes’ Philosophy: Reason, Doubt, and Certainty
Descartes’ Rationalist Philosophy
The Quest for Certainty Through Reason
Descartes’s philosophy rests on the principle that there is a unique foundation, a conclusion adopted ultimately: the existence of a unique reason. He is convinced that everything can be known. In fact, in his Discourse on Method, he goes so far as to say that ultimately there is nothing so obscure that we cannot shed light upon it. Therefore, Descartes asks how we can reach that knowledge and concludes that we can only be sure
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