Descartes’ Provisional Morality and Methodic Doubt
PART 3: A MORAL NEED NOT REMAIN PROVISIONAL
Irresolute in Action
2. Maximum of Moral Provisional
First Maxim
- Obey the laws and customs of the country you live in.
- Follow the more moderate opinions of others.
- Be modeled after sensible men.
- Pay more attention to what they do than what they say because not everyone says what they think.
- Consider extreme opinions that dispose of the highest freedom.
Constancy in Action
Second Maxim
- Be firm and resolute in action.
- Analogy: a man lost in the forest is still strong.
Descartes’ Philosophy: Certainty, Ideas, and God
Descartes’ Pursuit of Certain Knowledge
René Descartes sought to achieve absolutely certain knowledge. To accomplish this, he employed methodical doubt, a process of exaggerating doubt and considering any statement false if it held even the slightest suspicion. This was done to isolate truly certain judgments.
Information from the senses, Descartes argued, must be considered potentially false, as it is subject to uncertainty and error, such as optical illusions.
Even rational truths are not beyond
Read MoreNietzsche’s Rejection of Traditional Thought
Introduction
Most traditional philosophical schools of thought considered ‘being’ in its static dimension. In Hegelian idealism, movement and change were regarded as something added to the being of things, which were characterized by their permanence. Since Hegel’s philosophy, the process is raised to the basic and primary reality: to be is to be done. In the field of anthropology, freedom had gone from being a property of human nature to being a property right of man’s will. Nature and man are a
Read MorePlato and Aristotle: Philosophers of Ancient Greece
Plato (Contextualization)
Born in Athens in 427 or 428 BC, Plato (originally named Aristocles) died in 347 BC at the age of 80. Plato’s life was shaped by the Peloponnesian War, the rule of the Thirty Tyrants, and the reintroduction of democracy. Greek philosophy reached maturity and completeness with Plato, responding to the conviction and relativism of the Sophists. His objectivity had a political purpose: the creation of the ideal polis (Platonic Utopia). This had a dual intention: first, ethics,
Read MoreUnderstanding Different Types of Love: A Comprehensive Analysis
Understanding Different Types of Love
Brotherly Love
Brotherly love is a fundamental form of love, defined by responsibility, care, and respect for all human beings. It’s not exclusive to one person but recognizes that we are all interconnected. It begins with compassion for the vulnerable, the impoverished, and those who are different.
Maternal Love
Maternal love is the unconditional affirmation of a child’s life and needs. This affirmation involves two key aspects: preserving life and providing nurturing
Read MoreNietzsche’s Philosophy: Art, Morality, and the Will to Power
Nietzsche’s Philosophy: Art, Reality, and Values
Nietzsche’s thought encompasses art and reality, the criticism of the values of European culture, the death of God, nihilism, and the new hierarchy of values. In relation to art and reality, life, as conceived by Nietzsche, the ultimate nature of all reality, cannot be defined. It is a natural instinct, a constant struggle, a continuous change, and the will to power, in life and facing life, death, elation, and pain. Life is intelligible in itself:
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