Human Evolution: Nature and Culture
Nature and Culture
Introduction:
From the Cro-Magnon man, Homo sapiens has not evolved significantly; our bodies remain fundamentally the same as they have been for thousands of years. However, our culture has undergone a spectacular development. Culture distinguishes and separates us from animals. There is a significant difference between basic biological processes, like digestion, and complex human activities, such as solving a square root or building a cathedral. The humanization process involves
Plato and St. Thomas Aquinas: Philosophy Compared
Plato’s Key Philosophical Concepts
Politics is a cornerstone in Plato’s philosophy. His primary objective is to define the virtues. Socrates argues that we must have something common to all possible conceptions of justice and courage. This common element, which he calls an “Idea,” would be seen as eternal and objective, not relative, as the Sophists claimed.
At this stage, Plato develops his theory of the duplication of the world, expressed in the Myth of the Cave:
- The sensible or material world is
Philosophical Theories: Innate Ideas, Empiricism, and Ethics
Philosophy
Innate Ideas: The theory of knowledge that suggests humans are born with knowledge. This knowledge is innate, bringing with our intelligence not only rational principles but also true ideas. Plato advocated for innateness, believing we are born with rational principles and innate ideas. According to Plato, ideas originate from two worlds: the intelligible world. Before birth, we assimilate ideas. When born, we possess these ideas, though they are guarded. To use them, we must recall them
Read MorePhilosophical Approaches: Mayeutica, Empirical-Rational, and More
Philosophical Approaches
Mayeutica: Socrates and Plato
Mayeutica: Socrates and Plato employed wisely directed dialogue under the rules of proper human reasoning. This philosophical approach argues that the truth lies within us from the beginning, but we need a suitable method to bring it to light. It involves essential questions and answers, which are subjected to analysis, exploring the arguments and reasons that underlie them, and rejecting contradictions or falsehoods.
Physical (Empirical)-Rational:
Read MoreCollectivist Theories: Marxism, Anarchism, and Statism
Collectivist Theories
The man is only part of a whole that is society. The individual is an abstraction and has no value in itself.
Marx and Communism
The man is a completely material being, which differs from the rest of nature by transforming this activity.
The main thing is man’s work, and the essence of social life is the mode of production, the economic structure, which is the infrastructure of life and human society.
If man is alienated (inhuman) in its basic structure, the other aspects
Read MoreDomestic Abuse: Causes, Types, and Warning Signs
Reasons Why Crime Is Often Hidden from the Police
Contributes (C) or Inhibits (I)
- The victim usually feels shame, which is difficult to overcome.
- Both women and men can be abusers, but typically the violence that is reported has the man as the abuser and the woman as the victim.
- Many people still consider it a private matter and don’t want legal solutions.
- Some people still believe that the victim deserves it (because she did, said, or wore something that made her deserve it).
- Some people still believe