1238 samples of this type
By definition, emotion is: “an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness” (“Emotion” par. 1). Emotions most often conduce us to a conclusion, where we agree or disagree with a certain fact, and...
Throughout history, humans have tried to make sense of the world around them. Through observation, discussion, and theory crafting, individuals have managed to present specific ideas on the nature of broader concepts. Practices that study the fundamental aspects of human existence can be called philosophy. Many great minds have combined...
Immanuel Kant was the German philosopher of the eighteenth century, whose ideas argued time, morality, space, and nature. One of his principal works was The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, which categorized humans’ primary moral duties and discussed their impact on their lives. Kant’s statements rejected happiness as a...
Thesis The sound of a falling tree in an empty forest does not exist. Introduction Background Information Philosophy gives humanity many questions and puzzles to ponder about existence, nature, knowledge, perception, and reason. Regardless of what problems it poses, there always can be an answer or “truth of the matter”...
There exist many debates concerning the existence of God. Atheists argue that there is no actual evidence of God’s existence. To prove their point of view, they say that He would have never allowed evil to happen if He existed. Thus, taking into consideration how many happens in the world...
Introduction Many philosophers, researchers, and scientists have explored the question of whether a person can be sure about anything they know or perceive through their feelings. Rene Descartes, who shared the ideas of rationalism, claimed that the one, certain truth is that every time one thinks he or she exists,...
Introduction The concept of virtue has attracted the attention of many scholars over the past several decades. The civilization brought with it an understanding that one’s action should not deliberately hurt others or cause harm to society. One should strive to hold high moral standards at all times and behave...
All scientific disciplines require sets of rules and laws, called methods, which are based on critical thinking and are essential for any research. Philosophy is not an exception here; the only difference is that while such sciences as mathematics and physics deal with specific fields of study, philosophy seeks to...
Introduction In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle explains the principle of friendship and virtue are the coe of social relations, Aristotle supposes that all people were not equal. Aristotle believed that there were a more intelligent master or ruling element and a ruled element or slave. In contrast to Aristotle, Cicero believes...
Introduction In this paper, I will defend Socrates’ claim that the same traits of character can be beneficial if the person is wise and could lead to misery if the person is not, against the objection that an ignorant action might lead to happiness, and a wise action might end...
Background information Different development theories have been invented by scholars in bid to unravel the mystery behind varied developments in the society. In their bid to come up with strong argument, scholars have employed different social scientific phenomena. One of the development theories that were established in early 1940s is...
Introduction Marxist Herbert Marcus was regarded in the 1960s as the guru of the new left. Although Marcus was not the only Marxist to formulate theories of integration and capitalist stabilization his vigorous search for alternative forces and how he bluntly presented his theories distinguished him from his contemporaries. As...
Introduction Art is deficient in an agreeable and acceptable description which makes it simple to explain in a manner in which an action is carried. Art involves the utilization of handiness together with thoughts in the process of designing artistic items, surroundings, or know-how to facilitate distribution and comparison with...
In a time where our economy is reaching the breaking point and faith in our current government has waned, many people have begun to look toward a different method of doing things in order to create a more positive society. One of those ways is to integrate the ideals of...
The concept of mind is obscure, controversial, and impossible to define perfectly. Philosophical analysis, researches on the brain, and remarkable advances in the field of neuroscience prove to be futile with regard to defining the concept of the mind. Most philosophers have the opinion that the mind is an entity...
Questions are usually used by many people to set the base for an inquiry. Therefore, any constructive conversation must contain some questions. This piece of work therefore tries to explain whether limits should be put to what should be questioned or not. Philosophy is a discipline that is characterized by...
Introduction Death is one area of human experience that many people do not like talking about because they are worried about it and they even won’t want to imagine it. Many other areas of human experience are openly discussed but the issue of desperation related to death makes people see...
I choose virtue ethics as one of the five major perspectives of moral reasoning as being most closely related to my personal views. Virtue ethics is an approach that looks at the principles which are more concerned about the behavior of the moral agents, instead of the set principles or...
Introduction John Wesley was born in 1791 in Lincolnshire, England, and he was the founder of Armenian Methodist. It started when Wesley adopted open-air preaching, which was first established by George Whitefield. Wesley Methodism was an evangelical movement that believed that a person who had faith in God could be...
We See and Understand Things Not As They Are But As We Are The assessment of knowledge as a subjective or objective entity can be seen as a question that is haunting humanity since the ancient times. Taking Plato’s allegory of the cave, where people chained since childhood to watch...
There is one wise saying that philosophy is a queen of all sciences. It is really true as it is very difficult to find so ancient and wise science as philosophy is. Due to philosophy and works of famous philosophers, people find explanations of the events and actions which seem...
Hardin and his work Garrett Hardin is known for his good attempts long with arguments to work out social reasons and effects that can damage the environment. His work ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’ explains the main source of the hazards that appeared in society with the flow of time....
Introduction Over the years, the brain has been known to significantly affect the mind. However, only recently it has been found out that the brain consist of different parts which perform different functions. The proponents of the identity theory are of the view that when we experience stimuli e.g. pain,...
Introduction In the book, Cartesian Meditations, Edmund Husserl speaks about the main problems of phenomenology including such topics as static and genetic phenomenology, reduction and intersubjectivity. The central thesis of Husserl’s mature work is that of the life-world, a term that refers to the concrete reality of an individual’s lived...
This essay aims at illustrating in what way truth in mathematics, ethics and arts is different. It is widely believed that mathematical truths are objective, universal and agreeable to all in all situations. It is also widely accepted that truth in art is more of subjective i.e. depends on individual...
Biographies of prominent people often represent a terrain of especial interest for researches, as the background and life circumstances of the former can provide valuable reasoning and explanation for the peculiarities of their ideas, values, and train of thought. One of the obvious cases of such informative biography can be...
Everything in this world has a history. How is history formed is a topic long debated by historians. Historians believe in different theories behind the formation of history. These theories have led to controversies like the dependability versus unreliability of their reasoning. A few historians, including ancient and modern, believe...
Introduction The word epistemology refers to studying the source of knowledge. In this respect the reality and truth of what a man writes or says more or less props up against the thoughts and ideas being told and outlined previously. In other words, everything which surrounds an individual can be...
When dealing with the notions of ethics and moral behavior, one often confronts the issue of choice concerning a certain situation which demands immediate and resolute actions for its resolution. Being ethical or moral is largely viewed as being socially open and lending a helping hand to those in need...
Introduction Philosophy as a special form of society’s conscience can be said to have been occurred to fulfill the need for people to answer certain questions. The answers to such questions should be able to deliver a complete, logically relevant, and sufficiently broad in generalizations and conclusions knowledge about the...
Kant’s Moral and Political Philosophy Immanuel Kant’s moral philosophy revolves around our everyday conversion of rational knowledge into philosophical wisdom, which serves as a practical reason it itself to follow morality. Kant’s theory defines a moral deed as ‘categorical imperative’, which though is derived from ‘duty’ but according to Kant...
Introduction This paper is a critical evaluation of “Popular Sovereignty and Nationalism” By Bernard Yack. Discussion In his article, Yack proves the relationship between nationalism and popular sovereignty and shows that against popular belief, modernization is not a prelude to nationalism but rather a result of nationalism to some extent....
Introduction Evangelism is the endeavor of Christians to convert people who do not believe in Christianity or who belong to other religions to convert to Christianity. Evangelism has its historical background because it was started in the 19th century in the historical era of ‘The Great Awakening.’ However, in modern...
Introduction Phenomenology comes from structures that are found within a conscious experience. Phenomena are the structures that exhibit themselves on the assumptions and presuppositions of science. One can consider them the way a thing is immediately experienced and the way it is. Edmund Husserl was the first distinguished phenomenologist. He...
Introduction The very term “ethics” has a great number of definitions, naturally, it is not necessary to present all of them, but overall we can single out two definitions, which seem to be the most appropriate. First, ethics is a branch of philosophy, which studies the moral value of human...
Abstract A variety of approaches to the study of fairness, ethics, morality, and justice entails numerous disputes between scientists who support specific theories and ideas. Famous philosophers John Rawls and Robert Nozick offer compelling and intriguing concepts regarding the values of fairness and equality. They describe concepts of building a...
Abstract The breakdown of the poleis (Greek city-states), which occurred after Alexander’s death, left a majority of the people feeling alone and frightened. In order to regain what they had lost, the Greeks turned to upcoming cultural movements, each of which tried to provide them with a sense of community...
Enlightenment According to Kant Definition According to Immanuel Kant, enlightenment is a “man’s emergence from his self-imposed nonage” (Kant What is Enlightenment? 1). Kant can be deemed as the pioneer of the described mode of thinking, with his notion of Enlightenment being the result of the ultimate freedom trumping the...
Skepticism is associated with doubts about knowledge and its reliability. Skeptics stress that it is impossible to make sure that any source of knowledge is reliable enough, so people are likely to be mistaken all the time (Vaughn, 2018). The best illustration of this perspective is Plato’s assumption that the...
There are some topics on which people have been arguing for centuries and still cannot come to a consensus as there is no such evidence that no one would doubt. Some of those questions are God’s existence, the nature of evil, and the human soul. William Rowe and John Hick...
Introduction Religious beliefs have played a significant part in human lives ever since their inception in ancient societies. The idea of the presence of some being that is beyond the material world has helped people find answers to crucial questions. They could obtain an understanding of how the world is...
Philosophers’ views on such topics as virtue and choice are usually based on their overall attitudes towards ethics and sources of their beliefs: either religious or non-religious. If to provide an example, Augustine and Socrates’ views on virtue and free will were completely different. In Plato’s Apology, Socrates argued that...
Aristotle, the Ancient Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BC and was a student of Plato, had a huge intellectual range and thus was involved in many different branches of science, such as biology, chemistry, history, political theory and, most importantly, philosophy. Among his many philosophical works, a...
Introduction Edmund Husserl is believed to be one of the greatest rationalist philosophers of the early 20th century. During the Nazi regime, the scholar studied and analyzed most of the predicaments that appeared to trouble every European citizen. The events experienced during this period confirmed the challenges that had been...
In the suggested passage, the philosopher revolves around the price of freedom and whether it could be achieved by any means. If to speak about the main idea of this very text, it could be determined as the essence of the cogitations about justice, injustice, and the appropriate response to...
Heraclitus on the Nature of Reality Heraclitus argues that there is no reality. Nature is constantly changing. Consequently, he equates permanence to illusion. In addition, he argues that change is not random. On the contrary, it is controlled by a cosmic order (Moore & Bruder, 2011). He refers to this...
In 1935 philosopher John Dewey published Liberalism and Social Action. John Dewey was one of a number of intellectuals in the 1930s who openly articulated antagonism toward the free market economy that dominated most of the United States’ policies; John Dewey’s enmity was largely targeted toward the unequal distribution of...
Introduction Every individual has a personal worldview that he or she uses both consciously and subconsciously to answer questions and make decisions. Spirituality also plays a significant role in one’s life as it guides people and offers them a set of rules and beliefs that construct a specific view of...
Introduction It may seem complicated to penetrate deeper into philosophy as such an endeavor requires people to concentrate on elevated matters while living up to their potential. Some people succeed, while others cannot find answers to philosophical questions even as they mature and continuously pose such conundrums to themselves. However,...
Introduction Throughout the ages, people have tried to comprehend the world and understand their own place in this unique system. From the time the ability to think critically and analyze events first appeared, individuals used their brains not only to come up with ways to survive but also to improve...
Alexander Hamilton was the first economist in America who held a principal political figure, but he never managed to become a president in America. There was a great depression in the 1930s where he was allied with the monetary policies in reverence to the American economy that held accountability for...
Introduction Philosophers such as Aristotle, Kant, and Mill dedicated a lot of their time in understanding reason and its role in day-to-day life. The reason is commonly understood as the power to think about using the human mind. People believe that it is the power to think that sets humans...
What is a Good Life? The question of what constitutes a good life was pursuing humanity since the dawn of time. However, as humankind developed and formed societies, the definitions of a good life needed to be assessed, as definitions solely through materialistic possessions were not only inaccurate, but also...
The phenomenon of the ‘fall of man’ in the Roman philosophy and political thought is related to the ideas declared by Seneca (4 BC – AD 65). Seneca was one of the most prominent Roman stoics whose political vision was opposite to other philosophers belonging to this group (Klosko 174)....
Introduction Religion can be defined as a set of beliefs and practices that explain the relations between people and their God. Every religion is characterized by beliefs and religious practices that all its followers observe. Each religion has its own distinct practices that distinguish it from others (Brenkert 56). The...
Introduction Human beings have always been troubled by various ethical and moral issues. These issues are associated with the major principles that define what is wrong or right. Principles of human morality usually focus on the distinction between bad and good behaviors. However, societies and individuals have developed diverse values...
The contribution of Simone de Beauvoir to the development of contemporary philosophy and Western culture as a whole could hardly be overlooked. Primarily, her most recognizable work is The Second Sex essay, which is considered to be one of the central texts of the feminist movement. However, she contributed to...
Introduction Socrates is a Greek philosopher and teacher of a great Greek philosopher Plato. His works laid a basis for the Greek thespian art and he is a pioneer to the rise of official logical positivism. The Apology and Crito, which substantiates his tribulation, sentence, and denial to run away...
The book ‘The Condition of the Working Class in England’ written by Engels Friedrich, a German social scientist and political theorist, is a manifestation of the evils that accompanied what is known as industrial revolution. Principally, Engels’s piece of writing is owed to the conditions of industrial proletariat in great...
Poverty, inequality, and rising crime rates are some of the social problems that plague countries all over the world. Brilliant people argue that the only way to develop a cost efficient solution to these problems is to establish an effective system of governance. After a careful analysis of Plato’s ideas,...
Abstract This paper explores how the principles of the deontological ethics can be applied to the discussion of using animals in the medical research and laboratory experiments. The specific type of the deontological ethics that is applied to the topic in the paper is the Kantian theory. In spite of...
John Searle and Rene Descartes on Dualism Descartes’ philosophy can be represented as an extreme manifestation of dualism since the philosopher believed that a mind does not have any physical properties and, thus, is related directly to consciousness. Searle, on the other hand, believed that there is a strong biological...
Introduction Marxism perspective is concerned with the ways in which the production of space and place is implicated in the reproduction of specific social reforms that happen in history. Marx believed that the present order must first be destroyed by revolution before a truly socialist could evolve. Marxist Theories of...
Introduction Art has always been a method for people to communicate their feelings, ideas, and experiences. Artists frequently produce works embodying their unique viewpoints on life, death, and the connections between them. The works of art Death and Life by Gustav Klimt and “The Beauty of Death” by Khalil Gibran...
Introduction Susan Wolf is a prominent philosopher of action and moral philosopher who has significantly contributed to free will. She is well-known for her defense of compatibilism and her criticism of moral perfectionism. In her work on free will, Susan Wolf claims that determinism and free will coexist. She argues...
Introduction to Classical Utilitarianism Classical utilitarianism has historically been defined as an ethical system in which happiness is seen as the fundamental value, and the accomplishment of the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people is held to be the primary objective of action. According to classical utilitarianism, pursuing...
The Foundation of Inferences from Experience In philosophy, particular importance is given to such an aspect as knowledge and to what extent individuals can claim it. Many philosophers paid attention to the study of such an aspect as the reason for securing knowledge; however, David Hume had a more skeptical...
Introduction For centuries, philosophers have debated the nature of the universe and knowledge of reality. Plato and George Berkeley, two well-known philosophers, have approached the investigation of this subject from various angles. As outlined in his famous book “The Republic,” Plato’s philosophy provides intriguing insights into the nature of reality....
Plato was known for being concerned about society and its morals. He knew that art had a great influence on the youths, which is why he expressed some concerns. The philosopher feared that certain negative influences depicted in it could have a negative impact on people. This is why the...
The selected chef for this assignment is Jiro Ono, who is globally recognized as the best sushi chef. Sushi is a collection of delicious Japanese cuisines that are sold in several restaurants around the world. Ono is well known for his outstanding specialization in preparing sushi with his philosophy of...
Bonaventure, Averroes, and Avicenna were all medieval philosophers who wrote extensively on the nature and status of the human soul. However, their views on this topic differed in several significant ways. For Bonaventure, according to Löwe (2021), the human soul was the highest form of being in the universe and...
Ethical and moral standards form the basis on which an action is considered right or wrong in a particular society. Philosophers such as John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, Aristotle, Sartre, and Singer developed different theories explaining the concept of morality and ethics (Tseng & Wang, 2021). Philosophical theories such as...
Moral judgment is the process of deciding what to do when faced with an ethical dilemma, including questions of right and wrong. Different philosophers have developed theories for criticizing right and wrong and the forces that drive people to decide what is wrong and right. These philosophers include David Humes,...
Summary Groundhog Day is an iconic film that has a classic rethinking of the time loop theme with deep philosophical overtones. Even though I had watched the movie several times before, I rewatched it a few days ago and found a lot to think about. The film builds parallels with...
The philosophy of education encompasses relevant schools of thought and their responses to the social issues in education. It primarily revolves around the critical concepts of equality, equity, social justice, peace, and other stimulating factors to educate people on moral virtues from a philosophical perspective (Davids and Waghid, 2021). At...
Introduction Education helps in social and economic development and is significant for any political decision. Through education, academics can interact with people and develop creative solutions that help save the world. Praxis is a deliberative, responsible, human-moral action that involves wise judgment. The approach is the basis of creativity in...
Introduction The mind-body problem is a philosophical discussion explaining the relationship between the body and mind. Various past and modern philosophers have developed varied positions regarding whether the mind is independent of the body. Sufficient evidence shows that the mind is what the brain does and that both are interdependent....
Introduction Utilitarianism has attracted ardent opponents and defenders over the years as an approach to ethics and morality in society. Enthusiasts regard the philosophical approach to morality as a liberating and standard theory. Further, the theory practically connects attitude to decision-making and rejects the tyrannical questions about moral conventions. On...
In philosophy and social sciences, a debate regarding the existence of free will resulted in the creation of a deterministic approach. The classical doctrine of determinism suggests that every event and incident in human life is controlled by laws of nature and mystical powers. Thus, the deterministic views opposed the...
In modern society, the image has a significant role and determines the attitude of people to an individual or organization. Thus, this phenomenon is strongly connected with the truth, which becomes an integral part of it. To study this aspect, various theoretical approaches are used, providing a more detailed understanding....
This lecture is the primary source that focuses on existentialism, where the author argues how it is synonymous with humanism. According to the author of this article, everyone tries very hard to become what they wish to be. From the onset, Sartre has a conflict with his public image, which...
Introduction Human beings face various unexpected emergencies in their everyday activities. The emergencies may tragically result in fatal injuries or even cases of death of a person or a group of people. In emergencies, many people think it is permissible to sacrifice one person to save a group of people...
There are different approaches in philosophy that discuss the existence of God from all viewpoints. Some intend to prove that God exists, whereas other concepts support the idea of his non-existence. The third ones suggest the idea of agnosticism, claiming that it is not possible to prove the existence or...
Introduction People typically have more freedom to pursue their interests during their leisure time. When discussed from various philosophical perspectives, the idea of leisure takes on several diverse forms. The Greek philosophers Aristotle and Epicurus each offer distinctive interpretations of the term “leisure,” with Aristotle focusing more on the advantageous...
Death is an intrinsic part of human existence, as it is the endpoint of life. It is everywhere, and it is foolish to deny the fact that death can be avoided. There are people who try to live much longer than their allotted time. New scientific approaches and research are...
Introduction Tragedies in a book or movie may portray men as worse than they are in real life, while comedies portray them as better. In a tragedy, the protagonist finds himself in a dire situation; in a comedy, he finds himself in a favorable one. According to Aristotle, tragic hero...
The main concept of Plato’s cave allegory is to describe the human condition, in which genuine truth is veiled and misleading pictures and information are mistaken for reality. Plato describes the narrative of a person who is led down the Gnostic road in the allegory. This allegory depicts the state...
Daoism is a religion-philosophical indigenous Chinese tradition that has affected the lives of countless Chinese for over 2000 years. Laozi, a great philosopher in the Roman period BCE, is the central figure of Daoism (Van 54). Most people believe this thinking to be a religion, yet it does teach us...
Introduction Existentialism is a very peculiar discipline of the school of thought in terms of its historical context. Its periods of active development and popularity paralleled the civilizational era of technical progress, full-scale and technological wars of annihilation, and unhuman state systems. These factors formed the very freedom-loving basis of...
Introduction Privacy of life and emotion, personal freedom are fundamental things for the modern democratic world. However, when describing the ideal political regiments in his Republic, Plato shows a view different from the contemporary interpretation of the free and just democratic republic. The Ancient Greek philosopher argues that, while ensuring...
Introduction In the field of political philosophy, the question concerning the compatibility between two theoretical frameworks, namely liberalism, and pluralism, has been vividly discussed and taken to the center of the debate. Despite the lack of a clear answer to the question of whether liberals should be pluralists and if...
The Tree Puzzle The tree puzzle is a well-known philosophical paradox that can be approached in diverse ways. Solving it requires engaging in complex decision-making processes based on the definitions of reality. The puzzle itself illustrates the extent to which perception influences the truth. Moreover, it refers to the human...
Introduction Scholars have discussed the most difficult aesthetic topic since Aristotle’s Day. The former believes that objective standards exist for judging the aesthetic worth of craftsmanship, whereas the latter believes that all perfection assessments are subjective. Martin Gardner was an outspoken supporter of the objectivist concept, stating that perseverance was...
It is necessary to raise the question of the nature of the direction of the criticism of Nietzsche against thinking. Although it is comprehensive and very radical at first glance, the study allows us to see the ambiguity of such an understanding. Uncompromising criticism is directed primarily against the absolutization...
Epistemology and the Three Models Notably, epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the knowledge’s nature, implications, and limits. Hence, epistemology is focused on whether the knowledge claims can withstand investigation in such a way that individuals can distinguish between simple ideas and factual knowledge (Tavernaro-Haidarian, 2018; Entwistle, 2015)....
Introduction Ideologies of various levels and degrees of influence on people exist and compete with each other in it. One of their leading ideologies at the moment is liberalism. In connection with the frequently arising issues related to the rights and freedoms of citizens, various points of view have been...
Personally, I find Sartre’s philosophical stance on the freedom of an individual very bold and motivational, as it can lead a person to become more proactive. Vaughn reveals that Sartre’s idea that “existence precedes essence” is a vital source of inspiration for those who are willing to take matters into...
Martin Heidegger is one of the most significant philosophers of the 20th century. He made an outstanding contribution to the development of existential theories and is a well-known representative of German philosophy. Studying death as a philosophical matter played a considerable role in the establishment of his ideas. He viewed...
Research the Ethical Theory of Traditional Kantianism Immanuel Kant is one of the major thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment. He is known for his work “Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals,” which provides an evaluation of motivations for action (Kant et al., 2019). The ethical theory of traditional Kantianism...
Introduction Although socialism, capitalism, and communism offer various benefits to society, libertarianism’s strong valuation of individual freedoms, distributive justice, and the protection against state authority interference makes it the ideal form of government. The ideal societies are characterized by free citizens with equal and inalienable rights coexisting within an egalitarian...
Friedrich Nietzsche’s (1844-1900) works had a tremendous impact on the development of the entire philosophical current of the XX century. Nietzsche was a harsh critic of religion; in particular, he viewed Christianity as a disease of the entire Western civilization. In his opinion, Christian moral in its exaltation of eternal...
The Cristian Perspective Despite the advent of science, religion and the Christian faith still play a prominent role in the field of healthcare. In the medical industry, care professionals are responsible not only for ensuring the physical but mental well-being of their patients as well. Christian principles can provide the...
In Apology 28b-30c, Socrates admits that he is not ashamed of pursuing a life that has not put him at risk of early death. The philosopher’s convictions hinge on the rational premise that it is worse to “live as a bad man” and not consider justice when taking action (28b)....
Nowadays, death is an integral part of the life cycle of any person, which will meet everyone in one day. However, there are different times, various circumstances and reasons for death, so most people are afraid of this day in their lives and their friend and families. This fear is...
Epistemology, Metaphysics, & Reason Rene Descartes is one of the world’s most famous philosophers that influenced the way people see the world and make meaning out of it. Many of these theorists’ ideas were considered to be authentic and radical. For instance, he was the first one to question human...
The contemplation behind Nietzsche’s philosophy projects the meaning of values and their importance to existence. Regarding nature, Friedrich Nietzsche emphasizes that humans are at a development stage that is not final but transitional. Subsequently, living can never become too complacent or gratified with their accomplishments without putting their claim of...
Torture has always been a tool employed by people to extract vital information from individuals that possess important knowledge or simply humiliate them into submission and despair. Historically, torture was used as a means to receive confessions from criminals and witnesses (Hoadley et al. 248). Only recently did it disappear...
In his well-known work titled “The Allegory of the Cave”, Plato makes use of diverse means of expression to teach a moral lesson regarding the relativity of everything that an individual may perceive as common truths. The philosopher uses a deep cave with almost no light as an allegory for...
Introduction The physical tangibility of material reality and the extent to which it is dependent on the personal perceptions of an individual is, perhaps, one of the most contentious topics that have been discussed throughout the history of philosophy. In the famous dilemma of a falling tree, the question of...
The Republic is a book written in 370-360 BC by Plato, the renowned Greek philosopher. He constructed the reading in the form of the dialog between his teacher Socrates, whom he respected much, and Socrates’ counterparts Glaucon, Adeimantus, Polemarchus, Cephalus, Niceratus, and Thrasymachus. In this dialog, which starts from the...
European and a number of other contemporary societies may be called a direct or indirect product of ancient Greek culture. In ancient Greek philosophy profound ideas about the relationship between knowledge and opinion, truth and logical error, and dialectics as a method of cognition were formulated. These ideas served as...
The purpose of this paper is to summarise the arguments presented by Theodore Dalrymple in his rather lengthy philosophical article and reflect on them, providing my own opinion. The author begins by mentioning how insignificant he feels in comparison to the shocking and devastating events that transpire regardless of his...
Socrates brought a philosophy from heaven to earth, and estranged it from nature, revealing a spiritual, metaphysical field. In the era of universal fermentation, the fluctuations of philosophical, moral, religious, and political beliefs and traditions, he pointed to human self-knowledge as the source and beginning of real knowledge and philosophy....
Argument Critics of the Marxist approach comprehended art as a form of social production and realization. For them, it is not an intellectual, idealistic phenomenon but an instrumental social practice. A genuinely revolutionary artist, therefore, always deals not only with a work of art but also with the means of...
The human mind is a complex machine; which humankind has studied for hundreds of years. Thousands of scientists tried to de-code the sophisticated nature of emotions and the overall nature of humans. The concept of ‘natural goodness’ is not new to the philosophy, as it was discussed actively during the...
Introduction Boethius, the writer of ‘The Consolation of Philosophy’ was a Christian philosopher of the 6th century in Rome. It should be noted that, Boethius was executed by King Theodoric the Great; after being suspected to be conspiring with the Byzantine Empire. It can further be argued that his work...
Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes was a famous philosopher from England whereby he dwelt much on philosophical ideas in politics. He was born on the 5th day of April 1588. Hobbes was very instrumental in developing some political theories which were mainly geared towards protecting the sovereignty and rights of citizens....
Concept of Human Nature Considered by the State The concept of the human nature is an important part of the political theory because concepts, suchlike state, liberty, freedom, and others are discussed with a view to relations of human beings and a state. Sometimes a living organism is even presented...
Rene Descartes was a remarkable French philosopher whose contribution to the development of modern science and philosophy can be best of all proven by such titles as the Father of Modern Philosophy and the Father of Modern Mathematics that are traditionally ascribed to him. There is no doubt that it...
In “On Denoting,” by Bertrand Russell (1905,) Russell presents fundamental statements in such a way that show the reader how they must make a series of deductions while considering built-in assumptions. He creates formulas to show how we analyze even basic statements as being true or false based on multiple...
Introduction The Cosmological Argument for the existence of God, as propounded by Thomas Aquinas, hinged on the five general principles. This, in Aquinas’ masterpiece was entitled “The Summa” (The Five Ways). In what follows, we would be critically discussing the first, second, fourth and the fifth pillars of his argument...
The scientific revolution profoundly changed the ways in which people thought. It was difficult for many to accept this change. Today scientific ways of thinking are as accepted and taken for granted as traditional ways of thinking in the sixteenth century. What might a future change in the ways of...
John Calvin due to the several aspects of his approach to philosophy can be correctly identified as Augustinian. The teachings of the Catholic Church on free will and predestination are doctrines postulated by the Doctor of Church St. Augustine. Calvin also focused on these doctrines as the center of his...
“Ignorance is Bliss”, is a famous saying from many different cultures. They say the more you know, the more aggravated you will be. To know whether ignorance is truly bliss is the common theme of the two readings, Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” and Voltaire’s “The Good Brahmin”. In...
A possible thesis of this reading is ‘personal identity is flexible on a number of levels but remains based on a solid foundation of rarely changing principles.’ The author says, “if you are like me and you have a strong attachment to the belief that we persist through time …,...
Introduction Miracles are something that human beings always want to believe in, but what scholars, philosophers, and scientists try to dismantle. In other words, being a purely religious phenomenon, a miracle is doubted by those who actually doubt the very essence of religion and the fact of the existence of...
Introduction Aristotle’s and Plato’s philosophies disagree on many issues. One of the most common issues of this disagreement arises when we examine their different perspectives and school of thought regarding issues in ethics. Many conflicting views can be recognized when we look at their different works related to ethical theory....
There is a great debate throughout the course of history as to what the concept of knowledge ought to refer to. A great amount of literature has been written on this controversial topic with scholars and philosophers pitting their impressive brainpower towards a possible definition of what knowledge is. However,...
Introduction Free will is the ability of one to choose a course of action with his/her own control. It is the ability of people to control their action with out any external influence from another party. Those who believe in free will take various positions about this very broad subject....
Thesis: Kierkegaard claims about absolute choice, which on being a realization of freedom, means a choice of not this or that, but self in the eternal meaning. In Fear and Trembling Kierkegaard wrote: “If faith cannot make it a holy act to be willing to murder his son, then let...
The Nicomachean Ethics is Aristotle’s best-known and significant work that defined his ethics. This writing includes ten books that were initially introduced as separate scrolls and are believed to be based on his lecture notes at the Lyceum. Aristotle was one of the last great Greek philosophers and the heir...
Introduction The question about whether a tree falling in the forest makes a sound when there is no one to hear it is a philosophical puzzle, which has elicited unending debates in various circles. As Livingston argues, humans need coherent answers to archetypal patterns (12), and thus the answer to...
The Socratic Method is a particular way of teaching and learning, which originated in the V century BC in Athens. The method entails engaging in a structured debate to uncover more accurate meanings to concepts. In the debate, the teacher does not provide the students with undeniable factual knowledge but...
The new understanding of the world in Renaissance consisted primarily in the fact that the thinkers of the Renaissance began to relate to the problem of human completely differently than Christian theologians. Christian theocentrism was being replaced by Renaissance anthropocentrism, when a person, personality problems become the center and goal...
There are many different arguments for the existence of God and against it, most of which have been criticized heavily and logically deconstructed since their inception. Blaise Pascale, a famous scientist, and philosopher proposed a model for faith that is based on rationality. He claimed that belief has a higher...
Introduction As an essential set of traits, virtue is perceived as moral excellence that defines the extent of the humanity of oneself. It is a common phenomenon studied by ethics, a branch of philosophy. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, made a significant contribution to examining this ethical phenomenon, as he is...
The socialist revolutionary, Karl Marx, singled out several socio-economic formations in history and considered the patterns of their development. Slavery, feudalism, capitalism, and communism aspects were discussed by this scholar. Marx revealed the economic contradictions inherent in capitalism, pointing to the inevitability of the transition to the next formation. This...
How Does Nietzsche Use Comparison to Make an Argument about Love? The exploration of love as one of the most complex feelings experienced by people requires a detailed analysis of the effects that it produces. Thus, the degree of power that love can give a leader can be identified and...
Plato’s “Euthyphro” is a written dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro that discusses the meaning of piety as a virtue. Generally, piety is considered to be the fulfillment of duty to a higher power and humanity. Euthyphro is regarded as a highly pious man who chose to legally prosecute his own...
Determinism is a well-established school of thought, arguing that all actions performed are entirely determined (hence the name) by psychological, biological, or other causes. Thus, all actions are entirely rational and could be explained. Sometimes it also precludes free will, since if all human actions are determined by their experience...
Introduction Thomas Samuel Kuhn is one of the most famous proponents of scientific revolutions. He influenced academic as well as social circles by postulating a term that is widely used today, the paradigm shift. This is after claiming that the scientific revolution does not follow a linear or a continuous...
Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest and most recognized spiritual leaders globally, was born on the 2nd of October, 1869. Gandhi became instrumental in fighting for India’s independence using non-violent means as well as championing for his people. His methods of attaining freedom inspired many across the globe, as this...
By applying psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to religious studies, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung attempted to accurately describe the advantages and disadvantages of religious beliefs. According to the views expressed by Freud in his The future of an illusion, religious belief can have several positive implications for an individual...
Since time immemorial, scholars and philosophers have been trying to explain the relationship between mind and body and the origin of mental and physical phenomena. The major theories exploring the mind-body problem can be divided into two major categories of dualistic and monistic theories. Notwithstanding the width of the gap...
The elements of moral dilemmas The elements of any moral dilemma are the following. The act Talking about the moral dilemma, we consider the moral act to be any human act made on the basis of one’s knowledge and with regard to one’s free will. It is always performed consciously...
The definitions of right and wrong are a fluid subject. Over the course of history and the evolution of human ethics, the concept has undergone significant changes. Many religions around the world are thousands of years old. They have participated in the formation of the society as we know it...
Introduction Revolutions are an integral aspect of political evolution in the society. The success or failure of such a movement is dependent on the conduct and capabilities of the leaders and the masses. To this end, it is important to analyze the roles of these two parties with respect to...
The celebration of human reason in science began in the 18th century. The period was also known as the Enlightenment, and the works and achievements of its brightest representatives such as Luigi Galvani, Voltaire, Erasmus Darwin, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Immanuel Kant changed the lives of millions of people. It was...
Introduction The greatest thinkers living in different periods of human history have always tried to understand the real nature of appropriate and inappropriate things that a person can do. Therefore, there is a range of theories that are devoted only to the ethical norms of modern society or make attempts...
Introduction The rule of law is a subject of practical philosophy that has always been of high interest to philosophers willing to arrive at principles of pragmatic governance by either separating empirical applications of sets of rules governing human action from the pursuit of ends valuable in the moral sense...
