Category: Philosophy

David Hume is a philosopher highly respected for his clarity of thought and constructive use of skepticism. His skepticism, however, did not extend to all the prejudices of his time: I am apt to suspect the Negroes to be naturally inferior to the Whites. There scarcely ever was a civilized . . . Read more

Kant famously attempted to “answer” what he took to be Hume’s skeptical view of causality, most explicitly in the Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics (1783); and, because causality, for Kant, is a central example of a category or pure concept of the understanding, his relationship to Hume on this topic . . . Read more

This paper considers some of the opinions of these men, as given in The Prince and The Republic. (13 pages; 2 sources; MLA citation style) Introduction We can learn a lot about our world from those who have gone before, even if they are removed from us by hundreds, even . . . Read more

This paper examines Section 25 of Transcendental Deduction, contained in Critique of Pure Reason, in detail. (13 pages; 2 sources; MLA citation style. Introduction Immanuel Kant’s work entitled Critique of Pure Reason is considered by many to be one of the most important philosophical studies ever written. In it, Kant . . . Read more

This paper examines the way in which Kierkegaard and Hegel’s writings express their idealism. (10+ pages; 4 sources; MLA citation style. Introduction The dictionary defines “idealism” as “behaviour or thought based on a conception of things as they should be or as one would wish them to be.” A moment’s . . . Read more

This paper discusses self-transformation as described in The Prince and Confessions. (3 pages; 2 sources; MLA citation style. Introduction Self-transformation (or “reinventing” oneself) is not new; it’s been a necessary part of politics of all kinds for centuries. This paper looks at what Machiavelli and St. Augustine have to say . . . Read more

In the Allegory of the Cave Plato represents man’s condition as being “chained in a cave,” with only a fire behind him. He perceives the world by watching the shadows on the wall. He sits in darkness with the false light of the fire and does not realize that this . . . Read more

Throughout history, there has been a concept of a greater being(s) that guided our lives. In the beginning, the main idea was that of plurality and polytheism. In ancient Greece and Rome, there were various gods that were believed to control different aspects of life. At some point, people began . . . Read more

Morality describes the principles that rule our behaviour. Without these principles in place, societies cannot survive for long. In today’s world, morality is often thought of as belonging to a particular religious point of view. Everyone sticks to a moral doctrine of some kind. Morality, as it relates to our . . . Read more

The goal of any philosopher is to find what can only be referred to as “truth.” Truth is the undeniable, that which can be relied upon in any circumstances, obviously the one thing in life that has real meaning. Unfortunately, truth is quite elusive, as philosophers have been going at . . . Read more

Examine the via negativa as an approach to understanding the nature of God. Another word for via negativa is the apophatic way. It comes from the Greek word ‘apophasis’, which means negation. It argues that God cannot be known in terms of human categories. God is beyond all signs and . . . Read more

The roots of civil disobedience exercised today stem from Gandhi’s teachings, philosophy and practices. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a.k.a. Mahatma Gandhi, Mahatma meaning great soul, was born in 1869 in India. Gandhi was a great humanist, a social reformer of fight imperialism morally and non-violently. In the early twentieth century, India . . . Read more

Most people think the theory of evolution was first proposed by Charles Darwin and rests on scientific evidence, observations and experiments. However, in the same way, that Darwin was not its originator neither does the theory rest on scientific proof. The theory consists of an adaptation to the nature of . . . Read more

All the information we have about the world we live in is conveyed to us by our five senses. The world we know consists of what our eye sees, our hand feels, our nose smells, our tongue tastes, and our ears hear. We never think that the “external” world can . . . Read more

In his essay, “Freedom and Necessity”, A.J. Ayer maps out his argument for Determinism, the idea that humans act the way they do because of the way already existing factors in their lives incline them to, and not of their own free will. These already existing factors are known as . . . Read more

Socrates was a teacher and a very wise man. He was very controversial because of the way he approached things. He often questioned people to get his points across. In the Trial and Death of Socrates, he is charged with impiety, corrupting the youth, introducing new gods, and atheism. He . . . Read more

The soul or psyché is the non-physical, spiritual or emotional centre of a person. The soul is the element that survives death. An example of the definition of the soul according to the infamous philosopher Plato is outlined in the ‘Republic’ whereabouts Socrates engages in a discussion with Glaucon regarding . . . Read more

Descartes’ main task in the Meditations was to devise a system that would bring him to the truth. He wanted to build a foundational philosophy; a basic structure from which all further intellectual inquiry could be built. It was essential that his foundational beliefs were sound. If any one of . . . Read more

In Plato’s dialogues, Euthyphro, Apology and Crito, Socrates demonstrates his belief that “the most important thing is not life, but the good life”(Crito 48b). Socrates believed that a good life is equivalent to one that is just and honourable. The good life is also one where the beliefs and morals . . . Read more

Wolf’s basic thesis states that there is a relationship between female liberation and female beauty: “The more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, the more strictly and heavily and cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us…During the past decade, women breached the power structure; . . . Read more

Aquinas, Anselm, Paley and Kant all famous philosophers, have proven that god exists; yet people still question God’s existence. As Anselm said, “We are like students who, unable to solve a mathematical problem, are given the answer to it and then discover they can reason out why that answer is . . . Read more

Hume accepts that the problems of philosophy are those Descartes isolates; he rejects all of Descartes’s solutions. Hume asks the question how does the mind work? What are the principles that the mind follows when it thinks? These questions are answered in Hume’s “ Enquiry concerning Human understanding” section II. . . . Read more

Restorative justice facilitators today are taught to cringe at the word “retributive”. We learn that retributive justice is the antithesis to restorative principles, and is a necessary evil at best. However, the logic behind this assumption is flawed, and hence not conducive to the optimum restoration that restorative justice ideally . . . Read more

Seven men have come to stand out from all their counterparts in what has come to be known as the ‘modern’ period in the history of philosophy: Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant.” Essentially these modern philosophers, with perhaps the exception of Kant, have been classified into two . . . Read more

In The Apology, Socrates talks positively about an instance in which he committed an act of civil disobedience, but in The Crito he argues that civil disobedience is not an acceptable option. These two claims are irreconcilable. Although Socrates claims that civil disobedience is never alright, he insists he would . . . Read more

I have no single philosophy for life, but rather three philosophies. Each of which has a different meaning. My three philosophies include the following: work hard, take pride in myself and the accomplishments that I make, and also everyone is on this planet for a reason. In the following paragraphs, . . . Read more

Late in his life, Socrates went around the marketplace having discussions with the countrymen. He believed that if someone claimed to know what X was then they should be able to define it. So he would usually ask a question such as, what is X? Socrates would not be pleased . . . Read more

In a society that moulds individuals to think in particular ways, it is rare for someone to defy its aimless influence. Aimlessness can be defied only by having an aim. This aim must not be a pursuit of one’s emotions and whims, or of an arbitrary goal one chooses. Only . . . Read more

Many philosophers have argued against the verification and the falsification criterion of meaning, and its challenge to religious language. However, the falsification theory in religious language can be considered “meaningless” since true believers exercise faith, but do not allow any evidence to count against their ideas. Criticism of logical positivism . . . Read more

“Everything happens for the best, in this the best of all possible worlds.” This is a statement that can be found many times within Voltaire’s Candide. Voltaire rejected Lebitizian Optimism, using Candide as a means for satirizing what was wrong with the world, and showing that, in reality, this is . . . Read more

In your class discussions, we learned the basic aspects of Kantian and Machiavellian Ethical standards. I found that it is fairly easy to establish a basic attitude on the subject, depending on how a specific person handles the situations in their life. I chose my preferred ethical standard rather quickly. . . . Read more

But if the mind actively generates perception, this raises the question of whether the result has anything to do with the world, or if so, how much. The answer to the question, unusual, ambiguous, or confusing as it was, made for endless trouble both in Kant’s thought and for a . . . Read more

That history contains errors, will not come as news to a person who has reflected on the topic. The very first history, a Greek one, History of Herodotus, written around 450 BC, likely had quite a number of fictional details so as to effect its purpose.1 Those parts of our . . . Read more

Free will is something that many people don’t realize they have, especially in today’s society. There are a lot of factors that influence our way of living like how we dress, how to talk, what to eat, what to drive and how to think. When was the last time that . . . Read more

Plato versus Aristotle Plato and Aristotle, two philosophers in the 4th century, hold polar views on politics and philosophy in general. This fact is very cleverly illustrated by Raphael’s “School of Athens” (1510-11; Stanza Della Segnatura, Vatican), where Plato is portrayed looking up to the higher forms; and Aristotle is . . . Read more

In an attempt to answer the question “What the law is?” Professor J. L. Austin proposes a “Command Theory of Law”. One way of understanding this theory of traditional positivism is to compare it to the famous empires of Medieval Japan. These empires consisted of a single Emperor, or a . . . Read more

In order to clearly understand why Plato seems to find democracy and the democratic soul so objectionable one must first understand the definition of what democracy means. Platos discord with democracy does not concern the democracy we know today nor does it directly concern Athenian democracy. Rather, it is the . . . Read more

In The Prince Niccolo Machiavelli presents a view of governing a state that is drastically different from that of humanists of his time. Machiavelli believes the ruling Prince should be the sole authority determining every aspect of the state and put in effect a policy which would serve his best . . . Read more

What is Absolute Understanding? Does Absolute Understanding Exist? Absolute Understanding An elephant was brought to a group of blind men who had never encountered such an animal before. One felt a leg and reported that an elephant is a great living pillar. Another felt the trunk and reported that an . . . Read more

The Current Crisis in American Morality: How Big Business Has Contributed to, and Ought to Address, the Crisis In this paper, I argue that several features of Big Business in the United States, and its influence on our society, have caused far too many Americans to stop thinking about what . . . Read more

Does life have a meaning? Life, it might be argued, is the distinguishing feature of all organisms and may most usefully be thought of as involving various kinds of complex systems of the organization providing individual organisms with the ability to make use of those energy sources available to them . . . Read more

W.E.B. DuBois’s Philosophy and Outlook on Afro American Struggle 1. Basic philosophy on ways in which African-Americans could achieve equality. In a meeting, 1906 at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, W.E.B. Du Bois said “We will not be satisfied to take one jot or title less than our full manhood rights. We . . . Read more

Human beings are physical objects, according to Hobbes, sophisticated machines all of whose functions and activities can be described and explained in purely mechanistic terms. Even though itself, therefore, must be understood as an instance of the physical operation of the human body. Sensation, for example, involves a series of . . . Read more

Kant escapes the limitations of the apparent world by viewing it through a strictly rational perspective; Neitzsche also achieves this through the will to power of his original code of ethics. Kantian philosophy escapes the apparent world through reason, void of any influence of the thought of desires, inclinations and . . . Read more

Western Political Thought Midterm: Part II, Question 1 Is Descartes’ idea of the role of the founder/legislator types similar to those put forth by Smith and Rousseau? Indeed, are Descartes’ and Rousseau’s ideas of founders indistinguishable? The sovereign’s role within a government of a state has been debated for hundreds . . . Read more

Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, arose many intellectual thinkers that brought such profound impact in the field of politics, religion and philosophy. Even to the day, their influence can be espied in the many matters of China. Confucianism became the paramount school . . . Read more

In the early times, before the beginning of human civilization and the development of philosophy, people believed in the idea that Gods, who basically controlled every individual aspect of human existence, controlled the world. Some primitive people believed in the idea of Animism, or Hylozoism. (The belief that everything in . . . Read more

In comparing the ethical theories of the Epicureans, Aristotle, and the Stoics it’s found that they possess three separate ideas. These ideas are different in their individual beliefs; yet attempt to accomplish the same goals of creating inner peace and a sense of well-being in their followers. Generally, these three . . . Read more

Humanism is the philosophical idea that emphasizes the dignity and worth of the individual. The term humanism is most often used to describe a literary and cultural movement that spread through Florence, Venice, Pisa, Milan, Rome and other Italian cities in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It involved a revival . . . Read more