Essays on Philosophy

Hume and Bergeson were philosophical scientists who are remembered for their contributions on humanity nature. Bergerson’s philosophy advocated for the fact that a person has a free will, which is conceived within their hearts. The basis of their decision is therefore based on what they feel rather than what they see. The imaginative nature of humanity is responsible for all creative that is seen in the world. Hume on the other hand emphasized the ...

Reflection as a student

As a student, this was quite a hard task to accomplish. First of all, it sought to look at an issue that could be considered to be abstract; an issue in which one understands it but it is quite hard to explain exactly what it is. It was confusing even to start on how to research and the kind of information to incorporate. More so, there was no much information on the same, which made the writing quite a problem.

Another challenge was that the issue ...

Theory of justice is one of the political philosophy and moral works that has been developed in the twentieth century. It is very influential work of John Rawls’s which has great impact. In this theory, John attempts to develop a philosophy; in this philosophy he generates political structures which are intended to preserve individual liberty as well as social justice. In this attempt, John tries to counteract the predominant theory which explained that justice is intended for the greatest number of people to provide the greatest good. Therefore in this theory John looks into a person who is ...

When Socrates was asked to suggest an alternative to his death sentence, he said he should be given free room and board for life, just like the Olympians.  Unfortunately, the 501 jurors deciding his case didn’t agree, and Socrates was executed by poison in 399 BC.  The charges? Corrupting the youth and not acknowledging Athen’s gods. 

No doubt the charges were trumped up and Socrates was executed for his radical philosophies that criticized the practices of the Athenian elite and attracted a following that included throngs of youth.  He saw politicians as corrupt, full of pumped up ...

The Five Guys Burger and Fries restaurant chain was opened in 1986 serving only handmade burgers with a single location in Arlington, VA. It was opened by Jerry Murrell together with his four sons, who still run the business to date. Today, the business has expanded to more than 1,000 locations in 47 states and six provinces in Canada (Burke, 2012). The firm’s mission statement is aligned to the philosophy that if you plan to sell hamburgers and French fries in the restaurant industry, which is already concentrated with competitors, you have to ensure that your hamburgers ...

The best way to learn, as is well known, is by reflecting and regurgitating on any new information that have been learnt or acquired. This strategy helps the learner to gain a deeper insight into the concepts that have been newly learnt, and also improves the individual’s ability to apply these concepts. This essay looks at my reflection over the concepts learnt in this module. These are as discussed in the essay below.

It is well known that man is a social creature. Therefore, it means that there must be social studies aimed at understanding this social nature. ...

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay entitled “Self-Reliance” is one that praises the notions of non-conformity, stating that only the brave ones have the power to say no to the hypnotic influence of the masses. When a man believes in himself, knows what he must do and gives his voice enough potency to be heard, he has the power to live a rich and fulfilling life, simultaneously revealing spiritual and philosophical essence of life itself.

As one of the major philosophers of the movement referred to as Transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson delves deep into the notion of the human self, ...

Hypothetically, evidence and theory are alike. However, they are not the same in practice. Evidence-based practice has acquired eminence over most theoretical techniques in a number of fields, particularly in the sphere of health care. Both practices share the mutual objective of making the correct decisions and finding the most efficient solution for an identified difficulty. However, the two practices posses some underlying philosophical distinctions (Gilles, 1998).

Features

The distinction between the two practices can be traced to an ancient rift frequently found in philosophy and science, rationalism versus empiricism. Rationalists claimed that their senses are limited and that they ...

Understanding oneself is the way to happiness. Philosophy as taught by Socrates helps people turn inwards and in the process better themselves. Socrates apology is an account of the speech he made in a trial when he was being charged with not recognizing the gods that the state recognized. Instead, according to his accusers, he invented new gods and corrupted the youth in Athens. This speech is, however, not an apology as the modern meaning of the word suggests. The word apology in the speech is derived from the Greek word apologia that means a speech made in defense ...

Keys Ideas by Aristotle

The idea of causality, Aristotle “Four causes” theory shows us the different reasons for the existence of something. The four causes allow us to define what material cause is, the efficient cause, formal cause (essence) and final cause (purpose). On the subject of primitive soul, Aristotle imagines the relation of the body to reproduction and nutrition (Green, 2005). In addition, he puts his focus on the immense field of the sensitive soul. Scientists in shaping their explanations about the origin of the universe apply this theory. On the contrary, theologians apply the same theory in justification of God as ...

The ethical quandary in Robert F. Ladenson’s Friends and Lovers presents a situation in which one member of a group of three friends, Claire, must make a decision about how to deal with information she has received intimately concerning her other two friends, Tony and Beth, who are engaged to be married. Tony has revealed he had a brief affair but asked Claire to keep the fact a secret, and Beth has asked Claire if she thinks something is “going on” with Tony. Claire’s decision on how to deal with the situation will differ depending on what ...

I believe that in order to become a professional nurse, it is necessary to understand why this occupation is important and what exactly it means for the person. If a future nurse doesn’t consider these questions, it can often result in overall dissatisfaction with the work, which will turn into burdensome routine. I don’t want to find myself in such a situation and I know that I won’t, as I have clear understanding of what I want from my life in general and from my work in particular. In this paper I will ...

Introduction

In order to sufficiently define post-modernity, we need to look at the meaning of modernity since it is the predecessor to post-modernity. Modernism simply refers to a capability of moving forward and making some progress towards a given goal. Most of the theories that led to modernity rested on personal goals whereby each person wanted to maximize his/her interests and minimize the rate of dissatisfaction that they could be exposed to. Modernity can also be used to refer to the post industrial era which had several developments taking place. In order for a person to be fulfilled in modernity, ...

Introduction

Studying Philosophy of Communication has been of great importance to my life. My communication skills have been enhanced and updated. My interpersonal communication skills have been sharpened and I can now interact creatively and interpretively with the society. It has equipped me with effective communications skills that allow me to care and interact with my family and the society effectively. Studying Philosophy of Communication has provided me the opportunity of learning new and efficient techniques of solving problems. In addition, I have acquired communication skills that will assist me to address various human issues.
Philosophy of Communication provides students ...

As an essential milestone not merely in the Ancient Philosophy’s history, however correspondingly for the determining of the theory of western politics, contemporary principles, distinctiveness and responsiveness, the Apology by Plato has been for several years a rudimentary book in the prospectus of conformists, historians and academics. As this paper goes to demonstrate, the Apology ought to be observed as an indispensible manuscript for those who target having an Ancient Greek knowledge of philological and philosophy
Within the preceding years, a few moralistic methodologies and primers to Plato’s discourses for the usage of Philosophy as well as ...

Karen Moore is the HR director of a multinational company, QuestSource. The company has an office in Shanghai, and her Chinese counterpart is Tsang Yao, a pleasant, even-mannered man. While initially, Moore is pleased with the hiring and performance reports from China—believing that Tsang is doing a good job—she is later infuriated to learn that most of the hired employees are Tsang’s relatives. She takes this matter to her supervisor and the chief operating officer of the company, Daniel Young, who admonishes her for showing a lack of awareness regarding Chinese work culture. This paper analyses Moore’s reaction to this situation by understanding her perspective and that of the company and forwards an opinion on the situation.

If one were to contemplate on the basic pillars of ethical work culture in western civilizations, the foremost answers would be integrity and ownership to one’s work place. However, the veracity and applicability of these ideologies are questionable as almost all western civilizations have capitalist economies, which means that the people in an organization and the organization are primarily interested in monetary benefits. This is a rational approach in any business. However, the fact that financial gains are linked to ethics, raises concerns if ethics can be—and has been in certain cases—compromised. In the era when western philosophy flourished and developed under Socrates and his fellow philosophers, the commercial matters within a nation were only considered by the artisans and traders. The administrators and educators of the nation were never concerned with money matters, as they was considered to be a hindrance to mind development and thus, unethical (Singer 1993). While the basic tenets of western philosophy are based on the work done by the philosophers of that era, the civilization today most certainly does not follow the same system. Unethical and unfair occurrences are hardly unusual in the business world, and one can conclude that this is due to the nuances of human character. For example, Steve Jobs would have never been dismissed from an ethical Apple Inc. in its lean times—an organization that he had helped created (Steven 1994). Thus, this paper abides by the opinion that in organizational decision-making, leaders should thoroughly consider the situation before instinctively reacting to it. Moreover, as globalization has now firmly established itself as a trend that affects the way people conduct business, this attitude becomes even more important. Leaders—like all people, or perhaps even more—have certain mindsets and opinions they firmly adhere to. In a globalized world, shedding a certain mindset and adapting a new one along side or by eliminating the old one becomes very important for sustaining leadership.

In this case, Moore was swayed by her western ideologies of work ethics. Western business ethics recommend the application of transformational leadership, where the leader displays a high degree of integrity (Barret 2011). Thus, she was naturally angered by the fact that Tsang hired several of his relatives as employees within the company. She failed to consider and reflect on the reason behind his actions. She did not question him about his actions either. Her blind belief in the notion that Tsang was guilty of nepotism held her from analysing the situation. Furthermore, studies on the differences in the approach of Chinese and western managers have shown that Chinese managers tend to display a high degree of idealism and relativism (Dolecheck and Dolecheck 1987) (Trompenaars 1997). A greater degree of relativism implies that Chinese managers tend to discard widely accepted rules of morality for circumstantial needs of the organization, and thus, their ethical approach to decision making reflects a relativist attitude. A tendency to display idealistic behaviour among managers suggests that they believe that attractive results can always obtained by taking the “correct” or “good” path in a situation (Cleary 1993) (Wangdao 1997). Such managers focus on the compassionate and philanthropic aspects of a situation for making decisions that have ethical concerns. This ideology is consistent with the teachings of eastern or Chinese philosophy, where Confucius advocates that all actions should ethically focused on elements such as benevolence and compassion (Cleary 1993) (Wangdao 1997). Therefore, Moore should have considered the following facts before approaching Young:

Are Tsang’s reports about the performance of the employees incorrect?

Was the Shanghai subsidiary incurring a financial loss or was the growth rate stagnant?
Although he was hiring his own relatives, was he confident about the hired personnel’s skills and abilities?
Was the fact that working in a place where most people already knew each other actually enriching the work environment and thus, encouraging performance?
However, her failure to consider the cultural differences between her own western ideologies and the Chinese ones affected her views and actions as a leader. Young, on the other hand, was aware of the Chinese system and work culture, and he correctly admonished her for reacting in ignorance to these facts.

References

Barret, D. (2011). Leadership Communication. New York: MacGraw-Hill Irvin.
Cleary, T. (1993). The Essential Confucius: The Heart of Confucius’ Teachings in Authentic I Ching Order. San Francisco: Harper Collins.
Dolecheck, MM and Dolecheck, CC. (1987). “Business Ethics: A Comparison of Attitudes of Managers in Hong Kong and the United States”. The Hong Kong Manager. April–May. pp 28–43.
Steven, L. (1994). Insanely Great – The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer That Changed Everything. New York: Penguin Books.
Singer, P. (1993). How are we to live? Sydney: Random House.
Trompenaars, F and Hampden-Turner, C. (1997) Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business (2nd ed.) London: Nicholas Brealey.
Wangdao, D. (1997). Understanding Confucius Beijing: Panda Books.

Hundreds and thousands of philosophers have been working on creating a clear and understandable model of the world around them.Undoubtedly, this process is endless and as soon as any purely computational picture appeared, it would promptly become a part of another model (mythology, scientific theory, ideology, someone’s world out look etc.) In other words, it would be absorbed by more complicated and complete model. While philosophers and other scientists keep on broaden their horizons, other individuals are doing it in their own way. (Mosser, 2011).
Informal logic appears to be the most efficient way to make the process ...

Socrates, being an ardent thinker he was, uses every statement that Meno says in disapproving him and refusing his answer. In each instance, he introduces something else and thinks through it together with Meno. He asks relevant questions according to what Meno gives out as a definition of virtue. In this analysis, two of the definitions that Meno gives as definitions of virtue are analyzed. This includes the second definition where Meno defines virtue as the power to rule over others. The third definition given by Meno is the power to acquire subtle things. In both cases, Meno genuinely ...

William James is considered as being one of the American pioneers in the field of philosophy and psychology. His works covered a wide range of areas including educational psychology, mysticism and psychology of religion. Two of his writings which gave him a great recognition are the Principles of Psychology and Psychology: The Briefer Course. He was part of the proponents of pragmatism philosophy and functionalism in psychology. This paper aims at analyzing the contribution of William James in epistemology. Many prominent views in the modern epistemology and pragmatist approaches to epistemology are reflected in most of the writings of ...

Politics is one of the building blocks of any society in the world and no one can dispute its contributions to the health and competitive development of a society. In an ordinary context, politics can be defined a process by which people organize themselves through social relations with an aim to gain authority and is characterized by ideologies leading to collective decision-making. Politics are swayed around through philosophical influence usually controlled by a politician or politicians if they more than one. Like, politician is defined as an individual who actively participates in politics and administration and is usually engaged ...

Introduction
Utilitarianism is a principle that the moral worth of an action is determined by its usefulness in maximizing utility and minimizing negative utility. Utility is the pleasure, preference satisfaction and knowledge. The moral worth of an action is determined by its outcome. In this study we are going to compare Mill, John Stuart’s work 'Utilitarianism’ and Kant, Immanuel’s work 'Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals.' The study will also come up with findings based on the comparisons if the end justifies the means.
John Mill’s account on Utilitarianism is primarily influenced by Jeremy Bentham ...

It is hard to imagine that in our modern society, which is so materialistic, down-to-earth and at times does not trust even proved facts, a lot of philosophical ideas procreated in ancient times still remain very important and influential. Most of them are based on the substances that cannot be touched, heard or even seen, nevertheless, more and more people are involved in solving philosophical issues.
Metaphysics is one of the most disputable branches of philosophy that bothers people all over the world, apart from their social status, gender or age. As the matter of fact, many of those ...

Alfred North Whitehead

Alfred North Whitehead was born in 1861 and died in 1947. He is well acknowledged as one of British academic developers of the twentieth century. Basically, he was a logician, mathematician and philosopher and is greatly known for his work in philosophy of science and logic in mathematics (Victor, 1985). He contributed and pioneered in reasoning different logics through demonstrating how mathematics may be derivative from few ...

Transcendentalism has been regarded as an American philosophy and idea that states that both women and men have knowledge about their existence and are conscious of the world around them, in a manner that transcends their senses. According to Brodrick (2010), the knowledge of self and the environment is realized through either imagination or intuition and not through the senses or logic. Reuben (2011) regards transcendentalism as a spirituality and state of mind that prompts the person to go outside his/her senses, shun corruption, and materialism, and gets united with nature.
This ideology started in the 19th century. Some ...

5.0 Methodology
5.1 Research Philosophy
“As suggested by Remenyi et al. (1998), there are several major questions that require significant consideration by researchers such as „How to research?‟ and „What to research?‟ But central to the researcher‟s answers is their perspective on „Why research?‟
This refers to the systematic search for knowledge, existence, and reasoning. It involves an establishment of facts to both new and existing knowledge and behaviour. Research philosophies are aimed at addressing the objectives of a study rather than the research methodology itself. Whatever research philosophy you select, it will begin with certain assumptions. These ...

Not many thinkers in the history of the western civilization have been more cited than Plato. For the most part of the middle ages, the majority of lines of thought were developed around his philosophical arguments. Either to defend him or to contradict him, the new ideas could not get rid of his influence. Christianity was almost uniquely influenced by the works of Plato until at least the thirteenth century .
One of the most important parts of Plato´s works is his theory of Ideas. This was an attempt to make a distinction between two things that were his ...

Photography embraces various aspects of Art, which affirms that it is a form of Art. Artworks virtually develop their ideas through photography. It is apparent that photography employs high levels of Artistic elements and expertise. Furthermore, photograph conforms to the philosophical definitions of the art proposed by popular philosophers such as Socrates, Tolstoy, Wilde and Plato among others. The paper analyzes the concept of photography in line with the argument that photography is an Art.
The philosophical beliefs argued by popular philosophers such as Socrates, Tolstoy and Wilde firm that photography is an Art. Socrates argued that Art is ...

Gottlob Frege was a German philosopher born in Wismar, Pomerania. He made a significant contribution in logic and philosophy that was later noticed by other philosophers like Bertrand among others. The basic discussion of the meaning of the Frege’s aspects is the distinction between the reference and the sense of a certain expression (Carl, 1995, p. 56). Frege came up with distinctions as ways to solve puzzles concerning empty names and statements. For instance, ‘the morning star is the morning star’ can be said to be uninformative and compared to ‘the morning star is the evening star,’ which ...

One of the central questions of philosophy has always been a debate as to whether or not humans are free to make their own choices, or whether or not the causality of the external world affects are ability to make choices. This question is important because it underlies the centrality of what it means to be human and how culture is constructed. If freedom to make choices exists, then institutions such as prisons are just, because they punish on the basis of the assumption that someone who has committed a crime was acting freely and of his own violation. ...

Spellbound (2002 film)

Spellbound is a 2002 film that focuses on the efforts of eight teenagers to win a spelling competition. The movie centres on how culture plays an important role in shaping language skills of the children as well as their parents and teachers. All the children that participated in the competition came from different backgrounds and school and received varying training. The determination they had as well the support they received from their parents, siblings, other relatives and teachers. Apart from the simple fact that the movie is entertaining, it has more of an academic touch whose audience are the ...

In order to get a clear picture of how Plato would respond to this dilemma, it is important to establish the facts about this case. A woman named Lisa Krawchuk qualified for welfare assistance because of her low income. The welfare authorities required her to report any changes in her income for the period that she received the benefits. She agreed to that condition, reported an increase in her income after her husband got a part-time job and the welfare office reduced her payments accordingly. Lisa failed to report that she was benefiting from a student loan and the ...

St. Augustine Confessions

The confessions of Saint Augustine take us through the life of transformation for a Christian. The time comes in the life of an individual to make crucial decisions for his or her life, which maybe contrary to their previous believes. As a child grows, they learn a lot from their parents and more especially the mother, who happens to be close most of the times. However, as the child brows, he/she is exposed to a different environment with more compounded influences. For instance, Augustine grew up in a Christian background with his mother imparting Christian values into his life. ...

Throughout the history of Western civilization, people have asked themselves questions about how to lead their lives and achieve happiness. Major philosophers have debated this idea, arguing for different ways of orienting their lives, commenting and criticizing their precursors in the process. Two of the most important of these thinkers were Aristotle and Immanuel Kant, who both drafted different ethical theories, while staying within the boundaries of what is considered standard in the Western philosophical tradition. Specific differences in their contexts lead to major dissimilarities in their theories. However, both theories have aspects which may be considered correct, and ...

A person needs to remember President G. Bush world economic speech when he said, and I quote” Competitiveness does not mean protectionism. However trying to improve quality and productivity at home” to understand the scope of Deming’s philosophy in the success of cooperate life. Traditionally, most companies used to apply performance appraisal practices in order to archive their goals. Thanks to Deming the founder of the current management elements who sometimes is fondly referred as, and I quote the “Messiah of Management”. According to the global economic research studies that have been conducted in the recent years, most ...

Both the theologian James Cone and the existential philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre looked at the world and were unsatisfied with the status quo they experienced around them. This dissatisfaction led them to know ideas and perspectives with which to see the world. These ideas resonated with others, which gained them the notoriety they have today as important philosophical/theological figures. The Public Broadcasting service (PBS) did a profile of James Cone in its series “This far by faith” which explains how the social and political tides at the time shaped his view of the world and his ideas for how he ...

The Allegory of the Cave describes the shadows on the cave wall, which was taught to the prisoners as he reality since birth. It also depicts humans as prisoners of their own body.
Plato wants to tell us that the prisoners who were inside the cave believed that what they see on the cave wall is the reality that in fact, it was just the reflection coming from the fire and objects behind them. When one of the prisoners was released and witnessed what the reality looks outside the cave, he realized that shadows were just illusions.
Plato plays ...

The civilization of ancient Greece centered on the Aegean Sea, the region that today includes Greece and the western part of Turkey. Ancient Greece was not a single country ruled by one person. Ancient Greece consists of numerous city-states that share a common language and culture. About 800 B.C. Greeks began to form ‘polis’ or city-states throughout the country. Each polis has its own government. Some city-states had a few thousand inhabitants, but some city-states such as Athens have a total population of 250,000. City-states were set up as far from Greece as France and Spain. There were ...

Research and nursing are inseparable. Different health issues will arise from time to time leading to confusion among practitioners. Some conditions will only be understood through execution of ample research. Research is mainly carried out when the professionals in a given field are not aware of a given element that arises. Nursing research is usually sensitive, and it requires consideration of unique procedures known as paradigms and methodologies. The paradigms must be defined in line with the cultural safety of the chosen methods. The paradigms address cultural safety in different ways through excellent consideration of philosophical, ethical, and cultural ...

Philosophy

Plato has provided several arguments on immortality. He has described the immortality of soul. Most of his arguments are, however present in Phaeodo-Socratic dialogue, The Meno and The Republic. Regarding immortality of souls, there are four arguments in Phaedo. The arguments are known as the Cyclical Argument, the Recollection Argument, the Affinity Argument and the Final Argument. According to the Cyclical Argument, all the things arise from their opposite, as the opposite of life is death so life has must come from the death. Moreover, Plato has explained that this should be the case and anything else would finish ...

Many philosophers have come up with different definitions of tragedy. However, the definition by Aristotle remains the most comprehensive definition of the term. In his definition, Aristotle lays major emphasis on the terms pity and fear. According to him, these are the two main elements of tragedy. Absence of them means there is no tragedy. In plain words, Aristotle’s definition of tragedy was: “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of ...

PART A

1 a)
Wittgenstein employs the picture theory of meaning effectively to explain many important things in philosophy. In essence, the picture theory of meaning by Wittgenstein is a theory in which he argued that the state of things or the atomic facts could b pictured by a meaningful proposition. Using this theory, Wittgenstein managed to compare spatial pictures with the concept of pictures. In essence, the picture theory is seen as a correspondence to the truth theory. Wittgenstein’s arguments were to the effect that statements can only be meaningful in the event that they can be easily pictured ...

Abstract

This paper presents theory and practice of French sociology in practice after Pierre Bourdieu and the impacts that his work had to sociologist and the society at large, as a preparation for a journal article. It had started by analyzing the life of Bourdieu when young who hardly known in the society who advocated for purely scientific view of sociology and was against sociologically oriented journalism developed by his mentor Raymond Aron. Bourdieu was not known unlike other intellectuals in society of the time. However, him together with his co-writer Jean-Claude Passeron gained instant fame after they wrote two ...

Following a philosophy of life is not only a matter of choice, but also a matter of personal conviction. Not uncommonly, a person might be following a certain system of beliefs without knowing it has a name or that it is even regarded as a philosophy in its own right. However, it is still a matter of principles and choices made through life, and one can live under them and learn that said set of principles had a certain name years after one learns it.
It never occurred to me that the set of principles I have always followed ...

Book review (The Quiet American Dream)

Ethnic Stereotypes: Americans vs. Europeans.
Greene in his Quiet American Dream is vivid about the disparity between the Americans and the British in terms of their conduct. In this case, Pyle is one character that is used by Greene to establish the unruly conduct of the Americans. They are expressed to be untimely. That is; they are not time observant. On the other hand, they are different from the British people who are stern and concerned about what they do. For instance, Fowler, who represents the British, states that he, is not willing to wait upon a policeman to ...

Religious studies

A PHILOSOPHICAL DEBATE
Ever since the beginning of time, Man has strived to discover the secrets of the Universe. From Aristotle to Socrates to the modern philosophers, every curious mind has tried to divulge answers from Mother Earth in order to satiate their burning thirst for the knowledge. Philosophy has solely existed to answer questions related to reality, existence, values, reason and mind. Philosophy has been divided into many subcategories. They include metaphysics, ethics, logic, aesthetics and epistemology. Whereas logic is connected with reasoning, epistemology attempts to garner the nature and scope of knowledge. Ethics refers to the philosophy ...

TWO PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS OF HUMOR

Aristotle’s Mean and Addison’s Extreme:
Two Philosophical Views of Humor
Humor is one of the fundamental aspects of human experiences; as such, it has been studied by many great philosophers. The use of language to produce a humorous effect is somewhat of a mystery, and its particularities could be thought of as unique to the human species. Thus, the definition and characterization of humor is not unequivocal, with different thinkers conceptualizing it in different manners. Aristotle and Joseph Addison are only two of the most remarkable philosophers to study this philosophical problem. Through the analysis of the ...

Rabbi Maimonides is a medieval Jewish philosopher who wields considerable influence on Jewish thought and on philosophy in general. He also contributed significantly to the codification of the Jewish law. His writings and views hold a prominent place in Jewish intellectual history. In the Guide for the Perplexed, Maimonides explores the concept of God and explains the plausible description of God according to Torah. Maimonides also spends significant amount of time in trying to understand the structure and characteristics of the universe. To this point, it becomes important that Maimonides wrote the book before scientific discoveries, so he draws ...

Opposing view: Aristotle versus Plato in Ancient Greece

Aristotle has made more lasting contribution to philosophy as compared to Plato. This statement can be justified on the basis of facts that Plato has envisioned the concept of just society as consisting of three classes, which are the producers i.e., craftsmen and farmers, the military i.e., warriors, and the rulers i.e., philosophers and kings. According to him, each class maintains justice and every class performs its proposed function (Santas, 2010). Such as the the it is compulsory for the king to rule, the producer should produce obediently and perform all the skills he possessed and the military should ...

English

The book written by Waller focuses on ethics and its relation to other subjects such as emotions and reasoning, the importance and advantages of observing ethics. The writer’s primary source of information on ethics is from different philosophers such as Susan Wolf and Catherine Wilson whose argument on morals is the main point of focus.
Wolf discusses that there are two types of saints: loving saints who care about others more than themselves and selfless and rational saints who retain some selfishness and some non-moral values. Other philosophers such as Aristole and Plato suggest that true happiness entails ...

The Meno, one of Plato’s dialogue, is one of the most studied Meno describes the excellence of humans as he answers Socrates with a list of virtues of a man. Socrates is looking an answer of the definition, but Meno is giving examples of virtue. Many Greek philosophers gave theories about the virtues of human beings; what comprises human excellence, in terms of virtues, of people. They believed that these theories were related to the final objective of human beings on this earth, as well as their intention and what incorporates the great life that everybody wants to ...

Introduction

The rule of law (normocracy) is primarily alluded to as the influence and authority of law around a community specifically as a bottleneck upon behavior including behavior of state officials. The origin of the phrase can be traced back to around 16th century where it was familiar to ancient philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes and John Lockes. Definitions of the rule of law fall into two classes: (1) those that underscore the closures that the rule of law is proposed to serve inside social order, (for example, maintaining law and order, or giving foreseeable and efficient judgments), ...

Introduction

The purpose of the following essay is to research one of the central ideas of the Heraclites philosophy – the doctrine of flux, and to argue whether that doctrine undermines the possibility of knowledge. The particular attention is paid to the ideas of the Heraclites` follower, Cratylus, which form the main opposition to the doctrine. The theory is also evaluated through its relation with other ideas and doctrines of Heraclites, like the idea of singularity and the unity of the opposites.
“Everything flows” is one of the most famous sayings of Heraclitus which serves as the basis for a so-called ...

1. Descartes famously begins his Meditations on First Philosophy by considering so-called “radical doubt.” What is radical doubt, and what are the three phases in the argument that lead him to it? What does he believe is the idea that is fundamentally resistant even to the deepest of doubts? And why does Descartes begin his epistemology like this, anyway?
Rene Descartes propounded his theory of radical doubt where he insisted on the systematic process of doubting one’s beliefs in a bid to determine or ascertain that which is indeed true. Descartes, in his radical doubt, advocated for doubting ...

Induction

Induction
The problem facing induction has been a great challenge presented by epistemology to various philosophers, among them David Hume. Since the 18th century, he has raised the induction concern to various philosophers with the aim of finding a solution to the dilemma. Karl Popper, Chalmers among others philosophers played an imperative role in identifying a considerable solution to the induction problem. In philosophy, induction is defined as a form of reasoning that is derived from a particular observation of a phenomenon and draws conclusions from the phenomenon. For instance, it is certain that the sun will rise tomorrow ...

Worldview

Worldview refers to a set of suggestions and proposals that a person holds and deeply influences the life of people with similar believes.
- The followers of Christian religion commonly regard their religion as a collection of ideas that may change their life and follow Christianity as a guideline to interact with society. Followers hardly comprehend their religion as a whole conceptual framework.
- Following are the few examples of worldview narrated by different authors.
- According to James Sire, the concept of worldview is just a conventional set of suppositions that one may hold of this world and ...

The philosophy of the Medieval ages was closely interfaced to theology, and the perspective was based on the relation God - person. However, thus the philosophy had, unlike religions, the functions related to its main property - doubt (in the validity of religious doctrines).
In medieval philosophy, it is possible to allocate two stages of its formation – patristic views (2-8 centuries) and scholasticism (11-14 centuries), so to draw a clear line between them is quite difficult.
Patristic views are a set of theology-philosophical views of the "fathers of the church" who undertook Christianity justification, relying on the ancient philosophy ...

CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE OF PLATO’S ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is drawn from his tremendous works on the Republic. It is literally a conversation that takes place between Socrates and Gaucon. The conversation is categorized into three parts. The first section is the scene within the cave. According to Kernan, the second part of the discourse deliberates on the three stages of liberation and the third creates a picture of the prisoner returning to the same cave.
The scene in the cave is one of gloom and darkness, with prisoner chained and unable to move around, even their heads could only face one ...

In his relationship with Socrates, has Alcibiades been made into a true lover; that is, is Alcibiades now a philosopher. To answer this, love must be defined philosophically or otherwise.
Socrates, in his speech, says that love is a feeling for some object. Love is a desire for an object. Eros is the Greek god of love. The Roman god of love is called Cupid. In his speech, Cupid says that love is a feeling for beautiful things. Socrates philosophically says ‘love’ is not good or beautiful’. He goes on and says that if it were the contrary, then ...

A critical re-examination of Plato's Phaedo argument reveals that learning involves a recollection of prenatal knowledge. Plato`s thoughts on the knowledge that rests upon recollection is brought out through Socrates, his speaker. Socrates gives too much attention to the case of equal stones and sticks which are in most of the occasions viewed as existing without complete success that resembles a Form. Plato takes two different approaches in handling the theory of knowledge. In both the Phaedo and Meno, he presents this theory of knowledge as a recollection (Sedley, 1992, p 312). Plato presents his theory as a ...

Purpose of My Essay

My purpose of writing this essay is to understand the human foundation. Human foundation relates to our choices, our values, and our relationships with the nature and with each other. What does it mean to be human? And, does it mean a free-spirited inquiry? Or. Is it a recognition of the links between what we view in ourselves? Also, human is a concept revolves around economic uncertainty, environmental degradation, striving for democracy and democratic paralysis.
In this essay, we offer a challenge to the person, willing to take this challenge provided with a space. Moreover, we will critically understand ...