Confucius reiterates this when he asks "Is humaneness far away? If I want to be humane, then humaneness is here" (52). Zhu Xi also attributes this duality to every human being, from the wisest to the least intelligent (733). In fact, he takes the i Continue Reading...
As a child, Golding's habit of 'thinking' is really a habit of questioning assumptions, while his teachers, friends, and parents do not. His is a broad and humorous use of the word thinking stands in contrast to the notion of thought or philosophica Continue Reading...
(Ng, 1994, p. 93) The philosophy of Confucius was based essentially on that of human relationships expanded to the sphere of the state, and even beyond into the cosmos. Right conduct and proper action among individuals and groups would result in an Continue Reading...
Reality and Knowledge Epistemology (the study of knowledge) has occupied philosophers and laypeople alike for as long as human beings have had a conception of reality and knowledge. Many philosophers, beginning with Plato, have argued that reality a Continue Reading...
SOCRATES' DECISION-defense Before we begin our discussion on Socrates' decision and take a position on this issue, we must bear in mind that philosophy doesn't offer any clear-cut answers to perplexing questions or situations. For this reason, we ne Continue Reading...
The metaphysical constructivists who are successful hardly take the truth of a substantive normative claim for granted. Transcendence In his phenomenological descriptions, Levinas used various accounts of transcendence to refer to the tradition an Continue Reading...
(Leaves, 680) Similarly Whitman informs us: Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems, You shall possess the good of the earth and sun…there are millions of suns left, You shall no longer take things at Continue Reading...
Buddhism and Kant The Philosophies of Buddhism and Immanuel Kant: An Examination and Comparison of Similar Beliefs Major world religions and the philosophies that accompany them are quite numerous. With the help of the internet, anyone can researc Continue Reading...
Realistically Heidegger was at least vaguely a theist, which is rather contrary to the existentialist mind set of humanism, but his point was still existential and in his early work, at least he attempted to clearly deduce a way of stressing the nee Continue Reading...
posteriori, justification is a phenomenon to which a great number of philosophical directions can be applied. After defining the issue of justification, foundationalism and phenomenalism will be expounded for their strengths and weaknesses in terms Continue Reading...
Pure Reason underscores the theory of Immanuel Kant that cognition depends on the employment of transcendental processes, which are contingent of the concept of categories. Kant's categories describe the phenomenon of pure understanding. For Kant, p Continue Reading...
Concepts in the mind such as 'society' can thus have an impact on the real, sensory world but they do not have an independent, tangible or ideal existence. The one exception to Abelard's nominalism is the category of "human beings, whose forms are t Continue Reading...
Speaking about the order of the universe we can shift the speech towards human nature and essence. In performing actions which support harmony, man is doing nothing more but manifesting his nature and realizing his essence. The tool that the indivi Continue Reading...
It is the mind that is the source of ideas, even those which we are very certain of, and not the senses or the imagination. From our mind, we learn about our bodies and every other material thing in the world. In my opinion, Descartes was right in Continue Reading...
Given that archetypes appear consistent across dreamers, the impact that culture has on the meaning of archetypes and dreams, and the fact that mourners consistently have the four types of grief dreams, it seems logical that culture would impact th Continue Reading...
Moreover, Bacon suggests that such false foundations, if passed in time, can only ruin the world. "The Four Idols" of Francis Bacon summarizes an observation of how humans form information in their minds; same subject discussed by Plato in his "The Continue Reading...
The world of matter is real, it is tangible, and it is an essential aspect of our human existence. However, the material universe, according to idealist philosophy, is not absolute; it is not the end. Because metaphysics concerns itself with the ult Continue Reading...
Victorian Philosophical Anti-Rationalism -- the anti-practical and anti-Utilitarian philosophy of Newman, Pater, and Arnold The Victorian era in England gave birth to Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian philosophy of social governance, to the scientific ph Continue Reading...
First, there is the combining of simple ideas into one single complex idea, "and thus all complex ideas are made" (Locke, 213). Humans also have the ability to look at two ideas simultaneously without combining the; Locke calls these ideas of relati Continue Reading...
Epistemology Immanuel Kant's explanation on how we gain knowledge is preferable to that of David Hume. The mind can be compared with the computer in illustrating how the mind gathers and processes information or sense-data from generalizations, whic Continue Reading...
14). Certainly, the vast majority of people in the West have come to think about the world around them in terms of the Greek philosophical tradition, combined with some version of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions. For example, Freiberg (1977) r Continue Reading...
Besides this, one can, as a separate undertaking, show these people later the way of reasoning about these things. In this metaphysics, it will be useful for there to be added here and there the authoritative utterances of great men, who have reason Continue Reading...
Dewey's theory of knowledge approached thought genetically, as the product of the interaction between organism and environment, and knowledge as having practical instrumentality in the guidance and control of that interaction. Dewey termed this app Continue Reading...
It is only through occult understanding that the forms and the archetypal images and symbols can be interpreted. Here we see that the term unconsciousness is very similar to the Platonic ideals and forms. Another aspect that will form part of the t Continue Reading...
Dualism." It discusses the basic idea of the term dualism and why it is rejected by science. What is Dualism? Dualism is the metaphysical principle that there are two substances, i.e., distinctive and autonomous kinds of being, one material and th Continue Reading...
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig is perhaps one of the most unusually named works of contemporary philosophical narrative. The book takes the form of a novel in which certain philosophic truths about Zen are revealed. The Continue Reading...
An excellent example of this principle is the art of cooking. When one cooks, they may follow a recipe. However, if they find in the middle of the recipe that the dish is cooking too quickly, they may have to exercise flexibility and make adjustmen Continue Reading...
In other words, yes he has found doubt in everything, but he now sees that his finding doubt in everything is something. Because he doubts, he must exist! He could doubt everything his senses told him. He could even doubt he had a body. But he could Continue Reading...
With this example, it is not surprising that John Locke is considered an instrument for the right political cause. Aside from the essays that he had written, Locke also has philosophies in the different subjects of life. This includes the role of f Continue Reading...
Social Theory in the View of Phenomenology: Alfred Schutz Who was Alfred Schutz, and why was his work on social theory and phenomenology so important? This is an important question that must be answered here, and will be answered, but there are oth Continue Reading...
If God Exists is Murder Immoral To assert that murder is immoral because God exists is to connect a number of dots, albeit logically, that nonetheless requires discussion in order to be properly understood. As Immanuel Kant points out, God is viewed Continue Reading...
Plato using Socrates as his guide to help illuminate how his view of order and rulership should be defined. Plato's The Republic will be used to demonstrate how the orders of government should be carried out and how society itself is responsible for Continue Reading...
Humanism is an important subject that has been in existence, as a philosophy, since the Renaissance in the 1500's. Yet few know what humanism means, and what it refers to. This paper will provide definitions of humanism, as well as a brief history. W Continue Reading...
Free Will and Determinism What is free will, according to philosophic interpretations? What is determinism -- and how is it different from free will? What do philosophers say about free will and determinism? These questions will be answered in this Continue Reading...
In contrast, the stoic philosopher Epictetus focused upon changing one's mindset to accept the ways of the world, rather than striving to change the world to achieve happiness. Epictetus' tone is far different than Plato's. Rather than focusing upo Continue Reading...
' But I am not simply rejecting this: I am demanding an explanation of how it could be so. How could this intuitive process justify something unless the process is empirical? The a priori is mysterious because we do not have even a hint of a satisfac Continue Reading...
Thus while he does allow for some Aristotelian influence of the value of sensory experience so he does not fall back into a Manichean divide between good and evil, heaven and earth -- there is some 'good' to be learned with the senses -- Augustine's Continue Reading...
Descartes viewed that the whole of human knowledge was a tree, with each part relying on the others for the purposes of functioning - and, in a philosophical sense, validity. The tree's trunk was comparable to physics. The branches Descartes conside Continue Reading...
It is very dark in the cave, and everything, including the face of the person next to them, is in deep shadows. It is never mentioned whether the people are happy or sad, or whether they speak to each other. It is assumed that they speak at least en Continue Reading...
