Philosophy Essays

It can be noted that it is also noted in Christianity that a body is God’s temple, and it is a duty to care properly about it. However, mainly Judeo-Christian paradigm imposes a variety of limitations connected with bodily issues, usually neglecting its value. The soul is important, the body is flesh simply that will be abandoned after death. It is important to be ascetic.

The major tenets of Hobbes’s philosophy are materialism, determinism, and hedonism.  He was also a mechanist and empiricist. Though Hobbes's philosophy establishes an extremely self-centered image of man, the issues raised by him cannot be taken care of without first accepting his opinion regarding human nature.

One common misconception is that Buddha is a God. This is incorrect because Buddhists do not concern themselves with God or Gods but in Dharma, truth and reality. Another common misconception is that all Buddhists are vegetarian. This is incorrect because some Buddhists chose to be vegetarian to follow the first precept better.

Machiavelli’s discussion in The Prince points out one of the more impactful ideas that he had. He believes that the end justifies the means. According to Machiavelli, for princes and rulers to win power struggles, they must be seasoned in the game of politics. These rulers would find it hard to win if they stick to the high demands of morality.

Those who remain willfully ignorant believe there is a debate to be had regarding the age-old question of ‘how we got here.’  They insist on the Biblical version, and not the scientific theory of evolution holds the correct answer.  The emotion-charged debate generally centers on which version will be taught in the public schools.

Americans overwhelmingly consider both Jefferson and Hamilton to be founding fathers, ones that contributed significantly to the development of this country. Very different in many ways, from their background, through political views and into economic policies, both Jefferson and Hamilton worked hard on developing a government of this country.

Ecofeminists should be vegetarians since the massive slaughter of animals has negative impacts on the ecosystem through the pollution of rivers and the likelihood of reproductive diseases to women. According to Carol Adams, the people with power who are associated with masculinity have always eaten meat.

However, the character and the movie reinforce negative stereotypes about women. Instead of empowering women, the fairy tale story feeds not just one but several destructive fantasies to young, impressionable children, petite girls—these illusions center on the twisted ideal of beauty that forms the foundation of the entire plot.

The reason has long been extolled as the best source of knowledge. Philosophers and scientists have used logic to gain insights into puzzling questions. Ancient people used to think that the sun moved around the earth. One example where reason has led to knowledge is that of Copernicus.

I want you to know why story truth is truer sometimes than happening truth.” (203). O’Brien doesn’t rely on the episode's facts to narrate a true war story where the ‘happening truth’ remains clouded and unclear even to the soldiers themselves. Instead, he has chosen to portray the emotions and experiences of the soldiers themselves. 

Empiricism is a philosophical belief which states that moral judgments can be derived from knowledge, skill, and understanding. It uses facts and data to create moral judgments in contrast to the idea of inherent and intrinsic moral judgments. It is closely related to science as it believes that every idea must undergo a rigorous procedure of observation, trial, and testing.

Socrates and the speech that he delivered at the time of his trial are alive today in their true essence in the form of Plato’s version of the lesson, which is remembered as ‘The apology’. Xenophon wrote the original speech given by Socrates. However, Plato’s performance is still considered to be the most reliable source of gaining information about the history of Socrates.

Plato’s works span an enormous array of subjects. Indeed, his writings through the Platonic dialogues constitute some of the foundational elements of the Western philosophic tradition. Plato’s Apology considers Socrates' trial in front of the Greek lawmakers who have accused him of undermining the Athenian youth through teaching them his wisdom.

Moreover, Haidt concretely indicates that “moral reasoning does not cause moral judgment; rather, moral reasoning is usually a post hoc construction, generated after a judgment has been reached” (814). In Haidt’s paradigm, intuitions are primary in making human moral judgments; moral reasoning only does the labor of a lawyer, which justifies an already taken point of view. 

Justice may refer to the equitable, fair, and appropriate treatment of people under different circumstances. It is a necessary component in the fair determination of conflicts between persons in society. In the determination of how one is to treat others, be it rewarding or punishing, there is a need for standards of justice.

Jean Jacques was a Swiss philosopher – he had a major role to play in the French Revolution as it was his political ideas that mainly influenced the same, along with the growth of nationalism and the theory of socialists. He also made important contributions to music and writing; it is often said that he re-invented autobiography. 

Pessimism is derived from the Latin word pessimist (worst). This is a state of mind with a negative perception of life. Value judgments may differ, but judgments of facts are undisputed. Philosophical pessimism does not mean that one has or cultivated a negative value or that this world is absolutely bad.

The second part deals with the dual nature of man, i.e., the rational and the intuitive. He establishes that neither logical nor intuitive man is ever successful in their pursuit of knowledge due to our illusion of truth. Therefore, Nietzsche concludes that all we can claim to know are interpretations of reality and not the truth itself.

The journey of life is full of transition – change in location, change in time, change in appearance, and a whole lot of changes. “A life transition can be positive or negative, planned or unexpected. Some transitions happen without warning, and they may be quite dramatic” (Coan, 2011).

The fact that life on Earth has been around for millions of years (though recorded history is only a few thousand years old) and that the continuity of life on Earth is due to the Gaia regulating itself is something that appeals to me rather than the primacy of humans as the central point as is the case with the Anthropic Principle.

After foreseeing his demise, it occurs that Marcus Aurelius can only attain a resolved end once Maximus becomes convinced to carry on his legacy and fulfill the rest of the objectives, which would not afford to neglect involvement of the principles the emperor is profoundly invested in to keep in the name of honor over his philosophical achievements and of the glory and light which Rome is foreseen to come by.

She names three cities that have been historically preserved and how a little planning has changed the very soul of these cities. The places in the towns Denver, Seattle, and Albuquerque have been traditionally held to attract tourists and enhance the sense of historical background among the citizens.

Locke believed in living in a state of nature where the natural rights of every individual were respected and it was used to create a peaceful and contented society. He believed humans had an inherent moral understanding of the state of nature and if governed in the right manner by a civil society a state of war can always be averted.

Plato and his writings through the Platonic Dialogues constitute some of the foundational elements of the Western philosophic tradition. His works span an enormous array of subjects. Plato’s Apology considers Socrates' trial in front of the Greek lawmakers. Socrates had been brought to trial by an individual named Meletus who had accused him of corrupting the Athenian youth.

It took centuries for mankind to come to a point where many can easily voice their opinions without having to ponder over the consequences. One should always know where to draw the line. Freedom of expression also needs to have its limits. Two of the masterminds who put forth their work on liberty and freedom of speech were J.S.Mill and J.-J.Rousseau.

Virtues are the characteristics that make what a person is.  Two great Philosophers hold different views of these virtues that have been held in the thoughts of people for a long time. These views show the timelessness of the adage of Confucius that holds dear in China and that of Aristotle’s to the intellectuals who kept references to them. 

Many tend to ignore the two: The political scenario uses the law to set these aspects. While society uses the existing ethics to set their own way of understanding individuals bases their argument on another factor which includes personal philosophies and social position.

An example illustrating Aristotle’s four causes, i.e. material, formal, efficient, and final causes. A good example of a process that illustrates the four Aristotelian causes is the process of refining oil/petroleum products. In refining oil, crude oil is the material cause. This is because crude oil s the material from which oil comes from. 

Epicurean philosophy and moral theory which differentiates between good and bad is clearly based on perception and it is certainly attractive when compared to the ideals of virtue, honour and ethics as presented by Aristotle and Plato. He seems to be the one closest to the ideal of letting people do as they wish or as they will.

Philosophy has always interested humanity but Socrates had a new approach to knowledge, which revolutionized philosophy. He believed in the method of inquiry; he practised the art of attaining the truth through logical arguments. His philosophy took shape when the priestess at the shrine of Apollo at Delphi claimed that nobody was wiser than Socrates was.

The Greek tradition of rhetoric recognizes its subject as an invention. Moreover, the teaching of rhetoric in ancient Greece is concerned mainly with schooling in public discourse.  Because of this focus, a theory of public discourse developed, which formulated a wide-ranging technical vocabulary to define qualities of argument, style, and delivery.  

Zarathustra is yearning for new humanity because presently we are supposedly in a nihilistic society that must be overcome. The idea is that today, there is a crisis of authority in the wake of the “death of God” and man seeks a new idol who will command and provide a new metaphysical foundation for morals. The ubermensch is, for Nietzsche is the new ideal wherein man must overcome man.

Socrates was never afraid of death. Even though he was uncertain about the fate after death, he has never given up his belief in the power of reasons even when the jury threatens him from taking his life. He never believed in leading a mechanical life. He never revealed the truth and never answered the questions of his students.

His contributions to the field of jurisprudence, the philosophy of law and political ideology have been widely acclaimed as well as opposed. One of his leading theories is the theory of integrity as it applies to law and the participants in the legal system and an understanding of this philosophy is important for any students.

René Descartes was a French philosopher, scientist and mathematician; he is at times referred to as the father of modern philosophy. It was his opinion that labour is essential for human subsistence. He also believed that labour differed from primitive food gathering and small-scale hunting as it involved the manufacture and use of tools and weapons.

There are too many ways of knowing that a thinking person can apply in various situations and condition, such that out of these different ways may lead him to either factual or interpretative findings. Man is susceptible to learning and to knowledge acquisition, since the world where we move always introduces something that makes each cell of the mind to an exploratory journey.

Machiavelli’s The Prince is considered as yet the best and the most appropriate basis for rulers of the ancient as well as the modern society. Critics of the traditional and modern society would refer to the book as if it speaks of the best treatise that a ruler should adapt in order to become a great leader.

I was driving on the highway. I had no clue about the directions that guided me I did not know where they were escorting me to, I just kept driving with tears rushing down my eyes I could feel my head exploding and my heart skipping a beat after a beat I almost had a flashback of my whole life I thought this was the end of my life.

Thales, the founder of that branch of philosophy which believes that the principles of matter were the only principles, believed that the principle of all things is water. The implication of this is that Thales was of the opinion that water is the basis and origin of all life and from which all life return to and in fact thought that the earth has water for its bed.

If power were understood only in terms of its repressive effects, the whole social structure within which every member of society is enmeshed, including the operations responsible for its advancement, would not be accounted for. Societal ‘progress’ that results from the efficient distribution of interweaving points of resistance.

Causality is an important part of philosophy. Understanding what causes are helps to understand how the mind functions, how it relates to the body, how it might react or how it might be influenced by other factors. Various philosophers have expressed their views on causality but objection has been raised on Hume's approach to causality.

When discussing the origins of philosophy, the subject immediately summons thoughts of Western philosophy with its origins in Plato’s Greece then its advance to Rome and the European Continent.  Sometimes it conjures thoughts of the Eastern philosophies of Confucius and the like.  The mention of African philosophy does not invoke the same familiarities.

If someone were to do his moral duty and perform an action consistent with ethical principles, then it would not matter if it had negative consequences. Such is the view that deontologists hold -- decisions are made and actions done on the merit of the rightness or wrongness of action and not on the rightness or wrongness of its outcomes. 

Leibniz was born in Leipzig, Germany. He received his Doctorate of Laws at Alder. He became a legal counselor in the court of Mainz. In 1672, he was sent to Paris on a diplomatic mission. In 1676, he was at the service of various nobles such as in the court of the Duke of Brunswick. All propositions assert the inclusion of one concept in another. 

Compared with the Pre-Socratic Philosophers, Socrates and Plato’s contribution to the humanistic Tradition may be seen as a form of paradigm shift. This I maintain on the premise that although both genres work on the foundational belief that human beings are rational beings, who in their rationality possess abilities that enables them to address their own questions.

Modernism and post-modernism are terms used to refer to different aspects of art. These include fiction, poetry, painting, sculpture, architecture, but are not in any way limited to these particular genres and styles. Furthermore, modernism and post-modernism should not be limited to the view of different schools of thought.

I agree with Honore that individual obligation to others is determinable individually with or without the generalized obligation determination. It is the inner factors of rules that separate habits from rules in the sense that such habits may portray repeated patterns of behavior and conduct even though we may not regard them as conduct standards.  

Sophocles presents in Antigone an interesting treatise of justice. Firstly, judgment is rendered based not on man’s law, but moral law, and the latter takes precedence over the former.  Secondly, man’s law, to be a valid instrument of justice, must not be subject to the whims and caprice of the lawgiver but must be restrained and impartial. 

In the simplest sense, mathematics deals with reality from an objective perspective, whereas arts and ethics view it from a subjective point. But the paradox is that the accurate definition of truth or reality depends on the subjects who view it. Therefore, fact appears to be relative and contextual (Alston 25).

The leader uses his/her abilities to socially influence others to perform particular tasks for the common good. The person needs to possess specific competencies that enable him/her to effectively persuade people to follow specific guidelines that he thinks need to be used for success to be accomplished.