Philosophy Essays

What constitutes knowledge and how is it formed? What is the exact origin of knowledge? These are some of the questions that philosophers have attempted to answer in their study on human nature. The topic, however, has brought up so many philosophical arguments and debates with different perspectives rising up to give an account from diverse angles.

Schopenhauer also contends that all nature, man included, is the manifestation of an endless will to life. Humans discover their suffering through will and want for more is what inspires this suffering. I concur with Schopenhauer’s claim that the world is motivated by a perpetual will that pushes people to pursue perfection at all times. 

To begin with, it may be rather suitable to analyze some of the most fundamental elements of the approach that was developed by the latter so that it can be applied to the situation of the former. Thus, when it comes to evaluating the legacy of Immanuel Kant one can not omit one of the major contributions that he made, namely the concept of the categorical imperative.

How can anyone suppose that I am for animal cruelty just because I am a non-vegetarian? These two are independent and separate issues.  Since it is universally agreed that human being is the crown of creation, and all the religions are in agreement on this issue, human wellbeing is more important than the wellbeing of (1) the environment and (2) other animals.

This often includes shifting or changing from one time period to another time period.  As things change as time moves forward, our world still remains the same. For example, liquid water turns in to rain. Rainwater can be collected and frozen into the solid ice form.

Normally, the people who have the belief in this hypothesis, while insisting that perhaps it is a position of faith, however, consider it reasonable. Having the belief of God’s existence, as they maintain, does not resemble having the belief that fairies or Santa are in existence.

Thus, Gretchen says that people memory think the things that have passed through their mind. Therefore, if a person identifies his friend's experiences and that he recognizes him as the person, he sees then his friend is the person he had been with earlier. The identity of a person's real memory and his or her physical appearances identifies a person.

It also considers the nature of human beings and their relationship to the world. According to Leonard &Barry (2009), the aim of the utopian visions of the structure of the society in the future is to create a future society that will be sustainable and that will bring harmony with nature.

The first happiness, pleasure refers to the enjoyment that people seek when choosing to have fun that includes seeking as many positive emotions as possible. It includes pleasure-seeking behavior such as entertainment, being in the company of friends, and having a good time to relax.

The death of these two brothers makes the mantle of leadership of Thebes be passed to Creon. Through the powers of leadership passed to Creon, he decides to honor one of the dead brothers engaged in war and dishonor the other one. In this regard, Creon decides to show a sense of spiritual honor to the dead body of Eteocles and fails to honor that of Polyneices.

Among the most prominent ancient philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are the stalwarts of the Enlightenment epistemic traditions of intricate debates on religious, ethical, and political theorizations, which center on and around several of these topics.

Happiness or felicity is bound to both virtue and man's function in life (Aristotle 1176b). To Aristotle, a contemplative life is the perfect virtue that leads to the happiest life and fulfills man's function more perfectly in the universe. In this sense, one must not perceive that an individual can fulfill his function basing only on contemplation.

Since issues of justice and injustice are connected to governance, philosophers also differ on the best form of governance and about the governors themselves. For example, Plato believes that a city should be ruled by philosopher-kings and the best form of government is a monarchy.

Libertarianists charge that people settle on decisions and aide themselves through a choice-making process and are in total control of their fates. The proposition of determinism appears to disaffirm common encounters, although the hypothesis of libertarianism dismisses occasion causation. Savant Walter T. Stace proposed elective compatibilist rationality.

Examples of moral virtues are humility, truthfulness, moderation, and generosity. On the other hand, intellectual virtues are those personality traits that are required for correct thinking and desired action. He classified intellectual virtues as products such as craft knowledge, theoretical such as wisdom and mind, and lastly practical such as practical prudence.

Hegel (267) refers to the state as a political community where all rules and regulations that govern a state have direct political relations. State leaders are very influential and all decisions pertaining to the state should be made with the consent of its

Apart from Thomas Hobbes, there are others such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau who are the best-known advocates of this enormously influential theory, which has been one of the most supreme theories within moral and political throughout the history of the modern West.

In the case given, Levi’s brain fMRI revealed his brain to be positronic, composed of circuits, microchips, etc., rather than grey matter. However, Levi clearly is able to perceive pain as he suffers from headaches. He also suspects his recent improvement in math, which he attributes to the possible transmogrification of the brain to a positronic one.

This is what Nietzsche explains in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra in the form of eternal recurrences pegged on the two distinct themes of justice and redemption. He adds that the Platonic dialogues spelled out in the Republic or the doctrines of Jesus are highly related because they aim at dissecting human nature and its adaptation to the challenges of life.

Moreover, since then it has caused heated discussions on the topic. The problem is that the theory pretends to be original and unique but in closer consideration, it frequently refers to some principles it denies, which makes the theory non-covering all the required aspects to be fully perfect.

In addition, enlightenment calls for a rational thinker to identify and recognize falsehood presented by a particular situation driving by the ability of an individual to recognize his own conditioning. With respect to the Brave New World, Huxley illustrates how individuals and systemic achieve enlightenment.

Science is the systematic process of gathering information and using the same to advance various aspects of human life. Science is based on the assumption that various processes in the world follow a certain code established by principles and processes (Sugarman, Impey, Buxner & Antonellis, 2011).

The first component requires journalists to search for and provide relevant and accurate information on social, political, religious, or other nature. In this regard, a journalist should always apply to reliable sources of information that can guarantee its veracity. This obliges the journalist to show a responsible attitude to the choice of a source of information.

This is because from Nagel’s perspective, and current discussions always give little attention to the mind-body problem and such a reductionist approach has only produced several analyses of mental concepts (Nagel 1). Clearly all throughout the article, Nagel’s argument is aimed at refuting the wave of reductionism among philosophers.

The phenomenological mind as used in their book could mean either that the mind is phenomenological in nature, or it could refer to a methodology of phenomenology used by the two authors. In this case, the authors intend the latter connotation.

Numerous speculations have been advanced to clarify the relationship between what we call your mind and your brain. They incorporate Jackson and Nagel's journey to oppose recognizing what we call 'mental occasions' with brain occasions, for distinctive reasons, while body problem by trying to answer the following questions. 

The paper argues for the notion that Friendship of Virtue is the only type of association that is founded on the principle of mutual love and respect and which tends to last long because of its getting established on selflessness and sacrifice. This argument is based on Aristotle’s perspective from the Theory of Friendship.

The meditator reasons that if a reason presents itself as to why he is to doubt his knowledge, he will be ready to look for more solid foundations for the knowledge he holds. However, he realizes that if he decides to doubt the foundations of all the knowledge he holds, then that will mean doubting all the knowledge in him.

In my view, civil disobedience can be morally justified and it is, indeed, morally right to disobey some laws if the laws are against the principle of the common good, and if the disobedience will lead to the granting of the hitherto denied rights to the citizens by the government. This view, however, is contrary to the deontological ethical tenet that states that we have a duty to always obey the legally instituted laws.

The world is less aware of the importance of mediation because human beings feel that they have no time to look into their inner minds. Zen Buddhism, especially the meditation techniques put forth by the Zen Buddhist teacher Shunryu Suzuki are noteworthy because they same help to take control of one’s mind and to be responsible for one’s deeds.

Realm of Humans-as-Persons philosophers and theologians have embraced or turned down, one way or another non-ethical and non-theological discussion about the human as ‘persons’ and its role in history and nature. The article enlightens its readers about the need to reform humanities, turning its focus more on the human as a ‘free agent’, and not as a victim of uncontrollable circumstances.

It is eventually the romantic relationships that happen to have the innate magic and substance, which make the otherwise prosaic human existence, so bearable and poetic. In a more generalized sense, romance is the very essence of this universe, and nature manages to procreate and sustain itself only through the power and sway of this mysterious thing called romance.

He insists that humans learn the virtue of molarity through a habit or practicing something for a period of time.  His definition of virtue includes having a socially accepted attitude towards the feelings of pleasure and pain. The view of Aristotle displays a patient and descriptive approach towards the ethical issue of moral virtue.

The paper analyzes the concept of freedom according to Simone and relates it to the definitions of freedom according to great authors like Fyodor, Dostoevsky, Jean-Paul Sartre, Kierkegaard, and Heidegger. The paper makes the conclusion that the authors named above have similar concepts when it comes to freedom.

To begin with, it may be important to point out that constructive empiricism is largely regarded as the main opponent of scientific realism. Indeed, the formed argues that it may not be logical to accumulate knowledge about abstract and unobservable matters, while scientific realism often follows a completely different path.

According to Thrasymachus, justice belongs to those individuals who possess power. Individuals having power frame laws and weaker section of the society need to follow such laws. On the contrary, Socrates even denotes bad laws to be structured by rulers.

The thing that makes a will good or bad is the intention or purpose that is behind it. Inanimate objects like money are good, but once it is used to violate the rights of others then the money is considered evil. This is to convey that our decisions and use of resources must be for the betterment of ourselves and others. 

Emotions are intentional for instance we get angry with someone for a particular action they have committed. Hence there is a purpose and it is absolutely rational. Hume agrees with Solomon that the emotion of anger is caused by an external being of whose thoughts and sensations we have no idea of (102). 

In the book ‘The Absorbent Mind’, Maria Montessori states that she believes that humanity is very far from reaching the stage of maturity which is so very necessary in order to create a harmonious and peaceful community and society by eliminating war. According to her, ‘Men are not yet ready to shape their own destinies;

The succession of speeches begins with Phaedrus who states that the first god was in fact, Love; and that it is because of Love and Love only that men show courage and want to be proven best. Pausanias, after Phaedrus, gives us the difference between common love and heavenly love in an extremely rhetoric speech.

The person feels that the new leadership model gives young adults a framework to add significance in their youth age, so they can feel inspired, spiritually fed, and can exercise leadership skills. The person believes that there is a great chance for our young leaders to create a world, that people are all looking for. 

Sher also talks about other early, well-discussed theories about how blame is related to character, principle, responsibility, and reactive attitudes. But, he does not agree with the Humean theory of how the blame assigned to a person depends on his character. The reasons he is arguing against are understandable and yet it could go both ways.

It is very difficult to define that line that needs to be crossed in order for obscenity to lose its protection from Freedom of Speech. This is when the “slippery slope” argument is generally made.  A slippery slope argument is a logical fallacy that is often used as a premise that if small steps are taken, then larger ones will follow.

Logic and reason are the two most significant characteristics of the Aristotelian theoretical framework, which have been produced in six separate treaties called Organon. The work thoroughly discusses Aristotle’s concepts and methodologies applied in the logical interpretation of the issues, matters, or phenomena under analysis.

Those who want assisted suicide legalized are mainly concerned with human suffering.  Many illnesses cause a lingering and agonizing death for those who at their most vulnerable.  Watching a loved one as they slowly and painfully die is very difficult for family and friends. It’s agonizing to witness and worse for the patient to endure 

The altruistic hedonic system associated with the thought of Bentham and Mill has a number of benefits. It is hard to agree with the values of universalist moral systems because they assume a degree of universality to their moral beliefs which do not appear to occur. Secondly, there are positive reasons to follow utilitarianism.  

Lemos mentioned that there are two types of evidence, conclusive and nonconclusive (17). Conclusive evidence guarantees the truth of the proposition it supports; most of the time, however, evidence for a proposition is deemed nonconclusive in the sense that it does not guarantee the truth of the proposition it holds. 

Life subsequently ends in death, and the reverse is literally impossible. Once gone, gone for good. Notably, the tear and wear of life are caused by the harassments that one exerts on the body could be responsible for his/her death, and one has a social role to play in shaping his life and those of other people in the society.  

Socrates being inquisitive discovered that mind is the cause of all causes and it interacted with the physical world to create an illusion. Socrates reasoning ability convinced him about the afterlife and divinity of the soul. In further life, he concentrated the whole of his efforts in purifying the soul and merging it with heavenly gods.

Computers therefore clearly lack the ability of inference or even form a judgment based upon the processing of input and output. There is therefore the large difference between simulating thinking and actual thinking as computers simulate thinking rather than actually participating in the overall process of thinking.