Philosophy Essays

Therefore, a question is raised regarding the consciousness of the temporal process and whether, it is temporally measurable and extended in objective time (Gallagher and Zahavi, 2012: p91). Phenomenologists, it is argued, are not sold on the use of objective clock time in understanding the time experienced by the human mind.

When one is under the influence of alcohol, he is disinhibited from doing the right things. One’s moral code is lowered under the influence of drugs; it becomes difficult to figure out the right things and values. In some instances and when addiction sets in, it becomes so difficult that one can’t do anything without the use of drugs or alcohol.

As discussed above, a leading question is one that in itself leads to an answer. On the contrary, a neutral question is of the sort that is totally unbiased in nature, does not take sides or is asked with an open mind, and the person asking the question is ready to accept any answer that may or not conforms to the views and beliefs of the person. 

John Locke is one of the renowned liberal philosophers who placed emphasis on individual rights. He developed the theory of natural rights, which he based on the understanding of the natural law. His philosophy has received attention from other philosophers who do believe in the existence of human rights.  

This implies that before taking an action, an individual should first consider that the consequence(s) of the action would be the greatest good for a major population of the people. This stresses the fact that the overall sum of the utilities that are because of action should be better than the overall sum of the utilities that result from an alternative action.

However, even though Descartes’ arguments and skeptical assumptions seem to be reasonable, they lead the exploration into a vicious circle of indefensibility. Descartes' method might be useful for discerning objective knowledge from the deceptive; however, it is not fully rational and objective as long as it is based on such vague grounds as intellectual intuition and doubt which are not objective enough to prove any existence.

Even in the 21st century, the matter has not yet been resolved, with some ideologies maintaining that the disabled are lesser human beings, subject to correction. Others claim that they are human beings and should be accorded every right and privilege as other people, while still, some people will agree with the philosophy that the disabled do not meet the criteria for human beings.

The term philosophy comes from the Greek community. The Greeks used the term philosophy to describe love and hunger for wisdom. Thus, most rational and wise thinkers among the Greek people were referred to as philosophers. According to Soccio, this group of people included both men and women who had wise of their decision-making and curious to know various things in life. 

He considers master morality as covering good and bad where slave morality covers good and evil. Nietzsche is opposed to the philosophies of Plato and Kant in terms of morality. He rejects the idea of Jesus that the weak shall inherit the earth where he states that the only things the weak inherit are leftovers from the strong (Nietzsche 22).

Most philosophers assert that the motive of a person is a significant determinant of whether an action is morally right or wrong while another outline that the intention is a key feature of morally right actions (Rachels 18). Accordingly, others assert that moral right or wrong depends on the existing virtue system while another outline that it depends on the duty owed to the person.

People hold certain beliefs that guide then as to the kind of actions that are morally right and wrong. However, the problem arises when one encounters a situation of moral choice that does not fall within the purview of his or her beliefs as to what is morally right or wrong. Moral philosophy is largely concerned with what makes actions right or wrong but not the kind of actions that are right or wrong.

Charlie Marlow is the main character of the book and represents the author. Marlow is involved in the journey because he is in search of himself. The book majorly identifies the issues that are linked with imperialism. The adventure reveals the torture and cruelty faced by Marlow in his outer journey.

Still, sometimes abortion may be a result of the mortal danger for the mother of the child; the pregnancy may also result from raping – thus ruining the mother's psychics and causing mainly hatred to the unborn children as well. Thus the question is raised, whether it is moral or immoral for a woman to have an abortion?

Moreover, he was an advocate of ensuring that the natural rights of human beings were protected and that these rights could not be trampled on by any other human being. Hobbes developed a methodology that he used to study the connection between human nature and politics and the manner through which it was possible to create a balance between the two so that chaos in society could be avoided.

He argues that a sport is executed according to certain regulations. An individual studies the sport by observing how others go about it. Nevertheless, we proclaim that it is executed in line with such-and-such directions since an onlooker can read these guidelines off from the training and rehearsal of the sport (Wittgenstein Sec54).

He argues that a sport is executed according to certain regulations. An individual studies the sport by observing how others go about it. Nevertheless, we proclaim that it is executed in line with such-and-such directions since an onlooker can read these guidelines off from the training and rehearsal of the sport. 

Every human being has faced situations in life when decisions become difficult and ethical dilemmas haunt a person. Kierkegaard discusses an either/or situation but when the decision is between truth and righteousness, on one side, and lust and passions, on the other, the choice is not difficult. At least, it should not be difficult to make and the choice has to be right.

Since the Marxist ideology encompasses a philosophical method, sociological theory, and economic theory, it has been used to criticize the political economy. The ideology has been employed to in the digital media. To comprehend the current socio-economic disparity, and capitalism contradictions, people have first to ask the Marxist questions. 

More than ever is it evident in Plato, who possessed more of the essence of an advocate and an oracle than Aristotle and was hence encouraged to engage himself more in real situations and propensities. However, in exploring the ideas of both, it is important to consider at all times, not just the broad nature of the city-state of which they address, but as well as the unusual hardships and lures which it had to confront; 

There are also a large number of people who oppose the death penalty because of the cruel and inhumane way it is administered. In this respect, James Coleman observes that the application of the death penalty today in the American judicial system is quite arbitrary and inconsistent (“The Death Penalty: Arbitrariness and the Death Penalty”).

Philosophers like Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, and Mill holds to a different theory over this human issue. Happiness can be analyzed ethically from a subjective or objective perspective. Hence it is not just some sort of feeling.

Films capture the sense of current modes of thought in terms of political, social and economic structure in a given part of society. There are a great number of theories regarding how the media works to reinforce or reject specific cultural attitudes regarding class, race and gender, most of which are based on the theory of ideology brought forth by Karl Marx.

Hegel proved that the unfolding of the world-historical Spirit was itself unsettling to the establishment of a social contract with history in a state of perpetual flux. And Hart rewrote the book on social ethics with his near revolutionary assertion that it is permissible to interfere with others’ rights as an essential precondition of liberty. 

The fourth objection says utilitarianism can justify many actions, which are thought to be immoral. Example- say a terrorist leader is pointing a nuclear weapon at New York and one happens to have his only child and also have a gun at hand. Then shall the person threaten to shoot and kill his precious child in order to save millions of lives? 

This idea has been explored in numerous circles, as it became evident in literature and, particularly visual art as a representation of the greater society.  The postmodern movement, with its emphasis on illuminating the previously hidden or unrecognized sublime, brings ideas of the contrast between the sublime and the visual to the forefront.

Human beings come across concepts behind images in their daily lives. Process of going through visual signs to concepts is non-trivial one. Like conceptual analysis, system thinking is a cognitive activity. It uses concepts to understand referent system in surrounding. In mental model, which is a typically conceptual model that contains intuitive sub-conceptual components, paradox and language are inherent.

Thus education is the production and prevention of changes. (Thorndike, 1912) Starting the discussion about education and its role in the life of every individual it is important to view sketchily the history of educational system development in Great Britain. This will allow giving important clues to understanding perceptions of education in society and the advantages and disadvantages of the system as a whole.

Daoism is based on a short book called the Laozi, later accorded the title Daodejing, meaning ‘the Classic of the Way and its’ Virtue,’ or ‘Way Power Book,’ which has the distinction of being the most translated work in world literature, second only to the Bible. The Daodejing is attributed to Laozi, endures as several extant texts.

This paper is going to examine a few important authors and what they have to say on some of the most striking and important issues of today. Authors taking a religious standpoint look at the issue from a religious angle, whereas authors of Philosophy would look and analyze the issue from a philosophical point of view.

Critical thinking is important since it enables us to effectively solve different types of problem we encounter each day. In general, any information available around us, regardless of whether this information is in the form of verbal, writings, or drawings, are considered a subject of continuous criticism.

The senses and the imagination are part of thinking, but it is only the mind that can exist independently of these faculties. In this context, using his example of the piece of wax, Descartes succeeds in his argument that true judgment depends on the strength of the intellect.

In Dahl’s conception, the exercise of power takes place irrespective of the different situations and possibilities that might exist among and between individuals. For Dahl, the exercise of power must be seen in as an entity within the decision making complex.

It is a paradox that sets off a rubber band effect on the field of science. It pushes and it pulls and it is not always acquiescent. It opens up a can of worms, so to speak, as it taunts the matter of scientific investigation in the process of the possibility that general truths may not be generally true in the long run. 

In Phaedo, Plato presents one of the classic dialogues in Philosophy in which Socrates on his last day illustrated the immortality of the soul using four lines of argument. These are based on the cyclical change between opposites, recollection, affinity or similarity, and the causal power of the forms. 

Marx describes communism in terms of a historical process that, due to its perceived roots in the European past, is seen to be continuing in a modified manner during the authors’ present. In this progression, “The modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with class antagonisms.

For MacCallum the concept of freedom involves a triadic relation - “a relation between three things: an agent, certain preventing conditions, and certain doings or becomings of the agent” and he defines freedom as a condition where “a subject or agent is free from certain constraints, or preventing conditions, to do or become certain things” (Carter 2007).

Critical theory and the limits of sociological positivism have been an ongoing discussion for over a century. Rather than choosing between the methodologies as either/or approaches, these discussions can be entered upon with an eye toward achieving a synthesis of thinking and methodologies that apply to all disciplines with important and scientifically valid results.

The concept of “Noble lie” originates from the implication of “noble falsehood” as described in the Republic of Plato. A ruler could use this falsehood or a fictional narration, which could motivate people of his state to participate in a battle voluntarily. People could be persuaded to believe this story as many poets claimed. First, the rulers and soldiers should be convinced that their education and experiences were simply a dream.

The cause of bad faith is the attempt of a person to be an object. Human being is a conscious being and hence he is nothingness. He wants to cover up his nothingness by becoming an object. So he takes up identity and tries to act like it and by functioning in that false identity he ends up being in bad faith.

One may even argue that those who have supported a powerful centralising inclination in the state, and those who have supported higher authority of the state are normally those who doubt human nature. Thomas Hobbes believed that human beings are naturally self-centred and further claimed that the unavoidable key to this dilemma was total control.

According to St.Thomas Aquinas & Regan (21). human beings are sinful in nature as reflected in their way of interaction with the natural laws.  In his understanding of the natural law, Aquinas underscores the sinful nature of human beings with regards to their treatment of non-believers. He argues that there is a religious persecution that is motivated by the divine laws. He terms this tendency as the most sinful perversion of human tendencies that culminate into sin.  The persecution of heretics and non believers is a tendency that has been instigated by the Natural law. This is therefore, a reflection of  how the  it is the nature of humans to be involved in sin even in the politics human beings participate.

Plato’s Meno is a dialogue between a young man Meno and the great philosopher Socrates. The dialogue starts with Meno and Socrates engaged in a discussion about the nature of virtue. The discussion involves argumentation on the definition of virtue, whether virtue can be taught or acquired by practice, or by other means. 

According to Aristotle, there are three kinds of rhetoric: the deliberative rhetoric (one the aims to establish the usefulness or the harmfulness of a proposed or future action); forensic rhetoric (the kind that defends or accuse, referring to past acts and circumstances; and, the epideictic or celebratory rhetoric (the kind that eulogize or diseulogize, presenting facts or events, particularly the one recommending those who are worthy of praise or blame).

Critical thinking is the process of taking decisions or performing a task with the help of purposeful observations, experiences, verbal or written expressions, or arguments. It is essential in almost every segment of human life. While studying, or performing a task at the workplace or while taking a political, economical, or social decision, critical thinking is essential. Decisions or the actions taken without the backing of a critical thinking may not be proper ones.

These sentences are also called “propositions”, and the knowledge of propositions excludes other kinds of knowledge like procedural knowledge (that is, knowing-how). When epistemologists trying to strictly define knowledge speak of the concept of knowledge, they often use “S knows that p”.

Cartesian dualism holds that one’s intelligence is a substance that cannot be touched or felt physically.  Cartesian dualism focuses on two opposites being able to exist at the same time in space, but coexist peacefully together. This idea does not make a lot of logical sense at first glance, nevertheless, this was Descartes’s legacy.  

But it was the religious ethics of Christianity itself that brought to light the atrocities committed on indigenous people by the Columbian voyagers to the attention of the world (Symcox and Sullivan, 46-47). Priests like Las Casas recorded that brutal history and raised their voices against them (Symcox and Sullivan, 46-47).

In conclusion, life is what we want it to be and how we view it as individuals. We cannot define real happiness or the true meaning of life but our actions contribute wholly to achieving it. Our actions should not be fuelled by our earthly desires and demands, but instead, focus on what affects other people. If trying to get my happiness will affect those around me, it will be nice to consult with them and get their views on the same.

Thus, by submitting a part of our will to this common authority in the form of the laws that govern the state and abides us, we bargain for peace and happiness for ourselves. Thus, the basic notion of formulating laws arises out of the rationale of man—of the common good. It is out of the reasoning and thinking man that laws take birth in the world

As the philosophers were concerned with the functions of things, feelings, and even individuals the idea of these elements performing to their best would have been critically important for them. Therefore, the concept of areté becomes understandable even though it loses none of its complexity when it comes to how the Greeks used the word itself.