SEM2 MTRM1 PERSPECTIVES

Sola Scriptura (Luther)

by scripture alone

Sola Fides (Luther)

by faith alone

Imputation of Righteousness (Calvin)

Christ endures wrath of God, seen AS IF righteous

Medici (Machiavelli)

ruling family of the state when Mach wrote The Prince

Virtù (Machiavelli)

intellectual skills such as strength, intelligence, decisiveness required to shape own destiny

Fortuna (Machiavelli)

luck or fortune that could affect human affairs, a ruler must skillfully navigate to succeed

Sovereign (Hobbes)

ultimate authority in a state, created by a social contract to maintain peace and order

General Will (Rousseau)

collective will of the people, should guide the decisions of the state, represents the common good, not individual desires

Inductive (Bacon)

knowledge is derived from observation, experimentation + accumulation of data

Deductive (Bacon)

reasoning start with general principles and moves to specific conclusions

Epistemology

branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge, how we know what we know

Metaphysics

branch of philosophy that explores nature of reality, being, existence, and the universe

Hyperbolic Doubt (Descartes)

Descartes’ method of doubting everything that can possibly be doubted to establish certain knowledge

Indubitability (Descartes)

certain knowledge so certain that it cannot be doubted, free from doubt

Res Cogitans (Descartes)

'thinking thing', Descartes’ term for the mind, which is distinct from the body

Res Extensa

'extended thing', Descartes’ term for the physical body or matter

Cogito Ergo Sum

'I think, therefore I am', Descartes’ statement that his ability to doubt or think proves his existence

Dubito Ergo Sum

'I doubt, therefore I am', another way of stating that doubting proves one’s existence

Rationalist

A philosopher who believes that reason and logic are the primary sources of knowledge, rather than sensory experience

Empiricist

A philosopher who believes that knowledge comes primarily from sensory experience, rather than innate ideas or reasoning

Idealist

A philosopher who believes that ideas or concepts preexist experience, structure and inform reality and experience

Deontology

duty based ethics

Utilitarianism

ethical theory that suggests the best action is the one that maximizes overall happiness or well-being for the greatest number of people (kill 1 to save 5)

Categorical Imperative (Kant)

guiding moral principles in which one actions can become universalized

Hypothetical Imperative (Kant)

a command that tells us what we ought to do in order to achieve particular goal, subjective (ex. If, then statements), no moral ground

A Priori

'“prior to experience”, knowledge independent of experience, known through reason alone

A Posteriori

“after experience”, knowledge that comes from experience or empirical evidence

Autonomy (Kant)

the ability to make one’s own decisions and act in accordance with rational moral principles, free from external control

Bourgeois (Marx)

social class that owns the means of production

Proletariat (Marx)

working class, exploited for labor

Idols

biases or false notions that distort human understanding

Idols - Tribe

human nature’s tendencies (ex. tendency to see patterns in clouds)

Idols - Cave

personal biases that stem from background, culture, experience

Idols - Theatre

cultural biases, inherited from culture (ex. Chinese vs West/Aristotlean astronomers)

Idols - Marketplace

language barriers, imprecision of language (ex. “hot”, “love”)