PHILO 2nd periodical exam

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

An Italian Dominican friar and priest, an influential philosopher and theologian, and a jurist in the tradition of scholasticism from the country of Aquino in the Kingdom of Sicily, Italy.

Human beings

Have both an intellect and a sensory system that work together to provide us with knowledge of the world around us.

knowledge

Is acquired through a process of abstraction, where the mind extracts universal concepts from particular instances that are perceived through the senses.

Intellectual knowledge

Is more important than sensory knowledge, because it is through intellectual knowledge that we are able to understand the nature of reality and our place in it.

Aquinas believed that beauty is closely connected to goodness and can be understood in the context of three key properties:

Integrity, Proportion, and Clarity

Clarity (Claritas)

Beauty is marked by a certain clarity or radiance, often described as "splendor." Beautiful things shine or radiate a special quality that captures our attention and admiration, and this radiance can be pleasurable to behold.

Proportion (Consonantia)

Emphasized the importance of proportion or harmony in beauty. Beautiful things have a well-balanced arrangement of parts that relate to each other in an aesthetically pleasing way.

Integrity (Integritas)

Something is beautiful when it possesses a sense of completeness or wholeness.

The Argument from Motion

Whatever moves is moved by someone else. Consequently, there must be a first mover that created this chain reaction of motion.

The Argument from Efficient Cause

Because nothing can cause itself, everything must have a cause or something that creates an effect on another thing. Without the first cause, there would be no others. Therefore, the first cause is God.

The Argument from Necessary Being

Nothing came from nothing. This means something must exist at all times. This is God.

The Argument from Gradation

Everthing in the world varies in how good and comples it is. It’s like a ladder with simple things at the bottom and more complex things at the top. There must be a “Perfect being” at the very top of this ladder, and that perfect being is God.

The Argument from Design

All things have an order or arrangement that leads them to a particular goal. This implies divine intelligence on the part of the designer. This is God

Goal of human life according to Aquinas

To know, love, and be united with God.

Virtue

Is based on knowledge of metaphysics and natural philosophy, necessitating an understanding of truth about ourselves, God, and nature.

Happiness

Described as the supreme contentment of mind achieved through the exercise of virtue.

Generosity

Highlighted as the key virtue that encompasses and regulates other virtues and passions.

"Cogito, ergo sum"

This famous Latin phrase means 'I think, therefore I am.

Concept of dualism

Which distinguishes between the mind ('res cogitans') and the body ('res extensa'). The mind is non-extended and immaterial, while the body is extended and material.

Doubt and Skepticism

Descartes used these as tools for his philosophical method.

Doubt

Questioning everything, even his own existence

Skepticism

Applying this to our opinions and beliefs allows us to critically examine their foundations.

Reason

Can reveal what is truly good for us as human beings, which he defined as virtue

Virtue

Is a steadfast resolution to use our will wisely in all circumstances.

David Hume

A Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, historian, economist, librarian, and essayist, who is best known today for his highly influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism.

Rene Descartes

A 17th-century French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. Revered as the founder of modern Western philosophy.

Davide Hume

He believed that our feelings and emotions are a big part of making moral decisions, not just logic.

 Impressions

Are direct, vivid, and immediate sensory experiences

Ideas

Are faint copies of impressions.

Problem of induction

Challenging the rationality of making general claims about the future based on past experiences. Hume argued that there's no rational justification for assuming that the future will resemble the past.

The bundle theory of the self

Hume proposed this theory and suggesting that there's no enduring, unchanging self, but rather a bundle of perceptions and experiences

 Moral Sentiments

Hume said that when we decide if something is morally right or wrong, it's because we feel either good or bad about it. Our emotions, like when we're happy or upset, guide our moral judgments, and our thinking about what's right or wrong follows what our feelings tell us.

Empirical Basis for Morality

Hume believed that our moral judgments are derived from our experiences and observations of the world. He argued that we form moral beliefs based on our encounters with various actions and their consequences.

Moral Relativism

Hume's ethical view tends toward moral relativism. He believed that moral judgments are contingent on individual and cultural sentiments. What is considered right or wrong can vary from person to person or from one society to another. This perspective challenges the idea of universal moral principles.

Subjective Beauty

Hume said that beauty isn't something that's built into things; it's more about how each person sees and feels about things. What's beautiful to one person might not be beautiful to another because it depends on their personal views and feelings. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Utility in art

Hume thought that art should have a point beyond just looking pretty. He believed that art should be useful by making you feel emotions or teaching you something about how to be a good person or how society works. So, art's value isn't just in how it looks, but in what it does for your mind and feelings.

Critical Phase, the Constructive Phase, and Belief.

In these three branches, he explains his ideas and compares and contrasts his views to those of his predecessors

Philosophy of ReligionPhilosophy of Religion

In his writings on religion, particularly in "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion," Hume expressed skepticism about religious claims and the existence of God.

Treatise of Human Nature

Was Hume’s attempt to formulate a full-fledged philosophical system. It is divided into three books: Book I, “Of the Understanding,” Book II, “Of the Passions,” Book III, on morals, characterizes moral goodness in terms of “feelings”

Soren Kierkegaard

Danish theologian and philosopher and “Father of Existentialism"

Example of Kierkegaard’s works

“The Concept of Anxiety” (1884), “The Sickness unto Death” (1849), “Fear and Trembling” (1843)

Aesthetic life

Characterized by pursuing pleasure and immediate satisfaction without a more profound sense of purpose or value.

Ethical life

In contrast, is marked by personal responsibility, committing to moral choices, and living in alignment with enduring principles.

Faith

Is not a matter of external knowledge, but rather a personal and subjective commitment.

Leap of faith

Refers to believing or trusting in something without objective certainty, often concerning faith in God. According to Kierkegaard, it embodies the tension between doubt and belief, a central aspect of the religious experience