Philosophy Review: Kant, Rousseau, Descartes, Engels, and Freud

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, René Descartes, Friedrich Engels, and Sigmund Freud based on lecture transcripts.

Ring of Gyges

A conceptual ring from Plato's Republic that makes the wearer invisible, used to question if humans would remain honest if they could not be seen.

Autonomy

According to Kant, the state of giving oneself one's own law; true liberty achieved when one obeys reason rather than instinctive pulsions.

Human Dignity

The Kantian principle that humans have an intrinsic worth (dignity) rather than a price, meaning they should never be treated merely as a means to an end.

Categorical Imperative

Kant's moral law: 'Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law.'

Sensible Self (Moi sensible)

The part of the human being that acts according to specific motives, desires, and needs; following this results in being a 'slave' to passions.

Reasonable Self (Moi raisonnable)

The part of the human being that manifests itself by giving the individual the chance to act disinterestedly according to universal motives.

Amour de soi

In Rousseau's thought, a natural and moderate form of self-love linked to self-preservation that is compatible with pity.

Amour-propre

A social form of self-love based on comparison with others, leading to jealousy, envy, and the desire to be superior.

Social Contract

The agreement by which men leave the state of nature to form a political body, gaining civil and moral liberty by obeying laws they set for themselves.

General Will (Volonté générale)

The collective intent of citizens that aims for the common good; laws are legitimate only if they express this will.

Civil Liberty

The freedom acquired in society that allows one to participate in the development of laws and enjoy their protection.

Res extensa

Descartes' term for 'the extended thing,' representing matter, the body, and everything that occupies space.

Res cogitans

Descartes' term for 'the thinking thing,' representing the soul, mind, or consciousness.

Methodical Doubt

A voluntary tool used by Descartes to eliminate all uncertain beliefs (senses, dreams, etc.) to arrive at an absolutely certain truth.

Cogito

Derived from 'Cogito, ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am); the first certainty established by Descartes, proving existence through the act of thinking.

Clear and Distinct Ideas

The criteria Descartes uses for truth: an idea is clear when it is evident to the mind and distinct when it cannot be confused with other ideas.

Historical Materialism

The theory (Engels/Marx) that the material and economic conditions of a society determine its social life and ideas.

Means of Production

The lands, machines, factories, and tools necessary for producing goods.

Bourgeoisie

The social class that owns the means of production in a capitalist society.

Proletariat

The social class that does not own means of production and must sell its labor power to survive.

The Unconscious (L'inconscient)

For Freud, the reservoir of repressed desires, pulsions, and traumatic memories that determine many human thoughts and actions.

Id (Le Ca)

The unconscious reservoir of primitive pulsions and desires in the Freudian psyche.

Superego (Le Sur-moi)

The interiorization of parental and social interdictions and moral rules that acts as a judge or censor.

Ego (Le Moi)

The partly conscious part of the psyche that mediates between the Id's desires, the Superego's restrictions, and reality.

Sublimation

The process of transforming an unconscious pulsion into a socially valued activity, such as art or productive labor.

Pleasure Principle

The psychological drive for immediate satisfaction of desires and the avoidance of pain.

Reality Principle

The psychological capacity to accept external constraints and defer immediate satisfaction in favor of long-term goals.

Lapsus

A 'slip of the tongue' where an unconscious desire manifests itself by betraying the speaker's hidden thoughts.