These advancements were most likely the basis for a sudden philosophical argument: What do we truly know? People wondered whether science was really giving us knowledge of reality. The quest for the answer to this question led to the development of these two schools of philosophy. Two of the most famous philosophers of epistemology are Rene Descartes and David Hume, the former being a rationalist, and the latter an empiricist. In this paper I will attempt to give an understanding of both rationalism and empiricism, show the ideas and contributions each of the men made to their respective schools, and hopefully give my personal reasoning why one is more true than the other.
Heraclitus’s greatest claim in his theory on metaphysics is that the LOGOS is the key to understanding everything. This idea of the LOGOS was one that Anaxagoras expounded on, in particular “all things were one.” (Mckirahan 196, Fr. 13.1) In this paper I will address the ideas posited by Anaxagoras as they relate to Heraclitus’s ideas in their respective metaphysical theories. Moreover, I will focus on how Anaxagoras elaborated and in a sense corrected Heraclitus’s view on the nature of being. Anaxagoras’ ideas are in many ways similar to that of Heraclitus; however, there are some deviations that I will highlight in contrasting each philosopher’s theory on the nature of what is.
Philosophy in the Real World-Philosophers Kant and Nietzsche Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche are two admirable philosophers from different times with many contributions to philosophy. The purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate the key concepts and analyses that comprised each of these philosophers theories, identify and, describe each philosophers contributions to philosophy, describe how the culture and the time period each lived in influenced their ideas, and compare and contract these philosophers thoughts with that of their predecessors. After reading this paper we hope that a deeper understanding of both Kant and Nietzsche is acquired. Kant provided many great theories to philosophy, one of Kant’s key concepts to the idealist philosophy was on time and space has been noted as his best theory. The idea that time and space are merely conditions of our own animalistic instincts combined with intuition and life experiences opens the door to explore ideas of why humans seem to be in such a rush.
Russell says that the value of philosophy must be primarily sought (p.18). According to Bertrand Russell, “Philosophy aims primarily at knowledge, the kind which results from a critical examination of the grounds of our convictions, prejudices and beliefs (Perry, John, Michael Bratman, and John M. Fischer, p.18).” It cannot be said that philosophy has had a very great success in its attempts to provide definite answers to its questions. Although philosophy is unable to tell us with certainty what is the true answer to the doubts which it raises, “Philosophy is able to suggest many possibilities which enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom.
Many literary critics interested in philosophy have found in Emerson's thought the origins of American pragmatism, and philosophers from around the globe who value the active mind more than systemic philosophical exposition continue to respond enthusiastically to the two sides of Emerson that Buell identifies: the democratic idealist and the anarchic provocateur. In addition, Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience, which hangs on a transcendental understanding of self-reliance, helped to inspire the movements of peaceful revolution set in motion by Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Futhermore, Whitman's radically cosmic belief in the unique grandeur of every self and every mindis Romantic vision of a universal oversoul connecting slave, whore, president, and preacher all alike through a daily sharing in the erotics of experience, as expressed in Leaves of Grass (1855)mounts to the first philosophically significant statement of tolerance and multicultural acceptance in American
Why or why not? Immanuel Kant is one of the great philosophical thinkers in his time. He developed a lot of theories that are still in practice today. Categorical Imperative is a concept that is essential to the philosophical concept in the moral philosophy. The wise Immanuel Kant in his quote said that humans should be treated as an “end in itself.” One might read this and wonder exactly what Kant try’s to portray in these words.
Marcos Galan Jr. 2/16/12 My Comparison Between John Locke & Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were two of the utmost political and philosophical theorists of their time and ours. Both philosophers each provide marvelous philosophical texts on how our government should govern us. Both contributed their ideas to the Enlightenment and made an impact all over the world. John Locke’s ideas influenced the United States Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers while Thomas Hobbes’s ideas refuted England’s parliament. Notions like these have sculpted governments throughout history and still hold true in our current times.
Following the scientific revolution, a new way of thinking was born. This new approach, known as the Enlightenment, sought out new ideas about government, economics, religion, and education. The Enlightenment, also known as the age of reason, reached its peak in the mid 1700’s and brought great change to the world. The ideas of the Enlightenment were based on that of philosophers; men who analyzed the divine rights of monarchs, union of church and state, social equality, and the idea of a more democratic government. Men such as John Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Voltaire, and Beccaria were the main people whose ideas influenced the Enlightenment and the birth and independence of the United States.
Conclusion The history of todays psychology has been influenced by many important people throughout time. Philosophers been the door opener to psychological theories by proposing questions regarding the mind and the body and how the two been connected and related to each other. If these men and women had not made such progress, psychology may never have been considered an actual. And since the world advances, it will be interesting where new ideas and theories will take
The following passage from Eudemian Ethics (1235b 13-18) allows us to better comprehend Aristotle’s impression of philosophy, which in turn leads to a better understanding of how he reviews and resolves the aforementioned problem: We must adopt a line of argument which will both best explain to us the views held about these matters and will resolve the difficulties and contradictions; and we shall achieve this if we show that the conflicting views are held with good reason. For such an argument will most closely accord with the agreed facts; and it will allow the conflicting views to be retained if analysis can show that each is partly true and partly false. Ultimately, Aristotle tries to “preserve obvious truths of common sense” while attempting to justify what we see in philosophers paradoxes. To discredit them, he separates the discreditable conclusions from the authentic notions they were built upon, thus disarming the effectiveness of the arguments. The first and most obvious place to look for Aristotle’s view on relativism is Metaphysics I’.