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.
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.
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. Rationalism was developed by several important philosophers all around the 17th century. Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibnitz are all given credit for developing rationalism. Rationalism is the idea that reason and logic are the basis of knowledge. It says that knowledge is innate, and that it cannot come from sources such as the senses.
Aquinas' argument is an a posteriori argument as it is based on human observation or experience. Aquinas' argument is in favour of 'regularity of succession' - he basis his argument on the fact that things in nature follow certain laws that lead to certain results. For example, following the law of gravity, if we are to drop a glass and it hits the floor, the event that follows is that the glass will smash, this theory of natural laws are seen by philosophers as examples of regularities of succession - events follow scientific laws which are predictable, regular and unchanging. Aquinas' famous example given to explain his version of the teleological argument is one of an archer shooting an arrow. The arrow hits a target even though it does not have a mind of its own to direct in this way, the archer, who is someone with an intelligent mind shot the arrow - by itself the arrow can go nowhere as it does not have a mind of its own, it needs the archer to direct it in a specific direction, and this can be linked with the world and how everything in it, though it may not have a mind follows natural laws, therefore we come to the belief
The idea of Determinism is explored by many philosophers in the construction of arguments against free-will, morality, and liberty. Determinism is a philosophy that claims that all things are causally related to each other and there is a necessity behind every event that occurs and while Determinism as a term wasn’t coined as a term until the 19th century, David Hume explored these major concepts in his Enquiry, delving into the roots of humanity and questioning the truth of human freedom.1 In particular his exploration into human understanding leads him to conclude that there is no effect without a cause and liberty when opposed to necessity cannot universally exist.2 Hume’s discovery, the Causal Maxim, and is generally accepted among philosophers, though it is not enough in and of itself to prove that he fits the mold of a determinist. However, by delving further into his various arguments, I will prove that Hume’s philosophy, mainly the denial of induction and support of causation, follows the discreet specifications of Determinism. Essential to the understanding of Hume’s philosophy is his idea of the universal necessity of connection between cause and effect, though he aptly admits that this connection is unobservable and denies that humans can ever have a true understanding of cause and effect.3 To explain such a broad claim Hume addresses a situation in which causality could prove troublesome by illustrating that God, through an immense causality chain, could be the true author of crime and immorality. This approach at explaining the connection between human criminality and God is deterministic, though Hume quickly halts this explication by admitting that it is outside of the bounds of human reason to understand the will of God.4 Regardless of the incompletion of what would likely turn to the metaphysical side of philosophy, Hume readily admits that it is
Enlightenment, as a historical period, was marked by many intellectual changes and liberal views concerning science and philosophy. At this time, Kant writes the essay "What is Enlightenment", in which he explained his own regards about the philosophical changes and moral obligations of humanity. These ideas were fundamental for the history of philosophy and exposed a clear reference to Rousseau's previous work, who was also a thinker from the Enlightenment period and whose concepts were correlated to Kant's. Kant's text starts with a concise answer to the "What is Enlightenment?" question: "Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed nonage.
1 Virtue Theory, Utilitarianism, and Deontological Ethics Ezra Kapaa ETH/316 July 05, 2011 Larry Frazier 2 Virtue Theory, Utilitarianism, and Deontological Ethics In comparing the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontology one found that they all deal with how one judge’s morality and ethics. These theories all include judging in different aspects, whether it is in the moment, what happens after, or over a lifetime. The ethics and morality behind these theories all deal with what is right, or what is best for the present, then separate paths as the theories work toward the future. With virtue ethics a person strives for excellence performing duties, and acquiring traits that others would admire. With utilitarianism a person makes a decision based on the best results, and what is best for the most amounts of people.
I will also briefly mention Tillich’s practical involvement in the implementation of his ideas in a social context, namely in Alcoholics Anonymous. I found that Tillich alone could have been a philosopher of rank, or solely a famous theologian. His insights into the field of psychology can in many ways be weighed against the ideas of Carl Jung. Tillich’s social pathos included taking part in the workings of Alcoholics Anonymous. Born in 1886 in Starzeddel, Germany, his early years seemed to point him in the direction he was to later take.
Finally, in 1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed by both the British Empire and America, ending the American Revolution. Generally speaking, the three revolutions: American, French, and Haitian had similar events. The American, French, and Haitian Revolutions were heavily influenced by the Enlightenment ideals: liberty and equality. John Locke, an English philosopher, influenced the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution. He declared how all men are born with inalienable rights: life, liberty, and property.
The medieval chapters take a broad, sweeping view of traditions; such as scholastic, spiritual, and political, whereas the Reformation chapters concentrate on individual Reformers, for example, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and Knox. In his first chapter he discusses the beginnings of a new era uprising from the dark ages after which Rome had collapsed. In this new era were many great philosophical and intellectual minds on the rise to create a period of great philosophical advances. The middle ages were a large fusion between Germanic, Roman, and Christian practices that today we gather together as one being known as a feudal society. In the time of Rome’s fall was one of the most substantial thinkers, St. Augustine, whom reshaped the way we think about our world today.