The action of duty must exclude the influence of inclination so it may only be influenced by the objectivity of the law and therefore subjectively respected by us as good. Kant then goes on to confront the claim that moral worth is linked to agreeable condition and the promotion of happiness by stating that the moral worth of an action lies in the principle and not the effect of the action. Kant claimed that agreeable conditions and happiness can be brought about by too many other causes that do not require human rationality, and that human rationality is the only place where the “supreme and unconditional good” (P.2) can
For Descartes body and mind were substances, but with utterly different basic natures. According to him, body is extended and unthinking while the mind is thinking and un-extended. He rejected the Aristotelian concept of the body, which is, with its form-matter and actuality-potentiality dimensions, an essentially biological concept of matter. Problem of conceptualizing the mind The mind can be conceptualized from two broad perspectives, viz: a. With reference to internal connections between mental events, and b.
Plato’s Theory Strengths | Weaknesses | Forms or ideas can possess a more profound and reaching reality than material objects that we can touch or see. | He says “our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already…” I believe he is mistaken. It is an allegory, a hypothetical situation, an illustration at best. While this illustration might give evidence for what he is talking about, it is by no means a solid argument that an entire metaphysical and epistemological view of the world should be based off of. | We all have innate knowledge of justice e.g everyone seems to have an idea of justice inside them, even if it is not exactly the same for everyone, but this shows it must have come from somewhere plato says with his forms and how our souls remember roughly what the forms are like.
Plato’s definition of good is not the same as the good we define. By good, Plato means what someone most wants, the purpose of everything and what makes you good and want to be good. Plato believed everything exists for a purpose – that is its good. For Plato, good is eudaimonia and this is what we should be aiming for. It contains virtue, freedom, philosophy, happiness, beauty and courage.
Hard determinism is the theory that human behaviour and actions are wholly determined by external factors, and therefore humans do not have genuine free will or ethical accountability. There are several different supporting views for this belief. Hard determinism is underpinned by the work of Isaac Newton’s theory of scientific laws which is that we are completely governed by these laws. According to these laws one does not have moral responsibility for their actions as they were predetermined by a ‘higher power’. Hence why, natural laws such as gravity and motion assist in forming the basis for the cause and effect that fills the discussion of hard determinism.
Kant argues that only one fact is undisputable, and that simply is that there is a moral law in existence, which then leads to the existence of God. He said that everyone can detect with there senses a moral law existent in the universe and therefore they have a obligation to follow it to reach the highest form of good which he called ‘the summum bonum’ (is Latin for ‘highest good’). Kant says something’s are naturally good, and to do them would be defined as good will, and to have a good will is to do ones moral duty, we don’t act out of compassion or love, we are just doing our duty. Actions should be performed as our duty not out of motive. He said morality was innate; a part of us (a priori), and it was our moral duty to carry it out for good, which must lead to God.
Kant wanted to put good will at the very centre of ethics in which he formed the equation GOOD WILL + DUTY = A MORAL ACTION. Good will is the motive that produces our determination to be good people and our practical reason helps us get there ‘good will, then, like a jewel, will shine by its own light, a thing which has its whole value in itself’. Kant’s moral theory looks at evidence and tells you what ought to be done. Reason is universal. However to act morally then we must be capable of exercising freedom or the autonomy of the will .The opposite of this is what Kant did not believe in and this is heteronomy and that is something is right because its satisfies some desire, emotion, goal or obligation.
The mind/body problem has been troubling philosophers for centuries and in various ways remains unresolved. The common sense view seems is that there is distinction between mind and matter and so the mind cannot be identical with the brain. This is the view that was held by Rene Descartes (1596-1650). Descartes claims that the mind and body are made of different substances (a physical substance and a non-physical substance) and as a result of this they cannot be identical. The problem with this view however is in explaining the interaction between the two.
In “The Meno” the character of Socrates mentions, “correct opinion is no less useful than knowledge” (pg. 343 Plato) only under the circumstance that one “has the right opinion about that of which the other has knowledge, he will not be a worse guide than the one who knows, as he has a true opinion, though not knowledge” (Pg. 343). Socrates here is implying that even if one does not have knowledge on a particular subject, just having a correct opinion on that subject will result in similar outcomes as having acquired knowledge of that subject. He illustrates this idea by imagining a couple of travelers who successfully travelled to Larissa, one with knowledge of how to get there, and one who had “a correct opinion as to which was the way but had not gone there” (pg.
Berkeley was troubled by the opening of the door to atheism and skepticism as a consequence arising from Locke’s argument. Locke’s view proposed that all knowledge rested on the existence of material objects independent of minds or ideas. Locke held that objects produce ideas in our minds, and that our ideas resemble objects in the material world, but some qualities that objects appear to have are not in the objects but depend on our minds. Meaning, material objects may in reality possess measurable qualities, such as size and weight, but their sense qualities such as color, odor, and taste, depend on human perception. Berkeley felt the distinguishing between material objects and the ideas through which we perceive them does not provide