University Degree: Philosophy and Theology
980 University Degree Philosophy and Theology essays
- Marked by Teachers essays 5
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Compare and contrast rationalist and empiricist approaches to human nature.
3 star(s)Empiricists use observation, facts and experience to guide them on what can be known. In psychology empiricist believe that all behaviour is explained in terms of learning through experience. Empiricism tend to thrive in England, Ireland and the USA The first modern psychologist, Rene Descartes was also a French scientist and mathematician and had a rationalist approach to human behaviour. His belief was that the human being was made up of two kinds of 'stuff' (this being known as 'Cartesian dualism'), body and mind. Descartes described the body as a machine that has no influence on the mind; he also described it as being a separate entity from the mind.
- Essay length: 1012 words
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How, if at all, does the Cogito help to ground our knowledge securely?
3 star(s)For this reason, it can be said to be very effective at securing knowledge of oneself: even if a sceptic were to claim that the malicious demon could influence the mind as well, Descartes could reply that even if he were to doubt that he exists, then he will still be existing, because the act of thinking requires existence. Moreover, as Descartes points out when he begins to contemplate the evil demon hypothesis, for the deceiver to be effective, there would have to be someone to deceive.
- Essay length: 1690 words
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Outline the arguments for and against life after death?
3 star(s)Dualism is believed mainly in religions such as Islam. Dualism states that the world is made up of two elemental categories which are incommensurable. This includes distinctions between mind and body, good and evil and universal and particular. Dualism supports the claim that each mind is an individual package that is attached to a physical being. From this theory our mental states and actions derive from uniqueness of our non physical substance. The great philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650), proposed several theories that make an important contribution to the ideas surrounding dualism. Descartes' idea of what is called Cartesian Dualism first proposed the idea of the mind and body relationship.
- Essay length: 2843 words
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Does Descartes manage to defeat scepticism and leave room for human error?
3 star(s)Since God is not the source of human error Descartes works on finding an alternative explanation. Descartes says as humans are not supreme beings they are prone to making mistakes. Thus human error is not due to God but due to the fact that they are defects. In other words God has not given me a faculty that makes me go wrong, it is just that my 'faculty of judgement' is finite unlike God's. However it is incomprehensible that a perfect creator does not create something which is perfect. If God has the power to make me error free why does he choose not to?
- Essay length: 1026 words
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What kind of claim is, 'cogito ergo sum'?
Despite being unable to provide any characteristics of 'I' Descartes believes he has established that he is at least 'something', which is an improvement from the First Meditation. After coming to this conclusion, Descartes is confused as to why he has a 'more distinct grasp of things which I realise are doubtful...than I have of that which is true'. In light of such analysis Descartes attempts to show that his concluding claim, 'cogito ergo sum' is unshakably sound and thus one of certainty.
- Essay length: 2583 words
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Cognitive Psychology - Reasoning and decision-making.
If you think about it the other way around, at the problem faced by a little human being, a child, that doesn't know very much at all about anything in our complex adult world, it is difficult not to be impressed at the speed with which he or she assimilates many different types of knowledge, at the inevitable and interesting mistakes the child makes while on its way to eventual mastery of different ideas, and the way in it copes with an understanding of the world that is in a constant and radical state of flux.
- Essay length: 1373 words
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The Two-Part Morality of Machiavellian Politics
is about achieving the ultimate goal: winning "the game of skill" (Adams 214) through whatever means necessary. Berlin believes that for Machiavelli to accept-and even promote-the use of force by rulers as a means to the end, is a result of his belief that force is the only way to achieve the moral end proper to man; in order for the ideal of a perfect patria to be achieved, the ruler must be a physician, ready to burn, cauterize, and amputate (Adams 218) anything that may cause the state to weaken. If the sole goal of society is to promote the welfare of the patria, the sacrifice of a few individuals for the sake of the community is not only necessary, but also justified and "normal" (Adams 224).
- Essay length: 1965 words
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Do we have duties either to animals or to the environment if so on what basis?
According to Kant duties are appropriated through moral law, which is defined by the categorical imperative (1). Kant states that the categorical imperative is influenced by rationality so that a rational being must 'act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.' Essentially what Kant is saying is that in order for a person to be moral they must only act on a principle which they would wish everybody else to be able to do. Secondly the categorical imperative also dictates that humans should be treated as ends in themselves 'Act in such a way that you would always treat humanity, whether in your
- Essay length: 1736 words
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The Motives of Foreign Aid: Ethical or Rewarding?
In order to show clear examples one will be made about a government, the United States' Marshall Plan, and one will be made about an organization, the International Monetary Fund's global capitalist partnership. Body Paragraphs: There are two main reasons why donors provide foreign aid. The simplest one is altruism, otherwise known as the concern for the welfare of others. Many government officials and organizations feel that because of traditions, cultures, religious beliefs and/or values, every human being should have access to basic necessities such as food, housing, health care and education.
- Essay length: 1394 words
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Philosophy - Evaluate Rachels Claims against Cultural Relativism
Cultural relativists view ethics as an entity, which operates within cultures, where every culture has differing morals, beliefs and traditions. This of course means that there are no universal truths in ethics. Thus, a "moral agents behavior is to be evaluated in reference to [their] culture" (Park, 2011) where "what makes an action right is that it's approved by ones culture" (Schick and Vaughn, 2010). Rachels and Rachels (2010), further reiterate this by saying that "if the moral code of a scoeity says that a certain action is right, then, that action is right, at least within that society".
- Essay length: 1513 words
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Plato and Epicurus views on the Best Life
How can we be happy if we constantly worry about things we have no control over? Epicurus states this in his principal doctrine: "It is not possible for a man to banish all fear of the essential questions of life unless he understands the nature of the universe, and unless he banishes all consideration that the fables told about the universe could be true. Therefore a man cannot enjoy full happiness, untroubled by turmoil, unless he acts to gain knowledge of the nature of things."
- Essay length: 1011 words
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Epicurus theorized that what one considers as living a good life is just learning how to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. This is contained in the Philosophy of Hedonism,
Whenever any one of these is lacking, when, for instance, the man is not able to live wisely, though he lives honorably and justly, it is impossible for him to live a pleasant life."(Epicurus 5). Having wisdom provides us with the tools needed to make choices. Epicurus theorized that what one considers as living a good life is just learning how to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. This is contained in the Philosophy of Hedonism, which is that pleasure is the most important pursuit of mankind.
- Essay length: 1231 words
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I Pledge Allegiance to a Monotheistic God. Arguing in favour of using the Pledge of Alleigance in American Schools.
The phrase, "under God", was not added until 1954 during the height of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union (The U.S. Pledge). The United States added the phrase to differentiate itself from the "godless atheistic communistic Soviets" (The U.S. Pledge). Even the original body language of the pledge changed, due to the original "stiff, uplifted right hand salute" comparing to the gesture of Nazi Germany in the time of Hitler (The U.S. Pledge). The Pledge has adapted as the United States has adapted and has begun to distinguish itself as a nation.
- Essay length: 3446 words
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Plato and Descartes. In the works we studied by Plato (Apology, The Idea of the Good, and On the Shadows and Realities in Education) and Descartes (Meditations on the First Philosophy), both philosophers argue that we consist of a mind, or soul, which is
He comes to this conclusion from the two points within his argument that argue God exists. The first point being that we have an idea of God and the second being that the only way to have an idea of God is if God exists. "By the word God I understand a substance that is infinite, eternal, immutable, independent, supremely intelligent, supremely powerful, and which created both myself and everything else...there is more reality in the infinite substance than in the finite on" Descartes deduces that God provided us with a mind and senses that do not deceive, inferring that we can rely on the reality our senses provide us.
- Essay length: 805 words
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Connectionism. his essay critiques the connectionist model, with specific references made to the neurological plausibility of the model, the differences the connectionist model has with the classical theory of mind and the strengths and weaknesses of the
It will be argued that connectionism provides a more suitable conceptual basis for theorizing the mind than classical theory. The connectionist model of the brain has derived from the findings of neuroscience. It has been established that the brain is the part of the body where all cognitive processes occur (Plunkett, 2000). Poersch (2005) describes the brain as a "complex ... parallel computer" (p. 170). The brain is composed of large numbers of densely interconnected neurons, which are separated by a small gap called the synapse. Effectively, information is passed from neuron to neuron via the synapse (See appendix 1).
- Essay length: 2163 words
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The Problem of the Grudge Informer describes a situation that two major philosophical theories of lawLegal Positivism and Natural Law Theorygreatly disagree on.
For them, the acts of the informers were immoral and should not go unpunished, which the Positivists simply don't care about. Thus, as the newly appointed Minister of Justice, I adopt the third deputy's suggested plan as the most logical and appropriate ruling because of the fact that an objective moral order, among other things, must be an integral part of all legal institutions and that the grudge informers shall not go unpunished for their wrongdoings. First, I urge that an additional and better plan could be implemented combining a couple of the steps each of these deputies has to offer.
- Essay length: 1654 words
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How convincing are Platos arguments for the immortality of the soul in the Phaedo?
Hence why Socrates claims that "death is the ideal home for the soul."4 Socrates then puts forward four different arguments to his friends why the soul must be immortal. The first of these is the Argument of Opposites (also known as the Cyclical Argument), where Socrates states that "everything comes to be from its opposite,"5 as wake comes from sleep. He asks his friends to assume that one existed before a certain time, but the body did not, which would lead to the conclusion that one does not equal one's body, and so the soul and the body are two different entities.
- Essay length: 1678 words
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The Influence of Repentance on the Self and Society. In his essay Of Repentance Montaigne argues that all people are born with a certain nature, some lean toward good and others toward evil, but we cannot change who we are. Therefore, if we
For instance, if a person is a serial killer and lacks emotional capabilities, it is unlikely he or she will stop to think about what they do and then end their destructive habits. Since this person is the judge of their actions, they cannot be impartial and therefore, he or she is a threat to their community. People are judged solely based on their public appearance and actions, and therefore express a false image to the world. Montaigne offers a solution to this false judgment: act the same in public and private and then one will feel a personal responsibility
- Essay length: 1941 words
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There are no a priori truths. Discuss.
Quine and Confirmational Holism The core of Quine's argument is a position of naturalism. Roughly, this can be said to be a methodological assertion that our beliefs (particularly our beliefs about what there is) are justified (or unjustified) by whatever counts as our current best scientific theories (Leng, 2010, p.2, p.20). Without this position, no example from scientific practice could necessitate any change in our beliefs. The argument for naturalism comes in the form of a rejection of philosophy in the style of the Cartesian foundational project (which may be taken to be a model of apriority)
- Essay length: 2645 words
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Descartes tries to doubt reality to find out if it is indubitable and therefore really be the foundation for knowledge. Descartes doubts reality by telling that reality might all be a dream
This thing that is indubitable will be foundation of all knowledge. Descartes states that doubting each opinion "would be endless" (60), so he must doubt only "the principles which supported everything" (60). Descartes doubts the senses, since we know everything through the senses, so they are the foundation of everything. Descartes states, "I have noticed that the senses are sometimes deceptive; and it is a mark of prudence never to place our complete trust in those who have deceived us even once" (60). The senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch sometimes lead us to perceive the world in a false way.
- Essay length: 1201 words
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Can physicalism account for qualia?
Before the compatibility of physicalism and qualia can be considered, first we must make sure that we have clear ideas of each concept. There are many forms of physicalism. Physicalist theories all share one thing in common: they all make the claim that there is only one type of "stuff" - the physical - and that the mind is therefore a physical entity. This is usually taken to mean that our mental lives should be describable in physical terms, though it is important to note that this is not logically necessary: it is not a contradiction to hold that our mental lives are physical, yet indescribable (possibly because we lack the linguistic sophistication to do so).
- Essay length: 3423 words
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Does quantum mechanics, in particular the phenomena of superposition and entanglement, provide a case for the revision of classical logic?
Despite this, I shall conclude that - while we are not compelled to revise classical logic - the priority of logic over empirical theorising has not escaped unscathed. Superposition Described Out of all of quantum mechanics, it is perhaps the phenomena of superposition and entanglement which most clearly undermine classical logic. A superposition of states describes how a system may be not just in any given state, but also somewhere 'in between'. An often-used experiment to demonstrate various aspects of quantum theory is that of the 'two slit experiment'.
- Essay length: 2684 words
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In this paper, I will explain why I believe compatibilism is a better explanation to the issue of determinism versus free will than incompatibilism.
The ability to choose what we do would be impossible because it is nothing but an illusion (39). It may seem to us that we can choose differently than what we do, but in reality, we are just following the causal chain of events that has existed since the beginning of time. If every one of my actions is predetermined, then I cannot be held responsible for anything I do. Free will cannot exist in a world where future actions are predetermined, only the illusion of it can.
- Essay length: 1391 words
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Questioning Abortion. Marquis's argument gives us the view that we lack when looking at abortion. He states that it is prima facie wrong killing an innocent adult human. This is wrong because it deprives us of our future. However, on the other hand, Sum
In other words, when it develops sentient. (Sumner at p. 7)4 After a close examination of the two presented arguments, I will prove that viewing abortion with Marquis's argument gives us a better understanding of the fetus and it should be promoted. I will also develop two arguments to show that Sumner's argument is weak. Firstly, I will argue that giving the child up for adoption is better than abortion. Secondly, I will highlight that contraception is completely different than abortion.
- Essay length: 2764 words
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Famine purposes a great problem to humanity. Singer explains how famine in east Bengal took a swing at humanity. (Singer, 1972 at p.1)[1] He argues that the reaction of people in relatively affluent countries is unjustified to situations similar to like t
Singer begins his argument by criticizing the public for not giving large sums to relief funds, among other criticisms. (Singer, 1972 at p.1)4 Then again, he criticizes the public for spending their money on new clothes and cars instead of giving to the relief funds. (Singer, 1972 at p.2)5 I would like to point out that the income of a household in an affluent society is earned by the household. Anything earned by an individual is their property. A person can do whatever they wish with their property, because it belongs to them and they have a right over it.
- Essay length: 1774 words
