Hellenistic philosophy

“What is worse, to live without a leg or to live with an obsession that controls your life?” Elliots book chapter “Amputees By Choice” describes what it's like to live the life of an apotemnophilia (someone with the attraction to the idea of being an amputee) or an acrotomophilia(a sexual attraction to amputees). Elliot discusses how the concept is “an ambivalent moral ideal-a struggle between the impulse toward self-improvement and the impulse to be true to oneself”(pg3). Apotemnophiliac’s are…

Socrates: Let me pose a situation to you, Pentheus; imagine there are people in a cave. These people have been there since childhood, with their bodies shackled so that they can only see that which is right in front of them. They are unable to turn their heads, and know no world except that which is in front of them. Pentheus: I can imagine this, of course. Socrates: Now imagine that there is a fire roaring behind them, and that this fire casts a light onto the wall of the cave in front of them.…

Summary of Lavoisier’s Memoir on Combustion in General Antoine Laurent Lavoisier was an 18th century French chemist who worked as a member of the the French Academy of Sciences. In the excerpts of Lavoisier’s Memoir on Combustion in General, he introduces to the other members of the Academy his idea of oxygen and its role in how combustion and calcination occurs. He also explains why the original theory of phlogiston, proposed by Georg Ernst Stahl, is not adequate to explain the two phenomenas.…

The Art of Being Persuaded People once believed that the earth was flat, and some still do. But what made the majority of the population change their thoughts and perception about the shape of the earth? It was persuasion! Persuasion is an art and one cannot persuade without communication and communication is the foundation of persuasion. The foundation on which persuasion is built on in communication is based on many theories. Some of these theories include the elaboration likelihood…

This essay aims to demonstrate that the demandingness objection has probative force against the theory of act utilitarianism. I will be arguing that act utilitarianism is false because it requires the agent to make very great sacrifices in order to maximise utility. This essay will be exploring Brink (1986) and Sobel’s (2007) response to the challenges faced by act utilitarianism. I will be using Williams’ (1973) argument to demonstrate the various problems act utilitarianism encounters when…

Do you rely on your own personal experience to decide if something is good or wrong, or do you rely on the Bible to decide what is right or wrong? The definition of Morality explains, “Beliefs about what right behavior is and what wrong behavior is. The degree to which something is right and good: the moral goodness or badness of something” (Dictionary.com). Morality in the time of the Puritans has changed rapidly today from what it once was. How does this change affect us as Christians and what…

FIRST PHILOSOPHY PAPER ON ARISTOTLE’S ETHICS ALEX FEIGHERY PHILOSOPHY 201-13, FALL 2017 1 NOVEMBER 2017 The Nicomachean Ethics is a book that is considered to be the philosopher Aristotle’s best-known. The Ethics details Aristotle’s thoughts on essentially how one should be a human and how one should achieve happiness. This paper will focus on a specific argument of Aristotle’s Ethics. This argument is expressed in Chapter 7 of his first Book, being that of “man’s function.” Using…

Anthony Weston is an American Philosopher, teacher, and writer. He has written a book titled “Practical Companion to Ethics” that does discus Ethics, Religion, and Creative Problem-Solving in Ethics. Weston also discusses constructive moral dialogue. Constructive moral dialogue is concepts and ideas that makes our relationship with others easier. It allows us to get along with others that have different beliefs and concepts. We use constructive moral dialogue to cope with other human beings.…

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and the Role of Philosophy Very few subjects, if any, divides opinions as much as philosophy. Philosophy occupies a realm of logic and reasoning which is often considered to be mutually exclusive from the more commonly accepted ones of science and mathematics. This difference can often lead to the masses questioning the efficacy of philosophy. However, for those who understand the true value of philosophy and are willing to invest the time and attention that is…

Ethical System Review and My Own Belief Submitted by: Mallory Moss Ethics in Justice: HUM3350 (C02) Lethbridge College Submitted to: Kirsten Fantazir November 1, 2017 Ethical System Review and My Own Beliefs After learning about different ethical systems it seems as though I could pick pieces out of all the systems and create to an extent what I believe. Although the one that stuck out the most was ethics of virtue. Ethics of virtue are considered to be based on the person rather than…