Philosophy of history

Immanuel Kant is a modern philosophical figure who continues to exercise influence today in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics and a significant number of other fields. Freedom is important to Kant's view because moral appraisal presumes that we are free in the sense that we have the ability to do otherwise. To see why, consider Kant's example of a man who commits a theft, Kant holds that in order for this man's action to be morally wrong, it must have been…

Philosophy ("love of wisdom") is the study of general and fundamental problems regarding matters such as existence, values, reason, mind, knowledge, and language. Natural philosophy was the philosophic study of nature and the physical universe that was most influential before the growth of modern science. It is thought to be the pioneer of natural sciences. Nature has two inter-related meanings in philosophy. On the one side, it means that all natural objects, or subject to the normal working…

exaggeration, but it is true that the contributions of ancient Greek philosophy radically shaped the world in the era in which it was prevalent (approximately 400-150 BCE), and with the expansion and blending of cultures throughout history, our society and systems of thought today have been impacted by the great minds of this period. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are three of the most influential figures in the history of Western philosophy. Collectively, they revolutionized the fields of…

expedition through a strange correspondence course in philosophy. However, it is evident through the author’s writing and opinions portrayed, that the overall purpose of the novel is much more than to solely teach his readers about different philosophers throughout history. Rather, Gaarder uses the novel to demonstrate his personal view of philosophy and through many points in the novel, it is made obvious to the readers that he holds an existential philosophy. Existentialism is a philosophical…

clear what philosophy and academic thinking are, where and when Plato lived, what his ideas where and how people reacted and perhaps still react. Furthermore, a reflection on his ideas will be given as well as my view on his beliefs. Philosophy The definition of philosophy is already contained in the word philosophy itself. In Greek, philo means love or devotion and sophia means wisdom. Philosophy literally means “Love of wisdom.” Philosophers are thus people devoted to wisdom. Philosophy is an…

Throughout history, philosophers have come up with multiple approaches to ethics in order for humans to reach “The Good.” Philosophers like Aristotle, Immanuel Kant and Emmanuel Levinas posses different concepts and philosophies towards how a human can reach “The Good.” Aristotle's theory is predicated towards fulfilling one’s purpose to reach their potential, Kant’s theory is driven towards the duty each individual must accomplish to reach “The Good,” and finally, Levinas's theory is based on…

First Principles and Moral Philosophy In many ways, eighteenth century philosopher Immanuel Kant and nineteenth century philosopher John Stuart Mill represent opposing sides of philosophical theory. While Kant is more concerned with metaphysics and epistemology, Mill explores the consequentialist side of moral philosophy. Though their starting points may seem at odds, we find both men drawing on the concept of a first principle. As Mill puts it, a first principle is an “ultimate standard” to…

Philosophy, by definition “is a study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence,” whereas moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy which focuses on and investigates the ideas of right and wrong as well as good and evil behavior. A German philosopher who researched and examined moral judgments was Friedrich Nietzsche. Friedrich Nietzsche is one of the most influential German philosopher, who contributed greatly to the field of philosophy through his writings. One of his…

I. Post-structuralism Foucault thought is often associated with post-structuralism. Although he denied his association with it, there are aspects of his thought that are aligned with post-structuralist thinking. Like post-structuralism, he is very critical of concept of a human subject. He is highly critical on the concept of the Cartesian subject. In one of his interviews, he says that the subject “… is not a substance. It is a form, and this form is not primarily or always identical to the…

world. For Pangloss and his philosophy, the world could only bring out good and everything eventually could be traced back to a good consequence. Candide was a great believer in this philosophy and always tried to be optimistic. This blind optimism, though, could not always hold up. When Candide is with Martin and sees the crippled slave, he just could not see how any good could come about because of his condition. This causes candide to reject his optimistic philosophy that his teacher,…