Philosophers Essay Examples
... I disagree with a member who advocates that Kantian duty-based ethics should be used in defining the morality of torture for the prisoners. According to this theory, the right reason defines the morality of any action. Accordingly, right reason may vary among individuals. While some may find it rightful to subject a prisoner on torture, others may feel otherwise. In addition, some people may torture prisoners based on their feelings and not based on the requirements of the la...
...Kennedy, 2012, offers a different approach towards the definition of public finance. Instead of coming up with her definition of the subject, she quotes existing definitions that accurately meet the demands of the reader. The most comprehensive is that of Dalton, that states that public finance is concerned with the expenditure and income processes of public authorities and the adjustment of one to the other. In total, the author summarizes the definitions and terms public finance as the activit...
... If I lived during the Socrates times, I could be his great follower and would not have or would not condemn him any other time. Some of the reasons include; not putting into consideration the time spent in the military, Socrates lived his entire live in Athens where he was well known for his moral integrity, thirst for wisdom and self control. Additionally, through his best student’s writings about him, we learn that he was self examinable and a staunch in self examination. He is al...
...My personal view of the human ideal is fairly general since I have no idea how to even get close to a perfect way to be human. My ideas agree with Aristotle in that happiness should be the ultimate goal no matter what way you achieve it. The one exception I have is that your path to happiness shouldn’t put others down and obstruct their path to happiness. If you feel there is no other option to reach your goal, then think again because there is always a middle way and some way to reach your g...
...In conclusion, both Descartes and Plato in their attempts to challenge the prevailing doctrine of their respective times introduced two of the most influential concepts in the world of Philosophy. Descartes through his examination of systematic doubt uncovers the limitations of the physical senses in acquiring knowledge and introduces further challenges to understanding external reality with the dream, memory and evil demon hypothesis. Only through the mind alone can one grasp the nature of real...
...Throughout Socrates’ discussions, he often has conversations with himself and the “Law”. Plato personifies the “Law” by giving it human-like qualities and speech; it is suggested that the Law can be hurt, and angry. He does this to distinguish it as a character that has feelings. For example, “’…you will leave this place, when you do, as the victim of a wrong done not by us, the Laws, but by your fellow men. But if you leave in that dishonorable way, returning wrong from wrong, a...
...V is aware of the truth of this corrupt government and devotes himself to bring awareness and reason to the rest of society. With the help of his companion, Evy, he successfully completes various terrorist attacks on the government and successfully brings attention to the people in this society of the corruption. The enlightenment creates a rebellion against the oppressive government. Locke stated that, rights override the function of the government.3 The basic rights that the government has tak...
...Throughout Socrates’ discussions, he often has conversations with himself and the “Law”. Plato personifies the “Law” by giving it human-like qualities and speech; it is suggested that the Law can be hurt, and angry. He does this to distinguish it as a character that has feelings. For example, “’…you will leave this place, when you do, as the victim of a wrong done not by us, the Laws, but by your fellow men. But if you leave in that dishonorable way, returning wrong from wrong, a...
...Lace Wing presents the argument that even if ontology accepted Virtue Ethics, then it is unclear what the practical implications are. If Virtue Ethics is an anti-ethical theory then to how would you practice it? What would you do afterwards? How would knowing these virtues and forms affect you? In the hope of rescuing Virtue Ethics, Aristotle (Plato’s student) delivers his interpretation of this ethical theory. Aristotle does not necessarily agree into Plato’s metaphysic, epistemology or ont...
...Throughout the play, Aristophanes expresses his clear defined ideologies with a sense so that the intelligent minds could understand how he personally felt during this period of change in Greece. His themes were meticulously thought out as well as the roles of the characters in order to best exemplify his own thought processes. What captures the power of The Clouds is it’s timeless message and understanding beyond just the context of ancient Greece but beyond. The Clouds, when read in today...
...Members of the Lyceum wrote up their findings in manuscripts. In so doing, they built the school’s massive collection of written materials, which by ancient accounts was credited as one of the first great libraries. In the same year that Aristotle opened the Lyceum, his wife Pythias died. Soon after, Aristotle embarked on a romance with a woman named Herpyllis, who hailed from his hometown of Stagira. According to some historians, Herpyllis may have been Aristotle’s slave, granted to him by ...
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...Policy initiation process, policy formulation process, policy implementation process and policy evaluation process. Policy Initiation/Agenda Setting The first question to ask here is: “Where does policy come from? How do policy agenda emerge?” Initiation is the primary stage of policy agenda that resulted from an issue regarded to come out as a problem if not attended to appropriately. Agenda setting is the process by which ideas or issues bubble up through the various political channels to ...
...Although the ideas of academic and total skeptic ism sought to disprove a need or even the logic behind philosophy, scholars such as St. Augustine attempted to prove that despite the fact that we do not have total knowledge in everything, we are not totally void of knowledge. The three refutations of Augustine serve to help us remember that just as there is an opposite to nearly everything, the concept of skepticism can always be rebutted when it comes to knowledge and our understanding of the w...
...For many, the fact that we cannot think of our minds not existing is a far stronger argument than that of say, Peter Geach as looking back over past scriptures is just like copying off of someone in a test who has made their answers up, we would just be looking at something which may or may not be true. While I was slightly swayed by the first argument in favour of the given statement, due to its use of past events and a tradition of belief, however in then end, I have maintained my view that it...
...Therefore he appointed governors to each part of the Empire and then, in turn, they placed officials at smaller areas. During the Han Dynasty, the government decided to build and expand bureaucracy. The bureaucrats would have to go through an early form of a civil service exam in order to earn a law-making position at stages of government such as local, regional and federal. However, Stearn describes the Han Empire as the largest political system in the classical world, but Stearn’s bias can b...
...•That even if it is comprehensible, it cannot be communicated Gorgias’s propositions are said to be logical contradictions, how can they be logical if they contradict each other? How is it that "nothing exists"? I'm definitely puzzled, and if it does exist, it's incomprehensible? Was he questioning his/our own existence? How can something be comprehensible but cannot be communicated? I have no explanation for Gorgias’s propositions; as a matter of fact I don't really understand or know how...
...Finally the word light or the Sun, used to represent the ultimate truth, the answers found to those erroneous beliefs that you thought were true. I completely agree with Plato and I think we can apply this logic to many equations we face in life as intelligent, moral and empathetic people. I learned that people see reality as the visible world when reality really is more than the visible world. This text helped to push me along the way because it is directly related with college life, where a s...
...Throughout the story the concept of right relationships is so important that people get punished, or scolded when they fail their Confucian duty. Doctor Tang was both elderly and a teacher, and is therefore responsible as a teacher, mentor, and supervisor in the lives of his students. However, he fails his duty as a teacher. According to the story, because Mrs. Bee and Dr. Tang did not do their duty of watching and guiding the younger ones (daughter in law and students), they indirectly let the ...
...(2)(2) Secondly, the state of nature, in contrast, has more potential for oppression. The absence of a government allows for conflicts to exist on many levels. Individuals, groups, and organizations would constantly be involved in variety of struggles, and each group would be vying for its own selfish interests. The state of nature is therefore characterized by a lack of unity. Because individuals are so divided in this state of nature, it becomes virtually impossible to unite and achieve a cons...
...In this painting, you see around 60 Greek philosophers set up in a really big hall. The theorists are talking with each other, talking about theories or mathematical queries. It symbolizes philosophic thinking and the search for truth. On the wall you can see paintings and statues. He has actually used shape lines with domes and actual line with figures. Personalities are arranged like stars in a worn out architectural setting, Raphael has represented prominent Greek philosophers such as Plato, ...
...In conclusion, these two movements had played a large role in the formation of the United States. The influence of Europe's enlightenment had spread widely in the colonies, and by 1766 Anglo-America had more institution of higher learning than England. A self confident Anglo-American upper class had garnered expertise in law, trade, finance, and politics. The Great Awakening resulted in an outburst of missionary activity among Native Americans in the movement of importance against slavery; and i...
...In this post world war two and post 'Brave New World' time, it is easy to take The Republic as a strange Nazi/Taliban-esque tyrannical state on a first glance. As a state the polis would most definitely have failed. As macrocosm for justice in the individual it is unsurpassed. Its influence to this day was evident recently when it was voted best philosophical work ever by readers of the web page http://www.philosophers.co.uk. Whilst it has certain ideas that maybe questioned against the standard...
...On that point they were extrememly conservative as well, because they didn't take the idea anywhere near to the extreme that Locke proposed. People like Hamilton believed that the average man could not, in actuality, govern himself. Many of those at the Continental Congress shared this sentiment. For this reason the electoral college and the idea of a representative democracy were created. In the end, the American Revolution was more about political reforms and taxes than about true freedom. The...
...Plato criticises his own theory a few times but eventually reaches answers to the things he criticised. This can either cause other people's criticisms to be more valid or less valid depending on the way you look at it. Often, when people criticise their own work before somebody else does, it lowers the value of the criticism as it shows Plato already knew people would criticise him for that. On the other hand, it makes me think that there is reason to criticise if he himself criticises his theo...
...Farmers, who were constantly in debt because of the nature of agriculture and its problems during this era, "found themselves caught in this double bind year after year (Agricultural Problems and Gilded Age Politics)." James Bryce declared that this was "a neglect of details of politics such as had never been seen before." With all of these problems concerning currency came the Depression of 1893, which lasted four years. The stock market crashed because of overspeculation and numerous railroads...
...Thomas Hobbes and John Locke were the two most influential political theorists of their time. However, they had opposing views on almost every political issue. Their theories stem from their dissenting opinions about who should be the center of government: Hobbes believed there should be a monarch, while Locke supported Parliament. Examples of both men's thoughts and opinions can be found throughout history. France and some other European countries sided with Hobbes and had absolute monarchies, ...
...Therefore, criticisms on it are also the most severe. It is his elder brother who "stigmatizes him as a madman."(Lu, p. 16) and "eats" his younger sister. This incident may allude to foot binding. In Chinese society, women are the underprivileged group and the physical deprivation of their mobility embodies the suppression on women. His elder brother is the patriarch who implements and propagates the tradition in the family and oppresses people from reforming it. By this way, people continue unc...
...The Declaration of Independence was written in 1176 by Thomas Jefferson a thirty-three-year-old man. It embodied the doctrine of natural rights and John Locke's theory of natural rights. The Declaration of Independence listed the grievances of the colonist toward the government and the wrongs done to the colonies by George III. It was also propaganda. The declaration was signed to achieve American independence but it was more than that. Not only was it a declaration of independence, it also sent...
...According to Machiavelli, the task of any ruler was to cheat the onset of political decay. (Stirk and Weigall, 1995:226). He postulated that in order to achieve this, the ruler of the day was not subject to a state of normal morality. Central to the governing of the state was the presence of good laws and good arms. In order for a ruler to achieve his purposes, Machiavelli would advocate that a wise Prince will take action in peaceful times in order to resist adversity when fortune changes. This...
...He further postulated that using brute force and might would be the effective method to protect the sovereign position and that the Prince will take action in peaceful times in order to resist adversity when fortune changes. This force is the central tenant in the maintenance of power. (Bonadeo, 1973)The intertwining of these principles should ensure the wholesomeness of any political fraternity. Justice however is the pivotal factor in maintaining the balance. Shorn of this association with rig...
...The portrait of the clerk and the squire in "The Canterbury Tales" shows two men of similar age; in the same time frame, "The Middle Ages". We learn that the two are very different in appearance, personality and interests. This can be attributed to the fact that they grew up in different classes. The clerk in the "Middle Class" and the squire in the "High Class", in this time frame classes molded how an individual grew and learned. Chaucer shows in his novel how two individuals can be the same ...
...In another example of why the recollection theory does not work, Socrates asks a slave boy, who had no prior schooling, certain questions about geometry: "Tell me now, boy, you know that a square figure is like this?" Here we can tell that Socrates is indeed controlling the boy's answers by asking him a leading question. He does not ask what is this figure, but instead gives the answer within the question. The boy is answering according to how Socrates is asking the question. Here, we can see th...
...This viewpoint for man offers little hope the communal living we have seen in More's Utopia. Hobbes use of political science allows little room for the imagination and conjecture used by More. Hobbes argument is founded on generalizations of mankind's behavior, no doubt arrived at due to the time (civil war) in which he lived. Hobbes view of mankind is greater in pessimism than More in that he offers one definition for human nature, and for his argument to hold true this definition (that man is ...
...The Hans didn’t rely on slaves much because they knew that they weren’t reliable and if they kept a strong hold on them they would rebel and cause the fall of the empire. However, Rome used the method of scaring their slaves into doing the right thing. If the slaves feared a brutal beating they would be sure to make the right decisions and follow directions. In both Han China and Imperial Rome government structure was used to help exercise political control, however they differed on their or...
...Of course this point of view is represented in "Lord of the Flies" but it was more proximate to refer the point of view itself to the history of the 1950's in Britain than the incidents in the novel. And that is because the novel does not reflect the political and social climate of the 1950's in Britain, it tells a fictitious story on an island which is not accurately located, but it does reflect the authors belief and his view of man. And his belief can be compared with the 1950's, it was even ...
...Steven Spielbergs Amistad is an excellent representation of the many ways the law can be interpreted. Thomas Hobbes believed all law and justice is based on the fact that people are born evil, while Plato believed that humans are born naturally good and laws are created by the use of reason. Natural law and Positive law are two very diverse views, which in the case of Amistad contain one crucial similarity; the importance of following the law. Both philosophers Thomas Hobbes and Plato evidently ...
FAQ about Philosophers
...The influence of medieval science on the scientific revolution was extraordinary. Even though thoughts and ideas of medieval thinkers as opposed to revolutionary thinkers completely contradicted each other, the medieval era set the stage for the scie ...
...For example, in some cultures, it is never a good thing to take a life, even if that person has done terrible things including taking lives themselves. However, in other cultures, if the person has done terrible things society will agree that they sh ...
...Therefore in conclusion, equality within Liberalism may have had inside disputes however it is acknowledged that Liberals universally believe in the idea that every individual is entitled to equal rights. Liberals believe in different types of equali ...
