Essays on Philosophers

Torture is taken to be a process of inflicting pain to someone in whatever form for purposes of obtaining information. The information to be given is usually a confession. In this regard, torture can take a form of physical form or mental as well as emotional form. Torture is a painful experience on the side of the person to whom the torture is done. The main goal is to force a person to confess and produce some vital information. Torture…...

Socrate Introduction        Socrates, an Athens’s citizen was born in 469 B.C and died in 399 B.C. consequently, during his youth, he not only saw Athens become the leading empire of the Greek states but also emerge as the pole that attracted many talents and great minds. Thus, he emerged as the best philosophical mind of his age. He in fact is the father of western philosophy, Smith (1852). Below are questions and answers to the evaluative questions…...

Human Ideal is an extremely subjective idea across the board. There are lots of elements that influence an individual's point of view on a prefect human suitable. The most widespread factor appears to be the culture of the society. The culture and the society I was raised in brought me to the finalization of my individual human ideal. Individuals ought to live to fulfill the ultimate good of happiness without stepping on others to reach it and at the exact…...

After watching both of these films I noticed how combat was portrayed in the movie Platoon was different from the movie we were soldiers In the movie we were soldiers it was portrayed around several different officers it was focused on them and how they carried out their mission and how they took care of their men also they showed how on a platoon level and squad level were able to follow the battalion commander on the battlefield some example…...

Descartes and Plato are two of the most influential thinkers within philosophy. The allegory of the cave and systematic doubt are also two of the most famous concepts within philosophy. Plato at the time of writing the cave allegory was trying to resist the growing influence of the Sophist philosophers who prioritised semantics and rhetoric over truth.1 Descartes by introducing radical scepticism to philosophy was challenging traditional scholastic philosophy which had dominated the philosophy for many centuries. While both pieces…...

Explain Aristotle's understanding of the Prime Mover (25 marks) In Aristotle's book the Metaphysics, he calls the reason for all movement the Prime Mover (P.M). The Prime Mover to Aristotle is the first off substances, the needed first sources of motion which itself is unmoved. It is a being which is eternal, and in Metaphysics Aristotle also calls this being 'God'. However, before he familiarized the presence of the P.M he first began discovering the constant changes around him, which…...

John Locke distinguished, in his Essay, “real essence” from “nominal essence.” Nominal essence, according to Locke, is the “abstract Idea to which the Name is annexed (III.vi.2).” Thus, the nominal essence of the name ‘gold’, Locke said, “is that complex Idea the word Gold stands for, let it be, for instance, a Body yellow, of a certain weight, malleable, fusible, and fixed.” In contrast, the real essence of gold is “the constitution of the insensible parts of that Body, on…...

Rhetorical Question: “But my dear Crito, why should we pay so much attention to what ‘most people’ think? The reasonable people, who have more claim to be considered, will believe that the facts are exactly as they are” (906). Personification: “’Consider then, Socrates,’ the Laws would probably continue, ‘whether it is also true for us to say that what you are trying to do to us is not right…’” (913). Plato’s “Crito” is one of the many tremendously influential pieces…...

Plato’s “The allegory of the Cave” addresses so many different areas of philosophy including, epistemology, metaphysics, asceticism, ethics, etc. In his allegory it is important to seek what Plato is trying to accomplish through locating his rhetorical devices, his tone, his position and arguments, in order to develop meaning to his allegory. Plato’s philosophies include education, interaction, individuality, and human nature to make his statement of what the correct path to “enlightenment” should be, being expressed through symbolism, imagery, themes,…...

After watching ‘V for Vendetta’, you can find influences of the philosophies of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean Jacues Rousseau. However in my opinion, I find that the philosophies of John Locke are most prominent. The basis of the movie is the oppression of the government on its people. Many attributes of the film show that the government depicted, has many similarities to the late dictatorship of Adolph Hitler. John Locke philosophies include; that a state of war is…...

Rhetorical Concern: "However my dear Crito, why should we pay a lot attention to what 'the majority of people' believe? The reasonable individuals, who have more claim to be considered, will believe that the facts are precisely as they are" (906 ). Personification: "' Think about then, Socrates,' the Laws would most likely continue, 'whether it is likewise real for us to state that what you are trying to do to us is not ideal ...'" (913 ). Plato's "Crito"…...

Virtue ethics belongs to the branch of philosophy called ethics. Virtue ethics is also a sub branch of normative ethics and it contrasts with disteleology because normative ethics is more concerned about characteristics of a person rather than the moral duties and laws they must abide, so Natural Moral Law, Kantian ethics and Divine Command are usually dismissed by Virtue Ethics. This ethical theory also contrasts with consequentialism e.g. Utilitarianism which is more focused on results and outcomes. Virtue ethics…...

Our world has developed and flourished by the thoughts and contributions of many leaders. Among those leaders were Saint Augustine and Pluto. For many historians, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and Augustine’s The City of God, are historical pieces that point out what had happened during ancient times. These pieces are significant because they shed some light on different thoughts and beliefs of people. Even though these works do not have similar world views, they attempt to show guidance to…...

When we talk about science, many people hear the term “theory”. The definition of a scientific theory can become confusing since many people interpret the meaning differently. When a person uses the term “theory” in a sentence it is usually used in a non-scientific way. They assume that a theory is something assumed, but not proven. When the term “theory” is used in science, it means an explanation based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning. It has been tested and confirmed…...

It’s arguably one of the greatest philosophical debates of all time; what does it mean to know? The Tripartite Theory is a model that tries to define individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions to know a proposition. Edmund Gettier wrote a three page paper that philosophers to this day are still trying to debunk. This essay investigates how Gettier shows that the Tripartite Theory of Knowledge fails, which then leads to a discussion whether the theory can ever be fixed.…...

During an annual festival in Greece circa 534 B.C.E., Greek Drama was developed as a form of art. The annual festival became a competition of revelry and ritual amongst playwrights and producers. The Clouds written by Aristophanes redefined the competition bringing his own beliefs of society and ideologies to the forefront of his message with in the play. From the brilliant comical mind of Aristophanes themes, motifs and symbols play a crucial role as serving for the foundation of his…...

Philosopher (c. 384 BCE–c. 322 BCE) Synopsis Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was born circa 384 B.C. in Stagira, Greece. When he turned 17, he enrolled in Plato’s Academy. In 338, he began tutoring Alexander the Great. In 335, Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, in Athens, where he spent most of the rest of his life studying, teaching and writing. Aristotle died in 322 B.C., after he left Athens and fled to Chalcis. Early Life Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle…...

Public policy addresses a host of issues like housing, transportation, education, health, social services, among others. It creates orderly structures and standards, and a sense of direction. It may likewise be used to denote what is actually done even though it is unplanned, and yet sometimes it attends to political questions and even the personal issue or controversy of a political. In making public policy, there are three components: the problem, the players, and the policy itself. A problem is…...

Though considered one of the founders of theology, specifically in terms of Christianity, it is also widely accepted that St. Augustine played a large role in philosophy as well. In being familiar with total skepticism, the idea that nothing can be known, Augustine advised that this thought could be disproven in at least three distinct ways. According to Augustine, these “three refutations” of skepticism are the principle of non-contradiction, the act of doubting and refutation relating to perception. The first…...

1- Christian belief in resurrection- outline Jesus’ resurrection after death- Link to hicks idea of the replica. 3- The only meaningful way to talk about survival after death is to say that souls can be reunited- Peter Geach 5- Characteristics and memories can be changed and falsified- Bernard William Descartes said ‘ My essence consists solely in the fact that I am a thinking thing’. This, if true, implies that our consciousness is separate from our bodies and so we…...

Classical Athens and Han China were different due to their forms of government, the relationship between the individual and the state, their views on man and nature and their background information. Within the background information of both Athens and Han China there are very evident differences between the two. The first document shows the maps of both the empires side by side. The Han Empire is much bigger than the Athens city-state Attica which is a mere 50 miles long,…...

Introdiction René Descartes is often credited with being the “Father of Modern Philosophy.” This title is justified due both to his break with the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences. His fundamental break with Scholastic philosophy was twofold. First, Descartes thought that the Scholastics’ method was prone to doubt given their reliance on sensation as the source for all knowledge. Second, he wanted to replace their final causal…...

1) Explain (the main ideas and views) and evaluate (by giving arguments) the view of Heraclitus regarding the nature of reality? Heraclitus was one of many pre-Socratic philosophers, and he's considered to be the most important and influential. I don't know why, I find him a bit contradictory. His way of thinking was the result of perception and intuition. He despised rational, logical, conceptual thought. His pronouncements were purposely self-contradictory. "We are and at the same time are not." "Being…...

The Allegory of the cave is an allegory written by Plato with the purpose to represent the way a philosopher gains knowledge. This allegory is a fictional dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon, where Socrates compares the issues appearance vs. reality, education vs. ignorance. There are two types of knowledge represented in this allegory, the one that is told and expected to be believed and accepted; and the one that is learned by a person’s own experiences through life. The writing…...

Introduction John Rawls was a leader in moral and political philosophy, a political theorist who argues against utilitarianism and communism. Rawls works with the social contract theory of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Kant and argues that the moral and political point of view is discovered via impartiality. Rawls explores this viewpoint by envisioning persons in a hypothetical situation, the ‘original position’. Justice as fairness The original position is the fundamental element within John Rawls account of justice – ‘Justice as fairness”,…...

Using Aristotle’s descriptions of Tragedy, I classify Fences by August Wilson as a tragic play. The elements of tragedy, Troy Maxson as a tragic hero, and tragic plot were evident throughout the play. Also, the feeling of catharsis at the end-which is proper of tragedy, was clearly identifiable. I. Fences fits into the tragic genre based on the points given by Aristotle. In Poetics, he defines tragedy as "the imitation of an action that is serious and also as having…...

Celebrated cases of Judge Dee, a detective novel which describes crime cases which happened in China during the Tang Dynasty, in the 7th Century. In the book Judge Dee is a well known magistrate of Chang Ping, whom and is famous for solving crime and maintaining justice, particularly amongst common the Chinese People. In the book, Judge Dee is faced with three murders. As Judge Dee begins solving the crimes, the story unfolds slowly and presents historical, social, legal, philosophical…...

The word tragedy is when an event ends in misfortune. However, when the word tragedy is put in context within a play or a story it is a story circling around a protagonist who is of high power and stature. A tragedy is usually the development of a protagonist whose in conflict with a more superior force; the superior forces that the protagonist could be faced with is his destiny, free will and the Gods that rule over them. The…...

As humans we have shared fundamental needs. Take personal survival as an example. To meet this need we must ensure our safety from the violence of each other and from the violence of people who are not members of our society. The mechanism to serve . . . this . . . goal is a government.' Because I agree with Thomas Attig, I must affirm the topic that 'an oppressive government is more desirable than no government.' Before I continue,…...

The Vietnam War was on everyone's mind in 1960s and 1970s in our nation. It was the center of much of America's troubles throughout this time, but just the soldier's who battled in that war understood the real insanity that was Vietnam. Oliver Stone started writing Platoon due to the fact that the Vietnam War was "a pocket of our history no one comprehends." (Schuer t24) Squad is a movie which must be seen by everybody, not just for its…...

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,…...

What are the fundamental differences between the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening movements, and what if anything did these two movements have in common? The Great Awakening and the Enlightenment were two historical events that shaped the thoughts of people and religion in the mid 1700's America. The Great Awakening began about the 1930's and reached its climax ten years later in 1740. They both formed and shaped the way many think today and brought lots of notions on human…...

Having lived an extraordinarily long life (for his time), with no consistent doctrine of belief, it has become customary to divide Plato's writings chronologically into three periods, Early, Middle and Late. The Republic, a collection of ten books, is thought to have been written after Phaedo during the 'middle-period' of Plato's life. It is during this period that Plato's philosophy becomes his own rather than a commentary on Socrates beliefs and sayings. It is important to remember that Plato's time…...

The American Transformation, while it might have been the very first war that was started to really implement some concepts that formerly had actually just been spoken about, did not have any concepts that were brand-new. Absolutely nothing truly altered as far as the typical guy was concerned, after the transformation. Servants were still shackled, Indians were still thought about savages, ladies were not given equivalent rights and the federal governments were still essentially the very same, except now there…...

Plato's theory of forms, also called his theory of ideas, states that there is another world, separate from the material world that we live in called the "eternal world of forms". This world, to Plato, is more real than the one we live in. His theory is shown in his Allegory of the Cave (from The Republic, Book VII), where the prisoners only live in what they think is a real world, but really it is a shadow of reality.…...

Utilitarianism is a theory, which first became widely acknowledge when it was adopted by its greatest advocate Jeremy Bentham. It is a theory that maintains that it is an action's total consequence that determines its moral correctness. It is a theory not concerned with the effects of the action on the individual carrying out the action, but instead the effect it has on everybody affected by the action. It also maintains that it is happiness that is key to life's…...

The politics of the Gilded Age failed to deal with the critical social and economical issues of the times. It was the era filled with forgotten presidents and politicians who ignored the problems erupting in the cites. Monopolies ruled over all the aspects of life, and the greedy men who ruled these monopolies caused poverty throughout the nation. The ideas of limited government caused the political parties to not take a stand on important issues. The "wonderful" Gilded Age in…...