Essays on Philosophical Works

A Change in Mankind George R. R. Martin's short story, "Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels," is one of the pieces consisted of in John Joseph Adams collection of apocalyptic brief stories titled Wastelands: stories of the apocalypse. This story is not a conventional story of the apocalypse; it is not about humanity's struggle to endure instantly after an apocalyptic event, in an altered environment. Nor is it a story about how human beings are impacted emotionally and struggle to live…...

When you read The Prince and The Book of the Courtier, you notice they are both how-to guides for Princes, royalty in general, and nobility. However, there are some very distinct differences in the philosophy of Niccolo Machiavelli and Baldassare Castiglione. Castiglione advices his readers to practice all things with nonchalance, and things will fall in their place. He also put high importance on knowledge, gracefulness, and appearance. Machiavelli agrees with Castiglione on some issues, but on others, they strongly…...

Philosophy is referred to as a set of beliefs, concepts and attitudes held by an individual or a group of people. It is the study of problems in general and the prescription of solutions to problems based on critical and systemic analyses and the employment of rational argument. Philosophy through the lens of Political Science does so as mentioned above in terms of the state, the governance of the state the ethics of an individual in possession of political power.…...

Socrates was a terrific theorist of his time. There came a point in his life when his beliefs were questioned and his mentors doubted. He was charged for evil deeds and incorrect behaviors. His accusers said he made people see the even worse as better and passed them on as truths. They likewise stated that he corrupted the youth and that he did not believe in the gods recognized by the state. Socrates dealt with the Athenians in defense of…...

Yoshida Kenko, the author of Essays in Idleness, incorporated his Japanese culture and Buddhist beliefs in his work. He highlighted and accepted the perishability and uncertainty of life. However, Kenko's views vary from the usual Western outlook and my own perspective. Kenko understood the unpredictability of human life and valued it. He believed that if human beings might live permanently, they would not feel the emotions they feel when they look at beauty in nature. Because he understood that there…...

The general theory of politics and governance that the Founder of Modern Political Science, Niccolo Machiavelli presented espouses the attainment of successful governance and political leadership by whatever means it takes. His monumental book “The Prince” therefore depicted that rulers and leaders must attain control and power by any means necessary. And to this Joseph Stalin strongly believed in – as he is said to have slept everyday with “The Prince” by his bedside. Ruling with power and strength can…...

Socrates is one of the greatest philosophers in history, although he did not write any philosophy. He is only known through other people’s writings, particularly Plato, his one-time student. It is therefore not easy to tell which philosophy belongs to Plato and which belongs to Socrates. Socrates lived between 470 BC and 399 BC. His death came as a result of drinking hemlock after he was tried and condemned to death. This was because he did not believe in the…...

In Philosophy, there are two main positions about the source of all knowledge. These positions are called rationalism and empiricism. Rationalists believe that all knowledge is "innate", or is there when one is born, and that learning comes from intuition. On the other hand, empiricists believe that all knowledge comes from direct sense experience. In this essay, I will further explain each position, it's strengths and weaknesses, and how Kant discovered that there is an alternative to these positions. In…...

The Enlightenment was an era that took place primarily in the 18th century and could best be described as a time of progress. Early on in the Age of Enlightenment men began to question old doctrines and search for a new method of thinking and understanding. An answer to one of the most fundamental questions was sought: Where do our ideas come from? Although many pondered the question, two primary schools of thought emerged as an answer to the question:…...

Carefully explain Descartes’ cogito and his attempt to build his knowledge structure from the ground up. (Be as succinct as possible.) Does Descartes succeed or fail in that attempt? Justify your answer in full. Descartes’ Epistemology. This essay attempts to explain Descartes’ epistemology of his knowledge, his “Cogito, Ergo Sum” concept (found in the Meditations), and why he used it [the cogito concept] as a foundation when building his structure of knowledge. After explaining the concept I give a brief…...

Rene 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…...

William James, born 1842, was a trained physician who subsequently dabbled in works of philosophy and psychology (in which he officiated as a formal study through lectures) (Goodman, 2009). As did many philosophers, Jamesian thinking seeded many discussions on various philosophical topics such as metaphysics, morality, free will-determinism, religion and the afterlife; however, what truly made his ideas notable was his uncanny ability to borrow and integrate knowledge from branches of physiology, psychology and philosophy to weave new insights and…...

There are several definitions to the question of free will that could be considered. However from a scientific point of view, the argument leans towards whether free will should be a neurological element, or the conception of conscious thinking and decision making; a process that although has a biological aspect, the actual cause of the act is done by choice, and the free will is the decision maker; within the limits and boundaries set by society. In essence, it is…...

The eighteenth century was a time of rapid change and development in the way people viewed humans and their interaction with others in society. Many countries experience revolution and monarchies were overthrow. People began to question the values that were ingrained in society and governments that ruled them. Two of the biggest philosophers of that time were Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who both ignite the overthrow of tradition and whose philosophies were the basis of many future governments. In…...

In our world today it is often hard to genuinely decide what in fact is right or wrong. The reason that it is so tough to determine is because of our human nature given everyone has their own opinion. We do not all think the same or think the same actions and consequences have the same effect. It is this reason we analyze situations with ethical theories, such as that of Kant’s deontology. Kant’s theory in its own right has…...

Plato's The Apology is an account of the speech Socrates makes at the trial in which he is charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by the state, inventing new deities, and corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates' speech, however, is by no means an "apology" in our modern understanding of the word. The name of the dialogue derives from the Greek "apologia," which translates as a defense, or a speech made in defense. Thus, in The Apology, Socrates attempts…...

Socrates was an orator and philosopher whose primary interests were logic, ethics and epistemology. In Plato’s Apology of Socrates, Plato recounts the speech that Socrates gave shortly before his death, during the trial in 399 BC in which he was charged with "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, also being a busybody and intervene gods business". The name of the work itself is not mean what it is appeared; here, Socrates…...

Introduction This paper will attempt to argue against the common misconceptions about reality and perception. It will try to explain that perception and reality are interconnected, and that our five human senses are not the sole basis of reality, they are just instrumental to am additional process of perception that will bring the truth in our lives. This paper will briefly discuss the historical progression of human apprehension of the world he exists in. From Plato to Quantum Physics, the…...

The problem of congenital attainments was an object for debates back in ancient time. Innate ideas are one of the most controversial and ambiguous concepts of European philosophy. The problem of inherent ideas, or, in general, of innate attainments, plays almost the decisive role in determining the model of human cognitive activity. John Locke discussed in detail and criticized the theory of innate notions of René Descartes. In his opinion, there are no ideas common to all people. The attainments…...

John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding consists of four books that reveal the core aspects of the understanding. The famous philosopher says that only understanding sets man over animals and gives him a possibility to dominate over all other living creatures. Locke emphasizes that through knowledge humans are able to perceive everything. He focuses on the origin and the depth of human knowledge, the grounds and intensity of belief, opinion, and assent. Belief, opinion, and assent are not the biological…...

The essay consists of four parts and is intended to answer the following questions: what is general will by contrast private will and will of all? Is it capable of making mistakes or being wrong? Is it possible to implement? What are the shortcomings of it? The relation of the general will and the sovereign. At the outset, it is worth acknowledging that Rousseau is one of those philosophers, who referred in his writings the idea of social contract. Before…...

John Locke was born in 1632 at Winton, Somerset, and died biennial seventy two-year later in 1704. He's one in every of the foremost cogent philosophers and political theorists of the seventeenth century. Following within the British empiricists’ tradition, his works are dominated by logic and a rigid straight-forward language. Locke's monumental Associate Essay regarding Human Understanding, that became the foundation of empiricism in Kingdom. Basically, he needed to find and decipher the origin, extent, and certainty of human knowledge.…...

Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) a Dutch philosopher, who is most often known as the 'founding father' of phenomenology. Husserl's phenomenology is a self-reflexive philosophical approach and commonly known as descriptive phenomenology. Descriptive phenomenology utilized intentionality' which means intentionally directing one's focus to identify the essences of phenomena of interest and explore the nature of human consciousness. As Husserl assumed that understanding and describing a subjective phenomenon requires set away bracketing out' from pre-understanding and preconceived notions that would otherwise impact how…...

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, and The Education of a Christian Prince by Erasmus of Rotterdam provide precisely opposite point of views regarding the conduct and purpose of princely rulers for effective government. Machiavelli discussed the qualities that applies to a prince so that he can maintain the best control of the power to which he has laid claim. For him, military power is one of the most important qualities a prince can have. He writes about it, saying: “...…...

Niccolo Machiavelli, writing in The Prince, circa 1513, and published post humously in 1532, states, in essence, that a ruler should obey no law but his own. He is free to do anything to achieve and to remain in power. Machiavelli was likely writing to the Medici family of Florence, having dedicated his work to Lorenzo The Magnificent. Machiavelli listed several traits which the prince must possess to be successful. This paper will look at two traits needed to gain…...