Descartes’ Proofs of God: From Cogito to Certainty
Descartes: Beyond the Cogito
The critical part of Cartesian philosophy concludes after finding the first indubitable truth, the ultimate basis of knowledge: the cogito. From this point begins the constructive or deductive phase, applying the third and fourth rules of the method.
The Thinking Self and the Problem of Solipsism
The first consequence of the cogito is that I am a thinking thing (res cogitans), which possesses ideas. This implies that it is evident that within thought, there are ideas. However,
Read MoreAquinas’ Synthesis: Faith, Reason, and Existence of God
Thomas Aquinas: Faith, Reason, and Existence of God
Faith and Reason
Thomas Aquinas integrated faith and reason, drawing on both revealed and philosophical learning, following precedents set by St. Augustine and St. Anselm. He emphasized the subordination of reason to faith, asserting that true wisdom lies in understanding the path to human salvation. This knowledge, essential for salvation, is revealed by God in Scripture.
Revelation encompasses truths unattainable through reason alone. While philosophy
Read MoreKant y Descartes: Razón, Ética y Realidad Metafísica
Kant: Juicios Sintéticos a Priori y Razón Pura
Tipos de Juicios
Juicios analíticos: Explican únicamente el contenido explícito del sujeto. Por ejemplo: “Todos los cuerpos son extensos”.
Juicios sintéticos: El predicado amplía la información, añadiendo algo nuevo al concepto del sujeto. Por ejemplo: “Todos los cuerpos son pesados”.
Juicios sintéticos a priori: Son juicios que amplían nuestro conocimiento (sintéticos) pero cuya verdad se conoce independientemente de la experiencia (a priori)
Read MoreUnderstanding Values: Philosophical Perspectives and Types
What Are Values?
The term ‘value’ is often used to talk about the price of a commodity, giving it an economic meaning. Sometimes, it is said that a piece of art has great value. In this context, it has value as a human creation, but it might be impossible to set a precise economic value for it.
Key aspects of values include:
- Unreal Objects on Real Objects: Values cannot be seen, touched, or smelled; they are not perceived directly by human senses. For example, goodness itself cannot be touched. However,
Modernity and Postmodernism: Defining Cultural Eras
Modernity: An Era of Progress and Reason
Modernity is a period in European history dating from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It coincided with the end of the Old Regime and the liberal revolutions, implying significant societal change. Modernity effectively began with the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution.
Key Tenets of Modernity
- Social Utopias: This period featured grand social visions and cultural movements like the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, a French cultural
Hume on Knowledge, Causality, and Moral Sentiment
Hume: Impressions, Ideas, and Knowledge Sources
For David Hume, sense experience is the ultimate source of our knowledge; he argued against the existence of innate ideas. He referred to anything that enters our mind through the senses as a perception. Hume distinguished between two kinds of perceptions: impressions and ideas.
- Impressions: Perceptions that enter the mind with greater force and vivacity.
- Ideas: Fainter images or copies of impressions, used in thinking, reasoning, and imagining.
The impression
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