Categorical imperative Essay Example for Free

Categorical imperative Essay Philosophers usually tend to think and respond in totally different and opposite ways. However, in Glaucon’s challenge, Aristotle, Spinoza, Hume, Kant and Mill agreed that it’s an uncontrollable system of desire. In Glaucon’s challenge he describes three important ideas. The first idea is â€Å"of the nature and origin of unjust, according to the common view of them† (488). The second idea is â€Å"I will show that all men who practice justice do so against their will, of necessity but not as a good† (488). The third idea is â€Å"I will argue that there is reason in this view, for the life of the unjust is after all better far than the life of the just† (488). Each one of these philosophers responded to this challenge similar and different manners. Aristotle believed that to be a good man is to have good morality. In his point of view he sees that morality gives a reason that leads to actions. Artistotle respond toward Glaucon’s challenge is reason guides passion. This makes him an injustice man because he just cares about how to please himself and follow his desire. Spinoza’s idea is emotions have nothing to do with human beings its reasons that guide us. He believed that passion and emotions leads us to be changeable due to how the world around us and not necessarily our knowledge. Reasons give us the opportunity to gain knowledge of life. Spinoza becomes unjust and gives reasons to Glaucon’s challenge. From Hume’s point of view he believed that benevolence makes us social being instead of self interest. Hume’s main concern is sympathy and empathy. Sympathy is the nature of human that makes them human beings. It’s the ability to see feel pity toward other. Empathy is the understanding of pain and happiness of one another. Hume believed that all human are selfish and that their passion guides their reasons. Passion and reasons is not having emotions or feeling pity. Hume’s view is that we should the ability to feel others emotions and understand them. Kant sees that the categorical imperative is the only moral way to act. Categorical imperatives are based on ideals of logic and acts on duty. He believed that if you feel satisfied about something you did, you shouldn’t consider it a reward but rather as a bonus for you. We only do moral things because it’s in fulfill our interest and benefit. Kant responds to Glaucon’s challenge that if the act is immoral, then it cannot be considered into categorical imperative. Mill’s view is that everyone should be satisfied and happy. He believes that everyone should think of the consequences of their actions before deciding to make them. Mill puts others as well as himself into consideration before any action. He doesn’t argue towards or against Glaucon’s challenge, he just cares about his pleasure and others. Each philosopher had his own argument toward Glaucon’s challenge. Their ideas were unjust happiness towards Glaucon’s challenge. Aristotle and Hume had opposite views. Aristotle‘s idea towards the challenge was reason guides passion, where Hume’s idea was passion guides reason. Mill and Kant had the same assumptions. Mill expresses about pleasure and Kant was certain about duty. Mill agrees with Aristotle as well, they believe that happiness is a man’s ambition and human existence. Spinoza is just unjust to the whole idea of the challenge. These philosophers’ ideas were very similar that a man would behave unjust if he had the ring.

Existentialism :: essays research papers

Existentialism Like "rationalism" and "empiricism," "existentialism" is a term that belongs to intellectual history. Its definition is thus to some extent one of historical convenience. The term was explicitly adopted as a self-description by Jean-Paul Sartre, and through the wide dissemination of the postwar literary and philosophical output of Sartre and his associates — notably Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Albert Camus — existentialism became identified with a cultural movement that flourished in Europe in the 1940s and 1950s. Among the major philosophers identified as existentialists (many of whom — for instance Camus and Heidegger — repudiated the label) were Karl Jaspers, Martin Heidegger, and Martin Buber in Germany, Jean Wahl and Gabriel Marcel in France, the Spaniards Josà © Ortega y Gasset and Miguel de Unamuno, and the Russians Nicholai Berdyaev and Lev Shestov. The nineteenth century philosophers, Soren Kierkeg aard and Friedrich Nietzsche, came to be seen as precursors of the movement. Existentialism was as much a literary phenomenon as a philosophical one. Sartre's own ideas were and are better known through his fictional works (such as Nausea and No Exit) than through his more purely philosophical ones (such as Being and Nothingness and Critique of Dialectical Reason), and the postwar years found a very diverse coterie of writers and artists linked under the term: retrospectively, Dostoevsky, Ibsen, and Kafka were conscripted; in Paris there were Jean Genet, Andrà © Gide, Andrà © Malraux, and the expatriate Samuel Beckett; the Norwegian Knut Hamsen and the Romanian Eugene Ionesco belong to the club; artists such as Alberto Giacommeti and even Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky, and Willem de Kooning, and filmmakers such as Jean-Luc Godard and Ingmar Bergman were understood in existential terms. By the mid 1970s the cultural image of existentialism had becom e a clichà ©, parodized in countless books and films by Woody Allen. It is sometimes suggested, therefore, that existentialism just is this bygone cultural movement rather than an identifiable philosophical position; or, alternatively, that the term should be restricted to Sartre's philosophy alone. But while a philosophical definition of existentialism may not entirely ignore the cultural fate of the term, and while Sartre's thought must loom large in any account of existentialism, the concept does pick out a distinctive cluster of philosophical problems and helpfully identifies a relatively distinct current of twentieth- and now twenty-first century philosophical inquiry, one that has had significant impact on fields such as theology (through Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich, Karl Barth, and others) and psychology (from Ludwig Binswanger and Medard Boss to Otto Rank, R.

Darwins Contribution to Science

Darwin’s Contribution to Science Eric Nash Bio-Literature Dr. Slovak 04/15/2013 When one ponders the current understanding of evolution and natural selection and where it came from, many names may come to mind. However, the man who gave us the idea of natural selection in the first place was none other than Charles Darwin. While Darwin was not the only one conducting research of this kind, his name stands out as a driving force behind our current understanding of evolution.Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 to Robert and Susanna Darwin. Darwin’s father Robert was a physician, much as his paternal grandfather Erasmus Darwin. Charles Darwin studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but quickly found that his future lay on a different path. Darwin eventually attended Cambridge University, between 1828 – 1831, where he graduated with the intention of becoming a clergyman. In those days, a clergyman was a general lover of all things natural and could be called by some, the original biologists.Very soon after, indeed the same year as his graduation, Darwin was invited to go along with Captain Robert Fitzroy on a voyage aboard The Beagle. His main role was to be the resident naturalist. During the voyage, Darwin was expected to gather samples and make observations in order to send back to England for classification. Little did Darwin know that the voyage would last five years. While Darwin is known mostly for his work on the Galapagos Islands, he only spent five weeks of his five year journey on the islands. Most of his work was on mainland South America.Through his collection of fossils, skins, skeletons, and various other samples, Darwin was able to postulate about isolation and change within a species. Darwin spent years after his voyage on The Beagle, cataloguing specimens, consulting with colleagues, and getting everything in order to make sure that he had the best support for his theories. It wasn’t until he read an e conomic report by Malthus that describes population growth and decline are based on various factors such as famine or disease (James, 1979), that Darwin began to put together the pieces of what he had learned from his voyage and study.Malthus’ work helped Darwin to understand that under specific conditions, favorable variations would tend to be preserved while unfavorable characteristics would be destroyed. Darwin began to work on a report outlining his theory of evolution through natural selection, but never published them. In 1856, Charles Lyell convinced Darwin to start working on a book detailing his work. Darwin didn’t put a great deal of effort into a book until after 1858, when Alred Russel Wallace sent a letter to Darwin, explaining in almost identical fashion to Darwin’s work, evolution by natural selection.After two presentations at the Linnean Society, in which two of Darwin’s papers and one from Wallace was used, Darwin began his work on, â₠¬Å"On the Origin of the Species. † This was a smaller version of the larger book he was intending on writing and was published in 1859 where it immediately became a scientific sensation. Many scientists argued against Darwin’s work claiming that evolution was a product of major sudden changes which caused large mutations. These scientists were known as â€Å"saltationists†.The major argument was the fact that the earth was not old enough for gradualism, or evolution through small steps, to have occurred. It wasn’t until Mendel’s work on genetics in 1856 that Darwin’s theories really began to take hold. It took all the way until the 1930’s before gradualism was widely accepted. Ultimately, Darwin was not fully vindicated until the last half of the 20th century in which DNA and genes were better understood. Although much of Darwin’s later years were spent in illness, he continued to work.After â€Å"On the Origin of the Speciesâ €  was written, he continued to work on human descent from earlier animals including the evolution of societies and mental abilities. He also did some work to explain the decorative beauty of wildlife and plant life such as his work in 1861 into wild orchids. He showed that an adaptation in their flower petals to attract specific moths in order to ensure cross pollination. He then wrote â€Å"Fertilisation of Orchids† in 1862 where he detailed the power of natural selection to clarify compound ecological interactions and made testable predictions.Darwin went on with, â€Å"The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex,† where he Darwin proposed evidence from many sources citing that humans are animals. He explained that sexual selection can describe unreasonable characteristics such as differences between the sexes of various racial differences while emphasizing that all humans are the same species. Darwin was also pleased by this time that his theories did n ot meet the criticism that they once did commenting that â€Å"†everybody is talking about it without being shocked† (Darwin, 1887).After Darwin’s demise, many geographical features and landmarks were named after him. Captain Robert Fitzroy named Darwin Sound in commemoration of Darwin’s quick thinking in saving The Beagle from being sunk when a large glacier created a wave that would have decimated their boats. In the Andes, there is Mount Darwin, so named during the celebration of Darwin’s 25th birthday. More than 120 species and nine genera have been named after Darwin. A group of tanagers found in the Galapagos Islands became known as Darwin’s finches, which ironically, has promoted a great deal of inaccuracies about Darwin’s work.There is even a Darwin Day in England. Darwin’s contribution to science is not insignificant. While not knowing where his theories would lead, he inadvertently became the father of evolution throug h natural selection. His ideas revolutionized the way scientists thought, thus leading to what we know today. Although, the presence of people such as Alred Russel Wallace goes to show that the truth was out there already, it simply needed the tenacity of a man like Darwin to do the work and publish those finding.Charles Darwin put in the time and effort to voyage on The Beagle in order to make everything we know today, possible. While I believe that a truth is a truth and all it needs is someone to find it, without those people, where would we be? Darwin himself once said, â€Å"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science. † References Darwin, Charles (1887). In Darwin, Francis. The life and letters of Charles Darwin, including an autobiographical chapter.London: John Murray. ISBN 0-404-08417-6 Darwin, Charles (1859 ). On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (1st ed. ). London: John Murray. ISBN 1-4353-9386-4. Darwin, Charles (1862), On the various contrivances by which British and foreign orchids are fertilised by insects, and on the good effects of intercrossing, London: John Murray James, Patricia 1979. Population Malthus: his life and times. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Powerpoint Presentation. Charles Darwin 1809-1882 by Dr. Slovak.

Essay about Three Major Factors Of The Renaissance

The word Renaissance means â€Å"rebirth† and it was the response to the brutal hardships of daily life in the middle ages. It was mostly based around humanism, fine arts, and reformation of the Church. Early humanists such as Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, and Niccolo Machiavelli wrote books and expressed new ideas about humanism which made everyday life more secular and free willing. The three major factors of the Renaissance that were different from the middle ages were Humanism, improvements in discovery, and the Reformation of the Church. In the middle ages, people’s lives were very dedicated to two things: the Church, and feudalism. Leading thinkers were preoccupied with the individual’s responsibility to God designing†¦show more content†¦Art, music and advances in technology did not go anywhere in the middle ages because there were no great artists, composers, or scientists. Feudalism and the Roman Catholic Church restricted man y new inventions and discoveries up until the after the Hundred years’ war and the Black Death. But when Renaissance came along man’s curiosity brought up many brilliant artists such as Michelangelo Buonarotti and Leonardi Da Vinci. These geniuses brought art to a new age by building sculptures, creating frescoes, and creating famous paintings. Da Vinci, the â€Å"ultimate renaissance man† introduced not just new art, but new sciences, technologies and many other inventions. He studied the human anatomy and had plans for helicopters, tanks, canals, and river systems. His famous paintings are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. Great composers were Josquin Des Prez and Giovanni Palestrina. Josquin had an ability to reveal meaning and emotions of a text through â€Å"word painting†. He wrote over 100 motets, 20 masses, and 70 chansons. Inventors were Johann Gutenburg, Galileo Galilei, and Nicolaus Copernicus. Johann had developed the printing press which was very vital in copying written works and music. Galileo had developed the telescope which enabled people to see space and the stars at a very far distant. Copernicus was a scientist and mathematician who sought up the idea of the Heliocentric (sun centered) theory of theShow MoreRelatedThe Renaissance Was A Period Of The Art And Learning Styles Based On Greco Roman Inspiration975 Words   |  4 PagesThe Renaissance was a period of the â€Å"rebirth† of the art and learning styles based on Greco-Roman inspiration. These ideas had been lost in Europe due to the Dark Ages. The Renaissance began in the 1300s, and it reached its crowning point during the 1500s. During this time, trading was thriving, and this allowed for innovative ideas to spread. Trade routes from the Middle East and far East brought mathematical and scientific advancements to Europe. 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The term Renaissance literally means â€Å"rebirth†:Read MoreRequirement of Reform of the Church in Europe During 15th and 16th Centuries1283 Words   |  6 Pagesnumber of reasons. The main reason being the behaviour of the papacy and their priorities which were no longer the welfare of the Church. There were other factors which contributed to the development of the Reformation in Europe other than the state of the Church and Christian Humanism, however these were the main factors. The first reason why the Church in Europe needed reform was the papacy who became more interested in wealth than in spiritual welfare. It was normalRead MoreRenaissance Art And The Postmodern Frame1245 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Renaissance movement and Claude Monet from the Impressionism movement. The artist Chiharu Shiota and Lee Bul have also used the art convention Biennale and the world agent to create â€Å"Conscious Sleep† and â€Å"Diluvium† respectively. Through the use the world as a source of ideas, artists with a focus on the postmodern frame have used art conventions to create artworks. Renaissance artworks challenged the contemporary values of its time and marks a transition in time periods. The Renaissance movementRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance s Influence And Impact1262 Words   |  6 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance s Influence and Impact The Harlem Renaissance era is known for its rich culture and being the source for many African American breakthrough artists such as Alain Locke,W.E.B DuBois, and Ethel Waters. . Whether it be the diversity of music, drama, art, or literature, it’s surely present during that period of time and still is today. Many questions about this time period include â€Å"How was Harlem life like back then?† â€Å"What is the Harlem Renaissance?†, and â€Å"How did itRead MoreGrammatical and Lexical Changes 1550 -1700 Essay948 Words   |  4 PagesToday, like during the renaissance when it could be said that the English language developed the most, there is no shortage of people who comment and have opinions on the development of the English Language. In an essay entitled English our English John Marenbon (1987) talks of the necessity to include Latin in the national curriculum to aid the English student in their study, he also says that any Englishman who does not h ave a grasp of Latin is (A) stranger to his own culture (note the patriarchal