Compilation of Notes.

BY: ARBRA.14

Philosophy of Man

Man: Crown of CreationA Christian Philosophy of Man

Concept of Man as a crown of creationMan is considered as the creation of all God ‘s creation because he is the only one which is made in the “image” and “likeness” of God.

Human relationships

Man and religion- refers to the man “human –Devine” partnership and communionMan and morality- morality connects good moral conduct with happiness. The goal of man: this relation constitutes the human activity which is attributed to ethics.Man and social relations- man by nature and inclination tends towards group life; this human activity results to a social relationshipMan and politics- refers to the relationship of man and the state, the ruler and the ruledMan and economics- because man has the natural right to live, he has the right to satisfy his wants and needs such food, shelter, clothing… etc ,; the relation of man with material goods which is necessary by branch of social science called Economics

The gift of man

Purpose of Man’s Gift

To serve for the betterment and perfection not only to the individual man but for all humanity of which he is inseparably a member

Intended to be dynamic and dialectically directed towards men’s supreme purpose and destiny which is happiness – not only for himself but all human beings.

St. Augustine’s philosophy of man

Life of St. Augustine

Whoever has received from the divine bounty a large share of

temporal blessings, whether they be external and corporeal, or gift of the mind he has received them for the purpose of using them for the perfecting of his own nature

and at the same time , that he may employ them as a steward of

God’s providence for the benefit of other.

- Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Navarum

Philosophy of Man

Born in 354 AD in Thagaste He came from a poor family with unconsolidated religion Studied Latin literature and grammar Was previously influenced by Manichacism , Neo – Platonism and by St. Ambrose Was appointed as bishop of hippo and dedicated gis life to the strengthening of the church

especially in North Africa

St Augustine on the meaning of life

Philosophy aims to produce happiness that can only be found in God alone Philosophy is insufficient in itself in discovering this blessing life Believes that philosophy offers a means to improve the understanding of the faith Believes in faith over reason (Credo ut intelligam)

St. Augustine on moral Evil and moral Obligation

Moral EvilMan ‘s abuse or misuse of his freedomEvil is the very negation and privation of being and cannot be the object of god’s positive act of creation

Moral obligation Humanity must do good and avoid evilAll human are responsible to their neighbors as they are to their actions

St. Augustine theory of knowledge

The main purpose of the continuing search for the absolute truth/knowledge is to bring happiness to the soul

The knowledge of truth is synonymous to finding Christ and the Christian wisdom

There are two principle in this theory

1. Principle of contradiction – every principle has both affirmative and negative sides. If it can be said that universe is expanding. It can also state that the universe is static.

2. Principle of subjective impression – a theorist/thinker is certain that she/he has subjective insight about a particular issue/phenomenon.

The lowest form of knowledge is that of the sense or sense knowledge

Knowledge is composed to levels:1. Sense or sensation2. Wisdom

Philosophy of Man

St. Augustine’s spiritual ladder: Seven step mounting to eternal wisdom.

Fear Piety Knowledge Fortitude Counsel of compassion and mercy Purification of heart Wisdom

St. Thomas aquinas’ philosophy of man

Life of St Thomas Aquinas

Born around 1225 at Castle of Reccasecca, Kingdom of Naples Joined the Dominican Order Was kidnapped and detained by family members to keep him from joining the Dominican order. Studied at Cologne in Paris under tutelage of St. Albert the Great Dedicated life to teaching and writing

The five ways The arguments of motion – there must be a prime motion

Nothing can move by itselfIf every object in motion had a mover, then the first object in motion needed a mover.This first mover in the Unmoved Mover called GOD.

The arguments from causality – every effect must have causeThere exist things that are caused by order thingsNothing can be the cause of itselfThere cannot be an endless string of objects causing other objects to existTherefore, there must be an uncaused first cause called GOD.

The arguments from necessity or contingency – all being are possible but one must be necessary if there are to be any being at all.

Contingent beings are caused Not every being can be contingentThere must exist a being which is necessary to cause contingent being

Philosophy of Man

This necessary being is God The arguments from gradation or exemplarity – our ideas presuppose some standard

of perfection.For any given quality there must be perfect standard by which all such qualities are measured: these perfections are contained in God.

The arguments from design - the consistent and coherent operation of the whole universe demands some intelligent and purposeful designer.

Common sense tells us that the universe works in such a way that one can conclude that it was designed an intelligent designer. God.

The Transcendental Man

Man on his present existence on earth is mortal, finite and imperfect according to St Aquinas and the Christian teachings. However , through the attainment of his purpose and the union with god man is elevated in the rank of the divine – the immortal the perfect.

FINITE TRANSCENDENTAL INFINTE

IMMAUENL KANT’S PHILOSOPHYLife of Immauenl Kant

He was born in the east Prussia town of Konigsberg He extensively studied theology philosophy and mathematics He became a private tutor in different rural households. Upon receiving their academic he was offered to render lectures on various universities

Introduction to Kantian philosophy

Present state of existence:

Imperfection Finite Temporal Natural Human

Ultimate Destiny

Perfect Infinite Eternal

Super Natural Divine

Philosophy of Man

A priori – a given proposition is knowable a priori if it can be known independent of any experience other than the experience of learning the language I which the preposition is expressed.

A posteriori – a preposition that is knowable a posterior is known on the basis of experience.

Metaphysics according to Immanuel kant

Cognition after which reason might strive independent of all experiences and his goal in the book is to reach a decision about the possibility or impossible of a metaphysics in general

Concern a prior knowledge or knowledge whose justification does not depend of experience but on reason

Transcendental

A prior knowledge transcendental or goes by beyond experience and is the key to understanding the truth about the nature of reality

Subdivision of transcendentalTranscendental idealism – claims that knowledge is gained by means of experience Transcendental deduction – intelligible experiences will be arranged into forms of intuitions and categories and afterwards will become series of a priori judgments that shall apply to the world of experience.

Deontological ethics

Autonomy of reason – man with his pure unaided speculative reason, cannot know reality as it is but only as it appears to be when disclosed to him by his scene-experience.

Concerned with what people do not and not on the consequence of their action Teaches that some act are right and wrong because of the sorts of things they are States that people have a duty to act accordingly regardless of the good or bad

consequences that may be produced. Deontological believe in the following universal moral laws:

It is wrong to kill innocent people. It is wrong to steal It is wrong to tell lies It is right to keep promises

Advantages of duty based ethics It emphasizes the value of every human being It say some acts are always wrong It provides ‘certainly’ It deals with intentions and motives

Disadvantages of duty based ethics It set of absolute rules It allow acts that make the world a less good place

Philosophy of Man

Hedonism, utilitarianism and communism

Hedonism

The ethical theory which holds that the supreme end of man consists in the acquisition of pleasure and the action are good or bad according as the give worldly pleasure or temporal happiness to man

Holds that morality is grounded on the pleasure or satisfaction that act brings or entails. Identifies pleasure and pain as the important elements of whatever phenomena they are

designed to describe

Types of hedonism

Folk hedonism – refers to hedonism when applied to modern literature or by non-philosophers in everyday life.

Value hedonism – holds that all and only pleasure is intrinsically dis-valuable or simple “pleasure is the only prudential good and pain is the only prudential bad”

Prudential hedonism - holds that all and only pleasure is intrinsically makes people’s live better and that all and only pain intrinsically make their lives worse.

Motivational hedonism- – refers to the theory that desire to encounter pleasure and avoid pain guides all our behavior

Normative hedonism- refers to the theory that happiness should be pursued; here are two major types of normative hedonism

Hedonistic EgoismHedonistic Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism

A moral system judges the morality of human acts in terms of the happiness or the good that they brings about.

The goodness and badness of an action would depend on the effects or consequences of the action.

A theory that makes utility the norm of morality; good is that which administers to the temporal welfare and happiness of man bad which obstructs or hinders or retards this happiness

Jeremy Bentham

Philosophy of Man

He argued that nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign master – pleasure and pain

Pleasures can be quantitatively graded through the following variables:1. Intensity2. Duration3. Propinquity4. Fecundity5. Purity6. Extent7. Purity

John Stuart Mill

He argued that an action is right in so far as it maximizes general utility, which Mill identifiers with happiness.

Pleasures can be distinguished not only quantitatively, but qualitatively as well

Communism

Dialect materialism A philosophical approach to reality which was derived from the teachings of German

philosophers, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel A theory that asserts that matter is the only reality; this sole is in constant state of influx or

motion which accounts for all the events motion and changed in the universe. Claims of dialectic materialism

The denial of the existence of God since God is a spirit and nothing existing material things The denial of the freedom of the will in man since matter the sole existence of reality is determined in all its movements by the law of the dialectic.The denial of immortality; since communism denies the existence of the spirit and furthermore teaches that the goal of man is earthly happiness in a classless society.

Phenomenology, existentialism and pragmatism

Phenomenology

Origin of phenomenology

Philosophy of Man

Edmund Husserl – German philosopher who objected “Psychologism” or the thesis that truth ie dependent on the particularities of the human mind

Husserl Phenomenology

The scientific study of the essential structures of consciousness Studies phenomena as object of intentionality Claims the relevance of the structures of consciousness in opposition to

the objects of the external world The first reduction – is called epoch or “suspension” in which the phenomenologist “brackets”

all questions of truth or reality and simply describes the contents of consciousness. The second reduction – eliminates merely empirical contents of consciousness and focuses

instead on the essential features the meanings of consciousness.

Existentialism

Employs a heavy stress on subjectivity Emphasizes that the only rote to truth in the sphere of human existence is

through the individual person’s own participation Believe that “existence precedes essence”

Philosophy of Existentialism

Claimed that the authentic self the personally chosen self as opposed to the public or “herd” identity.

Emphasized subjectivity or the decision choice and a constant awareness that one is an individual

Argued that reality could not be fully comprehended by reason because human existence involved choices that were absurd from a rational standpoint.

Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche

Theory of the “ Will to Power” – states that all actions are motivated by the desires for power; the Will to Power is a way of looking at the universe and describing it

The only either/or is the choice between good and evil. Freedom is the way to heaven. The only valid

actis one of choice

-Soren Keikergoard

Philosophy of Man

“Gods is Dead” – Nietzsche proclaimed that he had killed God and loathed the commercial world of the 19th century: he considered the Judeo- Christian ethics a prejudice and a from of intellectual laziness.

Ubermensh/Superman

The meaning of the earth The highly cultured skill full in all bodily accomplishments tolerant out of strength

regarding nothing is forbidden unless it is weakness. The man who has himself becomes god and replaced the vanished and slain God by

becoming god he killed god.

Nihilism

Emphasized on the meaninglessness of evil rather on its mere existence Totally rejects society and authority and holds that in the interest of progress all present

social institutions hold be destroyed. Assert that nothing can be known because nothing exist.

Pragmatism

Theory of knowledge that is a plan of action one adopts to resolve a practical problem and truth is the success of the plan in leading to desirable result.

It is anchored on the following conceptsThat thought and knowledge are biologically and socially evolved modes of adaption to and control over experience and realityThat reality possesses a transitional character.That all knowledge is evaluative of future experience.

Aims of Pragmatism

The concern to harmonize bridge reconcile morals and science to establish and justify an interpretation of valuing and knowing as logically common modes of intelligent actions.

To serve every branch of science To render the substantive content the very meaning of ethical and metaphysical beliefs and

decisions of conduct into term s capable of analysis and verification by established norms of scientific judgment.

Proponents of Pragmatism

Charles S. Pierce - stated that beliefs are really rules for action which established habits; to determine a thought’s meaning it is necessary only to determine what conduct it is fitted to produce

Philosophy of Man

William James – believed that the meaning and value of all assumptions and ideas must be evaluated in radical way by attention to their practical consequence in use.

John Dewey – advocated the separation of religious values from organized religion in common faith.

Introduction to PHILOSOPHYDefinition of Philosophy

Reasons why philosophy is hard to define:It has specific subject matterIt pursues question rather than answerIt change historically in respect to its content and its characterA field of a study of the process which includes standards and guide lines for thought.A human drive in the search of knowledge and wisdom to facilitate the evolution of man Studies the fundamental nature of existence of man and man’s relationship to existence

Branches of Philosophy

Philosophy

Meta- Physics – study of existence

Answer to the question, “what is out there,?” or “what is real.?” Encompasses everything that exists, as well as the nature of existence itself. Determine whether the world is real. Or merely an illusion

Epistemology – study of knowledge

Epistemology

Logic

Politics

Ethics

Meta-Physics

Aesthetics

Philosophy of Man

Answer the question. “how do we know.?’ Encompasses the nature of concepts the constructing of concepts. That validity of the senses,

logical reasoning as well as thoughts idea memories emotions and all things mental Concerned with how our minds are related to reality and whether these relationships are valid

or invalid.

Ethics – study of action

Answer the question, “what should I do.?” Deals with the proper course of action of men Method by which people categories values and pursue them

Politics- study of force

Answer the questions. ”what acts are permissible.?” Ethics applied to a group of people.

Aesthetic – study of art

Answer the question. “what life can be like.?” Evaluates art by using the standard of human life. And if whether it accomplishes the job of

satisfying men ‘s intellectual needs or whether it tends to hurt or make worse of those needs

Logic – study of reason

Answer the question. “what is correct reasoning.?’ Attempts to distinguish a fact from fallacy

Brief History of Philosophy.

Pre- Socratic Philosophy

Characterized by the rejection of the mythological explanation on the natre and phenomena in the universe

Includes philosopher o Thaleso Anaximander

Classical Philosophy

Pre-Socratic Philosophy

Medieval Philosophy

Modern Philosophy

Classical Philosophy

Early modern Philosophy

Philosophy of Man

Characterized by the rise of the teachings of philosophyo Socrateso Platoo Aristotle

Medieval Philosophy

Happened between the age of reason (17th century) and the age of enlightenment (18th century) Includes historical and cultural changes such as the advancement in science, the growth of

religious tolerance and the rise of liberalism Includes philosopher such as:

o Rene Descarteso Baruch Spinozao Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnizo Immanuel Kant

Eastern and Western philosophies: An Overview

Western Philosophy

Philosophical thinking in the western or occidental world; emphasizes on individualism science ,math and politics seen as the triumph of reason and empiricism over faith/religion – a search involving many questions

Eastern Philosophy

Philosophies in the eastern or occidental world, particularity Asia and some countries emphasizes on interdependence harmony unity and faith.

Philosophical Questions:

1. Is the worse to fail at something or never attempt it in the first place?2. If you could just one thing to change in the world. What would be.?3. To what extent do you shape your own destiny, and how much is down to fate.?4. Should people care more about doing the right thing or doing things right?5. What is true happiness.?6. What makes you. you?7. What is reality?8. Who defines good and evil?9. What is the difference between living and being alive?10. What is true love?11. How can people believes in truths without evidence?12. Is it easier to love or to be loved?

Philosophy of Man

13. What is truth?14. Is life all a dream?15. Do we have soul?16. Can we have happiness without sadness?17. What is time ?18. Is there a reason to life?19. What is beauty?20. What happen after we die?

Funny Questions:

1. Is daydreaming possible at night?2. If we have come in this world to help others, then why have the others comes in this

world?3. Ii is said that humans evolved from apes and monkeys. Then why do these animals exist

till date.?4. If someone who has a split personality tries to commit suicide, will it be considered a

hostage situation.?5. How much important a person has to become in today’s world, for his mrder to be

reported as assassination in newspapers.?6. If a turtle doesn’t have shell, is it homeless or naked?7. Why do they use sterilized needle for death by lethal injection?

Plato

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.Death is not worse that can happen to menDesires are only the lack of something: and those who have the greatest desires are in worse condition than those who have none, or very slight ones.If woman are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things.Man…is a tame or civilized animal; never the less, he requires proper instruction and fortunes nature, and then of all animals he becomes the most divine and most civilized but if he be insufficiently or ill-educate he is the most savage of earthly creatures.Thinking is the talking soul with itselfWe can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.No evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death.You cannot conceive that many without the one .

Philosophy of Man

Socrates

All men’s soul are immortal but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divineBe as you wish to seemFalse words are not only evil themselves bt they infect the soul with evilBy all means marry: if you get a good wife you’ll be happy , if get a bad one. You’ll become a philosopherI ‘am not an Athenian or a Greek but a citizen of the worldChildren today are tyrants they contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannize their teacherIf a move would move the world he must first move himselfAs for me all I know is that I know nothing

The Allegory of the cave by Plato

The cave Imagine a cave, in which there are three prisoners. The prisoners are tied to

some rocks, their arms and legs are bound and their head is tied so that they cannot look at anything but the stonewall in front of them

These prisoners have been here since birth and have never seen outside of the cave.

Behind the prisoners is a fire and between them is a raised walkway. People outside the cave walk along this walkway carrying things on their head

including; animals plant wood and stone. The shadow

So imagine that you are one of the prisoners. You cannot look at anything behind or to the side of you - you must look at the wall in front of you.

When people walk along the walkway , you can see shadows of the objects they are carrying cast on to the wall.

If you had never seen the real objects ever before you would believe that the shadows of objects were real.

The game Plato suggests that the prisoners would begin a ‘game’ of guessing which appear

next, If one of the prisoners were to correctly guess, the others would praise him as

clever and say that he were a master of nature The escape

One of the prisoners that escapes from their bindings and leaves the cave. He is shocked at the he discovers outside the cave and does not believe it can be

real. As he becomes used to his new surroundings he realizes that his former view of

reality was wrong.

Philosophy of Man

He begins to understand his new world and sees that the sun is the source of life and goes on an intellectual journey where he discovers beauty and meaning

He sees that his former life and the guessing game they played is useless. The return

The prisoner returns to the cave, to inform the other prisoners of his finding. They do not believe him and threaten to kill him he tries to set them free.