Free Essays on Philosophy

Can Descartes be certain that he is thinking? How? Can he be certain that he exists? How? (And who is he?) Descartes’ statement â€Å"I think therefore I exist† raises questions about the meaning of thought, the meaning of existence but most fundamentally, in what sense he can be certain. The difficulty in establishing the certainty of â€Å"I think† and â€Å"I exist† is that the two concepts are interrelated. Thus, for example, differing interpretations of what it is to think will have a profound impact on the question of whether Descartes can achieve the certainty of his existence. The success of his attempt to achieve certainty can be analysed in relation to how far he overcomes the universal doubt he has introduced in the first meditation. It is in this sphere of meaning that â€Å"I† becomes very relevant as it is possible to argue that his use of â€Å"I† demonstrates that his own interpretation of what is certain is partially based on intrinsically held beliefs. Williams describes the statement â€Å"I think† as indubitable. This is because â€Å"if anyone believes he is thinking or that he exists then necessarily he has a true belief.† Using the Cartesian method, the statement that â€Å"I think† is unique because it is the only premise that has the property of having its truth confirmed by the act of doubting it. Descartes demonstrates that he has found a statement that is not defeated by the possibility of a ‘malicious demon’ when he says â€Å"If I am in doubt, if I am entertaining the possibility that I might be deceived, then the very fact that I am around to entertain that doubt shows that I must exist†. Thus he is already assuming that his ability to entertain doubt, or â€Å"think† is certain, which based on the premise above, is a not unreasonable conclusion. Before further examining his assertion that he is thinking, the question of what Descartes means by thinking must be defined. In the simplest form, possible d... Free Essays on Philosophy Free Essays on Philosophy Philosophy is an interesting subject in the fact that it is not based solely on science, mathematical formulas, and chemical equations, but more on the idea of ethics, morals, and values which in turn is based on perception, interpretation, education, and religion, just to mention a few. Different cultures appear to have different values compared to my own and at times I often wonder whether these different cultural values morals and ethics are good or bad? The interesting fact is that it is not my place to determine whether they are or not, but to accept the difference, and either try to understand them or disregard them. If I do choose to accept them, I have the option of incorporating them into my own beliefs. If we look at Kant’s theory of Good Will, you’ll find that if what you do or believe in is in good faith, meaning done with good intentions, that the outcome is rather irrelevant due to the fact that it was done out of good intention. I personally believe that good intention is something handed down from generation to generation based on parental belief, which could possibly come from religion in some way or form even if they are not religious. The questions posted are, why do different cultures ethics, morals, and values differ? Do I believe in Kant’s theory? And if religion were not to play a role in morals and values where would they come from? In my opinion, different cultures carry different perspectives on life, and yes I do believe in Kant’s theory, and lastly, I’m not sure morals and values cannot come from religion, at the very least, from many years before, when life was more in a barbaric stage of living. Why do different cultures ethics, morals, and values differ? I don’t think there is any one answer to this question because ethics, morals, and values are a compilation of different perspectives and interpretations of what is right and wrong. What may be right here in America, may not seem righ... Free Essays on Philosophy Aristotle Aristotle was born in 384 BC and lived until 322 BC. He was a Greek philosopher and scientist, who shares with Plato being considered the most famous of ancient philosophers. He was born at Stagira, in Macedonia, the son of a physician to the royal court. When he was 17, he went to Athens to study at Plato's Academy. He stayed for about 20 years, as a student and then as a teacher. When Plato died in 347 BC, Aristotle moved to Assos, a city in Asia Minor, where a friend of his named Hermias was the ruler. He counseled Hermias and married his niece and adopted daughter, Pythias (wierd names, huh). After Hermias was captured and executed by the Persians, Aristotle went to Pella, Macedonia's capital, and became the tutor of the king's young son Alexander, later known as Alexander the Great. In 335, when Alexander became king, Aristotle went back to Athens and established his own school, the Lyceum.Since a lot of the lessons happened when teachers and students were walking, it was nicknamed the Peripatetic school (Peripatetic means walking). When Alexander died in 323 BC, strong anti-Macedonian feeling was felt in Athens, and Aristotle went to a family estate in Euboea. He died there the following year. Aristotle, like Plato, used his dialogue in his beginning years at the Academy. Apart from a few fragments in the works of later writers, his dialogues have been wholly lost. Aristotle also wrote some short technical writings, including a dictionary of philosophic terms and a summary of the "doctrines of Pythagoras" (the guy from the Pythagorean Theorem). Of these, only a few short pieces have survived. Still in good shape, though, are Aristotle's lecture notes for carefully outlined courses treating almost every type of knowledge and art. The writings that made him famous are mostly these, which were collected by other editors. Among the writings are short informative lectures on logic, called Organon (which means "inst... Free Essays on Philosophy Can anybody ever truly think outside the box? In our subconscious mind lies everything we were taught growing up and everything we have heard, but maybe not noticed. I am no great scholar and I am barely starting school at Brazosport College in Texas. But, I have many ideas waiting to be written down on paper and I intend to start tonight, on June 16, 2004. As I was saying, today in school, we talked about Benjamin Franklin and Ralph Waldo Emerson. They were two great American writers as well as thinkers. Benjamin Franklin believed you should strive for self excellence and that greatness occurred while serving your country as well as your community. I think just a bit deeper than that. First of all, what is our country? It is many people gathered together trying to maintain stability and hopefully grow. But Why would they want to do this? Many people say that they do it for our future, and for our children’s future. I think that everybody is at some point, selfish. By helping others, these people fill an emptiness inside themselves that I believe was placed intentionally by some divine power. Everything we do has to fill some kind of emptiness inside ourselves. That’s why we help others and try to be â€Å"good† citizens. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not anti-government, and if I wasn’t afraid to die, I wouldn’t be writing this right now. In fact, my writing this and jotting some thoughts down is actually filling an emptiness that was placed inside of me. I have no idea why, but for some reason, it is there. I know that the greatest question that philosophers can ask is why. Why did this happen? And why did it have to happen in this way? Even still, I ask you why do we go on with our everyday lives. A typical morning for me would begin with waking up. I would then proceed to the bathroom and brush my teeth. Then, I eat, dress myself, and go to work at Buc-ees, a local convenience store... Free Essays on Philosophy Can Descartes be certain that he is thinking? How? Can he be certain that he exists? How? (And who is he?) Descartes’ statement â€Å"I think therefore I exist† raises questions about the meaning of thought, the meaning of existence but most fundamentally, in what sense he can be certain. The difficulty in establishing the certainty of â€Å"I think† and â€Å"I exist† is that the two concepts are interrelated. Thus, for example, differing interpretations of what it is to think will have a profound impact on the question of whether Descartes can achieve the certainty of his existence. The success of his attempt to achieve certainty can be analysed in relation to how far he overcomes the universal doubt he has introduced in the first meditation. It is in this sphere of meaning that â€Å"I† becomes very relevant as it is possible to argue that his use of â€Å"I† demonstrates that his own interpretation of what is certain is partially based on intrinsically held beliefs. Williams describes the statement â€Å"I think† as indubitable. This is because â€Å"if anyone believes he is thinking or that he exists then necessarily he has a true belief.† Using the Cartesian method, the statement that â€Å"I think† is unique because it is the only premise that has the property of having its truth confirmed by the act of doubting it. Descartes demonstrates that he has found a statement that is not defeated by the possibility of a ‘malicious demon’ when he says â€Å"If I am in doubt, if I am entertaining the possibility that I might be deceived, then the very fact that I am around to entertain that doubt shows that I must exist†. Thus he is already assuming that his ability to entertain doubt, or â€Å"think† is certain, which based on the premise above, is a not unreasonable conclusion. Before further examining his assertion that he is thinking, the question of what Descartes means by thinking must be defined. In the simplest form, possible d... Free Essays on Philosophy For this assignment I decided to report on the bible. I choose this book because it’s something that I’ve grown up learning about and it speaks on everything that this assignment consists of. Growing up in church, I’ve found that reading the bible helps you in everyday life. Life, death, justice, morality, power, society, reason, and divinity are all topics covered in the bible. I’ll start with life because that's where it all began. The first story that comes to mind when speaking of the bible usually is Adam and Eve. This story begins in Genesis, the first chapter, starting at verse 26. God creates man and calls him Adam, and from Adams rib he creates woman and calls her Eve. They lived in perfect peace until Eve was tempted by a serpent and ate from a forbidden tree called the tree of life. After she ate from the tree, she went and had Adam do the same. Before eating from this tree they had no knowledge of being naked, but once they had, they quickly covered themselves with leaves. I’ve always found this story to be interesting because if Eve had never eaten from that tree as she was told, things possibly wouldn’t have changed. The whole world possibly could be walking around naked in peace without knowing. One thing that the bible speaks of a lot is healing power. People often give testimonies or speak of being healed of deadly diseases. Some people have spoken of pronounced dead and they were brought back to life. These are all part of healing power. The bible speaks about Jesus being able to heal the sick and raise the dead. Scriptures like Hosea 12:3, Micah 3:8, and Matthew 9:6-8 all speak of healing power. There’s not just one type of power, besides healing power God gives the power to forgive sins. Just as he forgives us of our sins and wrong doing, he’s gives us the power to do the same. Matthew 9:6 says, â€Å"but that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to ...