Human relationship with nature

And the Tree Was Happy This morning, it rains. I have an italian exam at 9am, and I have to walk through the rain to get there. Also, I wake up sick. I have to walk through the rain, sick, to get to my italian exam. Fantastic. My morning trek through the borderline monsoon takes … Read more

Nietzsche’s genealogy of morality

The aim of this essay is to critically discuss Nietzsche’s treatment of the main topic of the First Essay in On the Genealogy of Morals (henceforth named GM). I will begin by outlining the story Nietzsche tells in GM1, namely his master and slave morality. In the second part of my essay I will examine … Read more

Applications of ethics – utilitarian/fairness & justice/common good/virtue approaches

Ethics are defined as the standards of right and wrong that encourage what humans should do. This can be determined in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or virtues. Ethics are derived from learning experiences and others in society (Cameron, 2018). Such ethical standards are defined by groups and cultures and are meant … Read more

Plato’s The Republic

‘Unless… philosophers become kings in the cities or those whom we now call kings and rulers philosophize truly and adequately and there is a conjunction of political power and philosophy . . . there can be no cessation of evils . . . for cities nor, I think, for the human race.’ A bold statement … Read more

Good qualities of the ideal ruler

Good qualities of the ideal ruler according to the classical philosophies of India, China, and Greece was following advice, using The Golden Rule, and taking responsibility for themselves. With this advice, rulers and leaders of these countries were able to provide peace and prosperity for their people. Even though many of the philosophies disagreed on … Read more

Mental states are distinct from physical states,

The human mind is a complex idea that has always been a difficult notion to describe in terms of a definition or set of conditions. According to the theory of dualism, the mind and the body are two distinct, separate things. However, in contrast, an identity theorist would state that  a human being is merely … Read more

Walzer – Just and unjust wars

Walzer establishes that, since states possess rights similar to those of individuals, the international system can function like a society of individuals.  While these two societies have equivalencies, the application of similar moral principles to the framework for violence is plausible in only some circumstances due to deficiencies in the analogy.  In simplified cases the … Read more

Philosophical Taoism

Taoism, or Daoism, is both a philosophy based on the teachings of Lao Tzu and a subsequently formed polytheistic world religion based on the concept of Tao. The philosophical goal is to be in harmony with nature and the universe for the good of the individual and the world as a whole. The religious version … Read more

Rawls’s Theory of Justice (TJ) and Nozick’s Anarchy, State, Utopia (ASU)

Policy-makers need a “certain measure of agreement on what is just and unjust” (TJ, 6) to coordinate their policies efficiently, meet expectations and grant stability in society. Answering the normative question “Should policy-makers listen to political theorists?” involves a judgment about the relationship between them to evaluate what impact contemporary political theory should have on … Read more

What is philosophy?

Question #1 (970 Words) Philosophy is an intellectual discipline that concerns itself with the most general concepts, principles, and features of the world. The characterization of Philosophy is broken up into 3 parts which are genus (a category), species (a member or subcategory of the genus), and differentia (the characteristics that distinguish one species from … Read more

Plato’s view of the simple soul in the Phaedo

In the following essay, I shall argue how Plato’s view of the simple soul in the Phaedo is the most plausible than the composite soul in the Republic as it fits with Plato’s altering beliefs through time and has the least discrepancies. This is firstly as it supports the view that the soul is immortal, … Read more

Theological Ethics – Exegetical Paper: Prompt 1

In The Consolation of Philosophy Book I, Chapter 6, Philosophy provides her diagnosis of Boethius's condition. She prefaces her diagnosis by indicating that it will take the form of a Socratic dialogue: "'Let us begin, then, she said, 'with a few simple questions that will help in the diagnosis.'" (I, 6, p. 23). She asks: … Read more

Plato’s Republic – who would be fit to rule?

In Plato’s Republic, Socrates attempts to define justice by depicting a hypothetical city that is perfectly just. In his argument, Socrates declares that the only people fit to rule such a city are philosophers. To understand the context of such a claim, one must first understand the nature of a true philosopher. Socrates describes the … Read more

Ethical dilemma / ethical difficulty

The ethical dilemma, otherwise called an ethical difficulty, are circumstances in which there is a decision to be made between two alternatives, neither of which settle the circumstance in a morally worthy way. In such cases, societal and personal moral rules can give no acceptable result to the chooser (Your dictionary, 2017). While delivering an … Read more

The social contracts of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke

The social contracts of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke could not be more disparate. Thomas Hobbes glorifies the role of a political leader, and argues the giving up of rights in exchange for security is what is necessary to maintain peace in society. Locke argues that humans have a natural moral compass, and therefore do … Read more