Philosophers

Socrates is one of the most important and famous figures in western philosophy. Although there is little that exists of his actual teaching on its own, it is now known through the dialogues of his student Plato, which have become some of the most famous and influential pieces of philosophy...

René Descartes (1596-1650) was a famous French philosopher and one of the first most prominent people of the modern period when European thinkers began to develop innovative theories in scholastic philosophy. His primary interests were in physics and mathematics with the major concern on “methodology, justification, and certainty” (Wolff 42)....

1. Descartes’ goal in the Meditations is to discover and establish an absolute certain truth that cannot be doubted. By achieving this goal, Descartes would therefore find a clear and indisputable foundation for all human knowledge. However, the problem with this approach is a type of skepticism and a form...

One of the prevailing topics in philosophy has been free will, and few figures have been as important in the study of free will than Thomas Aquinas. The thinker offered a number of explanations about free will, how human beings conceive of it, and whether it is truly free. To...

Plato is one of the greatest and most influential ancient philosophers, the founder of the first higher educational establishment in ancient Greece - the Academy of Athens, and the author of about fifty philosophical works, the most notable of them are “The Apology,” “The Republic,” and “Crito,”. Most of his...

Explain why David Hume believes that the self does not really exist.What is Kant’s reply to Hume? For David Hume, there is no self in the way that we traditionally think of a “self”. What he means is that the self is not separate from when it is perceiving reality....

After extensive examination of the statement, it is crucial to seek answers on whether knowledge would exist devoid of a knower’s perspective. Is it possible? It is evident that knowledge defines an aspect that is known and understood by a particular individual (Heydorn and Jesudason 153). Hence, knowledge must be...

1. For Descartes, “imagination” differs from pure “intellection” in that imagination allows one to form a clear and detailed picture in the mind’s eye. In contrast, “intellection” refers to an intellectual understanding of something that cannot be pictured clearly, because its form is beyond concrete conceptualization. An example might be...

In fact, a Marxist term that used to mark the alienation derives from the German word Entfremdung which carries both social and philosophical connotations in its meaning. In the “Theory of Alienation,” Karl Marx refers to the outcomes of living in the socially stratified society. In that regard, alienation occurs...

Abstract The question of what would happen if people lived without any state of authority over them has been debated for centuries. Since Hobbes and his Leviathan, the philosophers have tried to find explanations to the law of nature and it influences and organizes people. Locke included the notion of...

Karl Marx, born in 1818, was one of the most influential and subsequently, controversial theorists of his time. He was born in Prussia and studied economics and law at the collegiate level; however, he was far more than an economist. Instead, his theories are applicable to the world of philosophy,...

As children are born into society, there appears to be no way of knowing what the life of that child will entail as they grow into an age of independency and making decisions for themselves. It would seem that, given similar circumstances, all children would grow to have similar structures...

Both J.S. Mill and Immanuel Kant’s theories of Utilitarianism and Moral Theory, respectively, may apply to individuals’ lives and thus dictate different actions of persons based on specific situations. After learning about Mill’s Utilitarian Theory and how it aims at achieving happiness by any means, I found this did not...

Fourth-century philosopher Augustine is well-known for being a devout Christian, and his “Confessions” work is a beloved piece of theological writing. However, he was not initially raised in a Christian household, and his own writings recounted him living a life dominated by physical pleasures. This is part of why it...

In Phaedo, Socrates stated that he “[has] a firm hope that there is something in store for those who have died, and, as we have been told for many years, something much better for the good than for the wicked" (“Socrates & the Human Soul”). This quote is a succinct...

Plato presents Socrates’ experience of being discriminated and wrongly judged by Athenians as a result of his philosophical criticisms concerning some religious beliefs. Socrates believes that the wisdom Athenians possess is false as they are not able to explain some religious beliefs and practices. This is proven in Euthyphro’s attempt...

O.K. Bouwsma intends to examine what he calls Descartes’s boast, namely that the latter is capable of falsely believing all manner of things, including the existence of physical objects, and (at least initially) elementary truths of arithmetic. Like his hero Wittgenstein, Bouwsma is not content to make a philosophical contribution....

Rene Descartes was a metaphysics philosopher. He thought about the ways that we can know what is real and what is not real. In order for him to figure out what is real and not real he thinks that it is first necessary to remove any kind of doubt that...

David Hume is a philosopher, economist, essayist, and history who is known today for his radical skepticism, naturalism, and philosophical empiricism. Immanuel Kant is a philosopher who is considered a vital figure in modern philosophy. The purpose of this paper is to analyze two core questions. Explain why David Hume...

The conception and the development of a particular moral standpoint or point of view is a crucial part of Kantian ethics. The particular view adopted by Kant forms the basis of his understanding of the moral subject as it exists in the actual world, alongside the duties and responsibilities which...