Preview

Philosophy: A Brief Guide for Undergraduates

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
5329 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Philosophy: A Brief Guide for Undergraduates
rmdascil 1

Copyright 2011, The American Philosophical Association. Last revised: June 13, 2011 Philosophy: A Brief Guide for Undergraduates

1. The Field of Philosophy  Introduction  Traditional Subfields of Philosophy  Special Fields of Philosophy 2. The Uses of Philosophy  General Uses of Philosophy  The Uses of Philosophy in Educational Pursuits  The Uses of Philosophy in Non-Academic Careers 3. The Philosophy Curriculum 4. Conclusion The unexamined life is not worth living. —Socrates Happiness is something final and complete in itself, as being the aim and end of all practical activities whatever … Happiness then we define as the active exercise of the mind in conformity with perfect goodness or virtue. —Aristotle Now laws are said to be just both from the end (when, namely, they are ordained to the common good), from their author (… when the law does not exceed the power of the lawgiver), and from their form (when, namely, burdens are laid on the subjects according to an equality of proportion). —Saint Thomas Aquinas There is a great difference between mind and body, inasmuch as body is by nature always divisible, and the mind is entirely indivisible. —René Descartes Love is pleasure accompanied by the idea of an external cause, and hatred pain accompanied by the idea of an external cause. —Spinoza The effect is totally different from the cause, and consequently can never be discovered in it. —David Hume The very notion of what is called Matter or corporeal substance involves a contradiction. —George Berkeley The understanding does not derive its laws (a priori) from, but prescribes them to, nature. —Immanuel Kant

rmdascil 2

The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. —John Stuart Mill There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere. —William James Whereof one cannot speak thereof one must be silent. —Ludwig

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    | |Write a 350- to 700-word response describing the use of argument and logic in the excerpt that| | |…

    • 2268 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    John Quincy Adams

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Individual liberty is individual power, and as the power of the community is a mass compounded of individual powers, the nation which enjoys the most freedom must necessarily be in proportion to its numbers the most powerful nation.”…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Final

    • 57372 Words
    • 230 Pages

    A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Philosophy…

    • 57372 Words
    • 230 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Teichmann , Jenny and Katherine C Evans. Philosophy: A Beginner 's Guide (Blackwell Publishing, 1999). Hoboken: Blackwell Publishing, 1999.…

    • 1887 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Principles of Philosophy.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d.. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.…

    • 1952 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “Might makes right,” a vacillating quote signifying power, strength and ability, a vast amount of power which may surely lead to ones reign or contrary their own destruction. Is it possible that those with the most power always live a victorious life, and those who don’t have a grueling idea of what they are capable of live within a lie, residing under the casted shadows of those who were capable of exercising it to its full potential. The quote can be easily traced back to Plato, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “The Social Contract” although hundreds of historians have found proof that leaders such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, and the Nazi Party had been greatly influenced by the idea of “Might makes right.” The simplistic three-word quote has a peculiar way of existing within everyone’s life without one actually understanding how or why. For example, a child asks his father “Dad how come the country with the biggest army always tells the other what to do?” The explanation his father gives is simply “Might makes right.” Although the child is young he understands that the country with the larger army is fully capable of dominating the lives of the smaller one, therefore making it the superior force. Ideas behind “Might makes right” vary depending on ones logic, punitive debate whether “Might makes right” can still be found throughout the world to the present day. The underlying questions are, does might really make right, can exercising your rights be the only way of receiving what you desire, and does your might somehow create leadership. Therefore throughout this essay you will be the one who answers my questions.…

    • 1919 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Thousand Splendid Suns

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Justice and power must be brought together so that whatever is just, may be powerful and whatever is powerful may be just”…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    "There is no more important function for all of government to define the rights of its citizens." (Norman Dorsten)…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Descartes and Hume Wax

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Perry, John, Michael Bratman, and John M. Fischer, eds. Introduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Reading. 6th ed. Oxford University Press, Print.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    "There is no more important function for all of government to define the rights of its citizens." (Norman Dorsen)…

    • 1578 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I would first like to take this opportunity to say thanks for allowing our class participate in the presentation by the members of the Texas Southern debated team. It was truly a pleasure.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Philosophy this far, we’ve covered many topics. In highlighting Philosophy, Wisdom, and the quote, “ The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living”, I will express the knowledge and insight I’ve taken away from Unit 1. This embodies one of the many examples of the concepts I will explain: “Too often, we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of the thought” (JFK).…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” said Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., the former justice of the American Supreme Court. This famous analogy articulates the scope of liberty suggested by John Stuart Mill and his ‘one very simple principle.’ As the very basis to support his arguments about liberty and its limit, the principle strenuously insists as follows. The only justification for exercising coercive force over an individual is when his actions would otherwise harm any other individual. This Harm Principle or so-called Mill’s Liberty Principle has been implemented to judge whether the state, in a particular situation, is rightfully authorized to interfere with the individual’s free choice and action. Even though…

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Buddhism & "No-Self"

    • 2007 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Robinson, R. R. (1994). Some methodological approaches to the unexplained points. Philosophy 2B/3B (pp. 27-34). Melbourne: La Trobe University.…

    • 2007 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A salient issue of controversy is gun control. Gun control is the regulation of sales and uses of firearms. Firearms include handguns, rifles, and shotguns.40% of all United State homes have guns. As of 2010, 300 million people in the United States own a firearm. There are different laws regarding the right-to-carry. 40 states have the “shall issue” which means carry permits are issued to all qualified citizens. Nine states have the “may issue” which means a person need to present a reason to carry a firearm. Illinois is the only state that has the “no issue” which means concealed carry is forbidden. A feminist in today’s society would definitely be for gun control. The theory behind this is that if there is more gun control then violent crimes, like rape, against women will decrease. Feminist have mentioned that guns play a small role in the violence against women. Feminist would say that women are in most need to be handling a gun for self-defense. Most feminists discourage gun ownership. A political theory commonly used in gun control is liberalism. I think that a very good solution to gun control would be that there should be a background check on a person before they can purchase a gun. That way if a person has a criminal background they will not be able to purchase a gun.…

    • 772 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics