...In Friedrich Nietzsche’s “On the Genealogy of Morality,” the author addresses the historical origins and circumstances that influenced the meaning of our current moral values. Nietzsche argues that Christian morality sprung from the resentment that the weak felt for the strong, which led to the revaluation of preexisting values through the development of slave morality. This slave morality was designed for the protection and glorification of the weak and aroused sympathy and guilt in the strong, which, consequently, began to question their power and legitimacy. Nietzsche criticizes Christian morality, highlighting that it is an infective rationalization of weakness, which hinders the growth and progress of the human race. However, it could be argued that Nietzsche’s arguments are too naturalistic and can only be viable when based on an atheistic framework. In addition, despite the thorough critique of Christian morality, Nietzsche fails to offer an alternative system of morality, which questions the plausibility of his arguments. Nietzsche argues that Christianity sprung froth from Judaism and asserted that Christian morality was developed from the base motivation of what he called ‘ressentiment’, which is the feeling of hostility that the slaves held for the master race. The philosopher claimed that the Jews, out of their ressentiment and hatred for the strong master race, began to reject the “aristocratic value equation,” which stated that the good are the strong, the powerful...
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...Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (/ˈniːtʃə/[2] German: [ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈniːt͡sʃə]; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philologist, philosopher,cultural critic, poet and composer. He wrote several critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy and science, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and aphorism. Nietzsche's key ideas include the Apollonian/Dionysian dichotomy, perspectivism, the Will to Power, the "death of God", the Übermensch and eternal recurrence. One of the key tenets of his philosophy is the concept of "life-affirmation," which embraces the realities of the world in which we live over the idea of a world beyond. It further champions the creative powers of the individual to strive beyond social, cultural, and moral contexts.[3]Nietzsche's attitude towards religion and morality was marked with atheism, psychologism and historism; he considered them to be human creations loaded with the error of confusing cause and effect.[4] His radical questioning of the value and objectivity of truth has been the focus of extensive commentary, and his influence remains substantial, particularly in the continental philosophical schools of existentialism, postmodernism, and post-structuralism. His ideas of individual overcoming and transcendence beyond structure and context have had a profound impact on late-twentieth and early-twenty-first century thinkers, who have used these concepts as points of departure in the development of their philosophies...
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...Nietzsche: His philosophy and “Beyond Good and Evil” And Marxists vs. Mill’s view of socialism 1- Describe Nietzsche’s basic philosophy and his “New Morality” as revealed in his “Gay Science”, “Twilight of the Idol’s” books. Then choose one of his writings in his book “Beyond Good and Evil” and describe the philosophy he attempts to reveal. Conclude with your opinion on his philosophy of religion and his view of the Cosmos. Born on October 15, 1844 in the small town of Röcken, near Leipzig, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German poet and philosopher, a classical philologist and a professor of Greek at the University of Basle. He was the author of many works that talked about religion, morality, culture, philosophy, science using a unique style and radical questioning of the value and objectivity of truth. In his writings, Nietzsche called for revision of all values; he rejected organized religion attacking Christianity and other religious institutions as contributors to what he called “slave morality”. He was, also, equally critical of democratic institutions whose singular vision and courage, according to him, produce a “master morality” and he called the rule by mass mediocrity. Nietzsche also believed that European materialism have led to decadence and decline. He died on August 25, 1900. In his works, he voiced the sentiments of radical moralists. He was deeply critical of his own times and he called for a revision of all values. The major...
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...CHRISTIAN ETHICS IN A POSTMODERN WORLD The Rise of Postmodernity Since Federico de Onis’s use of the term ‘postmodernismo’ to describe the Spanish and Latin-American poetry of 1905-1914 which had reacted against the ‘excess’ of modernism in 1934, (Rose 1991: 171) “Postmodernism” became very popular. It has been used in the fields of art (Christo-Bakargiev 1987), architecture (Pevsner 1967), literature (Hassan 1971), video, economics, films (James 1991), ideology (Larrain 1994: 90-118), theology (Tilley at al 1995), and philosophy (Griffin et al 1993). In trying to understand ‘postmodern’, we have to understand ‘modern’ first. According to Rose (1991: 1), there are many related yet different meanings associated with the term ‘modern’. First of all, Arnold J. Toynbee understands modern as referring to the historical phenomenon of The most significant of the conclusions that suggest themselves is that the word ‘modern’ in the term ‘Modern Western Civilization’, can, without inaccuracy, be given a more precise and concrete connotation by being translated ‘middle class’. Western communities became ‘modern’ in the accepted Modern Western meaning of the word, just as soon as they had succeeded in producing a bourgeoisie that was both numerous enough and competent enough to become the predominant element in society. We think of the new chapter of Western history that opened at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as being ‘modern’ par excellence because...
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...Why was Socrates regarded as a man of virtue? Why was Socrates regarded as a man of virtue? Socrates: Man of Virtue (470-399 B.C.E.) Socrates proposed the theory of value in which there are two sorts of good: virtue and happiness. Both are unconditional goods. But happiness is a "self-generated" good in that it "derives its value strictly from its inherent properties;" whereas virtue is an "other-generated" good in that it derives its value from happiness, precisely from its conduciveness to happiness. Virtue is an instinct in all humanity which can be aroused through self-examination. This universal truth is accessible to everyone who thinks and question. Socrates assumes that any person with whom he talks has the resource to answer his question correctly, that is, that no specialist knowledge is required. Socrates thought that knowledge is virtue, and virtue leads to happiness. It makes sense to think that moral people know what morality is. If you know right from wrong, then you might be able to choose to do what you know to be right. It also makes some sense to suspect that our beliefs about right and wrong influence our decisions. If we believe its right to help a drowning child, then it would be fairly shocking to decide not to do so—and it would less surprising when we decide to help the child. It is quite a shocking statement to say that virtue always leads to happiness. Criminals commit crimes that hurt others to help themselves. To think that their crimes would...
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...shaped the one we live in today. Despite the significance of them all, it is important to be able to narrow them down to a list of one hundred or so. From there, the true test is to be able to tell which person had a bigger effect on our state of being than the other. Starting with a list that has already been compiled, this essay will rank each historical figure by their impact on the world. (Please note that this list was compiled based on a western perspective.) Topping the list at #1 is Muhammad. As the Prophet of Islam, Muhammads, s.a.w, teachings have reached and inspired many societies and their people. His teachings also indicate the best way to think and therefore live. At #2 is Jesus Christ, whose place as the central figure of Christianity has impacted the lives of his believers, all 2 billion of them (give or take). His existence has lead to the many holidays and churches that occupy mainly, western society. At #3 is Gautama Buddha, who is the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism. Lord Buddha has played a large role in the growth of many people of asian descent and offers a religion to the world that can be seen as very peaceful. At #4 is David, King of Israel or rather the Biblical King of Israel. As the founder of Jerusalem, he has empowered the Jewish nation to take on a large amount of influence in various aspects of the world, including the entertainment industry. At #5 is Ali, the founder of Sufism. Ali is a central figure in Sufism due to being anearly Caliph...
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...In Conjunction with History of Ethics Instructor: Robert Cavalier Teaching Professor Robert Cavalier received his BA from New York University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Duquesne University. In 1987 he joined the staff at Carnegie Mellon's Center for Design of Educational Computing (CDEC), where he became Executive Director in 1991. While at CDEC, he was also co-principal in the 1989 EDUCOM award winner for Best Humanities Software (published in 1996 by Routledge as A Right to Die? The Dax Cowart Case). He also coauthored the CD-ROM The Issue of Abortion in America (Rountledge, 1998) Dr. Cavalier was Director of CMU's Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics and Political Philosophy from 2005-2007. He currently directs the Center's Digital Media Lab which houses Project PICOLA (Public Informed Citizen Online Assembly), and is also co-Director of Southwestern Pennsylvania Program for Deliberative Democracy. Co-Editor of Ethics in the History of Western Philosophy (St. Martin's/Macmillan, England, 1990), Editor of The Impact of the Internet on Our Moral Lives (SUNY, 2003) and other works in ethics as well as articles in educational computing, Dr. Cavalier is internationally recognized for his work in education and interactive multimedia. He was President of the "International Association for Computing and Philosophy" (2001 - 2004) and Chair of the APA Committee on Philosophy and Computers (2000-2003). Dr. Cavalier has given numerous addresses and...
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...POLITICS, THEOLOGY AND HISTORY RAYMOND PLANT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Politics, Theology and History is a major new book by a prominent academic and an active politician. It ranges widely across the disciplines of theology, political theory and philosophy and poses acute questions about the basic moral foundations of liberal societies. Lord Plant focuses on the role that religious belief can and ought to play in argument about public policy in a pluralistic society. He examines the potential political implications of Christian belief and the ways in which it may be deployed in political debate. The book is a contribution to the modern debate about the moral pluralism of western liberal societies, discussing the place of religious belief in the formation of policy and asking what sorts of issues in modern society might be the legitimate objects of a Christian social and political concern. Raymond Plant has written an important study of the relationship between religion and politics which will be of value to students, academics, politicians, church professionals, policy makers and all concerned with the moral fabric of contemporary life. r ay m on d pl an t is Professor of European Political Thought at the University of Southampton and a Member of the House of Lords. He was a Home affairs spokesperson for the Labour Party from 1992 to 1996, and Master of St Catherine's College, Oxford, from 1994 to 2000. Lord Plant's main publications are Social and Moral Theory in Casework...
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...Apology Plato Published: -400 Categorie(s): Non-Fiction, Philosophy Source: http://en.wikisource.org 1 About Plato: Plato (Greek: Plátōn, "wide, broad-shouldered") (428/427 BC – 348/ 347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, the second of the great trio of ancient Greeks –Socrates, Plato, originally named Aristocles, and Aris- totle– who between them laid the philosophical foundations of Western culture. Plato was also a mathematician, writer of philosophical dia- logues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world. Plato is widely believed to have been a student of Socrates and to have been deeply influenced by his teacher's unjust death. Plato's brilliance as a writer and thinker can be witnessed by reading his Socratic dialogues. Some of the dialogues, let- ters, and other works that are ascribed to him are considered spurious. Plato is thought to have lectured at the Academy, although the pedago- gical function of his dialogues, if any, is not known with certainty. They have historically been used to teach philosophy, logic, rhetoric, mathem- atics, and other subjects about which he wrote. Source: Wikipedia Also available on Feedbooks for Plato: • The Complete Plato (-347) • The Republic (-380) • Symposium(-400) • Charmides(-400) • Protagoras(-400) • Statesman(-400) • Ion(-400) • Crito(-400) • Meno(-400) • Phaedo(-400) Note: This book is brought to you by Feedbooks http://www.feedbooks.com Strictly...
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...have provided this e-book to you without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied so that you can enjoy reading it on your personal devices. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO FEMIGOD Copyright © 2013 by Femigod Ltd. Published by Femigod Ltd. www.femigod.com Femigod® is a registered trademark of Femigod Ltd. ISBN: 9780992642600 For my darling sister, Pero. I love you dearly. No matter what you want, it’s yours. Beyond money and weapons. Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 Book One: Understanding Mainstream and Organised Religion.............................................................. 5 Christianity ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Islam ...................................................................................................................................................... 9 Hinduism.............................................................................................................................................. 12 Buddhism ........................................................................................................................................... 155 Chinese traditional religions ...........................................................................................................
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...´ ´ ETAT PRESENT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CATHOLIC NOVEL? TOBY GARFITT MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD The idea of a specifically Catholic novel arose during the nineteeth century. The often anti-Catholic agenda of the philosophes and the libertine novel had been counterbalanced by writers such as Rousseau and Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, who sought to reveal God through the wonders of the natural world. But it was Chateaubriand’s Atala (1801) that inaugurated the new genre of the Catholic novel as a riposte to the dechristianization associated with the Revolution. Chateaubriand was more partial to the epic, however, and in this he was followed by Bonald, who appreciated the scope that the epic afforded for the depiction of ‘le merveilleux chretien’, including angels.1 An interesting ´ twentieth-century representative of this tradition is Patrice de La Tour du Pin, ´ whose three-volume Somme de poesie (1946 – 63) charts the progression from lyrical poetry in a neo-Romantic vein, through a process of kenosis or selfemptying (which involves a shift towards prose in the second volume), to the ´ ´ creation of a new theopoesie.2 Epic poetry continued to offer a means of exploring religious and scientific ideas throughout the nineteenth century (Quinet, Hugo, Bouilhet), but there was already a backlash by the 1820s, and, as the novel rapidly established itself as the major literary genre, a number of Catholic sub´ genres developed. The ‘Avant-propos’ to Balzac’s Comedie humaine expresses nostalgia...
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...ISIS’ CATACLYSMISM: A PHILOSOPHICAL APPRAISAL By Dominic E.B. Anyalagbuna 1. ABSTRACT: The very inhumane hazards of the so-called Islamic militant group named ISIS are indeed highly cataclysmic! However, this paper is faced with the problem of undertaking a philosophical examination of the named group. This, the paper does, using the critical-evaluative method by considering their history, aims and activities. Upon this examination, this work discovers that, among other relevant theories, this rebel group seems to be operating on the Transcendental Idealism of Immanuel Kant which states that ‘only ideas in the mind exist,’ though one cannot absolutely arrive at it. This theory follows from the militants’ idea of Muhammad’s prophecy that ‘there will be a time when the whole world will be subjected under a ‘caliphate,’ with a ‘caliph’ as their head. Nevertheless, in the end, this treatise highlights that the solution to ISIS’s crisis is mental and intellectual re-formation. In such-wise, this work adequately recommends an urgent mental re-configuration founded on re-interpretation of the Quran among these Islamic extremists, which fundamentally, is the task of philosophy to rationally and critically accomplish. 2. PREAMBLE: There is a profound state of topsy-turvy in almost the whole countries of the world, but principally and most intensely in Syria and Iraq. This is superabundantly generated by the insurgent undertakings of the Islamic militants baptised ISIS. However, there...
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...U N D E R S TA N D I N G U N D E R S TA N D I N G S U N Y s e r i e s i n P h i lo s o ph y George R. Lucas Jr., editor R I C H A R D M A S O N understanding understanding S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K P R E S S Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2003 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207 Production, Laurie Searl Marketing, Fran Keneston Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mason, Richard, 1948– Understanding understanding / Richard Mason. p. cm. — (SUNY series in philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-5871-7 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-5872-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Comprehension (Theory of knowledge) I. Title. II. Series. BD181.5.M27 2003 121—dc21 2003042557 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 for Margie Contents INTRODUCTION, 1 CHAPTER ONE WHAT WE UNDERSTAND, 7 CHAPTER TWO HOW WE UNDERSTAND, 21 CHAPTER THREE UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE...
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...Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Key facts full title · Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus author · Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley type of work · Novel genre · Gothic science fiction language · English time and place written · Switzerland, 1816, and London, 1816–1817 date of first publication · January 1, 1818 publisher · Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones narrator · The primary narrator is Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein’s first-person narrative at length; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster’s first-person narrative; in addition, the lesser characters Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein narrate parts of the story through their letters to Victor. climax · The murder of Elizabeth Lavenza on the night of her wedding to Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 23 protagonist · Victor Frankenstein antagonist · Frankenstein’s monster setting (time) · Eighteenth century setting (place) · Geneva; the Swiss Alps; Ingolstadt; England and Scotland; the northern ice point of view · The point of view shifts with the narration, from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to Frankenstein’s monster, then back to Walton, with a few digressions in the form of letters from Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein. falling action · After the murder of Elizabeth Lavenza, when Victor Frankenstein chases the monster to the northern ice, is rescued by Robert Walton, narrates his story, and dies tense · Past foreshadowing · Ubiquitous—throughout...
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...associate professor of philosophy at Tyndale University College and the coeditor of 24 and Philosophy. R I C H A R D B R I A N D AV I S AND PHILOSOPHY Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has fascinated children and adults alike for generations. Why does Lewis Carroll introduce us to such oddities as a blue caterpillar who smokes a hookah, a cat whose grin remains after its head has faded away, and a White Queen who lives backward and remembers forward? Is it all just nonsense? Was Carroll under the influence? This book probes the deeper underlying meaning in the Alice books and reveals a world rich with philosophical life lessons. Tapping into some of the greatest philosophical minds that ever lived— Aristotle, Hume, Hobbes, and Nietzsche—Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy explores life’s ultimate questions through the eyes of perhaps the most endearing heroine in all of literature. B Y WONDERLA ND R E D I T E D WILLIAM IRWIN IN Can Humpty Dumpty make words mean whatever he says they mean? Alice Should the Cheshire Cat’s grin make us reconsider the nature of reality? E D I T O R : $17.95 USA/$21.95 CAN Cove r D e si g n : Pa u l M c Ca r t hy Cove r I m a g e : © G e t t y I m a g e s EDITED BY...
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