...Hume argues that we should consider what impression gives us our concept of self. He contended that humans tend to think of themselves as selves like stable entities that exist over time. Nevertheless, he is convinced that no matter how closely we examine our own experiences, we never observe anything beyond a series of transient feelings, sensations, and impressions. We cannot observe ourselves, or what we are, in a unified way. There is no impression of the “self” that ties our particular impressions together. In other words, we can never be directly aware of ourselves, only of what we are experiencing at any given moment. He contended that the self is just a bundle of perceptions, like links in a chain. David Hume defended his theory...
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...A History of Modern Psychology University of Phoenix Flaur Conde Psy 310 The History of Psychology is something that is important to many psychologists everywhere. The history is celebrated by many centennial celebrations that started in 1979 (Goodwin, 2008, pg. 2). In the 1960’s when the history of psychology caught interest research of psychology’s past became prominent (Goodwin, 2008, pg. 2). History is important, because it lets people know where they came from, and what mistakes were made, and what discoveries were made, and how we can apply the past to future learning (Goodwin, 2008, pg. 3). One of the forerunners to the beginning philosophy to psychology is Rene Descartes. The Renaissance gave him a great stage to start with, because it had already started the changing of thought, made science more accepted, and made the approved teachings of the church mundane. Descartes wanted to search for a system where all information could be united (Goodwin, 2008, pg. 32). He believed that knowledge can be found through reasoning, and wouldn’t accept any truth unless it could not be doubted (Goodwin, 2008, pg. 32). In the Discourse on Method, Descartes explained his four rules for being able to reason so one could come up with the truth (Goodwin, 2008, pg. 33). The first one is what I stated previously is he would accept information as truth unless it was un-doubtable. The second rule he would take information and break it down to the first stages. The third rule is that...
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...PETER SINGER ETHICS AND INTUITIONS (Received 25 January 2005; accepted 26 January 2005) ABSTRACT. For millennia, philosophers have speculated about the origins of ethics. Recent research in evolutionary psychology and the neurosciences has shed light on that question. But this research also has normative significance. A standard way of arguing against a normative ethical theory is to show that in some circumstances the theory leads to judgments that are contrary to our common moral intuitions. If, however, these moral intuitions are the biological residue of our evolutionary history, it is not clear why we should regard them as having any normative force. Research in the neurosciences should therefore lead us to reconsider the role of intuitions in normative ethics. KEY WORDS: brain imaging, David Hume, ethics, evolutionary psychology, Henry Sidgwick, Immanuel Kant, intuitions, James Rachels, John Rawls, Jonathan Haidt, Joshua D. Greene, neuroscience, trolley problem, utilitarianism 1. INTRODUCTION In one of his many fine essays, Jim Rachels criticized philosophers who ‘‘shoot from the hip.’’ As he put it: The telephone rings, and a reporter rattles off a few ‘‘facts’’ about something somebody is supposed to have done. Ethical issues are involved – something alarming is said to have taken place – and so the ‘‘ethicist’’ is asked for a comment to be included in the next day’s story, which may be the first report the public will have seen about the events...
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...Ethics to me was always something that was moral and right. I would constantly hear people speaking with one another saying, oh no that is not ethical or yes that sounds ethical to me. I figured that they knew what they were saying and just went along with it. Before taking my ethics class I would also speak to my peers and say things like, that does not sound ethical or yes that is a very ethical thing to do. The question is; what is truly ethical? Isn’t everything ethical in a way, and according to who might this be ethical? These are the questions that we are thought to ask and to learn in ethics. I have learned that there are many types of ethics and they are all very different from each other and often disagree with one another. This paper clarifies some of the differences between different types of ethics that exist among us. WHAT IS ETHICAL 3 What is Ethical, and According to Whom? People all around the word are constantly using the word ethics or ethical incorrectly. This has started because most common people do not know the true meaning of ethics. I was one of those people who thought of ethics as one single certain way of thinking. Something ethical to most people means something that sounds good and right. But what is truly good? Good can mean many things for example a good thief or a good killer. Are they ethical in what they do; or do they do wrong and are considered unethical? Words can...
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...Lowell Philosophy Department Introduction to Philosophy Philosophy 45. 201.201/02S Spring 2013 Syllabusi Conference Time and Location Tu & Th 3:30-4:45PM Class meet at SOU 403 NC Instructor: Andrés Paniagua andres_paniagua@uml.edu Office Hours T&R 3:00-3:25PM & W. 6:00-6:25 Office TBD Course Description. The practice and study of philosophy constitute one of the most distinctive strands of Western intellectual tradition. In order to understand-even simply recognize-the deepest assumptions we make as a culture we must turn to philosophy and to those thinkers whose ideas have shaped our assumptions. We will approach the study of philosophy as a conversation among the greatest thinkers of all the time, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger and Sartre. Our focus will be on each philosopher’s ideas and their impact on Western Civilization. We will also delve briefly into the cultural and historical context of each philosopher, evaluate weather their ideas are still relevant and some of their argument remain compelling. Course outline. The approach of this class is hybrid. The first part following an historical and chronological sequence, the second part follows a topical approach. Part I (a), Ancient philosophy, with our main focus on Plato and Aristotle. Part 1 (b) Late Renaissance and to Kant. Part II Empiricism and Positivism and part II (b) Existentialism. We will wrap the class pointing to some recent issues in philosophy: Postmodernism...
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...Cognitive Psychology Definition Paper PSY/360 July 21, 20xx xxxx Cognitive Psychology Definition Paper Defining Cognitive Psychology Cognitive psychology focuses on the way human’s process information, looking at how we treat information that comes in to the person, better known as stimuli, and how this treatment leads to responses (McLeod, 2007). Cognitive psychologists study internal processes including perception, attention, language, memory and thinking. In ancient Greece, cognitive psychology created the need to understand how the mind works and what processes are involved in learning. Philosophers and early psychologists studied the mind, however the ancient Greeks knew little about the human mind and the mental process. Cognitive psychology is the field of psychology that emphasizes the study of mental processes (Galotti, 2014). These processes include thinking, language, problem solving, knowing, reasoning, judging and decision making. Cognitive psychology concluded that humans were not pushed or pulled by environmental factors. Cognitive psychology also studied how people view and understand the world. Subjects wanted to describe the patterns and irregularities during the operation of his or her mind. There were several key milestones in the development of cognitive psychology. Key Milestones in the Development of Cognitive Psychology Developmental milestones began in ancient Greek times have set a precedent in today’s views of cognitive psychology...
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...C. S. Lewis once said, “God is not the sort of thing that one can be moderately interested in.” This implies that if God exists humanity ought to find the best way to relate with Him and if God does not exist then there is no need to be interested in God at all. Most theist and atheist philosopher like Camus and Sartre agree that the answer to the question of whether God exists makes a huge difference for man. For example, if there is no God then life ends in death, and therefore our existence is inconsequential. On the other hand, if there is a God, then there a chance/possibility of knowing and relating with Him as part of His creation. This paper therefore seeks to provide reasons that assert the claim that God exists in addition to responding to the popular atheistic theory of theodicy which claims that the problem of evil proves that God does not exist and if He does then He is not good and omnipotent. One of the arguments that theists use to prove the existence of God is the one of the origin of the universe. It relies on the widely popular assertion that the there was a time when the earth was not there. For centuries, human beings have seen themselves faced with the question of why we have everything instead of nothing. Atheists claim that the universe we live in is eternal with no beginning or end and that is all. Surely, that claim is not reasonable. If there is beginning point for the universe then the actual number of events that occurred in the past is infinite...
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...History of Politics A Research Paper Presented to The class of Miss Rhoda Mae R. Navasquez Southern Cotabato Academy, Inc. In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Subject English IV by Jeison L. Omandam December 01, 2011 INTRODUCTION Political history is the description and analysis of significant political occasions, movements, thoughts, and leaders. Typically it is developed around the nation states. It is distinguished from but relevant to other areas of history such as economic history, social history, and military history. Usually, political history discusses events pertaining to nation-states and the political process in particular. As per Hegelian doctrine, Political History ‘is a perception of the state with a guiding force beyond the material benefits of its subjects: it meant that the state was the root factor of historical change’. This differs with one, for example, social history, which predominantly discusses the events and lifestyles of common folks, or people’s history, that is historical account from the view point of a lay person. A study of political history typically centers on a single nation and its political change and aggrandizement. A few historians highlight the ever increasing drift toward confined specialization in political history over the course of recent decades: ‘wherein a college professor in the 1940s resorted to identify himself as a “historian”, by the 1950s “American historian” was the designation.’ Political...
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...Utilitarianism ENG300 Information Literacy Assessment [Type the author name] This paper will discuss utilitarianism, its origins and how we can apply it to our lives today. I will show what would happen if everyone adopted this code of ethics and reasoning, and why I chose it. Utilitarianism What is Utilitarianism? According to our textbooks, utilitarianism is the ethical system which believes that which is ethical is what will bring the greatest good or happiness to the greatest number of people (Turner, 2006). In a direct quote from the American Heritage Dictionary, utilitarianism is the ethical theory proposed by Jeremy Bentham and James Mill that all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language). Though there are many varieties of the view discussed, utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. There are many ways to spell out this general claim. One thing to note is that the theory is a form of consequentialism: the right action is understood entirely in terms of consequences produced. What distinguishes utilitarianism from egoism has to do with the scope of the relevant consequences. On the utilitarian view one ought to maximize the overall good — that is, consider the good of others as well as one's own good (Driver, 2009).A well-known dialogue by Leonard...
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...Logic Main article: Logic Logic is the study of the principles of correct reasoning. Arguments use either deductive reasoning or inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is when, given certain statements (called premises), other statements (called conclusions) are unavoidably implied. Rules of inferences from premises include the most popular method, modus ponens, where given “A” and “If A then B”, then “B” must be concluded. A common convention for a deductive argument is the syllogism. An argument is termed valid if its conclusion does indeed follow from its premises, whether the premises are true or not, while an argument is sound if its conclusion follows from premises that are true. Propositional logic uses premises that are propositions, which are declarations that are either true or false, while predicate logic uses more complex premises called formulae that contain variables. These can be assigned values or can be quantified as to when they apply with the universal quantifier (always apply) or the existential quantifier (applies at least once). Inductive reasoning makes conclusions or generalizations based on probabilistic reasoning. For example, if “90% of humans are right-handed” and “Joe is human” then “Joe is probably right-handed”. Fields in logic include mathematical logic (formal symbolic logic) and philosophical logic. Metaphysics Main article: Metaphysics Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of reality, such as existence, time, the relationship...
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...Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Open access to the SEP is made possible by a world-wide funding initiative. Please Read How You Can Help Keep the Encyclopedia Free Author & Citation Info | Friends PDF Preview | InPho Search | PhilPapers Bibliography Kant and Hume on Morality First published Wed Mar 26, 2008; substantive revision Sun Aug 12, 2012 The ethics of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) is often contrasted with that of David Hume (1711–1776). Hume's method of moral philosophy is experimental and empirical; Kant emphasizes the necessity of grounding morality in a priori principles. Hume says that reason is properly a “slave to the passions,” while Kant bases morality in his conception of a reason that is practical in itself. Hume identifies such feelings as benevolence and generosity as proper moral motivations; Kant sees the motive of duty—a motive that Hume usually views as a second best or fall back motive—as uniquely expressing an agent's commitment to morality and thus as conveying a special moral worth to actions. Although there are many points at which Kant's and Hume's ethics stand in opposition to each other, there are also important connections between the two. Kant shared some important assumptions about morality and motivation with Hume, and had, early in his career, been attracted to and influenced by the sentimentalism of Hume and other British moralists. The aim of this essay is not to compare Hume and Kant...
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...PPA 604 Complete Course /Urban Planning or Redevelopment Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwcampus.com/shop/ppa-604-complete-course/ PPA 604 Week 1 DQ 1 Define the concepts of interconnectedness and complexity as it relates to urban planning. Why are these two concepts so important to urban planning? Explain what Woodrow Wilson (1887) meant when he claimed that politics and administration should be considered to exist separately from each other. How do the concepts of interconnectedness and complexity compare to the theory posited by Woodrow Wilson claiming that administration is separate from politics? Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings. PPA 604 Week 1 DQ 2 What were the major forces behind urban growth in early United States history? What influence did urban growth have on urban concentration and population density? What new demands were placed on city governments when population density increased? What steps did city governments take to help deal with new demands resulting from the influx in population? Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings PPA 604 Week 2 DQ 1 Discuss the process that must occur in order for government to proclaim eminent domain to assume control over the private property of citizens. How does eminent domain differ from the concept of government zoning? How does eminent domain differ from police power as it relates to the government assuming control over private property? Discuss at least...
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...PPA 604 Complete Course /Urban Planning or Redevelopment Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwcampus.com/shop/ppa-604-complete-course/ PPA 604 Week 1 DQ 1 Define the concepts of interconnectedness and complexity as it relates to urban planning. Why are these two concepts so important to urban planning? Explain what Woodrow Wilson (1887) meant when he claimed that politics and administration should be considered to exist separately from each other. How do the concepts of interconnectedness and complexity compare to the theory posited by Woodrow Wilson claiming that administration is separate from politics? Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings. PPA 604 Week 1 DQ 2 What were the major forces behind urban growth in early United States history? What influence did urban growth have on urban concentration and population density? What new demands were placed on city governments when population density increased? What steps did city governments take to help deal with new demands resulting from the influx in population? Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings PPA 604 Week 2 DQ 1 Discuss the process that must occur in order for government to proclaim eminent domain to assume control over the private property of citizens. How does eminent domain differ from the concept of government zoning? How does eminent domain differ from police power as it relates to the government assuming control over private property? Discuss at least...
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...I. Introduction In this paper I want to outline a metaethical view that I think represents an addition to the standard alternatives in metaethics. I shall indicate how it connects to historical approaches and to some leading views in the contemporary literature. There are several recent authors working along similar lines, but the view emerged in my own work from an extended treatment of emotion, which supplies a somewhat different moral- psychological basis.2 The view is meant to contrast with noncognitivist accounts of ethics in terms of emotion (emotivism and more recent versions of expressivism), but I shall not review in detail the arguments that the basis it assigns to ethics allows for moral realism.3 Instead I want mainly to present the view here and to recommend it for further attention, first in more or less the form in which it emerged, as a way of explaining the special motivational force of moral judgments (Section II), and then recast in somewhat artificial terms, for comparison with another (at least arguably) realist approach to metaethics known as "response-dependency" (Section III).4 My own view can be seen as a social or two-level version of response-dependency, but with a less rigid account of motivational force introduced by the move to the social level. I shall go on to acknowledge some difficulties but also to cite further advantages of my suggested approach on issues of justification (Section IV) and on the question of the relevance of emotion to...
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...mTELECOURSE STUDY GUIDE FOR The Examined Life FOURTH EDITION author J. P. White Chair, Department of Philosophy Santa Barbara City College contributing author Manuel Velasquez Professor of Philosophy Santa Clara University This Telecourse Study Guide for The Examined Life is part of a collegelevel introduction to philosophy telecourse developed in conjunction with the video series The Examined Life, and the text Philosophy: A Text with Readings, tenth edition, by Manuel Velasquez, The Charles Dirksen Professor, Santa Clara University. The television series The Examined Life was designed and produced by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, Netherlands Educational Broadcasting Corporation (TELEAC/NOT), and Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company (UR) Copyright © 2007, 2005, 2002, 1999 by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, 150 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 300, Pasadena, California 91105-1937. ISBN: 0-495-10302-0 Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Lesson One — What is Philosophy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....
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