Philosophy and ethics (up to feminism)

• Philosophy


  The Greek word for love of knowledge or wisdom
• Plato's Allegory of the Cave

  • Prisoners chained facing a wall, seeing only shadows, one prisoner escapes and sees the real world, then is returned to the cave
  • The meaning is that some people are happy with seeing and accepting things as they appear, while others seek out the truth behind things
• Some criticise Plato and believe that his view is an arrogant one which claims that only highly intelligent people know the 'true world'
• Brain in a vat

  Philosophical thought experiment
• Grandfather Paradox


  Philosophical thought experiment
• Arguments for the Existence of God

  • Cosmological/first cause (Thomas Aquinas)
  • Teleological/Design (William Paley)
  • Ontological (Anselm)
• Cosmological Argument


  Everything has a cause, so there must be a first cause = God
• Teleological Argument


  The world shows signs of design, so there must be a designer = God
• Ontological Argument


  God is defined as the greatest possible being, so God must exist
• Gaunillo criticised the Ontological Argument, saying just because you describe something as the most perfect thing does not mean it actually exists
• Rationalism


  The idea that all our knowledge is gained through our use of reason or logic, and this knowledge is innate
• Empiricism


  The idea that knowledge comes only from our experiences and senses
• Philosophers and their Beliefs

  • Baruch De Spinoza (Rationalist)
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (Rationalist)
  • René Descartes (Rationalist)
  • John Locke (Empiricist)
• A problem with Empiricism is that our senses can be deceived, e.g. a straight stick appearing bent in water
• A problem with Rationalism is that some knowledge, like understanding colours, requires sensory experience
• "I am my body"


  The idea that "I" am my physical body
• "I am my consciousness"


  The idea that "I" am my mental experience and awareness
• The 21 Grams Experiment was a philosophical investigation into the nature of the soul
• Philosophers and their Beliefs about the Soul

  • Plato (Substance dualism)
  • Aristotle
• There is still no concrete 100% proven answer about the nature of the self
• "I am my body"


  The idea that "I" am my body. You speak of "my" leg, "my" hand etc. However this makes it sound like a possession belonging to "me" – so is my body me or does it belong to me?? Is there a difference?
• "I am my consciousness"


  But what is consciousness? Where does it come from? How does it work? You have no conscious memory of being a baby but would still point to a photo and say "That is me". Similarly, if you developed dementia it would not be right to say you are no longer "you"
• The 21 Grams Experiment
• Philosophers and their beliefs about the soul

  • Plato - Soul temporarily united with body, Soul is a separate substance from the body which is spiritual, Soul cannot be created or destroyed, Soul returns to realm of forms and then is reincarnated
  • Aristotle - Soul and body could not be separated – they are not separate substances, 3 types of soul – vegetative (plants), appetitive (desires) (animals), intellectual (humans), Can't have soul without body or vice versa
  • Rene Descartes - Body and soul completely separate, No way to be sure of your body (could be an illusion) but sure of soul as he is thinking – "I think therefore I am", Soul lives in pineal gland of brain
  • Richard Dawkins - No soul exists at all, Idea of a soul is just wishful thinking, The only way "we" continue after death is through our genes and DNA
• Substance dualism


  The belief that the body and soul are separate substances
• Monism


  The belief that the soul and body are not separate substances
• Materialism


  The belief that only physical/material things exist, and the idea of a soul is false
• In Star Trek (and many other futuristic media!) people can be transported instantly from place to place. This opens up ethical questions about the soul - is it really you who steps out the transporter, or merely a clone with your memories?
• Absolute morality


  The belief that there are rules about right and wrong and that these apply to all people at all times, e.g. Saying murder is always wrong
• Relative morality


  The belief that different moral rules apply, depending on the culture, society, person or situation
• Cultural relativism


  The idea that an individual person's beliefs and activities should be understood by others in terms of that individual's own culture. Our morality (concept of right and wrong) is determined by the culture we live in.
• In the 19th Century it was acceptable and believed correct to enslave black people. This concept of right and wrong was a product of that time and culture. In today's society we know and uphold that treating another race differently to your own is wrong.
• All human laws involve some moral principle being enforced by threat of consequences. When cultural relativism becomes accepted, however, legitimate moral principles are no longer the foundation of those laws. Since everything is relative, then these laws are just a matter of opinion, and the only universal reason to follow them is to avoid consequences. This strongly encourages people to look for ways to "get away with it"; after all, it's just one person's opinion against someone else's.
• Cultural relativism has the capacity to allow any immoral act acceptable. If accepted as the norm that there is no fixed right or wrong in the world, things such as murder or child abuse would be permissible.
• "There are no fixed standards of good and evil. Every judgement of right and wrong is a product of a particular environment, culture or personal preference"
• Utilitarianism


  The theory that the morally right action is the one that brings about the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people
• The problems with Utilitarianism are: the idea of happiness is subjective, we do not stop and think about the consequences of every action, it is difficult to predict the consequences of our actions, and it can lead to the 'tyranny of the majority' where the happiness of the few is sacrificed for the many.
• Higher and lower pleasures (according to John Stuart Mill)


  Higher pleasures are those of intellectual value like experiencing great works of art or music. Lower pleasures are those which are simply sensual or bodily in nature like eating pizza.
• Deontology


  The ethical theory that morality is fixed and does not change, even in extreme situations. Lying, stealing, cheating is always wrong. Humans have a duty to follow absolute (fixed) rules.
• Kant's deontological system has been criticised for not allowing exceptions to the rules and for failing to address conflicts between moral rules.