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Philosophy Final Notes:

These are the notes for the Philosophy Final, on Tuesday, June 3
rd
. Note that not all of these
questions will be on the test.
Descartes:
Three Meditations: First-Doubt-everything is questionable
Second-Cogito Ergo Sum-he couldnt doubt dount
Third-God
Existence of God: sensations (stimulation from environment), factions (things mind constructs
from things of real world), pure innate idea (perfect being put the idea of a perfect being in my
mind therefore there must be God
Leibniz:
Theory of Evil: Metaphysical-we are created by our Creator so the created is lesser than the
uncreated
Physical-our world is broken and you can see it-earthquakes
Moral-physical evil creates moral evil-we are sinners, God created the best
possible world available but it still has moral evil
Monads: many infinite things, tiny particles making up everything and they are spiritual so there
is no material. God is monad and created infinite # of monads
Hume:
Argument Against Miracles: Induction-I havent heard of anyone encountering a miracle and
neither have I. Probability-highly improbable, highly irrational that they would happen
Instrumentalism: reason is the instrument by which we defend our preconceived notions that
we have arbitrarily
Kant:
4 Classes of Concepts: Quantity-numeric power-unity, plurality, totality
Quality-real, less real, some real
Relation-distinguishing real and imaginary, causality
Modality-realtion, possibility, impossibility
3 Hegelian Philosophers:
Marx: dialectical politics-progress in conflict in politics and governance
Darwin: dialectical biologist-progress when nature has conflict producing the best
Spencer: survival of the fittest-progress in conflict in nature
Schopenhauer:
Buddhism 4 Noble Truths- 1. All Life is Suffering
2. Suffering Comes From Desire
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3.Eliminate Desire to Eliminate Suffering
4. 2-Fold Path-Tragic personal loss and proximity to it
Compte:
3 Fundamental Laws-1. Progress
2. Knowledge-1) Mathematics-pure and simple
2)Astronomy-empirical reflection of pure math
3)Physical Science-chemistry, complicated, applied math
4)Social Sciences-sociology, all math just sophisticated
Goes from simple to high complexity
3. Science
Observable Phenomena-no explanations of observable phenomena are permissbale except
those that are themselves observable phenomena
Psycho Genetic Method-Feuerbach:
We create God in our image through the psycho genetic method-our greatest power; give names
to impressive things like love or courage and elevate them to a level of absolute expressions and
name them God-leads to worship of man since creating in YOUR image
Significant to Feuerbach because he was a nominalistic materialist-reality is in the name
Proper object of worship is the unlimited essence of man
3 Words:
Immanent-takes place within the mind, inherent
Imminent-near
Eminent-high in rank
Kierkegaard:
1. Aesthetic
-parasites, depend utterly on others, no contribution-Hedonism, Philosophers
2. Ethical
-what should I be doing? What is the right thing to do?
3. Religious
-teleological suspension of the ethical-God can command the unethical because God is ethics
5 Writings-
Fear and Trembling-life of Abraham
Either/Or-true life is life of descisions
Purity of Heart-devotional
Sickness Unto Death-life of faith leads to lonely life
Stages Along Lifes Way-description of aesthetic, ethical and religious ways
Marx:
Critic Against Feuerbach-1.Too Limited-agrees with psycho genetics but people do it b/c they
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are oppressed
2. Too Vague-fluffy, not harsh enough
3. Too Religious
4. Too Sentimental
Against F-achieve through love (F) labor (M)
Estrangement- Economic-do not see results of labor
Social-splits community between rich and poor haves and haves not
Political- law becomes invested interest of rich
Religious-religion is opiate of the masses
Steps to Communism Utopia-
1. Abolition of Property and Land
2. Progressive Income Tax
3. Abolition of All Right of Inheritance
4. Confiscation of all Property of Immigrants and Rebels
5. Centralized Banking
6. Centralized Communication and Transportation
7. Federally Controlled Factories
8. Equal Liability to All to Labor
9. Combination of Agriculture and Manufacturing Industries and Abolishing Distinction
Between Town and Country
10. Free Education
Atheism Between Marx and Nietzsche
Marx-assumed morality and therefore his philosophy was built around people were good and we
just need to live with one another, based on peaceful labor
Nietzsche-did not assume morality and man with strongest will wins or dominates
On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored
Races in the Struggle For Life
Zarathustra
-moralist of Prussia, monotheistic
-ubermensch- Nietzsches 5 points adopted this point and incorporated it into his philosophy
Nietzsche:
Schopenhauer-we are victims to our will, N-we control our will to have power
both agree will is driving force of life
Gay Science-we have killed God and we will have a better history without Him but people do
not know what we have done by killing God this now gives us no purpose and we are alone-
God is dead
5 Points- 1.God is Dead
2. Nihilism
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3.Transvaluation of Values
4. Will to Power
5. Ubermensch
Freud:
ID Ego Super ID
Defense Mechanisms: Denial of Pain-refusing what happened, Reaction Formation-sour grapes-
I didnt want it anyways, Displacement-take anger out on defenseless, Repression-dont
remember but still influenced by it, Projection-so is everyone else, Intellectualization-happy
place, Rationalize-justifying, Compensation-find place in group, Sublimation-pouring into
something
William James:
Pragmatism-if it works its good
Holmes:
Legal Positivism-It is no longer possible to base laws on metaphysical norms we must now base
values on the contemporary community and those values change b/c we are evolving
Spencer:
Social Darwinism
Bajahot:
Social Darwinist and Racist, Political Theorist
Husserol:
Phenomenology
Russel:
Founder of Analytical Philosophy
Existentialism Basic Philosophical Characteristics:
1. Existence Precedes Essence
2. Particular Over Universal
3. Concrete Over Abstract
4. Subjective Over Objective
5. Personal Involvement
6. Relative Over Absolute
Themes In Existentialism:
1. Anxiety
2. Solitude
3. Freedom
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4. Death
5. Meaninglessness
Barth:
God is wholly other-anything less than this would lead to Nazism, cannot let God be a part of the
machinery of nature-no possibility to worship themselves, no inherent Bible-otherwise it is
human
Barmen confession-1934 year after Hitler Chancellor
Heideggar (Existentialist):
Dasein-being there
Geworfenheit-thrownness, thrown into meaninglessness and ultimately catastrophic (death)
Angst-anxiety no peace
4 Fundamental Characteristics of 19
th
Century Liberal Philosophy:
Optimism-things are getting better
Humanism-human goodness-God seen in it
Immanentism-God is very close to us
Naturalism-metaphors for supernatural events like miracles
Bultman:
Demythologizing Bible-Neo liberalism, vorvustandis, important not b/c of its objective context
but b/c of questions you bring to it and it will give you answers
Schaeffer: