with morals and politics. Human nature is the basic substance shared by human beings‚ and is thus important in making sense of society and all its complexities along with the individual man and his liberties. Two prominent philosophers‚ Rousseau and Kant‚ express conjectures on human nature in their essays. Rousseau focuses on man in the untainted state of nature. He believes that the lack of knowledge and morality in savage man is better than the evils resulting from social inequalities‚ insisting
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Antigone‚ like Kant‚ is governed by a philosophy of duty‚ but one that is very different from Kant’s. Antigone’s duty is to the gods. Unlike Kant who follows a sort of subjective moral law‚ Antigone’s moral law is far less arbitrary. She is obligated to uphold her family duties regardless of the circumstances. I believe this is what separates Antigone from both Mill and Kant‚ as well as Smith. Her actions are independent of circumstances. There
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future or the successful outcome of something” This is the cry of the enlightenment period. This was the hope that Kant and Voltaire so strongly desired for the future. Optimism is something that most people think that they have‚ but very few actually acquire. Optimism not only requires hope‚ but it requires action. The enlightenment period was a precursor to the revolution. Immanuel Kant believed that all men‚ if they have the freedom to think‚ can create a true reform in all of society. Why did he
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Immanuel Kant and Thomas Aquinas were two great philosophers who developed arguments for the existence of God and taught ways of critically assessing the natural world. They both believed that we all are born the same and learn through experience. You must first experience something in order to gain knowledge by experiencing it first. This meant that people could not be certain about something until they “saw” it first. They both believed in “free will” and that everyone could make their own choices
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The great 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant believed that no type of lying was okay‚ but this is the 21st century‚ where beliefs and ideas are progressing. One’s thoughts‚ actions‚ and societies day to day lives are different from the one Immanuel Kant lived. People follow along in what happens in society‚ how society acts‚ and how society thinks. If most of society lies‚ why is it not okay if other people lie in certain situations? Lying is justified when it is the moral duty‚ to save
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Reflex acts were one of the first human reactions to being studied. Descartes was the first beginning a study model of reflex acts‚ this to be able to demonstrate that the body worked like any other machine. Another scientist in studying this phenomenon‚ Robert Whytt. He was a Scottish physicist and physicist. He inclined his research around action-reflex‚ differentiating voluntary and involuntary movements. Describing the pupil reflex to light (reflecting Whytt)‚ he further proposed that the arches
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Moral law decrees that lying to a friend in order to spare his or her feelings is impermissible. According to Immanuel Kant‚ lying in any instance is an immoral act and is not allowed. Subsequently‚ Jeremy Bentham‚ would state that people will always attempt to maximize happiness and minimize suffering‚ making lying acceptable in some cases. Lying is immoral especially in the case of attempting to keep a friend from feeling pain by telling them the truth. For example‚ if your friend were to ask you
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For Immanuel Kant‚ guilt is considered a necessary condition for punishment and judicial punishment can never be used merely as a means to promote some other good for the criminal himself or civil society. He argues that‚ an offender must first be found to be deserving of punishment before any consideration is given to the utility of punishment for himself or his fellow citizens. In this view‚ utilitarian concerns can never justify the punishment of an innocent person while guilt itself demands
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Descartes’ Mind-Body Problem In Meditations I‚ Descartes conceives that he is “A thinking thing‚” and this is based on his reasoning that there must be something that exists that is producing the meditations that arise in his awareness (Descartes 137). Descartes maintains that this reasoning solves the initial doubts that were addressed in Meditation I. He then becomes aware of the problem that although one can be certain that a thinking thing exists‚ one cannot be sure that there is the existence
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Descartes’ Cogito argument and defective nature doubt are mutually damaging to each other’s respective claims. Defective nature dismisses logic yet Cogito uses it‚ by doing so Descartes contradicts himself‚ falling trap to his own scrutiny. Ruling out his own perception‚ how can Descartes make plausible claims when he doubts his very ability to do so? The reasoning behind Descartes’ doubtfulness is that‚ in essence‚ he wants to know what he can and cannot doubt. If Descartes knows what is doubtable
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