Schools of philosophy: The Idealists

Idealists believe that the external, material world is produced by the mind or ideas and that it cannot exist separately. Reality therefore begins inside the head, not out in the street.
platoPlato:
Plato thought that everything in the material world owes its existence to a perfect, external, and unchanging idea from which it is modelled. He called these ideas “Forms”. Forms of abstract notions such as courage and justice serve as ideals for people to strive towards. Just as we imagine an ideal horse, perfect in every way, we can imagine the ideal of justice and strive towards achieving it.
Plato’s “dialogues”are usually about the nature of one Form or another. “The Symposium”(meaning “party with wine”) is a discussion between different people on the nature of love. One person suggests that love between two people is like a circle cut in two, each making the other whole again. Continue reading

Schools of Philosophy: Greek Schools After Socrates

 After Socrates’ death, three new schools of thought were founded in Athens. All of them were influenced by Socrates’ search for what is Good.
The Cynics:Diogenes
Started by Antisthenes, a disciple of Socrates, the Cynics became widely known through the antics of Diogenes, Antisthenes’ pupil. Diogenes preached that the only path to happiness was living simply and being virtuous. He exhibited a great contempt for riches by living in a tub like a dog. this is how the Cynics got their name. Cynic comes from the Greek word meaning dog-like. One story recounts a chance meeting between Diogenes and Alexander the Great, ruler of all Greece. The king was upset by Diogenes’ seeming poverty and asked if he could do anything.  “Yes, move!” Said the Cynic. “You’re blocking my sun!” Continue reading

Schools of Philosophy: The Pre-Socratic Philosophers

early greeksThe pre-Socratics (The Early Greeks) were the first philosophers in the West. They are classed as the school that started Western philosophy off on its 2,500-year-old-history.
The ancient Greeks believed in a family of gods, who lived in palaces at the top of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. The whole universe and its workings were attributed to the acts of these gods. Thales, Anaximinder, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, and Empedocles were part of a diverse group of pre-Socratic thinkers. Continue reading

The Father of Western Philosophy

socratesSocrates was a familiar figure in Athens. Shabbily dressed and always barefoot, even in winter, he spent his days discussing everything under the sun with all and sundry. He was soon regarded as the wisest man in Athens, even though the city was full of philosophers who charged money for teaching. This flattery did not impress Socrates. He listened to an inner voice, which stopped him doing things for selfish reasons. He said, “The only thing I know is that I know nothing.” He also said: Ignorance is the only evil.Continue reading

Spinoza: The ethics of God

ethics-by-benedict-de-spinoza-profileIntroduction
He goes by the name of “Benedict de Spinoza“, using the Latin equivalent of the given name (“Baruch”, meaning “Blessed”) that he discarded in his youth following his excommunication by the Amsterdam Jewish community of his birth. Little concerned with wealth, fame, or the transitory pleasures that drives others, Spinoza is motivated by the pure love of truth to probe by deep identity of God with nature and, in doing so, to achieve with union with God-or-Nature that is to be supremely rational and yet also seemingly tinged with mysticism.
At heart of Spinoza’s metaphysics is the strict notion of substance as that which has completely independent existence; indeed, Spinoza leaves no room at all for the Cartesian sense. Continue reading

Spinoza: The level of Knowledge

spinozaSpinoza distinguishes between three levels of knowledge and describes how we can move from the lowest to the highest. We begin with the things most familiar to us, and says Spinoza, “the more we understand individual things the more we understand God.” By refining our knowledge of things, we can move from (1) imagination, to (2) reason, and finally to (3) intuition.
At the level of imagination our ideas are derived from sensation,as when we see another person. Continue reading

Religion and Spirituality

Growth of interest in spirituality: Traditionally, spirituality has always been viewed within the framework of a specific religious group. Thus, there have been multiple spiritualities associated with various saints in Roman Catholicism, as well as different spiritual paths to be found within the context of particular interpretations of Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism. In this sense, spirituality has been understood as the concrete set of beliefs and practices by which a person journeyed on a particular religious path. The connection between formal religious structures and spirituality, in this understanding, is integral. Continue reading

Religion and Growing Feminism

equality Growing feminism and sensitivity to women’s issues: Feminism has become a significant issue within the religious world.This concern has been expressed in a wide variety of different forms. Theologically, it has challenged understandings of God, human persons and the world of nature that some argue were implicitly rooted in male perspectives. Politically, it has striven to increase the level and scope of Woman’s leadership. Continue reading

“Greening” of Religion!

 the church goes green“Greening” of Religion: This involves growing consciousness among religious groups and individuals of the importance of environment concerns. Such consciousness frequently has been a part of the mainstream in many Asian religions but even though individuals like St. Francis of Assisi in the Christian tradition held perspectives that emphasised the relations between humans and nature, it is only recently that Christianity as a whole has become more sensitised to the religious dimension of the relationship between people and the wider environment. Continue reading

An odd philosopher couple whose love affair lasted 50 years!

 sarte and de beauvoirSartre and de Beauvoir met as university students at the Sorbonne in Paris. Famous the world over as the odd couple, they never married or shared a common property. De Beauvior refused to live the conventional female role. They lived in hotels and ate in cafés. But they did share a common philosophy. Their particular brand of thinking is called existentialism – so named because it focuses on individual human existence. The idea is that only people are creative. They are free to rise above their creaturehood and create their own lives. Sartre said: “Man makes himself“. Continue reading

Two philosophers in one body!

ludwig_wittgenstein (1)Ludwig Wittgenstein‘s  burning ambition was to bring an end to philosophy, and he considered that he had done so – twice. He was brilliant, charming, arrogant, rude, witty, brave, and frequently suicidal. Equally as confusing as his philosophy. in fact he seemed to be two different philosophers, the older one disowning the work of the younger one. However, both of them agree that language gives a picture of the world: “The limits of my language are the limits of my reality”.
Born in Vienna in the era of Freud, Wittgenstein was the son of the mega-rich steel magnate. He inherited two fortunes and gave them both away. Genius and emotional instability were family traits. Three of his four brothers committed suicide. Continue reading

A philosopher whose books revolutionized teaching methods in the US.

John-DeweyIn the late 1900s the USA developed its own school of thinking known as pragmatism. The gist is that ideas only useful if they can be put into action. The Americans cleaned out the philosophy cupboard and threw out everything that had no practical value. one of the leading lights  of this new age of practical thinking was John Dewey. He saw education as the most useful means of putting his ideas into practice. education shaped society. Dewey passionately believed in “The full development of individuals as human beings”. He wrote two books that revolutionized teaching methods in the Us.

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A philosopher who wasn’t a stuffed shirt with the ladies!

Hegel (1)Hegel was not a modest man. He claimed that he understood all of the philosophy and history. Like Spinoza, he thought that god and the universe were inseparable. it is difficult to describe Hegel’s philosophy simply, because it isn’t simple. It is a huge, all-embracing system that moves through history like a giant snowball, gathering the best from every era, forever expanding human knowledge. Eventually it will arrive at the absolute truth – God. Hegel disagreed with Kant, who said it was beyond human reason to understand God. He said: “All knowledge is human knowledge.” Continue reading

Aristotle on: “Friendship, Love, Well-wishing, and Unanimity”

Friendship-Day-Pictures-3Friendship: Friendship is a kind of virtue, or implies virtue, and it is also most necessary for living. Nobody would choose to live without friends even if he had all the other good things. Aristotle takes up the subject of what is lovable. He returns to his three “objects of choice”: goodness, usefulness, and pleasure, each corresponding to one of the types of love. These are the three reasons humans have for loving an object or a person. Aristotle removes the love of objects from the discussion, since we do not call that friendship. Continue reading

Stoics’ APATHEIA

Zeno_of_CitiumApatheia is a state of mind in Stoic philosophy in which one is free from emotional disturbance; the freedom from all passions. Apatheia is the root for the word “apathy” (i.e., indifference), but the ancient meaning of apatheia is closer to equanimity than indifference. To some extent, the Stoic term “apatheia” is misleading, even in the ancient Stoics’ own cultural context. In fact, the Stoic view is that the wise and virtuous person will have some feelings. The wise person experiences not delight but joy (at living a wise life); not fear but caution (which prevents her from agreeing with false appearances); not lust for preferred things but wish (that one choose well and not badly). So, Stoic happiness is not altogether devoid of feeling. Continue reading

Aristotelian ethics versus Stoicism

 

Dictionary definition of the word "ethics", in macro.

Agreements between the Two Views: 

(1) The goal of ethical philosophy is practical: the improvement of human lives, the promotion of happiness (the blessed or supremely good life). (2) hat happiness is also the ultimate end (goal) of human life.(3) That happiness is the most complete end. (4) That happiness is self-sufficient.

To say that it is the most complete end is just to say that other things are done for its sake, but it is desired for its own sake and for nothing further. Continue reading

Epicurus’ ATARAXIA

Epicurus_Nuremberg_ChronicleEpicurus is considered a major figure in the history of science as well as philosophy. In ethics he is famous for propounding the theory of hedonism, which holds that pleasure is the only intrinsic value. However, his view of pleasure is far from the stereotypical one. For Epicurus, the most pleasant life is one where we abstain from unnecessary desires and achieve an inner tranquility (ataraxia) by being content with simple things, and by choosing the pleasure of philosophical conversation with friends. To understand the teaching of Epicurus’ ataraxia, it is required to discuss on his ethics. Continue reading

Epicurus on “Death”

Death-does-not-concern-usEpicurus claims that there are two self-imposed beliefs that do the most to make our lives unhappy or full of pain. They are first, the belief that we will be punished by the gods for our bad actions, and second, that death is something to be feared. Both of these beliefs produce fear and anxiety, and are completely unnecessary since they are based on fictions. While the gods do indeed exist, being perfect and eternal they do not directly concern themselves with human affairs. As such, we have no need to fear any punishment from them, nor do we need to spend time Continue reading

Epicurus: “Types of Pleasure”

Parassita-bigFor Epicurus, pleasure is tied closely to satisfying one’s desires. He distinguishes between two different types of pleasure: ‘moving’ pleasures and ‘static’ pleasures. ‘Moving’ pleasures occur when one is in the process of satisfying a desire, e.g., eating a hamburger when one is hungry. These pleasures involve an active titillation of the senses, and these feelings are what most people call ‘pleasure.’ Continue reading

Epicurus on “Virtue” and “Justice”

EpicuroThe virtues: Epicurus’ hedonism was widely denounced in the ancient world as undermining traditional morality. Epicurus, however, insists that courage, moderation, and the other virtues are needed in order to attain happiness. However, the virtues for Epicurus are all purely instrumental goods–that is, they are valuable solely for the sake of the happiness that they can bring oneself, not for their own sake. Epicurus says that all of the virtues are ultimately forms of prudence, of calculating what is in one’s own best interest. In this, Epicurus goes against the majority of Greek ethical theorists, Continue reading

Epicurus: “Types of Desire”

epicurus-quotes-2Because of the close connection of pleasure with desire-satisfaction, Epicurus devotes a considerable part of his ethics to analysing different kinds of desires. If pleasure results from getting what you want (desire-satisfaction) and pain from not getting what you want (desire-frustration), then there are two strategies you can pursue with respect to any given desire: Continue reading

Kingly government, Aristocracy, and Timocracy: Their perversion and corresponding forms of friendship

aristotle1) Aristotle’s idea on the three forms of constitution : 

There are three kinds of constitutions, and an equal number of perverted forms, which are, so to speak, corruptions of these. Constitutions proper are kingly government,  aristocracy, and timocracy. Timocracy is a form of government based upon an assessment of property, though most people are wont to speak of it as constitutional government simply. Of these, kingly government is the best and timocracy the worst. Continue reading

Philosophy, the handmaiden of theology?!!

handmaidensIn the Middle Ages, especially  in the works of the Scholastic writers, arises the problem of the relationship between theology and philosophy. An attempt was usually made to resolve this problem by resorting to the idea of subordination and recalling the old phrase “Philosophy, the Handmaiden of Theology,” from this viewpoint, philosophy is an auxiliary, subordinate discipline, which theology makes use of its own ends. Continue reading

Quotes from the book: “The Game”, by: Neil Strauss

the-gameIf you keep doing what you have always done, you will keep getting what you have always gotten.

Our social skills determine the course of our lives-our careers, our friends, our family, our children, our happiness- that’s a big area to neglect.

This game is not an easy one. You will be forced to confront nearly every single thing that defines you. What separates an amateur from a champion is the willingness to push through that fear and do it anyway. And that’s what most people lack: having the gut, the gut to go in and just say: Continue reading

Quotes from the book: “Tell to Win”, by: Peter Guber

tell to winA message everybody should take to heart: “Behind every success there is a good story lurking.”You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Heroes do not quit, so the only true failure is the failure to get up, and it proves to me that compelling heroes and purposeful stories lurk in every corner of our lives, ready for the telling.

Nothing grabs our attention faster than the need to know what happens next. Continue reading

The gossip facet of my life.

Picture no. 1There are hundreds and hundreds of hard and soft media daily, writing thousands and thousands articles and stories gossiping celebrities in any field that really you cannot even imagine it. Even most of so called serious materials while they become scrutinized, are full of exaggerations and somehow busy making or promoting some celebrities.
Celebrity gossip is hotter among movie stars and their books of private lives turn over more compare to any other field. Continue reading

Christianity and Medieval Philosophy, Summarized from the book: “History of Philosophy”, by: Julian Marias

CHRISTIANITY

1. Christianity and Philosophy

jesusChristianity marks the most profound division in the history of philosophy; it separates the two great phases of Western thought. However, it would be wrong to think of Christianity as a philosophy; it is something quite different—a religion.  Nor can one speak precisely of “Christian philosophy,” if the adjective “Christian” is meant to define the character of the philosophy. The only philosophy that we can call Christian philosophy is the philosophy of Christians as Christians; that is, that philosophy which is shaped by the Christian situation from which a particular philosopher begins to philosophize. I n this sense Christianity has played a decisive role in the history of metaphysics, because it has essentially altered the presuppositions upon which man bases his thought and actions and, therefore, the situation from which he must philosophize. The Christian is different and therefore his philosophy is also different; for example, different from Greek philosophy. Continue reading

Quotes from the book: “The Purpose Driven Life” by: Rick Warren

rick warrenYour life is worth taking the time to think about it. What on earth am I here for?

Many people try to use God for their own self-actualization, but that is a reversal of nature and is doomed to failure. You were made for God, not vice versa, and life is about letting God use you for his purposes, not your using him for your own purpose. Continue reading

The fool does not understand the full implication of what he is saying!!

St. Anselm’s ontological argument

anselmSt. Anselm’s life and work: ¨He was born in 1033 and died in 1109. He was from Aosta, in Piedmont. As a member of the medieval Christian and of the European community which had begun to take shape, he did not restrict  his life and activity to the country of his origin, but lived principally in France and England. Continue reading

Clocks can tell you nothing about the real nature of “time.”

husserlSome say 20th-century philosophy began with Edmund Husserl. He invented a new way of looking at the world. He called it “phenomenology”, meaning “how things appear”. Husserl wanted to find a foolproof method of meaning reality. Descartes‘ idea of doubting everything was a big ingredient of his philosophy. Like Descartes, he believed that consciousness is the key. Continue reading

Nietzsche and the Persian

friedrich_nietzscheWhen Nietzsche was a boy he was called “the little pastor”. His father was a Lutheran preacher. He expected to be a clergyman like his father, but at university he began to question his upbringing. He became a professor at the age of 24. He decided that Christianity robbed people of the will to excel. His ideal was the artistic warrior hero of ancient Greek. In his eyes, people were not created equal. There were men, and there were supermen. Nietzsche’s “superman” combined strength, intellect, and creativity.Nietzsche thought that these “higher” beings were the key to future. He thought the Christian era had had its day. That was the message behind his statement: God is dead. Continue reading

Many avocations but not a vocation!!

name card Dear friends, Hello and Respect,
There are times when my capacity overflows,  and I have no choice but to relate my problem with you- my patient listeners and dear friends – my audience, and my interlocutors.  At these sort of occasions,  as if I am a frog which needed to come to the water surface to croak and inhale fresh air to save itself from suffocating. It’s a cry, not for help. I beg for your commiseration. I know how you are kind and compassionate.  Be patient! I will  open it up in a minute or two. Continue reading

Stoicism’s influence on Christianity

stoicismSince the Renaissance Stoic ethics and some aspects of the stoic view of nature have attracted those who have found it impossible either to accept Christianity or to lapse into complete atheism. The Stoic sage’s sense of duty, his concern for others, his constancy, his independence of external conditions, and his freedom from irrational impulses  have offered a secular moral that has influenced philosophers as different as Spinoza, Hume, and Kant. Continue reading

Interesting Facts about Chinese Art and Thought

analectsBriefness, Disconnectedness, and Suggestiveness

When one begins to read Chinese philosophical works, the first impression one gets is perhaps the briefness and disconnectedness of the sayings and writings of their authors. Open the Confucian Analects and you will see that each paragraph consists of only a few words, and there is hardly any connection between one paragraph and the next. Open a book containing the philosophy of Lao Tzu, and you will find  that the whole book consists of about five thousand words- no longer than a magazine article; yet in it one will find the whole of his philosophy. Continue reading

To you, what is “Reality”?

immanuel-kant-1-638See what Immanuel Kant says about it.
Immanuel Kant was a man of habit, living his life to a precise routine. Townsfolk used to set their watches by his afternoon walk, as he followed the same route at the same time every day. One day he stayed in to read a book and people were late all over town. French Revolution was another only two times he did not take his daily walk. To Kant, the event symbolized freedom of action.

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Do you believe in the existence of “Soul”?

aristotle1See what are the ideas of a couple of the most well-known Greek philosophers about it.

Aristotle distinguished between three types of soul in order to indicate the three different ways a body can be organized. He called these the vegetative, sensitive, and rational souls. They represent various capacities of a body for activity, the first being simply the act of living, the second both living and sensing, and the third a body that includes living, sensing, and thinking.

The human soul combines in itself all the lower forms of soul, the vegetative, nutritive, and sensitive, having in addition to these the rational soul. Continue reading

“Mermaid = Fish + Woman”

The Scottish thinker David Hume wanted to bring philosophy to its senses. He scoffed at so-called human reason. Like John Ldavid humeocke, Hume believed that people knew of the world began with the senses. He set out to discover whether there was any real proof  of those things that people took for granted. Hume’s questioning of God’s existence might have cost him his life a century or so earlier. it still caused a public scandal. This may be why he said: “Errors in religion are dangerous, those in philosophy only ridiculous.”

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A philosopher who believed in equality of people was in charge of slave trade !!

 John Locke is known the father of Liberal Democracy, basis of western constitutional democracyloke. He was from a puritan family and he lived during the time of Hobbes. He believed that Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal, and independent, no one can be put out of this state, and subjected to the political power of another, without his own consent. the only way whereby anyone divests himself of his natural liberty, and puts on the bonds of civil society,  is by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe , and peaceable living one amongst another, in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any, that are not of it. Continue reading

A great man who stayed true to his principles

SpinozaSpinoza was a Dutch Jew of Spanish descent, whose parents had come to Amsterdam to escape persecution from  the Catholic Church due to the plight of the Jews in 16th-century Spain. Yews were forced to become Catholics or flee the country. Spinoza as a youth, studied the Jewish philosophers , but the most abiding influence on his thinking was Descartes. Like Descartes, Spinoza believed that reason is how people make sense of the world. But whereas Descartes had said that the universe is made up of two things – mind and matter, Spinoza said that  there is only one substance – God. God and the universe and everything in it are one and the same. Continue reading

“I am cautious therefore I am!!”

descartesDescartes turned philosophy on its head and started again. First, he had to find out what he knew for certain. he did this by doubting everything. Could he believe what he saw with his eyes, when big things looked small in the distance? How did he know that he really existed? May be he was dreaming. Having to doubt his own existence almost drove  Descartes mad. Luckily, he came up with the answer: “I think, therefore I am.”
Descartes trusted maths because asleep or awake two plus three always equals five. And awake or dreaming, he was in no doubt at all that he was thinking. And if he could think, then he must exist. He decided that reality is made up of two separate things: mind and body. Continue reading

“To take away the cause is to take away the effect”

aquinas

Thomas Aquinas was the son of an Italian nobleman. He was educated in a monastery, like many children during Middle Ages. This 13th century friar said that faith and reason were often two paths to the same end.  He combined the philosophy of Aristotle with the Christian religion. He argued that without God there would be no universe: “To take away the cause is to take away the effect”.  Continue reading

A synoptic account of two similar events: Happened to an ordinary citizen and a philosopher

Farkhunda-MalikzadaThe murder of ordinary citizen: 
Farkhunda Malikzada was a 27-year old Afghan woman who was lynched by a mob in Kabul on March 19, 2015. She was murdered after allegedly arguing with a mullah who falsely accused her of burning the Quran, the holly book of Islam. Police investigations revealed that she had not burned anything. Her death led to 49 arrests; three adult men received twenty year prison sentences, eight other adult males received sixteen year sentences, a minor received a ten year sentence, and eleven police officers received one year prison terms for falling to protect Farkhunda. Continue reading

Stoicism: Go with the flow!

 

Zeno

Stoics believed that they were part of a divine plan and that whatever happened was meant to be. Stoics got their name because Zeno taught from a porch (stoa in Greek). To the stoics, a good life meant a virtuous one. They refused to be ruled by their feelings, because emotions just got in the way of good judgement. Their philosophy was to put up with their lot in life. Stoics didn’t try to fight fate.Their motto was “go with the flow”. Wanting what they couldn’t have could only bring unhappiness. They decided to want whatever they got – this way they could never feel let down.

Early stoics were similar to the Cynics, who had no regard for authority. We can grasp the Stoic position more easily by comparison both with Epicurus and Aristotle. Continue reading

Epicureanism: Don’t worry! Be happy!

Epicurus ATOMISM & HEDONISM
Epicureans thought human existence was just a random groupings of atoms that fell apart after death. Their motto was “don’t worry, be happy”. Epicurus tries to construct a system of simple, coherence, and plausible principles. he is a hedonist who regards the fear of death as the most dangerous source of fear, insecurity, and unhappiness.
Epicurean’s Ethics:
Epicurus’ ethical theory rests on his hedonism – his belief that pleasure is the ultimate good, and other things are good only to the extent that they are means to pleasure. Continue reading