ThePhilosophyCenter

 Hello! Today we will begin a 3-part series regarding rationalism.  Rationalism was a major school of thought in the Enlightenment era that opposed the other major philosophy, Empiricism. Rationalism has three philosophers we will cover, the first of which being Descartes.  ----- CHARACTER PROFILE: RENE DESCARTES Born: 1596, France. Died: 1650, Essex, United Kingdom, aged 53. Works: Meditations on First Philosophy etc. Ideas: Rationalism, Dualism Text Intro: Rene Descartes was a French rationalist philosopher best known for the belief "I think, therefore I am". He also was a mathematician and scientist.   ------ He believed that there were eternal truths that are always correct and do not need sensing to know. However, there were some truths he said did need some empirical basis, accompanied by the scientific method. These eternal truths include mathematical ones such as 2+2=4, etc. The statement "I think, therefore I am" implies that if we have the abillity to ...

 Hello! I forgot to write on Monday so this Wednesday will be the replacement.  Today we will discuss David Hume, an influential Empiricist philosopher after Locke. He is a very important figure in philosophy, politics, and religion. Before seeing his empiricist theories, let's study his other views. 1.  He was among the first to oppose the traditional religious belief and began secular philosophy and morality. He criticized the standards of the time. This is why we definitely be careful while discussing empiricism. He was against miracles. 2.  He was also a historian and had political views, especially pro-monarchist, supporting the statement that monarchy was optimal. He was anti-mercantilist (mercantilism being the practice of trade through import taxes to generate money). Hume's Empiricism He was strongly against innate ideas, which was a key rationalist belief, and then divides the knowledge in our minds into two kinds of phenomena: that being impressions and id...

 Hello! In our second Empiricism episode we will discuss the philosophy of another British Empiricist philosopher, namely John Locke.  Before we see John Locke's empiricism, he is also a large contributor to modern society, especially modern governments. He first thought of modern liberal government - the government that is based on the rights of individual liberty and concepts such as secularism, freedom of press, and religious freedom. Now let's discuss his epistemology. But before.... ----- CHARACTER PROFILE: JOHN LOCKE Born: 1632, Wrington, United Kingdom. Died: 1704, Essex, United Kingdom.. Works: "A Letter Concerning Toleration", "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding", etc. Ideas: Limited Government, Natural Rights, Empiricism Text Intro: John Locke was an English philosopher born in 1632. He found an interest in philosophy. He became a physician (modern day equivalent of a doctor). Afterwards, he went to the Netherlands and returned. In his 50s and...

 Hello! In the 16,17, and 18th century, there were two major schools of thought in philosophy that had different answers that tried to answer the question, "What is the most trustable and optimal way to learn or gain knowledge?" These two major groups were the Empiricists and Rationalists. Empiricists believed our mind at birth is a tabula rasa, a blank canvas, with no prior knowledge. It believes we must rely on our senses to optimally learn. Rationalists believed we had some prior knowledge at birth and we should use our own minds. Many philosophers were at each side, so we will do a series. This week and next week and the week after is Empiricism #1,#2, and #3 respectively. Today we will talk about Francis Bacon, one of the first major "British" empiricst philosophers.  Francis Bacon lived in a time where many scientists worked, which challenged the dominant Christian religion in Europe. Bacon lived in a time called the "Scientific Revolution" and an in...

 Hello! Following the Fall of Western Rome in 476, the Middle Ages set in. Most philosophies during the era that followed were some sort of Aristotelianism, which we have covered with our Medieval Aristotelianism episode. Thus, we will immideately enter the 1500s with the philosophy of a very influential man: Machiavelli. But who is Machiavelli? ----- CHARACTER PROFILE: NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI Born: 1469, Florence, Italy. Died: 1527, Florence, Italy. Works: Prince by Machiavelli. Discourses on Livy by Machiavelli. Ideas: Machiavellism, End Justifies the Means Text Intro: Not much people in history has such a large impact on modern day politics and diplomatic dynamics as Machiavelli. Yet, Machiavelli did not start a war, nor did he rule a nation. How could a mere philosopher change so much? His political philosophy was extremely popular and has become a basis for a lot of decisions throughout history, whether it is a decision about business, politics, government, or management. He was a...

 Hello! This is the final episode of Ancient Philosophy and the second portion of the Chinese Philosophy series. Today we will cover the Mohist philosophy and the Legalist philosophy. Outside of Confucian and Daoist system of thought, these two were also relevant in the world of Ancient chinese philosophy.  1. Mohism Mozi, or Mo Tzu, is the central philosopher involved in Mohism. Mo Tzu's philosophy is considered to do with ethics, just like most other Chinese philosophies. Mohism believes we should care or love everybody equally and you should treat others the way you want to be treated - these two beliefs and statements are often heard in this present day and age. Mo Tzu said these things to try and achieve peace, especially in the government. While those two statements are actually biblically valid, it lacks a "god" or power. 2. Legalism When you hear of the word "legalism", even if you don't know the meaning, you might think about the prefix legal and th...