ThePhilosophyCenter

 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...

 Hello! Today's episode will be about Chinese philosophy. We will have four small parts covering four prominent philosophies in Ancient Chinese culture and history: (1) Daoism, (2) Confucianism, (3) Mohism, and (4) Legalism. Each of these philosophies we might cover again one day to cover them one by one. Before we enter the big four Chinese philosophies we must see: what do Chinese philosophies have in common? How are they different from Greek philosophy, the only other group of sophisticated philosophies in their era?  They are more related to ethics (what should we do? is an exampleof a question in Ethics (philosophy)). The Chinese philosophies typically answer the question, "What is the purpose of life?". Meanwhile, Greek philosophy, ranges from ethics to metaphysics to epistemology. Today we will only cover the first two (Confucianism and Daoism(.  1. Daoism Daoism is a philosophy developed by the philosopher Laozi, also referred to as Lao Tzu. During his life, China...