Philosophy of man 5
Transcript of Philosophy of man 5
RATIONALISM
Latin ratio,”reason”
In philosophy, it is a system of thought that emphasizes the role of reason in obtaining knowledge
It is contrast to empiricism, which emphasizes the role of experience, especially sense perception
A philosophical view that appeals to
reason as a source of knowledge
It is a theory in which the criteria of truth is not sensory
but intellectual
FEATURES OF THE APPEAL TO REASON
Opposed To:
• Absolute monarchy• Rigid social classes• Religious authoritarianism• Superstition and unscientific views of the world• Doctrine of original sin with respect to human nature
Contrasted With:
• Revelation in religion• Feelings and emotion• Senses and intuition
WHAT RATIONALISM BELIEVES
Man could by his own reason improve himself and his institutions to bring about general welfare
Upheld the right of each individual to his own opinion, liberty of conscience, and freedom of thought
RATIONALISM
Developed By The Following European Philosophers:1. Dutch Philosopher: Baruch Spinoza2. German Philosopher and Mathematician:
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz It Was Opposed:
◦British Empiricist Philosopher: John Locke Believed that all ideas are derived from the senses
•Has been applied to other fields of philosophical inquiry
Epistemological Rationalism
•Is the claim that certain primary moral ideas are innate in humankind and that such first moral principles are self-evident to the rational faculty
Rationalism in Ethics
•Is the claim that the fundamental principles of religion are innate or self-evident and that revelation is not necessary
Rationalism in the Philosophy
of Religion
•Rationalism has played chiefly an antireligious role in theology
Since the end of the 1800s
BARUCH SPINOZA
•A member of the rationalist school of philosophy•Pursued knowledge through deductive reasoning rather than induction from sensory experience•He applied the theoretical method of mathematics to other realms of inquiry
Regarded as the foremost Western proponent of Pantheism
This idea is the central thesis of His most famous and influential work, the
1674 Ethica Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata (Ethics Demonstrated
with Geometrical Order
PANTHEISM
A belief that God is everything
That God and the material world are one and the same thing and
That God is present in everything
PHILOSOPHY OF SPINOZA
He rejected the propositional nature of special revelation in the scriptures
He rejected the existence of miracles for miracles do not happen
He argued that God and nature were two names for the same reality
God is the natural world and has no personality
God does not rule over men and things but God is part of the system of which everything in nature is a part
Everything that happen in the universe occurs through the operation of necessity
Everything necessarily happen the way it does
There is no free will
GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ
•The 17th-century thinker who made contributions to a variety of subjects, including theology, history, and physics,•He is best remembered as a mathematician and philosopher•According to him, the world is composed of monads—tiny units, each of which mirrors and perceives the other monads in the universe
PHILOSOPHY OF LEIBNIZ
MONADS THE PRINCIPLE OF PREESTABLISHED
HARMONYBasic entity in metaphysics of Leibnitz
It is an indivisible indestructible unit that is the basic element of reality and a microcosm of it
It states that God constructed the universe in such a way that it corresponds to mental and physical events occurring simultaneously
RENE DESCARTES
•The 17th century French scientist and mathematician•He was also one of the most influential thinkers in Western philosophy•He stressed the importance of skepticism in thought and proposed the idea that existence had a dual nature: one physical, the other mental•Known for his principle “Cogito ergo sum”, “I think, therefore I exist
He was looking for certainty, and used his
method of doubt or skepticism to try and find
what was definite
PHILOSOPHY OF RENE DESCARTES
When man doubt, he is thinking for doubting is the starting point of thinking
Once a person is already thinking, he could no longer doubt that he existed
Innate ideas or pure ideas are the very attribute of the human mind
These pure ideas are know as “a priori” that are present in al human existence
These innate ideas are the prerequisite for learning additional facts
Without ideas, no other data could be known by men
PLATO
•One of the most famous philosophers of ancient Greece•Originally named Aristotle, but called Plato due to the breadth of his shoulder or his speech•Known as the father of Idealism and a believer in Rationalism Philosophy•Wrote 41 Dialogues and Book of Definitions•His famous concept of an ideal state is incorporated in his book Republic
Founder of the Academy in Athens where Aristotle studied
He is widely believed to have been a student of Socrates
PHILOSOPHY OF PLATO
Under the usual haphazard methods of childbearing accidents of birth often restrict the opportunities for personal development
Faculty upbringing prevents most people from achieving everything of which they are capable
The promise of easy fame or easy wealth distracts some of the most able young people from the rigor’s of intellectual pursuits
People with the best ability and natural dispositions must receive the best education, engaging in a regimen of mental discipline that grows more strict with every passing year of their lives
The highest goal of man in education is knowledge of the good. Good is directly apprehended by intuition
The fundamental capacity of human reason is to comprehend the true nature of reality
The reality must be something in the ideal order, not necessarily in the things themselves, but rather above them, in a world by itself
Ideas are the foundation and justification of scientific knowledge. Reality does not change, for the ideas in man are immutable
Of all ideas, the ideas of the beautiful shines out through the phenomenal veil more clearly than any other; hence the beginning of all philosophical activity is the love and admiration of the Beautiful
RATIONALISM VS. EMPIRICISM
There were many concepts widely used in Mathematics and science that could not be discovered by experience alone
Empiricism could not stand alone, but required large amount of truth to be accepted by the proper use of reason
Attacked rationalists arguing that the content of the so-called innate ideas or “priori” ideas was actually learned through one’s experience
We learn vast amount of knowledge through our family, education, and society which comes very clearly in life and cannot be counted as innate
QUESTIONS
1.Defend the rationalists point of view that we can gain knowledge by the use of reason alone. If possible illustrate this by means of examples
2. In what sense is rationalism opposed to empiricism? Support your answer by giving examples or situations
3. Explain the argument of Spinoza that God and Nature are two names for the same reality
4. Do you believe in miracles? Do you disagree with the philosophy of Spinoza that miracles do occur? Justify your answer
5. Why is Plato known as the “Father of Idealism Philosophy”? Elaborate your answer well
6. According to Leibniz, “calculations could resolve many differences in opinion”. What is meant by his statement?
7. Do you agree with the philosophical ideas of Descartes that when you think, you exist? Support well your answer
QuizJanuary 13,20111. It is a theory in which the criteria of truth is not sensory but
intellectual (Rationalism)2. He believed that fieldtrips is needed in the curriculum so as to have
contacts with men and things from all sectors of society (John Milton)3. He pursued knowledge through deductive reasoning rather than
induction from sensory experience (Baruch Spinoza)4. In philosophy, it is a doctrine that denies the possibility of attaining
knowledge of reality as it is in itself, apart from human perception (Skepticism)
5. According to Leibniz philosophy, it is an indivisible indestructible unit that is the basic element of reality and a microcosm of it (Monads)
6. A movement affirming that nature is the whole of reality and can be understood only through scientific investigation (Naturalism)
7. He said that true followers of Jesus would not make good citizens (Jean Jacques Rousseau)
8. He was known for his principle “Cogito ergo sum”, “I think, therefore I exist (Rene Descartes)
9. According to him, knowledge of all subjects, from astronomy to sociology, should come from the correlation of evidence gathered by investigation and observation (August Comte)
10. It is the attitude that emphasizes the dignity and worth of the individual (Humanism)