Sunday, February 28, 2010

Week & Lecture 3

Empiricism is simpley described as the doctrine that knowledge derives from experience.

Noumenal world is perceived by 'intuition' - especially aesthetic reaction to art/beauty.

Keats states "Beauty is Truth, Truth is a Beauty". He believes thats all you need to know.

Kant invites perception he believes everything you perceive has two natures example of that is a *table* still there but has a different character. *( Noumenal object, has nature even if it was percieved.)

Kant's Morality
The Categorical Imperative
Things He Bilieves:
  • intrested in instinct.
  • Learn everything from the world that exist
  • Born with certain ideas
  • Maximus - bad to lie
  • Morally good example of that is training
His moral law is every huma has got it written in their heart whatever they do.
He also believes the whole world should be destroyed if you lie.

Barkley states everything flasks in and out of existance. The universe looks the way it looks because of the perceptive appratus of the mind/brain. He states it is not actually there.

Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by its utility in providing happiness or pleasure as summed among all sentient beings. Also measure good by its outcome.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Semester & Week 2

Seminar Notes:

In the essay, Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Woman in an attempt to understand her feminism, at least in part, as an extension of the middle-class struggle for the "rights of man" and the establishment of a bourgeois society—both of which, Furniss claims, problematize Wollstonecraft's relevance to contemporary social issues.

Mary Wolstencraft states women are limited. They are not allowed to do many things men can. She says men stereotype women for what they should do, how to do it and simpley stating their are the weeker gender. Men believe women should be looking after the children keeping them the house clean and there always should be food on the table.

She also talks about sexuality and how women should have more freedom an example of that is in private life sexuality does matter as in men can only marry women and the other way round. But in public it doesn't matter who drives the bus whether is a men or women as long as it does not harm anybody.

Notes on the liberty

Mill's most memorable point made in his work "On Liberty" is that "over himself, over his body and mind, the individual is soverign" ...

Mills work can be connected to Rene Descartes quote" I think therefore i am" which questions everything. An example of that is how do you if mother is your real mother, or your birth certificate is real and that is your real birthday .


JOHN WILKES - LIBERALISM AND UTILITARIANISM


Liberalism could be explained as
an idea of a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed.

Utilitarianism could be explained as providing happiness or pleasure as summed among all sentient beings. These people believe you can say anything you want as long as you do not physically harm anyone. The opposite of that is telling children Santa Claus don't exist which will harm them and it is not right as they are children.