When we do applied philosophy, we take philosophical ideas and apply them to current situations and affairs. When these situations and affairs are ethical in nature, we are doing applied…
“A grocer who dreams is offensive to the buyer, because such a grocer is not wholly a grocer. Society demands that he limit himself to his function as a grocer.…
In Existentialism is a Humanism (1946), Sartre formulates his philosophy that “existence precedes essence.” In other words, since human beings have no inherent identity or value, it is through their…
When Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in October 1964, he turned it down saying that he refused official distinctions and did not want to be “institutionalised.”…
Going beyond good and evil means we are in territory not covered by traditional morality.
In ‘On the Genealogy of Morality’, Nietzsche argued that there are two types of morality: master morality and slave morality. “Good” and “evil”, he argued, are concepts that fall squarely under the latter.
“God is dead”, Zarathustra said in Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra, “and we have killed him.” Morality had been the domain of religion for centuries and millennia, until now.
Today, calling someone a sophist is often meant in an disapproving way. We often use the term for a certain type of individual: a sleazy politician, a shady lawyer, or…
It is hard to overstate the importance and influence of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) on 20th century thinking. Philosophical theories and approaches such as existentialism, postmodernism, deconstruction, and post-structuralism are all…
One way in which utilitarianism differs from Kantian deontology is in its view of intention and consequences. We covered this in ‘Utilitarianism: Going for the best outcome.’ A follow-up question…
As we have seen in another post, for utilitarianism the value of acts and actions is based on their results. In the utilitarian world, it’s the results of actions that…
What matters, rather than intention, is the outcome of actions. We justify the value of our deeds only on their results, be they useful, beneficial, or detrimental. This is how…
Kant distinguishes between two types of imperatives, or moral guides. Hypothetical imperatives tell us how to act in order to achieve a specific goal; they are related to actions based…
With modernity, as respect for science grew, so did the idea that the scientific model could be used in areas other than science. Immanuel Kant (1724 – 1804) wanted to…
Today, when we hear the term “Epicurean” we thinking of a person devoted to sensual enjoyment, especially someone whose self-indulgent pleasure derives from fine food and drink. It’s a term…
The Epicurean Paradox, also known as the “God Paradox” or “Problem of Evil,” is a logical argument that questions the nature of gods or a single God, in relation to…