Socrates’ reasoning in passing up the chance to escape his sentence after being condemned to death on fabricated charges Socrates is one of the most influential Greek philosophers, who as influential in ushering the Hellenistic Age. His powers of logical reasoning and the invention of the Socratic method has left a lasting impression on Western…
Category: Philosophy
Scientific progress according to Thomas Kuhn
Thomas Kuhn was one of the pre-eminent scientific voices of the twentieth century. He made key contributions to physics; but his most important works were about the history and philosophy of science. His most influential work is The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, in which Kuhn offers the processes and conditions under which scientific progress takes…
Should morality be based solely on religion?
Religion has long been an integral part of human civilization. Religion effectively started when humans realized the power of nature and their subordination to this power. And being the most intelligent species on earth, human beings conceived the notion of ‘appeasing’ the Gods in return for favorable natural events. For example, offering animal and human…
In what ways does ‘sociological sense’ differ from ‘common sense’?
Sociology as a discipline of study took off only in the twentieth century. The growth in communications technology, coupled with unprecedented levels of human migration, both facilitated and made necessary the study of human interaction from the perspective of ethnicity, race, class, gender, etc. Intellectuals such as Karl Marx, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons…
Socrates and the notion of an examined life
According to Socrates, a commitment to moral reasoning is an essential condition of a well-lived life. An individual should base his actions upon the outcomes of such internal dialogues. The exercise of self-examination and introspection as a way of arriving at moral truths is of paramount importance to Socrates. So much so that he unequivocally…
Science, the Enlightenment and Politics: Which is more important?
This essay argues that the Enlightenment is the most important concept among the three given in the title. The Age of Enlightenment was a period in early modern history when western societies, led by its intellectuals, made a marked shift from religion based authority to one of scientific reason. Prior to this period, the Church…
How would Charles Darwin critique John Stuart Mill in Utilitarianism? How might Mill respond to this criticism?
Charles Darwin and John Stuart Mill were both influential thinkers of the nineteenth century. The lifetime’s work of Charles Darwin has been in the realm of evolutionary biology, but his theories are highly relevant for contemporary human societies as well. John Stuart Mill, on the other hand, is best known for his conception of the…
Who, according to Han dignitaries and the Bhagavad-Gita, made a good ruler and what qualities did he/she need to possess?
The Bhagavad Gita, which is part of the classic Indian epic the Mahabaratha, records the dialogue between Arjuna, the Pandava warrior prince and Lord Krishna who is also his chariot driver. When faced with the prospect of fighting his own cousins in the field of battle, Arjuna is despaired and aggrieved. He communicates his moral…
Summary of Epicurus’ Letter to Menoeceus
1. What does Epicurus means by saying that pleasure is our ‘primary native good? When Epicurus writes that pleasure is our “primary native good”, he is implying that what is pleasurable is also ultimately a good thing. Epicurus is referring to pleasure as a state of well-being and not as a temporary state of excitement…
Outline and review of arguments and controversies generated by Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion:
Right from the publication of his first major work “The Selfish Gene Theory”, Richard Dawkins is never free of controversy. While Dawkins is impeccable as a scholar and an academic, most of his detractors are from the religious and conservative sections of the population. Over the years, Dawkins’ works on evolutionary biology have drawn equally…