Philosophy 20/30 Tanisha Kotowich Mr. Gambier March 3, 2014 Quotes Regarding Philosophy Analysis, Interpretation and Application “To be is to be perceived. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” ~ Bishop George Berkeley (1685-1753) As an idealist, Berkeley believed that nothing is real except for minds and their ideas. Ideas do not exist independently of the mind, but rather it is the mind that provides validity to the concepts. Something exists only if someone has the idea of it. It is the acknowledgement made by humans that takes a mere ambiguous idea and gives it not only meaning but its very existence. If one looks at the opposing idea, it’s difficult to completely grasp the concept that should an individual be unaware of either an object or an idea, it’s existence is subjective. The reason being is that, how can one be aware of the lack of existence of something, should they be ignorant of the actual object. There is nothing to prove its existence should the idea of it never manifest itself in the mind of an individual. Though he never put the question in the exact words given in the quotation, Berkeley would say that if a tree fell in the forest and there was no one there to hear it, not only would it not make a sound, but there would be no tree. Due to the lack of presence during the fall, there is nothing to say that the tree existence was tangible, let alone the fall. This train of thought ties in with Protagoras’ quote “man is the measure of all things”, which essentially states that because man is thought to be capable of a higher level of thinking over any other animals, it is said that our perception of the world around us justifies everything we see, and allows us... ... middle of paper ... ...ividuals of higher ability place upon others to ensure they do not surpass them. It assures that individuals “The unreal is more powerful than the real, because it's only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die.” ~ Chuck Palahniuk (1962 - Present) The study of philosophy is often phrased as being the search for what one does not know. “The end justifies the means.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli (1469 - 1527) Machiavelli’s famous words have impacted individuals on many different levels in multiple different areas. Everywhere from business to education, this quote has various degrees of application and truth. What is implied by Machiavelli is that it is not the means by which one reaches there end goal that matters, but rather the fact that they have achieved it. Success is based on the attainment of
In the Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, Berkeley knows words to be imperfect. His two speakers debate definitions—of skepticism, sensible things, substrata, matter, idea, spirit—as principal points on which their arguments depend; once Ph...
Another way in how Machiavelli's ideas can take part in todays world is when dealing with politics.To keep the country in tact and in order there has to be some sort of ruthlessness.in text 3 it says "We are still drawn to Machiavelli because we sense how impatient he was with the equivalent flummery in his own day, and how determined he was to confront a problem that preoccupies us too: when and how much ruthlessness is necessary in the world of politics"(text 3 lines 42-45).Even today people acknowledge Machiavelli's ideas because even in politics there has to be some of Machiavelli's ideas put forth to keep order.If a certain group such as governent falls, the whole nation will fall and there will be complete and total caos.This would be a reason why and how Machiavelli's ideas would be put forth in todays society.
...ch allows us to perceive physical objects, than it must be God. Therefore, following Berkeley thought, when we talk about matter, we are talking about God. That which we attribute to matter must refer to God, the revealer of ideas corresponding to material things. It would then follow that it is God who is the True Essence of physical objects and not atoms, photons, or protons. However, this explanation may be just as commonsensical as his explanation against science in that neither God nor matter has been proven scientifically to exist. Both are theoretical ideas. Since neither God nor matter can be proven to exist, it would follow that Berkeley’s theory of external objects is just as commonsensical as postulating that physical objects contain atoms, photons ect, (reality consists of matter) and that God does not exist--the materialistic/ functionalistic theory.
Although their methods and reasoning contrasted one another, both philosophers methodically argued to come to a solid, irrefutable proof of God, which was a subject of great uncertainty and skepticism. Through Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous and Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes and Berkeley paved the way towards an age of confidence and faith in the truth of God’s perfect existence actively influencing the lives of
Locke, an indirect realist, explores our immediate perceptions and with this attempts to draw a line between ideas and qualities, just how these are different entities. Sometimes referred to as Representative Theory, according to Locke, we are aware only of our ideas, these being things existing “in our minds”, sensations created. Our perceptions are indirect and their qualities, these are the causal properties of physical objects that then cause those sensations. This dualistic account
9- Bennett, Jonathan. "Berkeley and God." Cambridge University Press: Royal Institute of Philosophy: Philosophy 40.153 (1965): 207-21. Print.
Machiavelli’s persuasiveness is found to be very analytical according to many of his followers. Usually Machiavelli uses a clear form of writing which is straight and to the point, often however, this is not the way he approaches some of the more debatable situations. He tends to approach the situation in a way most people would not dare to attempt. He usually uses the information and turns the topic into something that will challenge the minds of the
“even bodies are not strictly perceived by the senses or the faculty of imagination but by the intellect alone, and that this perception derives not from their being touched or seen by from their being understood…”
Second, Descartes raised a more systematic method for doubting the legitimacy of all sensory perception. Since my most vivid dreams are internally indistinguishible from waking experience, he argued, it is possible that everything I now "perceive" to be part of the physical world outside me is in fact nothing more than a fanciful fabrication of my own imagination. On this supposition, it is possible to doubt that any physical thing really exists, that there is an external world at all. (Med. I)
Written almost 500 years ago, Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince” brings forward a new definition of virtue. Machiavelli’s definition argued against the concept brought forward by the Catholic Church. Machiavelli did not impose any thoughts of his own, rather he wrote from his experience and whatever philosophy that lead to actions which essentially produced effective outcomes in the political scene of Italy and in other countries. While Machiavelli is still criticized for his notions, the truth is that, consciously or subconsciously we are all thinking for our own benefit and going at length to achieve it. On matters of power where there is much to gain and a lot more to lose, the concept of Machiavelli’s virtue of “doing what needs to be done” applies rigorously to our modern politics and thus “The Prince” still serves as a suitable political treatise in the 21st century.
that life is based on the decisions made by a higher power in an overall plan. The power of free
reality was not in me…therefore I myself cannot be the cause of the idea, then
Some may take this to mean a completely different thing, such as thinking that Machiavelli believes that the end justifies the means, that a leader should lie to the people, and that a ruler has to rule with force. In actuality, Machiavelli means no such thing. He says that there are times when the common good outweighs the means, and the morality of a ruler’s actions. He also says that you cannot be loved by everyone, so try to be loved and feared at the same time, but of the two, choose to be feared.
He makes you think and wonder about the external world in which in his mind does not exist. My question is that how can he believe in God and the sense that there is no external world if God himself is the creator of all things including humans, animals, mind and nature. There are some things that I could agree with for example if a tree is cut but no one is around to see or hear does it make a sound. The answer Berkeley would give is no because no one is around to perceive it. In this case that makes perfect sense to me. I can also understand the notion how an idea is perceived through our experiences and our senses of smell, touch, listening and etc. George Berkeley makes his readers think outside the box in such a way that the words we have been taught to represent one thing could very well represent something else in an abstract kind of way. Who is to say the words I have written do not represent something else. For someone who does not have a language could read George Berkeley and have their own representation of
So concluding that ‘I am,’ ‘I exist,’ is true whenever it is conceived in mind, attests the fact that since thinking is taking place, regardless of whether or not what is being thought of is true or not, implies that there must be something else involved in the notion, precisely the “I.” Consequently, “I exist” is a certain belief from which other certain truths can be inferred.