Author	Feedback	Action
Brooke OFFLINE	12/08/2008 Machiavelli's idea of virtu' is not of moral character then, but of what is best or the utilitarian needs of the country. For Machiavelli virtu' out weighs virtue in times of need while Plato believes a just ruler must behave the same all the time. Salmon says: Machiavelli critically analyzes the crucial characteristics of successful rulers, distinguishing, for example, between standards of discipline appropriate for military campaigns and for rulers when they are not commanding armies. Similarly, when Machiavelli discusses the concepts of cruelty and mercy, he presents examples to show that actions which might seem at first glance to be cruel are merciful in the circumstances, and vice versa. Modern times have obviously proven Marx' assumptions of the self-destructive tendency of capitalism to be much more latent and controllable. The dynamic and destructive capitalist economy which 1) replaced exploitation veiled with religion with blatant exploitation and 2) destroyed its own means of preventing future crises has again become a more veiled form of exploitation and has proven to have a much greater capacity to prevent crises through human constructions such as the federal reserve board and government crisis monetary backing. Things such as these show capitalist society to be more tenacious than Marx thought. How does this effect his claim to scientific status? Marxism is still a very exact and penetrating critique -- but what level of science can it claim?
Haley OFFLINE	10/08/2008 The young are stronger, but the old more cunning. The older an animal or human gets, the more knowledge they possess. This knowledge is gained mostly through experience. A person can spend years in a classroom studying various subjects, but until they actually use that knowledge, and experience in the field the knowledge is useless. Hume writes in Section IX; Descartes develops a correspondence theory of truth. However, for Descartes, truth is always going to have to remain private. He believes we have direct and immediate contact with our own ideas. Whatever we see we bring back to our minds. If we don not like what that something, then we distort it. Our eyes and other senses distort the truth and can deceive us. Descarte says: I have accepted as possessed of the highest truth and certainty I have learned either from the senses or through the senses. Now these senses I have sometimes found to be deceptive; and it is only prudent never to place complete confidence in that by which we have even once been deceived. (Descartes, Rene, "Meditations," Struhl, Paula Rothenberg, and Struhl Karsten J., editors, Philosophy Now. Random House: 1980, P. 88)
Leah OFFLINE	10/08/2008 A person could argue that yes this makes sense, but how do you explain the different degrees of knowledge people attain. Since we all gather experiences throughout our life, we must actually be rationalizing upon these experiences, and gaining knowledge from these rationalizations. Hume argues: Why would not simply making use of the lands of a country (i.e. for traveling) make you subject to that country's laws because of the implicit benefits you gain (i.e. safe passage, an efficient road, etc.)? I believe that Locke himself addresses this question from this point of view in a later section of the Second Treatise.
Marissa OFFLINE	17/08/2008 Today, there is a big push in this country to limit individual freedom/liberty for the good of society. People fear crime and the diminishing of what is called family values. The problem is whose speech should be limited? Atheists may argue that all religious speech should be censored because it is false. Theologians may argue that atheism should be censored because it is false. Family values differ from family to family. The moral values taught to Islamic, Jewish, Christian and Catholic children are not identical. Who is to decide which set of values we should follow? The individual (or the individual's parents) has to make that decision themselves without interference from well intentioned others. No one has the right to interfere with a person's individual Liberty to choose what is best for them. The statement is confusing. It seems that Dewey wishes to have his cake and eat it too. He spends over four hundred pages arguing that we should accept his method of philosophical criticism. Dewey criticizes other philosophers of selective emphasis then claims we should accept his theory of the ineluctable traits of natural existence as a starting point for philosophic discovery or his selective emphasis. Dewey's method of philosophy claims the world is constantly changing and that truth can only be obtained according to the values we place on it. Dewey shows how our values, experiences, and culture change what we perceive as true. Truth, like nature constantly changes and hence, cannot be predicted or permanently defined. Dewey, by offering a selective emphasis of the natural traits nature, Dewey is, once again, guilty of his own criticism. There cannot be a selective emphasis in the system of philosophy Dewey espouses. Dewey states of selective emphasis:
Joseph OFFLINE	11/08/2008 Plato answers by claiming that morality is a necessary cause of happiness, that one's happiness is correlary to one's moral behavior. Therefore, an immoral person would be motivated to be moral if he wants to be happy. The happy person, according to Plato, is the just person, a claim that he posits in two ways: Socrates, however, consistently cites that the people of the kallipolis, raised in virtue, justice, and with a knowledge of what is good, will realize the justice of the kallipolis and act according to their sense of justice and for the good of the city. This argument is fine in and of itself. When you reach the political structure of the kallipolis, however, certain ideas are brought into question.

Title and Description	Posts	Photo	Action
Lover Immortal Memories Author: Aaliyah New There are, however, two possible reasons for de Beauvoir's primacy of freedom for others. One is that she has created a value scheme which promotes such values. But if this were simply the case, there...	1		View Bookmark
Argument Justified Author: Aaliyah New Another rebuttal is that probability theory is a mathematical model, thus it has a form. Probability theory, however, is not an abstraction. It is a concrete consideration of the likelihood of any eve...	1		View Bookmark
Century Facts Author: Aaliyah Hume's obvious goal was to refute Descartes, and defend Berkely. He does an admirable job, considering any statement even remotely acknowledging Descartes' theory of thought as being the only thing we...	1		View Bookmark
Governed Separates Gathering Author: Aaliyah Matters of fact, which are the second objects of human reason, are not ascertained in the same manner; nor is our evidence of their truth, however great, of a like nature with the foregoing. The contr...	1		View Bookmark

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Fails Recognize Unequal Author: Aaliyah New Machiavelli are writing in two different eras. In Plato's era, man based philosophy on utopian ideals and principles. They were concerned with how things should be, not how they were. If we all behave...		View Bookmark
Rationalizes Consistent Assuming Author: Aaliyah New In an assault on the hypocrisy of the political-philosophical arguments of the ruling class that ordered the death of his teacher, Plato makes the Senate, look like fools. The nineteenth century phil...		View Bookmark
Voices Reading Interpreting Author: Aaliyah New At the end of Section 9 Hume writes: "But our wonder will perhaps cease or diminish when we consider that the experimental (experiential) reasoning itself, which we possess in common with beasts, and ...		View Bookmark
Teachings Participation Throw Author: Aaliyah New An easy rebuttal to this objection is simply that we don't yet know the truth about electrons and water, and thus the form. This objection has no scientific basis. Any more accurate description of ele...		View Bookmark
Considering Whether Author: Aaliyah Plato says their performance determines whether the Love is Common or Heavenly. This differs greatly from the materialistic society we live in today. Today people are more concerned with Common Love t...		View Bookmark

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Acknowledges Members Naturally Author: Aaliyah New Featured At the age of nine Charles was sent to reform school after being caught stealing, kicking off his life of crime. Again, caught stealing, at 12 years old he was sent off to a boys school in Indiana. Le...	02/09/2008 09:40		View Bookmark
Emotions Appetites Passions Author: Aaliyah Here Hume goes too far. In defense of his own argument, he makes a claim he cannot prove through experience. He is rationalizing that experiences differ between individuals because we all have differe...	06/09/2008 19:58		View Bookmark

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Parts Governed Author: Aaliyah New The range of Plato's knowledge was vast. He developed a deep insight into all the arts and sciences, including mathematics, physics, astronomy, politics, ethics, esthetics, poetry, painting, sculpture...		Join Club View Bookmark
Punishing Performing Guaranteed Author: Aaliyah Simone de Beauvoir is obviously trying to address the weakest point of Sartre's philosophical exposition of existentialism -- what sort of value system arises from the existential outlook? De Beauvoir...		Join Club View Bookmark
Recognize Unequal Author: Isaiah New Featured Charles Manson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 12, 1934. His mother, Kathleen Maddox, was just sixteen at the time of his birth. The only father the boy knew was William Manson, who adopted h...		Join Club View Bookmark
Explication Classes Author: Alexander New The response of the skeptics is to claim that daily reality contradicts Plato, and that contrary to number one, tyrants, motivated by unjust principles, may be found to be happy. Moroever, they argue ...		Join Club View Bookmark
Molecular Atomic Describe Author: Jordan New Featured Marx plainly states that historical materialism is as quantifiable as the natural sciences while the philosophy, religion, and political facades associated with historical development are the ideal an...		Join Club View Bookmark
Married Angeles Author: Kaylee New All three works have emphasized the transitory nature of the material world and the transcendence of the realm of rational thought, belief in god, or living in the ways of Krishna. Plato and the Gita ...		Join Club View Bookmark
Flows Towards Charity Author: Jordan New Dewey's work helps us put aside that spirit of seriousness which artists traditionally lack and philosophers are traditionally supposed to maintain. For the spirit of seriousness can only exist in an ...		Join Club View Bookmark
Copies Impressions Author: Ethan New Featured Machiavelli's idea of virtu' is not of moral character then, but of what is best or the utilitarian needs of the country. For Machiavelli virtu' out weighs virtue in times of need while Plato believes...		Join Club View Bookmark
Republican Responsibility Author: Arianna New Featured Mill argues that society has control over a person's liberty when they are a child (77). It is society's job to educate a young person and make "them capable of rational conduct" (77). If society fail...		Join Club View Bookmark
Thoroughly Established Author: Sean New The prerequisites before embarking on a metaphysical path requires the two following things: a belief in a God and the possibility of an afterlife. If these two concepts are not met, one will have tro...		Join Club View Bookmark