Aristotle and the Types of Constitutions
Aristotle believed that the guiding principle of a constitution should be “justice”. He would have defined that word as meaning the common good and the “happiness” of the community at large.
Philosophy
Aristotle
One of Plato’s students was Aristotle. After spending time as the tutor to Alexander the Great (before he was “the Great”) Aristotle formed his own school called the Lyceum.
The Modern Plato
As I was responsible yesterday for your overconsumption of wine, perhaps I can offer amends today. Remember that in the discussion of the nature of a chair, Plato hypothesized that the form of a chair existed separately from the existence of any particular chair or of the craftsman who make them. That form did not depend on space or …
What is Good
In Plato’s “Republic” he sets about to explore what is the good life. In that analysis he discusses the very nature of goodness.
Be It Ever So Humble
The old man answered every persistent question with patience. Then, the conversation took a turn toward the philosophical. It is a well-known fact that 8-year-olds are philosophers.
Modern Physics Increasingly Points To The Divine Hand Of A Creator (God) To Explain The Impossible “Coincidence” Of Our Existence Part 2
How Does A Physicist Sneak Up On His Peers With That Which Undermines Him???
Transforming Aristotelian Thinkers: How Early Christianity Won Over the Intellectual Elite
For those trained in Aristotelian thought, Christianity required not just belief—but an intellectual transformation.
When Aquinas Baptized Aristotle: How Faith and Reason Built Western Civilization
Thomas Aquinas, guided by divine wisdom, took the writings of Aristotle—pagan, rationalistic, and seemingly foreign to Christian revelation—and redeemed them for the glory of God.
Citizen Responsibility
There are widely varying views of the responibility of leaders in the proper formation of government. Plato believed in the philosopher king while his student Aristotle believed in the rule of law and the proper formation of a constitution consisting of the laws, traditions, and habits that together form the nature of a country.
The Bible’s Clear Distinction Between Murder and Killing: Confronting Evil in a Fallen World
The Bible draws a clear and vital distinction between murder and killing, addressing both the sacredness of life and the reality of living in a fallen world.
Ancient Philosophical Debates and Modern Ideological Divisions: The Profound Influence of Plato’s Quest for Truth and Morality
Throughout history, the timeless debates among philosophers have continued to influence human thought and ideology.
Standards are the Raw Materials of Virtue: He Who Controls the Standards, Controls Behavior
Standards are the Raw Materials of Virtue: He Who Controls the Standards, Controls Behavior In one sense, virtue is how a society controls and manages behavior. Some systems and societies use virtue to produce beneficent outcomes, while others use virtue, at least as the societal standards define it, to produce power and control. Religions historically …
The Enlightenment and Religion
The enlightenment as a philosophical movement is sometimes difficult to understand in that many of the arguments seem to be contrived in the style of the Sophists that so angered Plato.
Science, Rationalism and the Enlightenment
The age of enlightenment in the mid 1700’s was led by thinkers such as Voltaire, Descartes, and Montesquieu in France, and Kant and Mendelssohn in Germany. These philosophers believed that a new world was dawning.
The Enlightenment as a Political Movement
Over the last few days, we have been exploring the enlightenment as a philosophical movement. This movement started as a reaction to the significant advances in math and science, particularly Isaac Newton’s mathematical modeling of planetary movement, which described their orbits without the traditional process of metaphysics, the understanding of the planet’s first principles. From there, the …
The Enlightenment and The Science of Man
As we continue trying to understand the philosophy of the enlightenment (an admitted challenge for me I freely admit) we started with Newton’s mathematical explanation of the movement of planets. He completed this analysis without the use of metaphysics, the intellectual discipline where the observer would attempt to understand the entire nature of the item that …
Why Are We Here? (Part 1)
Why Are We Here? (Part 1) “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” ~ Matthew 25:21 (ESV) Greetings my fellow Americans! Many, including myself, have written quite a bit over the …
Thursday Musings
I read the classics and mythologies because my grandmother put them in front of me. I would rather have been playing with friends. I ask questions because my grandmother asked me. So, in keeping with the foregoing, what concerns do I see in the country today. Middle ground. Who defines exactly where or what that …
The Ten Commandments – Part One
As we continue to explore the philosophical basis for western civilization, it is key to understand that the underpinnings of what we consider morality today is rooted in the Ten Commandments of the Hebrew Torah. Whether one considers them to be divinely inspired or not, they have been pillars of our civilization for centuries, and …
Post Modernism and the Commandments
A a person who torments you out of greed will be satisfied when he takes what is yours. A person who torments you for your own good will never be satisfied.