Midterm Period

Name: Nathasha Marie Banal

GEC 1 - UTS
Course: Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

Title of Output #1: Meeting the 20th Philosophers and Their Statements : My
Understanding of Their Philosophical Statements.

Name of the 20th Brief Background of Philosophical My Understanding

Century Philosopher the Philosopher Statement of their
Philosophical
Statements

1. Saint Thomas Thomas Aquinas was There is an For Aquinas, there

Aquinas (1225-1274) a 13th century important is a sharp
Dominican friar, distinction between distinction between
theologian and enjoyment and enjoyment and
Doctor of the Church, happiness. happiness.
born in what is Enjoyment concerns Enjoyment pertains
known today as the satisfaction of to worldly goods
Lazio region of Italy. worldly desire. and physical
His most important Happiness concerns pleasures that
contribution to obtaining our people could get in
Western thought is absolute perfection, this lifetime, but
the concept of natural which by definition these tend to be
theology (sometimes can only be found in very short-lived.
referred to as the absolute Being, And even if all of our
Thomism in tribute to which is God. wordly desires were
his influence). This satisfied, and even if
belief system holds we were to
that the existence of experience every
God is verified possible enjoyment,
through reason and we could never
rational explanation, experience a perfect
as opposed to happiness.
through scripture or Happiness is not
religious experience. possible in this
This ontological lifetime, nothing can
approach is among satisfy man’s will,
the central premises except what is
underpinning modern universally good.
Catholic philosophy This is to be found,
and liturgy. His not in any creature,
writings, and Aquinas but in God alone,
himself, are still because every
considered among creature has only
the preeminent participated
models for Catholic goodness.
priesthood. His ideas
also remain central to
theological debate,
discourse, and
modes of worship.
2. Aristotle (384-322 Aristotle (384–322 That the human Aristotle views the
BCE) BCE) was one of the being is a composite soul as the “form”
most important of body and soul of the human body.
western and that the soul And as “form” of the
philosophers in cannot be separated body, the soul is the
 history. A student from the body. very structure of the
of Plato, Aristotle human body which
tutored Alexander allows humans to
the Great. He later perform activities of
went on to form his life, such as
own Lyceum thinking, willing,
(school) in Athens, imagining, desiring,
where he developed and perceiving.
important
philosophical,
scientific, and
practical theories,
many of which had
great significance
during the Middle
Ages and are still
influential today.
Aristotle wrote on
logic, nature,
psychology, ethics,
politics, and art,
developed one of
the first systems for
classifying plants
and animals, and
posited significant
theories on topics
ranging from the
physics of motion to
the qualities of the
soul. He is credited
with developing
deductive ("top-
down") reasoning, a
form of logic used in
the scientific
process and highly
valued in business,
finance, and other
modern settings.
3. Plato Greek philosopher The true self of Plato's definition of
and teacher Plato did human beings is the self is that our soul
nothing less than reason or the is the only thing that
found the first intellect that is unchanging and
institution of higher constitutes their eternal. The body is
learning in the soul and that is either a shell or a
Western World, separable from their prison to house our
establishing the body. soul. Our soul is
Academy of Athens divine and
and cementing his composed of virtues
own status as the — love, courage,
most important figure wisdom, and many
in the development of others.
western
philosophical
tradition. As the pupil
of Socrates and the
mentor to Aristotle,
Plato is the
connecting figure in
what might be termed
the great triumvirate
of Greek thought in
both philosophy and
science. A quote by
British
philosopher  Alfred
North Whitehead
sums up the
enormity of his
influence, noting “the
safest general
characterization of
the European
philosophical
tradition is that it
consists of a series
of footnotes to
Plato.” Indeed, it
could be argued that
Plato founded
political philosophy,
introducing both the
dialectic and dialogic
forms of writing as
ways to explore
various areas of
thought. (Often, in his
dialogues, he
employed his mentor
Socrates as the
vessel for his own
thoughts and ideas.)
While he was not the
first individual to
partake of the activity
of philosophy, he
was perhaps the first
to truly define what it
meant, to articulate
its purpose, and to
reveal how it could be
applied with scientific
rigor. This orientation
provided a newly
concreted framework
for considering
questions of ethics,
politics, knowledge,
and theology. Such is
to say that it is nearly
impossible to sum up
the impact of Plato’s
ideas on science,
ethics, mathematics,
or the evolution of
thought itself other
than to say it has
been total,
permeating, and
 inexorable from the
tradition of rigorous
thinking itself.
4. Rene Descartes A French The self can be The essence of
(1596- 1650) philosopher, correctly considered existing as a human
mathematician, and as either a mind or a identity is the
scientist, Descartes human being, and possibility of being
was born in France that the self’s aware of our selves:
but spent 20 years of properties vary Being self-
his life in the Dutch accordingly. conscious in this
Republic. As a way is integral to
member of the Dutch having a personal
States Army, then as identity. Conversely,
the Prince of Orange it would be
and subsequently impossible to be
as Stadtholder (a self-conscious if we
position of national didn’t have a
leadership in the personal identity of
Dutch Republic), which to be
Descartes wielded conscious. In other
considerable words, having a self-
intellectual influence identity and
over the period being self-
known as the Dutch conscious are
Golden Age. He often mutually dependent
distinguished himself on one another.
by refuting or
attempting to undo
the ideas of those
that came before him.
5. Ralph Waldo A Boston-born writer, Individualism,  If a person refuses
Emerson (1803- philosopher, and personal to be true to their
1882) poet, Ralph Waldo responsibility, and own individual
Emerson is the father nonconformity were beliefs, then they
of the essential to a will not live a
transcendentalist thriving society. satisfying or
movement. This was gratifying life.
a distinctly American Emerson believes
philosophical that each person
orientation that has a true purpose
rejected the and that it is the
pressures imposed individual's job to
by society, resolutely fulfill that
materialism, and purpose without
organized religion in fear.People do not
favor of the ideals of need to become rich
individualism, to know their value.
freedom, and a They should be
personal emphasis assured of their own
on the soul’s value in their own
relationship with the heart.
surrounding natural
world. Though not
explicitly a
“naturalist” himself,
Emerson’s ideals
were taken up by this
20th century
movement. He was
also seen as a key
 figure in the
American romantic
movement.
6. Michel Foucault Historian, social Power/Knowledge. Every exercise of
(1926-1984) theorist, and power depends on a
philosopher Michel scaffold of
Foucault, born in the knowledge that
riverfront city of supports it. Power
Poiltiers, France, consists primarily
dedicated much of not of something a
his teaching and person has, but
writing to the rather is a matter of
examination of power what people do,
and knowledge and subsistsing in our
their connection to interactions with
social control. one another in the
Though often first instance.
identified as a
postmodernist,
Foucault preferred to
think of himself as a
critic of modernity.
His service as an
international diplomat
on behalf of France
also influenced his
understanding of
social constructs
throughout history
and how they have
served to enforce
racial, religious, and
sexual inequality. His
ideals have been
particularly embraced
by progressive
movements, and he
allied with many
during his lifetime.
Active in movements
against racism,
human rights abuses,
prisoner abuses, and
marginalization of the
mentally ill, he is
often cited as a major
influence in
movements for social
justice, human rights,
and feminism. More
broadly speaking, his
examination of power
and social control
has had a direct
influence on the
studies of sociology,
communications, and
political science.
7. David Hume (1711 A Scottish-born The self is nothing Hume abandoned
- 1777) historian, economist, over and above a the concept of the
 and philosopher, constantly varying self and of the soul.
Hume is often bundle of His impression of
grouped with experiences. what we might call
thinkers such as the self is our
John Locke, Thomas constant shifting
Hobbes, and Sir impressions of the
Francis Bacon as world we live in
part of a movement which disappears
called British when we sleep.
Empiricism. He was Hume doesn’t deny
focused on creating a that there is
“naturalistic science something there that
of man” that delves creates the illusion
into the of identity and self,
psychological but he refuses to
conditions defining give it any
human nature. In permanence like an
contrast to organ or property
rationalists such as that rattles around
Descartes, Hume was in our body or brain.
preoccupied with the
way that passions (as
opposed to reason)
govern human
behavior. This, Hume
argued, predisposed
human beings to
knowledge founded
not on the existence
of certain absolutes
but on personal
experience. As a
consequence of
these ideas, Hume
would be among the
first major thinkers to
refute dogmatic
religious and moral
ideals in favor of a
more sentimentalist
approach to human
nature. His belief
system would help to
inform the future
movements of
utilitarianism and
logical positivism,
and would have a
profound impact on
scientific and
theological discourse
thereafter.
8. Immanuel Kant Prussian-born (and We all have an inner According to Kant,
(1724 - 1804) therefore identified as and an outer self we humans have
a German which together form both an inner self
philosopher), Kant is our consciousness. and an outer self
considered among which allows us to
the most essential become conscious.
figures in modern This is because the
philosophy, an inner self comprises
 advocate of reason our psychological
as the source for state and rational
morality, and a intellect, while our
thinker whose ideas outer self comprises
continue to permeate our senses and
ethical, other instinctual
epistemological, and functions.
political debate. What
perhaps most
distinguishes Kant is
his innate desire to
find a synthesis
between rationalists
like Descartes and
empiricists like
Hume, to decipher a
middle ground that
defers to human
experience without
descending into
skepticism. To his
own way of thinking,
Kant was pointing a
way forward by
resolving a central
philosophical
impasse.
9. Karl Marx (1818- A German-born Human beings As to what Karl Marx
1883) economist, political intrinsically strive wanted to
theorist, and toward freedom, and accomplish it’s
philosopher, Karl we are not really rather simple, like
Marx wrote some of free unless we so many people who
the most control our own have ideas, Marx
revolutionary destiny. wanted to make the
philosophical content world a better place.
ever produced. Quite simply.
Indeed, so pertinent Communism as he
was his writing to the saw it, would be a
human condition system which
during his lifetime, he replaced capitalism
was exiled from his in a way that the
native country. This majority of people
event would, would have their
however, also make it lives improved, be
possible for his most treated with dignity
important ideas to and fairness, and
find a popular share the goods of
audience. Upon industry, rather than
arriving in London, fill the pockets of a
Marx took up work guy who contributed
with fellow German nothing.
Friedrich Engels.
Together, they
devised an
assessment of class,
society, and power
dynamics that
revealed deep
inequalities, and
exposed the
 economic
prerogatives for
state-sponsored
violence, oppression,
and war. Marx
predicted that the
inequalities and
violence inherent in
capitalism would
ultimately lead to its
collapse. From its
ashes would rise a
new socialist system,
a classless society
where all participants
(as opposed to just
wealthy private
owners) have access
to the means for
production. What
made the Marxist
system of thought so
impactful though was
its innate call to
action, couched in
Marx’s advocacy for
a working class
revolution aimed at
overthrowing an
unequal system. The
philosophy
underlying Marxism,
and his revolutionary
fervor, would ripple
throughout the world,
ultimately
transforming entire
spheres of thought in
places like Soviet
Russia, Eastern
Europe, and Red
China. In many ways,
Karl Marx presided
over a philosophical
revolution that
continues in the
present day in myriad
forms of
communism,
socialism, socialized
democracy, and
grassroots political
organization.
10. John Locke An English physicist Consciousness is Irrelevant to the
(1632-1704) and philosopher, identity. The soul, Locke argues
John Locke was a continuity of identity that a person is of
prominent thinker is memory. And a self to the extent
during the chain of memory or they are conscious
Enlightenment recall creates a of their past and
period. Part of the lasting SELF. possible future
 movement of British thoughts.
Empiricism alongside Essentially, we are
fellow countrymen of self if we are
David Hume, Thomas conscious and able
Hobbes, and Sir to view ourselves
Francis Bacon, Locke self reflectively as a
is regarded as an being that persists
important contributor through time.
to the development of
the social contract
theory and is
sometimes identified
as the father of
liberalism. Indeed, his
discourses on
identity, the self, and
the impact of sensory
experience would be
essential revelations
to many
Enlightenment
thinkers and,
consequently, to real
revolutionaries. His
philosophy is said to
have figured
prominently into the
formulation of the
Declaration of
Independence that
initiated America’s
war for independence
from the British.

Sources:
https://thebestschools.org/magazine/major-philosopher-ideas/
https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/thomas-aquinas/