Crack Grade B 1

STOICISM

 Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy which was developed by Zeno of

Citium around 300 BC. It teaches the development of self- control and fortitude
as a means of overcoming destructive emotions. It does not seek to extinguish
emotions completely, but rather seeks to transform them by a resolute asceticism
i.e. a voluntary abstinence from worldly pleasures.
 Stoics denied the reality of Platonic Forms or the Concepts of Ideal world.
They also rejected the Platonic view that mind is the source of knowledge and
senses of errors and illusions.
 They believed true knowledge comes from senses that get imprinted on the mind.
 Stoicism is not just a set of beliefs or ethical claims, but a way of life. It lays
emphasis on the practice of the principles and training of ethical and moral
values.

STOIC PHILOSOPHERS:

1. SENECA:
 He was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and a tutor and advisor to Nero.
 He was forced to take his own life for allegations in a conspiracy to assassinate
Nero, though he was likely to have been innocent.
 His stoic and calm suicide has become the subject of numerous paintings.
 As a tragedian, he is best known for his works Medea and Thyestes.

2. EPICTETUS:
 He was born a slave in about AD 55 in the Roman Empire. With permission from
his owner, he studied stoic philosophy under master Gaius Musonius Rufus.
 He founded a philosophical school teaching Stoicism in Greece. One of his
students Marcus Aurelius later became the emperor of Rome.

3. MARCUS AURELIUS:

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 He was born in AD 121. He is considered one of the greatest Roman emperors to

have ever lived. He wrote his journal during dull moments in a war campaign. His
journal became the book Meditations- which contains his stoic philosophy.

STOIC ETHICS

1. Indifference to External Events:

The goal of Stoicism is freedom from “passion” through the pursuit of reason and
“apatheia” or apathy. However, the meaning of these words has changed a lot since
their original coinage.

- The word “passion” in the ancient sense meant “anguish” or “suffering”.

- The word “apatheia” in its ancient sense meant to be objective, unemotional and
having clear judgment.

Stoicism thus teaches people to have “indifference” and a “passive” reaction to

external events and equanimity in the face of life’s highs and lows.

2. Live According to Nature:

It means both in the sense of the laws of the universe and of man’s own essential nature
i.e. reason. Since everything in universe operates according to natural laws and reason,
living according to nature also means living virtuously.

3. Accept Suffering in Life:

Stoicism bears a similarity to the ethical teachings of Buddhism, which is grounded in

the theory of “Four Noble Truths”: -

i) All life has sufferings.

ii) Suffering is rooted in passion and desire.
iii) Happiness is freedom from passions.

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iv) Moral restraint and self- discipline are the means by which one becomes free from
suffering.

4. Importance of Wisdom:

It involves improving the individual’s ethical and moral well- being by having a will
which is in agreement with Nature. They believed that the chief virtue from which all
virtues arise is wisdom. All four cardinal values, i.e. courage, prudence, self- control and
justice originate from wisdom.

5. Egalitarian Society:

They believe that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and even encouraged the
acceptance of slaves as equals on the grounds that all are “Sons of God”. They also
denied the importance of external differences such as rank and wealth in social
relationships.

6. Rational Observance of laws:

Stoicism holds that we are often driven by the necessity to follow the laws of the world.
However, we should not merely obey the law, but follow the law consciously and
deliberately by knowing its purpose and beneficiary effect on an individual and the
society. This is possible only when we think objectively, rationally and logically.

7. Reduce Expectations to Check Anger:

Seneca had said that anger is not just an irrational outburst over which we have no
control. He saw anger as a philosophical problem and therefore amenable to treatment
by philosophical argument. Anger arises from holding overly optimistic ideas about the
world which leads to unrealistic expectations. He therefore advocated a more pessimistic
attitude so that one is mentally prepared for the bad things that might happen, which
then prevent an angry outburst.
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8. Knowledge Comes from Senses:

Stoic asserts that senses are constantly receiving sensations which pass from objects
through the senses to the mind, where they leave an impression. The mind is able to
approve or reject an impression and differentiate it and tell us if it was the true
representation of reality or not.

9. Concept of God:

Universe is a material but reasoning substance, which can be called God or Nature, may
be divided into two classes, the passive (matter) and the active (living, which acts on the
passive matter). The souls of people and animals emanate from this primordial fire
(God). The world was once fire and would become fire again.

10. Materialism:

All things are material, including words and God. Emotions, too, are material because
they have physical manifestations like smiling. The mind or soul is material because the
body produces thoughts or sense of impressions in the soul. For example, if we are
hungry, we have anger.

11. Monism:

They believed that all the world is one, issuing from one principle (Monism) and that a
divine reality pervades the whole universe. Thus, the universe is like a giant living body,
with its own leading part, but all these parts are interconnected so that what happens in
one part, affects all others as well.

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MEDIEVAL PERIOD

SAINT AUGUSTINE HIPPO

 At its beginning Christianity had a set of scriptures incorporating

many moral injunctions, but it did not have a moral philosophy. The first serious
attempt to provide such a philosophy was made by St. Augustine of Hippo (354–
430). Augustine was acquainted with a version of Plato’s philosophy, and he
developed the Platonic idea of the rational soul into a Christian view in which
humans are essentially souls, using their bodies as a means to achieve their
spiritual ends. The ultimate objective remains happiness, as in Greek ethics, but
Augustine conceived of happiness as consisting of the union of the soul with God
after the body has died. It was through Augustine, therefore, that Christianity
received the Platonic theme of the relative inferiority of bodily pleasures.
 Just War Theory: Augustine also developed a just war theory, outlining
conditions under which warfare could be morally justified. He emphasized that
war should be a last resort, undertaken for a just cause, waged with right
intention, and limited in its scope.

RENAISSANCE AND EARLY MODERN PERIOD

NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI

 Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian diplomat, author,

philosopher, and historian who lived during the Renaissance. He is best known
for his political treatise The Prince (Il Principe), written in 1513 but not
published until 1532.

Here are some key aspects of Machiavelli's life and work:

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 Political Thought: Machiavelli is often associated with realpolitik, a pragmatic

approach to politics that prioritizes effectiveness over morality. In The Prince, he
argues that rulers should be willing to use unscrupulous means, such as deception
and violence, if necessary to maintain power and secure the state's well-being. This
perspective earned him a reputation as a cynical and amoral thinker.

 Statecraft and Diplomacy: Machiavelli also wrote extensively on statecraft and

diplomacy, drawing on his own experiences as a Florentine official. He advocated
for strong leadership, military preparedness, and effective governance. His ideas
influenced political thought for centuries and continue to be debated today.

 Literary Contributions: Beyond The Prince, Machiavelli was a prolific writer who
produced plays, poems, historical works, and other political treatises. His writing is
known for its wit, clarity, and directness.

THOMAS HOBBES

 Born on 5th April 1588, in England.

 His first published piece was “Short Tract On First Principles”.
 Thomas Hobbes made significant contributions to the field of ethics, primarily
through his groundbreaking work Leviathan (1651). His approach was unique and
controversial, influencing ethical thought for centuries. Here are some key aspects
of his contribution:

 Natural Law: Hobbes rejected the notion of God-given morality and instead
proposed a set of natural laws derived from human nature and self-
preservation. These laws, like seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, are not
inherently moral but guide individuals towards actions necessary for survival in a
pre-societal state.

 State of Nature: In his famous state of nature concept, Hobbes describes life
without government as "nasty, brutish, and short." He depicts a world of constant
conflict and fear, where individuals compete for resources and security.

Social Contract Theory:

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 Social Contract: To escape the brutal state of nature, Hobbes argues that
individuals enter into a social contract, surrendering some of their natural
liberties to a strong central authority (the sovereign) in exchange for peace and
security. This sovereign has absolute power to enforce the laws and maintain
order.

 Justification of Morality: Morality, according to Hobbes, is not about absolute right

and wrong but about following the laws established by the sovereign. These laws
promote the common good and prevent the return to the chaos of the state of
nature.

SHIP OF THESUS PARADOX

Theseus, the mythical Greek hero, sails his trusty ship through countless adventures.
Over time, the ship's wooden parts wear out and need replacing. Each plank, sail, and
oar is eventually swapped for a new one, until no original piece remains. Is this still the
same ship of Theseus?

Hobbes takes the paradox a step further. He asks, what if the old planks are preserved
and used to build a second ship? Now we have two ships:

 Ship A: The original ship, now entirely made of new parts.

 Ship B: The new ship, constructed from the original planks.

Which, if either, is the true Ship of Theseus?

This paradox has puzzled philosophers for centuries, sparking debates about the
essence of things, the relationship between parts and wholes, and the very meaning of
identity. There's no easy answer, and different thinkers have proposed various solutions:

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 The Materialist View: This perspective argues that the ship's physical
matter determines its identity. So, Ship A, despite having all new parts, remains
the original because it possesses the same material makeup.

 The Formist View: This view focuses on the ship's form or shape. Since both ships
retain the same design and function, both could be considered the Ship of
Theseus, depending on how you define "ship."

 The Functionalist View: This perspective emphasizes the ship's purpose or role. If
both ships can still sail and fulfill the function of a ship, then either or even both
could be considered the true Ship of Theseus.

Ultimately, the Ship of Theseus paradox remains unresolved. It serves as a powerful

reminder that concepts like identity and change are complex and nuanced, and that
there may not be one definitive answer to such thought-provoking questions.

JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704)

The Rights of Man

 The highly regarded work of John Locke is “Two Treaties of Government”.

In this work because of the Political Turmoil in context of exclusion crisis in England,
where parliament attempted to exclude James II, a Catholic, from the throne. Locke
opposed this on constitutional grounds, arguing that Parliament couldn’t arbitrarily
remove a rightful king.

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However, the "Treatise of Civil Government" (part of the Two Treatises) also served as a
response to the absolutist theories justifying divine right of kings, particularly Robert
Filmer's Patriarcha. Locke wanted to challenge the idea that monarchs had
absolute power inherited from God.

Locke sought to establish a foundation for legitimate government based on consent.

He argued that individuals have natural rights to life, liberty, and property, and that
government exists to protect those rights.

 His most famous work, “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” which he
had started while in France.

Locke challenged the notion of innate ideas, arguing that the mind at birth is a tabula
rasa (blank slate) upon which experience writes. All knowledge, he believed, originates
from our senses and interactions with the world.

Through sensation and reflection on our sensations, we form ideas and build our
understanding of the world.

Other important facts of Locke:

 Locke identified three main types of ideas: simple ideas (derived directly from the
senses), complex ideas (formed by combining simple ideas), and modes (ideas of
relationships between other ideas). This mean that the experiences creates simple
ideas (based on the senses, reflection, and sensation) and as these simple ideas
combine, they become more complex (through comparison, abstraction and
combination) and form knowledge. Ideas can also be divided into two categories:

1. Primary: Which cannot be separate from the matter and are present
regardless of whether a person sees them or not- for example size, shape,
and motion.

2. Secondary: Which are separate from the matter and are only perceived
when the matter is observed – for example taste and Odor.

 He explored the limitations of human knowledge, arguing that some things are
beyond our comprehension, such as the nature of substance or God. This focus on
epistemology (the study of knowledge) remains relevant in philosophical
discussions today.

 Locke examined the role of language in shaping our understanding of the

world. He argued that language can, at times, be a source of confusion and
error, and emphasized the importance of clear and precise communication.

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MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY PERIOD

IMMANUEL KANT

“Do the right things because it is right”.

 Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant worked as a lecturer at the University of Konigsberg for 15 years until
finally in 1770 he became a professor in logic and metaphysics.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher, a central figure in modern

philosophy. He is considered to be one of the most influential western philosophers since
Aristotle.

He was the starting point and inspiration for German idealism movement in the late
18th and early 19th centuries.

He accordingly believed that man has a self- legislating capacity. Kant’s main
arguments are:

1. Human mind created the structure of human experience.

2. Reason is the source of morality.
3. Aesthetics arises from a faculty of disinterested judgement.
4. Space and time are forms of human sensibility.
5. World as it is “in- itself” is independent of humanity’s concept of it.

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Critique of Pure Reason:

 In his book, Kant detailed how the human mind organizes experiences in two
ways: how the world appears and how one thinks about the world.
 Epistemology in philosophy means the theory of knowledge, especially with
regard to its methods, validity and scope and the distinction between justified
belief and opinion.
 Kant’s epistemology started with the traditional distinction between “truths of
reason” and “truths of fact”.
 Truths of Reason: These are called “analytic propositions” by Kant, which are
true simply by virtue of their meaning or explain words e.g. “all bachelors are
unmarried”.
 Truths of Facts: These are called “synthetic propositions”, which claims beyond
the meaning e.g. “all bachelors are happy”.

****FACT: In 1792, the king of Prussia barred Immanuel Kant from writing about and
teaching religious subjects which Kant obeyed until the King’s death 5 years later.

He also added the following two concepts:

1. A priori knowledge: which purely comes from reasoning, independent of

experience and typically applies to analytical prepositions.
Example: 8+6=14 or “all mice are rodents”.
2. A posteriori knowledge: which comes from experience alone and typically applies
to synthetic propositions. For example, you can’t know the taste of lemon unless
you eat it.

There were two opposing schools of thought in the time of Kant that opposed to each
other:

1. Empiricism: based on experiment and hence it allows only for synthetic

propositions and a posteriori knowledge.
2. Rationalism: based on pure reasoning and hence it allows for analytic
propositions and priori knowledge.

Kant argued that, while reason can be a helpful tool, it must be properly controlled so
that we do not accept things for which we have no evidence. He called the “critical

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method” viz. a philosophical approach that allows people to discover which questions
can be answered by reasons and which cannot.

It is, however possible that the same experience is interpreted by two people differently.

Transcendental Idealism

Kant made distinction between phenomena and noumena.

Phenomena: are the realities or appearances that are interpreted from our minds.

Noumena: are the things that exist regardless of our mind’s interpretations.

Kant claims that we only have the ability to know the world that is presented to us from
our minds and that the external world can never truly be known. In other words, the
only knowledge that we know and will ever know is knowledge of Phenomena. This
means that knowledge of Noumena will always be unknown.

Deontological Theory of Kant:

The word “Deontology” has Greek roots in the words Deon (duty) + logos (reasons). It
means that an action is moral if it can be considered a duty with the reason that is
universally acceptable.

Moral Actions as Duty:

Kant’s emphasis was on doing the right act irrespective of the consequence. He thus said
that consequences have nothing to do with moral duty. A moral action have nothing to
do with moral duty.

A moral action may lead to bad as well as good consequences. The result of action does
not determine the moral value of an action.

For example, demolition of an illegal property may be a moral action though it may have
negative consequences for the person who was living in such property.

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JOHN STUART MILL

The ethical theory of John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) is most extensively articulated in his
classical text “Utilitarianism”. Its goal is to justify the utilitarianism principal as the
foundation of morals.

The principle says “actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote overall
human happiness”.

Therefore, the focus of the Mill was on consequences of actions and not on rights nor
ethical sentiments.

 He was an admirer and follower of Jeremy Bentham.

 Mill agreed mostly with Bentham but he disagreed with the belief that
quantity of pleasure is better than quality. Mill noted that with Bentham’s
disregard for qualitative references there was no difference between the value of a
human’s pleasure and the value of an animal’s pleasure.
 According to Mill, happiness is difficult to attain. Thus, instead of seeking
pleasure, people are morally justified to instead seek out a way to reduce their
total amount of pain with their actions. Mill’s form of utilitarianism also allowed
for the ability to sacrifice pleasure and experience pain if the result is for greater
good of everyone.
 His position is often called as “Qualitative Hedonism”: There is one thing and one
thing only that is intrinsically desirable namely pleasure. In contrast to a form of
hedonism that conceives pleasure as a homogeneous matter, Mill was convinced
that some types of pleasure are more valuable than others in virtue of their
inherent qualities.
 Mill differentiates various spheres of action. In his System of Logic, he names
morality, prudence and aesthetics as the three departments of the “Art of
Life”. The principle of utility governs not only morality, but also prudence and
taste. It is not a moral principle but a meta-principle of practical reason.

 Consequentialism: Mill's ethics are consequentialist, meaning he focuses on

the outcomes of actions rather than on intent or adherence to rules.

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 On Liberty: Mill was a strong defender of individual liberty, advocating for

freedom of speech, religion, and association. He argued that individuals should be
free to pursue their own interests as long as it doesn't harm others.
 Women's Rights: Mill was a passionate advocate for women's rights and
challenged the prevailing Victorian views on gender roles. His book "The
Subjection of Women" became a cornerstone of the feminist movement.

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE (1844-1900)

His first book was “The Birth of Tragedy”. The book was praised by Richard Wagner
(his idol, famous music composer), while met negative criticism particularly by Ulrich
von Wilamowitz- Molendroff, who would go on to become one of the leading German
philologists of the time.

His book “Human, All-Too-Human” marks the shift in his philosophical style (and
the end of his friendship with Wagner, whose anti- Semitism and German nationalism
disgusted Nietzsche).

He suffered a nervous breakdown when he watched a man whip a horse on the

street. He collapsed on the street and never regained his sanity. He would spend the
next 11 years in a vegetative state of mind until his death on 25th August 1900. (*date
not important).

****PHILOSOPHICAL THEMES OF FRIEDRICH NEITZSCHE*****

1. Nihilism: Nietzsche said that science is nihilism, the abandonment of any and all
beliefs, that will come to replace the moral code set forth by Christianity.
Nietzsche is most famous for his quote, “God is dead”. During 19th century, with
the rise of the German state and advancements in science, many German
philosophers viewed their present- day life with great optimism. Nietzsche on the
other hand viewed these as troubling times marked by a fundamental crisis in
values.
Also, he was a critic of Christianity and even larger critic of Atheism.

2. The Will to Power: It can be broken into two parts:

First, Nietzsche believed that everything in this world is in flux and that a fixed
being simply does not exist. Matter, knowledge, truth and so on is always
changing and the very core of this change is something known as the “Will to
Power”. The universe according to Nietzsche is made up of wills.
Second, the will to power is an individual’s fundamental drive for power, which
comes about through dominance and independence. The will to power is much

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stronger than the will to survive and it can appear in different ways. For him soul
or ego is basically a grammatical fiction.

3. Role of Man: There are animals, humans, and then the overman. When humans
learned to control their intinctions and natural impulses in order to attain greater
gains, they stopped being animals. Our will to power shifted from outward
(controlling others) to Inward (controlling self).

4. Truth: He believed that “truth” the idea that there can only be one correct way to
consider something, is proof that our thought process has become inflexible.
According to Nietzsche, being flexible and recognizing that there can be more than
one way to consider a matter is a sign of a healthy mind, and to have an inflexible
mind is to say “no” to life.

5. Values: In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche attempts to expose morality’s

psychological foundations. To Nietzsche humans would be a healthier species if
they did not have morality. He equated morality to fiction, and believed that values
needed to be re- evaluated, for they are not objective.

6. Eternal Recurrence: His most intricate theory was his metaphysical theory of
eternal recurrence. While complex, the core of his theory, like the rest of his work,
revolves around an affirmation of life.

The idea of eternal recurrence has been around for centuries. A classic depiction
of eternal recurrence from the Renaissance Era is the “Ouroboros”, a dragon or
snake eating its own tail.

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The one part of this theory states that time is cyclical, meaning people will live each
moment of their life over and over an endless amount of times, and each time will be the
same.

The second part of theory says that “being” does not exist because everything is
changing- therefore, everything is constantly “Becoming”. He asserts that reality is
intertwined and that we cannot distinguish “things” from other “things” due to the fact
that everything is constantly changing.

AMARTYA SEN

Amartya Sen, the renowned Indian economist and philosopher has made significant
contributions to the field of ethics, particularly in areas of Social justice, Human Rights
and Development.

1. The Capability Approach: Sen is best known for his development of the capability
approach, a framework for assessing human well-being and development.
It moves beyond simply focusing on income or resources (like utilitarianism or
resourcism) and instead emphasizes people's freedom to choose and achieve the
kind of lives they have reason to value.
This includes things like being in good health, having access to education and
employment, participating in social and political life, and maintaining meaningful
relationships

2. Rethinking Poverty and Hunger: Sen has been a vocal advocate for human
rights and social justice. He argued that justice requires not just the fair
distribution of resources but also the expansion of individual freedoms and
capabilities. This includes ensuring that everyone has equal opportunities to
participate in society and achieve their full potential.

3. Critique of Development Models: Sen critiqued traditional development models

that often focused on economic growth at the expense of other important aspects
of human well-being. He argued for a more holistic approach to development that
takes into account social, political, and cultural factors alongside economic ones.

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4. Emphasis on Agency and Choice: Sen's work emphasizes the importance of

individual agency and choice in achieving well-being. He argues that people should
be empowered to make their own decisions about their lives and not be simply
passive recipients of development interventions.

5. Justice and Human Rights: Sen has been a vocal advocate for human rights and
social justice. He argued that justice requires not just the fair distribution of
resources but also the expansion of individual freedoms and capabilities. This
includes ensuring that everyone has equal opportunities to participate in society
and achieve their full potential.

So basically, the contribution of Amartya Sen to ethics have had profound impact on
development policy, human rights advocacy and philosophical debated about justice and
well- being.

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