Nature versus nurture. Scholarly and popular discussion about nature and nurture relates to the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature" in the sense of nativism or innatism) as compared to an individual's personal experiences ("nurture" in the sense of empiricism or behaviorism) in causing individual differences in physical and behavioral traits.
The view that humans acquire all or almost all their behavioral traits from "nurture" was termed tabula rasa ("blank slate") by philosopher John Locke. The blank slate view proposes that humans develop only from environmental influences. This question was once considered to be an appropriate division of developmental influences, but since both types of factors are known to play interacting roles in development, most modern psychologists and other scholars of human development consider the question naive—representing an outdated state of knowledge.[5][6][7][8] Scientific approach[edit] Heritability estimates[edit] Advanced techniques[edit]
Human nature. The branches of contemporary science associated with the study of human nature include anthropology, sociology, sociobiology, and psychology, particularly evolutionary psychology, and developmental psychology. The "nature versus nurture" debate is a broadly inclusive and well-known instance of a discussion about human nature in the natural sciences. History[edit] The concept of nature as a standard by which to make judgments was a basic presupposition in Greek philosophy. Specifically, "almost all" classical philosophers accepted that a good human life is a life in accordance with nature.[1] (Notions and concepts of human nature from China, Japan or India are not taken up in the present discussion.) On this subject, the approach of Socrates, sometimes considered to be a teleological approach, came to be dominant by late classical and medieval times. The existence of this invariable human nature is, however, a subject of much historical debate, continuing into modern times.
Modernism[edit] Human science. Human science is the study and interpretation of the experiences, activities, constructs, and artifacts associated with human beings. The study of the human sciences attempts to expand and enlighten the human being's knowledge of his or her existence, its interrelationship with other species and systems, and the development of artifacts to perpetuate the human expression and thought. It is the study of human phenomena. The study of the human experience is historical and current in nature.
It requires the evaluation and interpretation of the historic human experience and the analysis of current human activity to gain an understanding of human phenomena and to project the outlines of human evolution. Meaning of 'science'[edit] Ambiguity and confusion regarding usage of the terms 'science', 'empirical science', and 'scientific method' have complicated the usage of the term 'human science' with respect to human activities. History[edit] Early development[edit] Later development[edit] Justice: What's The Right Thing To Do? Episode 01 "THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER". The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine.
Philosophical Debates. How do you feel about debates? What are discussions? Why bother? Better yet, let's rewind and start over. Philosophy relies on the rational argument and approaches some of life's most important questions systematically and methodically. The Problem with Debating Some people hear the word debate or discussion and they already start walking backwards. They have been brought up to believe that their opinion is not worth voicing, and they haven't yet overcome that part of their upbringing.They come from a family or upbringing in which there was a lot of senseless and/or destructive arguing; they therefore associate any kind of disagreement with negative emotions and/or a painful outcome.They, either consciously or unconsciously, want to win and are not very successful whenever they do (or did) try to debate something.
One of the most amazing minds of all time, a Greek philosopher named Socrates said: "The unexamined life is not worth living. " Examining Life What Not to Do Don't be stubborn! BBC Radio 4 Programmes - Moral Maze. The Critical Thinker Academy. Introduction to Philosophy Home Page. Guide to Philosophy on the Internet (Suber) Welcome to my collection of online philosophy resources. If you are stuck in a frame, click here to escape. If you are a frequent visitor, press reload or refresh on occasion to be sure that you are viewing the most recent version of the page, not the version cached on your hard drive from your last visit.
I've marked recommended sites with a red star . Generally the starred sites are those I've found especially helpful for shortening the search for what one wants, as opposed to outstanding sites in themselves for which one ought to search. One day I may rate both. When the whole file loads, use the search command on your browser to find items by keyword. To register to receive an email announcement whenever this page is revised, see the bottom of this file. If speed is a problem, try one of the mirror sites in Germany (München, single-file version) or Italy (Bari, single-file version), or Italy (Bari, multi-file version).
About this guide. Philosophy. Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.[1][2] Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational argument.[3] In more casual speech, by extension, "philosophy" can refer to "the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group".[4] The word "philosophy" comes from the Ancient Greek φιλοσοφία (philosophia), which literally means "love of wisdom".[5][6][7] The introduction of the terms "philosopher" and "philosophy" has been ascribed to the Greek thinker Pythagoras.[8] Areas of inquiry Philosophy is divided into many sub-fields. These include epistemology, logic, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics.[9][10] Some of the major areas of study are considered individually below.
Epistemology Rationalism is the emphasis on reasoning as a source of knowledge. Logic. Philosophy Study Guide. All written assignments should be submitted in the designated form, and should include a clear indication of the course and assignment number. Be sure to observe the designated due date; work that is turned in late will automatically receive a significantly reduced grade. It is reasonable to expect any assignment prepared outside class to be written well, with careful attention to grammar, spelling, and usage. Philosophical writing should avoid offensive sexual, racial, ethnic, religious, and material or physical bias. You may employ any one of the methods of attribution described in The Chicago Manual of Style, but must be consistent in both notes and bibliographies.
If you make significant use of an electronic source, remember that this deserves documentation, too, including the author's name, titles for both the page and the site, a complete Uniform Resource Locator, and the date on which you viewed it on-line. Contemporary philosophy. Contemporary philosophy is the present period in the history of Western philosophy beginning at the end of the 19th century with the professionalization of the discipline and the rise of analytic and continental philosophy. The phrase "contemporary philosophy" is a piece of technical terminology in philosophy that refers to a specific period in the history of Western philosophy.
However, the phrase is often confused with modern philosophy (which refers to an earlier period in Western philosophy), postmodern philosophy (which refers to continental philosophers' criticisms of modern philosophy), and with a non-technical use of the phrase referring to any recent philosophic work. The professionalization of philosophy[edit] The process of professionalization[edit] The list of specific changes [during the late 19th-century professionalization of philosophy] is fairly brief, but the resultant shift is almost total. [...]
Henry Sidgwick, in a generous gesture, identified [T.H.] LPSG Contents. Philosophical Misadventures.