11 interesting philosophical theories

We may remember it as one of the most boring subjects we had in school, but Philosophy is a fundamental discipline in our daily lives. And to explain its different branches and conceptions, different philosophical theories were born.

They invite us to reconsider who we are or where we are going. They teach us to think, to reflect, to constantly question established truths, verify hypotheses and seek solutions. In fact, such is its importance that the United Nations (UN) has declared World Philosophy Day on November 16. It highlights his “critical and independent thinking,” as well as his work “promoting peace and tolerance.”

Philosophical theories bring together movements, schools of thought, beliefs and even scientific laws. We leave you some of the most interesting and that continue to accumulate the most reflection and literature even today. Do you know them?

1. Pythagorean Theory

Although it may sound more familiar to you because of its famous right triangle theorem, Pythagoreanism was a movement from the 6th century BC., who advocated a structured lifestyle and defended the transmigration of the soul after death to a new body (metempsychosis). This is indicated in an article in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

It was founded by Pythagoras of Samos, considered the first pure mathematician and one of the most important in history. He was in favor of Religion and science were not two watertight compartments, but inseparable factors of the same lifestyle.

Made up of astrologers, musicians, mathematicians and philosophers; His strongest belief was that all things are, in essence, numbers. That is, everything in nature follows numerical rules. But, although they defended thought guided by mathematics, at the same time, it was deeply mystical. Their religious symbol of reference was the pentagram, which they called “health” and used as a secret sign to recognize each other.

For many authors, Pythagoreanism seems more like a mystical religion than a school of philosophy. They were based on an ascetic lifestyle in which They sought the purification of their members, that is, the process of catharsis. However, in this purification process music and mathematics represented a key factor.

The philosophy It was fundamental for musical and mathematical understanding. In fact, Pythagoras is credited with being the first to make one of the term philosophy (love of wisdom). The story goes that a dictator named Leontes asked him if he was a wise man, to which Pythagoras replied that he was a philosopher.

The Pythagorean theory proposes, among other things, that nature is governed by numbers.

2. Epicureanism and its coreligionists

This philosophical movement was instituted by Epicurus of Samos in the 4th century BC. C., and continued by his followers, the Epicureans. The maxim of this theory was the search for happiness through the search for pleasure.. They understood both concepts, pleasure and happiness, as the absence of pain and any type of affliction.

Epicurus differentiates between two types of pleasures: pleasures in motion and pleasures at rest. Pleasures in motion are those that expand through the body and they carry a violent and short excitement. As an example, we find sexual arousal. Epicurus defines them as sweet and flattering pleasures, and they have the potential to dominate the individual.

For its part, Pleasures in rest are those that lead to calm and wisdom. They are those that lead to a state of balance. Its nature is negative, that is, not being hungry, not being cold and not being thirsty. That is, the absence of suffering or negative sensations.

To achieve that happiness, they distinguished 3 kinds of pleasures that also allow you to achieve ataraxia. The state of serenity, the absence of disturbance, the perfect balance between mind and body.

Epicurus explained, according to his perspective, that God does not exist. His idea was this: God is good and almighty; But bad things continue to happen to men, even good people. Because?

Two possible logical results emerge from his approach: either God is not good because he allows these bad events to happen; or he is not all-powerful because he is not able to prevent them from happening. In both cases, the existence of God is annulled.. What do you think of his deduction?

This wise philosopher also maintained that human existence faces four fears that generate pain. Let’s see what a philosophy article published in the magazine tells us about it. Approaches:

The fear of the gods (it is not logical, since they do not interfere in human life). The fear of death (it is ignorance, because when death is we are not). The fear of the lack of goods (the less They long for each other much better). Fear of one’s own pain in general (in the face of pain you have to have the appropriate attitude, since it is not eternal).

3. Scholastic Theory of Anselm of Canterbury

Although it has not been one of the most controversial, scholasticism is one of the most interesting philosophical theories due to its heterogeneity. He drank from Greco-Latin, Arab and Judaic currents and was dominant in medieval thought. It was based on the subordination of reason to faith and the coordination between the two.

Some authors have criticized this current as too static and subject only to memorization, due to its somewhat orthodox educational methods. However, its philosophical aspects are not just a set of strict theological dogmas, but They seek a joint work between faith and reason. Its objective is to understand reality from the human point of view.

4. Rationalist theory of René Descartes

Cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). With that phrase by René Descartes the idea proposed by one of the best-known philosophical theories, rationalism, is summarized: Reason is the source of truth and the only way in which it can be deduced. It rejects, therefore, any dogma of faith, it opposes the sensitive and unconscious worlds, considering them “doubtful.”

The life of this French mathematician was peculiar. Due to health problems, Since he was a child he had to spend many hours bedridden, which he took advantage of to think and wander about the world. And a few years later, he laid the foundations for this philosophical current!

Developed in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, rationalism proposes doubt as the only method to find universal truth. His contribution is evident: methodical doubt as an exclusive way of reaching knowledge.

For René Descartes, reason was the only source of truth.

5. Two types of idealism

Descartes himself, along with other authors such as Berkeley, Kant, Fichte (subjective idealism) or Leibniz and Hegel (objective idealism) were also some of the leading representatives of this current.

This is one of the philosophical theories that we most commonly resort to. How many times have we said “you are too idealistic”? But do we know what this current consists of? It bears little correspondence with reality, because idealism considers the world and life as perfect models of harmony.

According to Daniel Sommer Robinson, a professor in the philosophy school at the University of Southern California, idealism emphasizes the importance of the spiritual or ideal in the interpretation of experience. He states that the world exists essentially as spirit or consciousness. Also that abstractions and laws are more fundamental than sensory things, and that everything that exists is known through ideas.

Although there are two different currents, both agree that Objects cannot exist without the mind being aware of them. They affirm that the external world depends on the human mind. Idealism exalts the values ​​of the irrational, the traditional and the sentimental.

6. Nietzsche’s theory of nihilism

“God is dead.” With this phrase, Nietzsche conceptualizes one of his staunchest satires of the prevailing mentality of the 19th century. In addition, He carried out an exhaustive critique of Western society, through the genealogy of the concepts that make up it.

For this German philosopher, poet, musician and philologist, The world is mired in a deep nihilism, which it has to overcome if it does not want to come to an end. It refers to the devaluation of supreme values. To a historical process by which what was previously shown as the supreme ends up becoming inoperative.

Many later thinkers They charge against him for the contradiction he shows between his own ideas. He defended himself by arguing that he used diverse points of view in his works to challenge the reader to consider various facets of the same topic.

For Nietzsche, the world has lost its supreme values.

7. Lao Tzu’s theory of the Tao

Lao Tzu was a contemporary of Buddha, Pythagoras and Confucius, but the details of his birth and death are unknown. Tao is a compound of 2 ideograms: head and march. Therefore, the meaning of it can be interpreted as the man who advances, who walks consciously, who makes his way.

The meaning depends on the context and can be used in philosophical, cosmological, religious or moral terms. It is based on dynamism and duality. In the idea that opposites complement each other, like yin and yang. In the endless figure.

8. Plato’s theory of ideas

This theory is one of the most influential in Western philosophy. According to Plato, The sensible world of things is an imperfect copy of the Ideas or Form.s, which are perfect and immutable and belong to a supersensible world.

In the words of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article: “The world that appears to our senses is in some ways defective and full of errors, but there is a more real and perfect realm, populated by entities (called “forms” or “ideas”). ) that are eternal, immutable and, in a certain sense, paradigmatic of the structure and character of the world that presents itself to our senses.

Therefore, According to the theory of ideas, there are two worlds: the sensible (visible) and the supersensible. (invisible, intelligible). The latter is the cause of everything we see. For example, it is thanks to beauty that beautiful things exist. For Plato, this (supersensible) world cannot be known through the senses.

9. Rousseau’s noble savage theory

According to Jean-Jacques Rousseau man is noble and happy in his natural state, that is, by nature the human being is good, but civilization corrupts him. The theory of the noble savage maintains, then, that society and culture altered the essence of man.