Romania Clasa a XII-a Philosophy
Chapters: 6
1. The human being
Human nature and meaning of life
- Human Nature: Are We Born Good, Selfish or Blank? – Human nature means the qualities all humans share from birth. Thinkers have given three classic answers. Born good: Mencius (China) saw inborn 'sprouts' of kindness, shame, respect and right judgement that grow with care; Rousseau (France) said people are naturally good but corrupted by unequal society. Born selfish: Xunzi (China) said human nature is self-seeking and goodness comes from deliberate effort, rules and study; Hobbes (England) said that without government life would be a war of all against all. Born blank: Locke (England) said the mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa) written by experience; Gaozi said nature is like water that can flow either way. Many modern views are mixed: we have both caring and selfish tendencies, and environment matters a lot. All views accept that humans are imperfect and unfinished, so we can learn and grow. This leads to the question of the meaning of life: thinkers have found it in virtue and flourishing (Aristotle, Confucius), in love and service, in faith, or in meaning we create ourselves (Frankl, Sartre, Camus).
2. Morality
Moral philosophy
- Ethics: How to Decide What Is Right – Ethics (moral philosophy) asks what we ought to do and why. Values such as honesty, kindness, fairness and respect guide choices. Three main theories help: consequences (utilitarianism, Bentham and Mill: most good for most people), duty (Kant: act on rules you could want everyone to follow; treat people as ends, never only as means) and virtue (Aristotle: build good character; virtue is the mean between extremes). Conscience is our inner sense of right and wrong. Freedom brings responsibility. Meta-ethics asks what "good" means and whether values are universal or relative. Applied ethics deals with the environment, animals, work, friendship and peace.
3. Politics
Political philosophy
- Political Philosophy: The State, Power and Justice – Political philosophy asks big questions about living together: Why do we need a state? What makes power rightful (legitimate)? What is justice? How much freedom and equality should people have? Social contract thinkers (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau) explain the state as an agreement. Plato and Aristotle described the ideal state and the forms of government; Cicero saw the republic as the people's shared property under law. Rawls, Mill and thinkers from many traditions (Confucius, Kautilya, Ubuntu) help us weigh liberty, equality, property and community.
4. Knowledge
Theory of knowledge
- Epistemology: What Is Knowledge? – Epistemology is the part of philosophy that asks what knowledge is, how we get it and how sure we can be. A classic answer: knowledge is a belief that is true and well justified (justified true belief), although lucky cases (Gettier cases) show this may not be enough. Knowledge comes from reason (rationalism) and from experience through the senses (empiricism); Kant argued we need both. Theories of truth include correspondence (matches the facts), coherence (fits with other beliefs) and pragmatic (works in practice). Scepticism reminds us that senses and reasoning can mislead, so we test, check sources and stay open to correction.
5. Existence (programme B, social sciences)
Ontology
- Metaphysics: What Is Really Real? – Metaphysics is the part of philosophy that asks what reality is like at the deepest level. Ontology asks what exists: concrete things, abstract things like numbers, or both. Metaphysics studies substance and properties, change and identity (the Ship of Theseus), mind and body (dualism, materialism, idealism), time and causation, and free will versus determinism. It also asks big questions about the cosmos, nature and life. Thinkers from Parmenides and Heraclitus, Plato and Aristotle, Descartes, Hume and Kant, to Indian schools like Nyaya and Advaita Vedanta, gave different answers.
6. Philosophy
Philosophy and life
- What Is Philosophy? Questions, Branches and Reasoning – Philosophy means "love of wisdom". It asks big questions (what is real, how we know, what is right, what is beautiful) and answers them with clear reasons. It has branches like metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic and aesthetics, and it shapes our world view.