BACKGROUND OF PLATO words, reason is beyond the time and space, whereas the spirit and appetite are
words, reason is beyond the time and space, whereas the spirit and appetite are mortal and mundane.
 It is widely accepted that Plato, the Athenian philosopher, was born in 428-7 B.C.E. in Athens, Greece and
died at the age of eighty-one at 348-7 B.C.E. Due to the lack of primary sources in the long period, Plato’s
life has been constructed by scholars through his writings and writings of contemporaries and classical
historians. Both of his parents came from the Greek aristocracy. Plato’s father, Ariston, descended from the
kings of Athens and Messenia.
 His mother, Perictione, is said to be related to the 6th century B.C.E. Greek statesman solon.
 Plato’s actual given name was apparently Aristocles, after his grandfather. “Plato” seems to have started as
a nickname (for platos, or “broad”), perhaps first given to him by his wrestling teacher for his physique, or
for the breadth of his style, or even the breadth of his forehead.
 During Plato’s childhood, he was probably taught by some of Athens’ finest educators. The curriculum
would have featured the doctrines of Cratylus and Pythagoras as well as Parmenides
 Plato was always concerned with the fundamental and philosophical problem of working out a theory of
the art of living and knowing.
 Like Socrates, Plato began to convinced of the ultimately harmonious structure of the universe, but he went
further than his mentor in trying to construct a comprehensive philosophical scheme. His goal was to shoe
the rational relationship between the soul, the state, and the cosmos.
PLATO’S ETHICAL THEORY OF IDEALISM/FORMS
 Theory of Forms asserts that the physical world is not really the ‘real’ world; instead, ultimate reality exists
beyond our physical world. Plato discusses this theory in a few different dialogues, including the most
famous one, called ‘The Republic’. It is also likely that Plato inherited some of this theory from his mentor,
Socrates.
 Plato’s Theory of Form asserts that the physical realm is only a shadow, or image, of the true reality of the
Realm Forms. According to Plato, Forms are abstract, perfect, unchanging concepts or ideals that transcend
time and space; they exist in the Realm of Forms.
 This asserts into two (2) realms: the Physical and the Spiritual realm. Physical Realm is the material stuff
we see and interact with on a daily basis this realm is changing and imperfect. The Spiritual Realm,
however, exists beyond the physical realm. Plato called this spiritual realm the Realm of Forms (also called
the Realm of Ideas or Realm of Ideals).
PLATO’S ETHICAL THEORY OF SOULS
THE ELEMENTS OF SOUL
ETHICAL APPLICATION
 Plato divides the soul into three (3) hierarchical l faculties--- reason, spirit, and appetite in
descending order. The abode of the lowest faculty, the appetite is the stomach and those of spirit and
the reason are chest and the mind respectively. The appetite is identified in both the Republic as well
was the Phaedo with desires, greed, economic gain, physical comforts and sensuous pleasure.
The spirit is identified with fearlessness, valor and warrior like qualities.
The highest faculty of the soul is the reason– simple and invisible, eternal and immortal. In other
THE VIRTUES OF THE SOUL
 Are defining the soul in terms of its constituent elements, delves into their respective virtues and
hence derives the virtue of soul by integrating them together. Every particular object has its particular
nature and realizing that nature is its virtue.
 He first discusses the particular virtues of particular elements and combines them to construct a new
virtue, superior to them and their coordinating force– the justice, Plato’s central concern in the
republic. The virtue of reason is wisdom, that of spirit and appetite are courage and temperance
respectively.
 A soul is just or virtuous that has the virtuous faculties and the inferior elements are regulated and
directed by the superior ones. In other words, the spirit and appetite must take directions from, and
obey the dictates of the reason.
Wisdom or Knowledge
According to Plato wisdom comes from the ability to reason and analyze; discuss and debate;
deliberate and discourse. Plato’s pessimism does not allow him to accord these potentialities to
anyone but no ‘gifted’ few ‘endowed’ with immanently innate qualities of excellence in the realm of
reason. Plato’s theory of knowledge shall be discussed below as an independent subtitle.
The Courage
Courage is the cardinal virtue of the spirit. For early Greeks, courage meant fearlessness, even of
the death; patience in difficult situation; velour etc. For Plato courage is not just warrior like bravery
but also firmly defend correct stand.
Temperance
The third particular virtue is temperance of restrain that has been elaborately described in books
III & IV of the Republic. It simply means, “To be stronger than one-self”, “To be master of one-self”
doing not as one wishes but what one ought to.
Justice
Apart from the above three (3) particular virtue there is 4th virtue, a superior virtue that
harmoniously coordinates them and is the central concern of the Republic, as is evident from its
subtitle, Concerning Justice.
Soul
The soul is of such and indestructible nature that not even evil can destroy the soul, for the soul,
in its very essence, is immortal, and hence, indestructible. Plato also maintains that souls are fixed, so
that the number always remains the same; therefore, the soul must be immortal by nature.
THE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE
The meaning behind Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”, he use “cave” as a symbolic
representation of how human beings live in the world, contrasting reality versus our interpretation of
it.
  The key life lesson is that, “to question every assumption you have about the reality you call ‘real’”. It
is a powerful way to develop skill of thinking for yourself and discovering your own unique solutions
to any problem. It is designed to illustrate human perception, ideologies, illusions, opinions, ignorance
and sensory appearances. The cave is a prison form individual who base their knowledge based on
ideologies. The main theme of the book is that, we humans tend to not understand the true reality of
our world. We believe of what we are seeing and sensing in this world yet, we perceive shadows as
real things that make up the world.
“Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to
everything.” -Plato
BACKGROUND OF ARISTOTLE:
 Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and scientist born in 384 BCE in Stagira Chalcidice a city in Greece,
and died in 322 BCE Chalcis, Euboea. He was a student of Plato and later became the tutor of Alexander
the Great. Aristotle made significant contributions to various fields such as philosophy, logic, biology,
physics, ethics, and politics. He established his own school, the Lyceum, and his works covered a wide
range of topics, including metaphysics, ethics, and politics.
 Aristotle’s ideas have had a profound and lasting influence on Western philosophy and continue to be
studied and debated to this day. Aristotle was considered to be one of the most intellectual figures of
western history. He was the author of a philological and scientific system which has contributed a great
impact for both medieval Islamic philosophy and christian scholasticism
 His father was Nicomachus, a physician while his mother was named Phaestis. Nicomachus was certainly
living in Chalcidice when Aristotle was born and he had probably been born in that region. Aristotle’s
mother, Phaestis, came from Chalcis in Euboea and her family owned property there.
ARISTOTLE’S ETHICAL THEORY
 Nicomachean: refers to Aristotle’s work called “Nicomachean Ethics,” which explores moral philosophy
and the concept of virtue.
 Virtue: Aristotle believes that virtue is central to eudaimonia. Virtues are positive character traits, cultivated
through habituation, that enable individuals to act in accordance with reason and moral principles.
Examples of virtues include courage, honesty, and generosity.
 Golden Mean (mesotes) : Aristotle proposes the concept of the golden mean, which suggests that moral
virtue lies between extremes. Virtuous behavior avoids excess and deficiency, finding a moderate and
balanced approach.
 Telos (Goal): Aristotle argues that everything has a telos, or purpose, and that fulfilling that purpose is
essential for living a virtuous life. For humans, the telos is eudaimonia, and virtuous action is essential for
achieving it.
BACKGROUND OF THOMAS AQUINAS
 Eudaimonia: Aristotle defines the ultimate goal of human life as eudaimonia, often translated as
“flourishing” or “well-being.” It involves living in accordance with our highest potential and achieving a
state of overall excellence.
Moral Virtue
 Contemporary theories of moral virtue are heavily influenced by the ancient Greek
philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BCE), who conceived of virtue as an excellence giving rise to actions
that constitute a “golden mean” between deficiency and excess. For Aristotle, such an excellence must
be cultivated to be maintained and can be lost if neglected; it is not a fixed or innate trait. The virtues,
besides being concerned with means of action and passion, are themselves means in the sense that
they occupy a middle ground between two contrary vices. Thus, the virtue of courage is flanked on
one side by foolhardiness and on the other by cowardice
 In any case, these two works cover more or less the same ground: they begin with a discussion
of eudaimonia (“happiness”, “flourishing”), and turn to an examination of the nature
of aretê (“virtue”, “excellence”) and the character traits that human beings need in order to live life at
its best. Both treatises examine the conditions in which praise or blame are appropriate, and the nature
of pleasure and friendship; near the end of each work, we find a brief discussion of the proper
relationship between human beings and the divine.
 Nicomachean Ethics develops a theme about which its Eudemian cousin is silent. Only
the Nicomachean Ethics discusses the close relationship between ethical inquiry and politics; only
the Nicomachean Ethics critically examines Solon’s paradoxical dictum that no man should be
counted happy until he is dead; and only the Nicomachean Ethics gives a series of arguments for the
superiority of the philosophical life to the political life.
Intellectual Virtue
One overlooked area of Aristotle’s contribution to educational thought is his conception of five intellectual
virtues. While Aristotle claims that moral virtue “comes by habit,” intellectual virtue “owes its birth and growth
to teaching (for which reason it requires experience and time)” (Nicomachean Ethics 2:1 or 1103a15-b25; trans.
W. D. Ross). In this way, he explicitly connected the intellectual virtues to the work of education.
These five intellectual virtues are:
Artistry or craftsmanship (Greek: techne)
Prudence or practical wisdom (phronesis)
Intuition or understanding (nous)
Scientific knowledge (episteme)
Philosophic wisdom (sophia)
ETHICAL APPLICATION:
 Recognize the (telos) of human being and cultivate virtuous traits to attain (Eudaimonia) a good life.
 Role Modeling
Teachers can serve as role models and exemplify virtuous behavior in their interactions with students. By
demonstrating virtuous like respect, fairness, empathy, educators can inspire students to emulate these
qualities in their own life.
 St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was a medieval philosopher and theologian who made significant contributions to
both philosophy and theology.
HUMAN POSITIVE LAWS:
Parents;Father - Landulf of Aquino and Mother - Theodora

 EARLY CHILDHOOD  Church Law (Ecclesiastical Law)- set of rules and regulations established by the Catolic church.
 • EDUCATION  State Law- A legal system established by the government within the society.
 •WRITINGS 
 • SCHOLASTICISM
 • PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY ETHICAL APPLICATION:
 • CANONIZATION
 • LEGACY  Good is to be done and pursued and evil is to be avoided
 As the “rule and measure” of human behavior, the natural law provides the only possible basis for
morality and politics.
ETHICAL THEORY  The reason reveals particular natural laws that are good for human such as self-preservation, marriage
and family and the desire to know God
ETERNAL LAWS: God regulates the universe; ruled by divine providence (God's providence)

HUMAN LAWS: Laws created and enacted by human beings.

BACKGROUND OF IMMANUEL KANT
NATURAL LAWS: Aquinas thinks that everything has a purpose and follows a plan. He, like Aristotle, is a
teleologist, and believes that every object has a telos. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher who is considered one of the most important
figures in Western philosophy.
Aquinas thinks that something is good in as far as it fulfills its purpose/plan.
“Categorical imperative"
PRIMARY PERCEPTS Parents;

Good is to be pursued and done and evil avoided. Father - Johann Georg Kant and Mother - Anna Regina Reuter Kant

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY PERCEPTS
 Protect and preserve human life.
 Reproduce and educate one’s offspring.
 Know and worship God.
 Live in a society.
DIVINE LAWS: is derived from eternal law as it appears historically to humans, especially through revelation.
:are those that God has, in His grace, seen fit to give us and are those “mysteries”, those rules given by God which
we find in scripture; for example, the ten commandments. But why introduce the Divine Law at all? It certainly
feels we have enough Laws. Here is a story to illustrate Aquinas’s answer.
For the Old Law is, as it were, a teacher of children, as the Apostle says in Galatians 3:24, whereas the New Law is
a law of perfection, since it is a law of charity. On this score, the Apostle says in Colossians 3:14 that the New Law
is a “bond of perfection.”
The idea of bond here is something like a chain or a rope that ties us up
 The categorical imperative is the2 imperative of morality. Hence Kant argues that only the categorical
imperative is the truly moral imperative, since it alone commands actions as being necessary and
universally good in themselves. In order for you to determine what’s right you need to use reason
“Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” -
meaning that you should act a certain way only if you're willing to have everyone else act the same way too.
MAXIM – a rule of principle of action
UNIVERSAL LAW – something that must always be done in similar situations.
 Hypothetical imperative, in the ethics of the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, a rule of
conduct that is understood to apply to an individual only if he or she desires a certain end and has chosen
(willed) to act on that desire.
Ex: if you want money, you work.
if you want good grades, you study.

 Old Law - the Ten Commandments

 New Law - the teachings of Jesus.
Following the Human Laws and the Divine Laws will help us to fulfil our purposes and plans and be truly happy.
THE GOOD WILL:
 According to Kant, the good will is the one that facilitates human act.
 But what make a good will good?
 How is the good will manifested?
 According to Kant, good will is manifested when it is done for the sake of duty. Hence, in order for a good will to be
called good without qualification, it must be done for the sake of duty.


DUTY AND MORAL OF WORTH OF AND ACT

Doing good should be driven by a sense of duty, not self-interest. Acts done because they're the right thing have
moral worth; those done for personal gain lack moral worth but aren't necessarily bad.

FORMULATION OF THE CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE

1. FIRST FORMULATION - Principle of Universality

The first part of Kant's moral rule is about making sure the thing you're doing could be a rule for everyone. In
other words, if you want to do something, think about whether it would be good if everyone did the same thing
in the same situation. If it wouldn't work for everyone, then it's not a morally good action.

2. SECOND FORMULATION - Principle of Humanity

“Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never
merely as a means, but always at the same time as an end”

3. THIRD FORMULATION – Principle of Autonomy

which says we are not dependent upon others to tell us what is right and wrong, but that we are free and able to
discover this for ourselves through the use of reason.

ETHICAL APPLICATION

 It is our duty to act in such a manner that we would want everyone else to act in a similar manner in
similar circumstances towards all other people.
 Argued that we have an obligation to sometimes help out others in need
 To help people out is to make their ends out ends.