Metaphysics (Unit 3)

(MONISM) Heraclitus

-- "There is a parallelism or identity of structure between the operations of the mind, as expressed in thought and language, and those of the reality which it grasps. In general the structure is that of 'unity-in-opposites.' This appears in many examples, static or dynamic, drawn from everyday life: 'People step into the same rivers, and different waters flow on to them;' 'A road, uphill and downhill, one and the same;' Sea is water most pure and most polluted: for fish drinkable and life-giving, for human beings undrinkable and deadly.' These remarks and their generalizations are not meant to infringe the law of non-contradiction; rather they trade on it to point out a systematic ambivalence (between polar opposites) in the essential nature of things." -Heraclitus (Oxford Companion to Philosophy) -- The structure of the world is that of unity in opposites. -- The only constant in the world is change. So, the only constant in reality is change. -- Fire is the element that most accurately represents change. -- Therefore, the fundamental substance of which reality consists must be fire. This fire is spiritual in nature and is unlike ordinary fire but its nature is the same: constant change.

(DUALISM) René Descartes

-- Descartes is recognized as the father of modern philosophy. He is the first major philosopher to reject Aristotle's approach to doing philosophy. He introduces his theory of metaphysics and epistemology in a famous work call Meditations on First Philosophy. -- His methodology is referred to as "radical doubt." It works by doubting every thing that can be reasonably be doubted until something is found, if it exists, that cannot be doubted without contradiction. For Descartes, this method implies the quest for a clear and distinct idea, one that cannot be doubted. -- To establish what could be regarded as fundamentally real, Descartes applied his method of radical doubt to things that seemed real. He divided these things into three categories: (1) things that come through the senses, (2) the experience of self or being awake, and (3) the existence of God and mathematics. He found each of these categories of things could be reasonably doubted. This part of his analysis placed Descartes on the brink of skepticism: the view that nothing is certain. -- However, Descartes then discovers that he cannot doubt his existence without a manifest contradiction: he has to exist in order to doubt his existence. Cogito Ergo Sum. -- Descartes' metaphysical view rests on deductive reasoning that leads him to conclude that the self can be known to exist with complete certainty. His view of reality thus begins with his awareness of the undeniable existence of self. -- However, Descartes argument also leads him to believe that the body and the mind are made of two substances. The body is made of a material substance and the mind is made of a spiritual substance. This two-substance view of reality is called dualism: the view that their exists two and only two fundamental substances. Cartesian Dualism. The Mind/Body Problem. -- Once the Cogito is established, Descartes then proceeds to argue for the world that he previously doubted. He begins with an argument for the existence of God. -- Cartesian dualism led to a collapse in the study of metaphysics. Despite the work of Leibniz and Spinoza, modern philosophers could not get passed the solipsistic and spiritual nature of the Cartesian worldview. The reaction to Descartes was Empiricism. Empiricism is a theory that denies the importance of the study of metaphysics: fundamental reality. Empiricism through the work of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume led to skepticism about our ability to understand fundamental reality. This philosophical, "anti-metaphysics," view opened the door for science to be recognized as the modern voice in identifying the nature of fundamental reality. Presumably, science being based on the experimental method could more accurately depict reality. However, this view is difficult to maintain in light of the fact that science is ultimately based on the theory of empiricism, which itself leads to skepticism about our knowledge of fundamental reality.

(PLURALISM) Democritus

-- Expanded and developed the theory of atoms. -- Demonstrated the atomic theory's mechanistic-materialistic implications for religious beliefs.

(PLURALISM) Pythagoras*

-- Founded a spiritual commune -- Studied mathematics as a means of purification -- Started the first school of mathematics -- Famous for A^2 + B^2 = C^2, π -- Discovered the connection between Arithmetic and Geometry -- Concluded that all physical objects can be quantified -- Numbers are abstract entities -- Fundamental reality consists of numbers -- Numbers are eternal and unchanging abstract entities

(PLURALISM) Leucippus

-- Founder of the theory of atoms -- He argues that space is a thing that is nothing, in the sense that it is an empty receptacle. Therefore, space is real. -- Now, by experience, material things are divisible into smaller parts. Either this division can be continued infinitely or it stops at some point. But, an infinite series of divisions is impossible. Therefore, there exists a smallest part to every material thing. We call this part an atom: that which is indivisible. -- Individually, atoms are indivisible, in motion, eternal, and unchanging. -- As a group, atoms are infinite in number and are the fundamental substance of reality. -- Atoms occupy and move in space, which is nothing, absolutely nothing--valuable nothing. -- Different combinations of atoms produce the things of our everyday experience: stars, moon, planet, and so on.

(MONISM) Thales of Miletus

-- Lived on the western shores of Ionia in Asia Minor (Turkey) -- While traveling in Egypt, he developed a method for measuring the height of pyramids using the measure of their shadows. -- He accurately predicted the solar eclipse of May 28, 585 BC a year prior to its occurrence. -- He was once criticized for being wise but poor. He reacted by becoming wealthy to show that making money is easy for philosophers—the difficulty is getting them interested. -- He is the first philosopher in the Western tradition. -- He is the founder of the study of metaphysics: First Philosophy -- His reasoning led him to the conclusion that there is one fundamental substance of which all reality is composed: water. ("Everything is water.")

(MONISM) Empedocles*

-- Natural elements and natural kinds are eternal and unchanging

(MONISM) Anaxagoras*

-- Nous is the source of cosmic order -- The Nature of the Seeds: - Each seed contains the whole but with a different proportion - The seeds are not in Nous -- Everything contains a bit of everything else

(MONISM) Parmenides

-- Parmenides argues that fundamental change is impossible. -- Using an indirect proof, Parmenides writes an argument against change: -- First, let us assume that fundamentally reality changes. -- For this assumption to be true, it means one of two things: (1) nonbeing becomes being or (2) being becomes nonbeing. -- But if we assume that nonbeing becomes being, this leads to a contradiction. Thus, it cannot be true that (1) is true. -- Now we are left only with option (2). But, if we assume that being becomes nothing, then being did not change but ceased to be. Thus, no change can be observed. (In addition, if (1) nonbeing cannot become being, it follows that whatever has being did not come from nonbeing. So when discussing the fundamental nature of any being, it cannot be conceived as being made of nothing.) -- Now, since the only possible ways of conceiving of fundamental change were options (1) and (2)(according to Parmenides), we must conclude that change is impossible. -- Based on his argument against change, Parmenides claims that our observation of change in the world is an illusion. Life, as we experience it, is an illusion. -- With his argument Parmenides intends to prove the existence of a necessary substance. In other words, understanding reality entails believing in the 'necessary existence' of a fundamental 'stuff.' This find leads to the rational belief in 'eternality.' Henceforth, philosophers may believe that some things are eternal without basing this belief on faith, spiritualism, or religion. Parmenides insight is monumental in the history of philosophy. -- Parmenides argues that being is one, eternal, and unchanging: "the One." -- There is no nonbeing. That which is not is a necessary nonexistent. -- That which is not cannot be known nor be spoken of. -- That which is can be known and be spoken of. -- If nothing exists between the natural elements, as claimed by the Ionian Philosophers (Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes), then being is one for there is 'nothing' that keeps them apart. -- Therefore, that which is, or Being, must be understood as complete, never came to be, never will come to be, it is unborn, and imperishable. That is, it is eternal and unchanging.

(MONISM) Anaximenes

-- Student of Anaximander -- Argues that Anaximander's view of the indeterminate is too vague and intangible. -- He combines the concreteness of Thales view with the explanatory power of Anaximander's view to produce a new theory of metaphysics. -- He argues that air is the fundamental substance of which reality consists. Air is both boundless and tangible. -- The other elements and all other objects are formations of air produced by air's capacity of contraction and expansion.

(MONISM) Anaximander

-- Student of Thales -- Agrees with Thales that there is one fundamental substance, but disagrees about the identity of this substance. -- He argues that the primordial stuff of which everything is made is an indefinite, indeterminate, boundless substance: the Apeiron

The Appearance/Reality Distinction

-- The study of reality begins with the awareness that "things as they are" may differ from "things as they appear." The early philosophers drew a distinction between "appearances" and "reality." For example, you attend a magic show and on stage you watch as a magician make a woman float in the air. You look real carefully and see no wires. Nevertheless, you understand the magician is using illusion to produce what you are seeing. Thus, you conclude that the magician is "good" because you are unable to determine how he is "doing this trick." In this situation, you are very clear about the distinction between 'appearance' and 'reality.' The floating lady is an appearance and the reality is that the magician has found a good way to hide the guide wires that are holding the lady in the air. Thus, on this occasion, "things as they appear" differs from "things as they are." -- The appearance/reality distinction, however, leaves us with an issue that demands our attention. This distinction seems to suggest that appearances are less important than realities and that a clear distinction can be made between the two. First, let us deal with the issue of importance. The suggestion that appearances are less significant than realities is an underlying belief of early metaphysics. This attitude no doubt stems from the scientific beginnings of philosophy. The 'natural philosophers' were doing there best to provide fundamental explanations of the world they observed. This task leads one naturally to value what is fundamental as being of greater importance. This attitude, however, does not in itself show that appearances fail to have value. Rather, it is more like an attitude adopted for the purpose of the study. -- An instance of an appearance which has value is expressed in your trip to the magic show. The floating lady on stage maybe a mere appearance, however, it has great entertainment value. Other examples of the value of appearances abound. There is value in dressing well for a job interview, looking good for your wedding day, wearing clean clothes to work, paintings, sculptor, and classical music. In many ways, our society places a high value on appearances. In this sense, they are not insignificant. -- Now let us turn our attention to the second issue: can a clear distinction be made between appearances and realities. If a physical object has a manifest form, then it has a particular appearance. Its distinctive appearance can be used for identification purposes. Even though on occasion we maybe fooled by the appearance of things, it does not follow that we can do without their appearances. In a certain sense, when an appearance is the genuine appearance of a real thing, then it can be treated as that thing. For instance, while visiting the zoo, you see a lion. In terms of metaphysics, your immediate observation of the lion is an appearance, whereas, the genetic coding of the lion may be regarded as the true reality. Nevertheless, the appearance of the creature before you and its genetic makeup are essential aspects of one localized object. In such a situation, the appearance/reality distinction is blurred, it does not make sense. Commonsense dictates that we call the animal before us a lion. That is, what is appearing like a lion is actually a lion. -- The appearance/reality distinction is useful but has its limits. It is the beginning of the study of metaphysics.

(PLURALISM) Plato's Life and Works*

--What is the source of similarity and diversity among natural kinds? -Abstract Form -> Universal Archetypes or Universal Essences - Concrete Forms -> Archetypes or Perfect Models - Natural Kinds -- Platos'​ two Worlds: 1. The world of being - Ideas / Forms - Eternal and Unchanging 2. The world of becoming - Sensible Objects - Temporary and/or Changing

Overview of Aristotle's Philosophy

1. Critique of Plato's theory of Forms Plato does not adequately explain the connection between sensible objects and the Forms: "what does Plato mean by participation." Plato fails to provide an adequate explanation of "change," which is an inherent part of reality. 2. Aristotle's definition of "substance" Combination of form and matter That which stands alone That which underlies all the properties and changes of a thing That which is the most essential property of a thing, its essence The structure of Aristotle's Theory of reality 3. Reality is made of individual substances, which are infinite in number. 4. When discussing Aristotle's theory it is customary to translate "form" into "essence." Thus, he is understood as having a theory of essences.

Cosmology

Most generally, cosmology means the study of natural order as it appears among the cosmos, the natural elements, and natural kinds.

Ontology

Most generally, ontology means the study of being or fundamental existence.

First Philosophers (Natural Philosophers)

The first philosophers were called "natural philosophers" because they engaged in the study of physics, nature, and the universe. Historically, they are also recognized as the first scientists. As in the modern time, natural philosophers were very intent on understanding the world around them. Armed with logic, a sense of truth, and unwavering confidence that reality can be known through human reason, the first philosophers produced the first theoretical explanations of the world in which we live. Our exploration of their theories begins with a review of some key concepts: the appearance reality distinction, ontology, and cosmology.

Metaphysics

The first topic studied by philosophers is most often referred to as "metaphysics" or "first philosophy." This study deals with the possibility of reality, as it is, as it may be, and as it has been.