Intro PowerPoint for Metaphysics

Metaphysics The study of the nature of reality PoPeye Studies Descartes Metaphysical Questions What is reality? Why is there something and not nothing? What is a being?

What is a person? Am I free? Is there a supreme being? Metaphysical Questions ho am I? hy am I here? here did I come from?

here am I going? Definitions M etaphysics: the philosophy of being which seeks to answer questions about existence. M etaphysics: study of questions about the world left unanswered by the natural sciences, such as those regarding First Causes; Laws of the Universe; Mind/Body; Freedom/Determinism. F

irst used by Aristotle who wrote first his Physics (concerning the physical world) and the Metaphysics (beyond the physical world). 2 Foundational Principles Principle of non-contradiction - no real being can both be and not be at the same time and in the same respect. Principle of sufficient reason: every being has

the sufficient reason for existence in itself or in another. It is not possible for something to be its own cause (otherwise it would violate the Principle of non-contradiction). Every being that does not possess the sufficient reason for its own existence in itself must have an efficient cause (necessarily extrinsic to itself). Theories ommon Sense Realism What people perceive under ordinary

conditions is reality. Theories dealism George Berkeley 18th Century Denies existence of material things Reality is ideas and the minds that hold these ideas Esse est percipi (to be is to be perceived) Objects are ideas that God placed in humans Theories

latonic Realism Reality is ideal forms or ideas that are timeless, unchanging, immaterial, and more perfect than the world of changeable things Forms in the World of Being __________________________ Things in the World of Becoming Theories aterialism or Physicalism Pre-Socratic Philosophers

Everything is physical; Reality consists of matter. Matter particles in motion and forces like gravity. Theories onism Reality is one all encompassing thing All particular things are expressions of this one thing Things can be material or mental

Baruch Spinoza argued it could also be divine String Theory everything is composed of onedimensional strings of energy Materialism and Idealism are Monists Theories Theories D alism Descartes Reality consists of two things: Mind and Matter Interactionism is a common version of dualism

Mind and Body co-exist as separate entities Materialism versus Dualism aterialism Man is simply an animal, and brains are simply chemical systems No soul Humans are like computers.

ualism Mental is separate from Physical Mind and Soul can pre-exist the body and survive bodily death Dualists believe in the afterlife, and the paranormal Discussion Questions

W hat do you think is really real? here did we come from? hy are we here? W here are we going? W

hat is ultimate reality? hy is there something rather than nothing? o we have a mind distinct from the body? Or is the mind simply brain states? re you a materialist or a dualist? re we free? A