Metaphysics Flashcards
What is metaphysics?
The study of the basic structures of reality. Considered the first philosophy.
- being and nothingness
- time and eternity
- freedom and determinism
- mind and body
- thinghood and personhood
- space and time
- a supreme being and nature
What is idealism?
- Theory that reality is mental, intelligent or thought-like
- MIND is reality
- Idealists believe that all physical objects are manifestations of the mind
What is materialism?
- Reality ultimately consists of MATTER
- Not mind like or intelligent
- Consciousness, feelings, thoughts, mind are just complex material phenomena that can be fully explained in terms of matter
What are the three main versions of dualism?
1) Interactionist Substance Dualism (Rene Descartes)
- reality consists of two fundamentally different types of substances (minds vs. matter) - things causally interact with each other
2) Property Dualism
- reality consists of some kind of physical thing that produces both physical and mental properties (beliefs, desires, and feelings)
3) Epiphemonenalism (Thomas Huxley, Frank Jackson)
- states of mind are merely by-products of physical states of the brain, therefore states of mind have no influence on physical states
Describe the Allegory of the Cave.
- Four people chained inside a cave, watching all the shadows of life (as they can’t turn around)
- Believe it is reality
- One breaks free to see if there is more
- When he comes back, nobody believes him
PLATO suggests that we are the same as the men in the cave - staring the shadows as they appear via our senses, mistakening them for reality.
- Substancial realities are outside the cave
- Reality is beyond what our senses can show us
- Only human reason provides knowledge of reality
Describe Plato’s Theory of Forms.
- One of Plato’s most famous theories
- The REAL world is outside of our world and is based on ideas, not our senses
- The VISIBLE realm - always changing, use senses
- The INTELLIGIBLE realm - unchanging, external, abstract thoughts that allow the visible realm to exist
- Plato is the only one who can see in the World of Forms
- We live in the “Material World” - things are the shadows of the world of forms
What is extistentialism?
Existentialists use the term “authentic self” to
refer to the idea of being true to oneself (our
being) when making choices.
-emphasizes that a good person is one that makes moral choices and takes responsibility for those choices
Describe Taoism.
- Disagrees with Plato’s belief that the ultimate nature of reality is unchanging and is only accessible to humans through pure reasoning.
- Means “the One” or “the Way”
- Not locatable or a particular thing - is an energy itself, consisting of energy called “qi” to create all things in existence
- The Tao is responsible for all things in nature that are in a state of constant change (night to day, summer to fall)
- Expressed in Yin and Yang
Describe Yin and Yang.
Nature is expressed by:
Yin - passive element of nature (being, receiving, night, rest, decline)
Yang - active element of nature (doing, giving, day, activity)
What are the 4 theories of self? (Personhood?)
1) Substance Theory: Rene Descartes; self never changes, is mental and controls brain and body
2) Bundle Theory: David Hume; self is a loose bundle of pieces of experiences, memories, ideas, etc. No continuous thread
3) Narrative Theory: Paul Ricoeur; self is a narrative structure, constantly edited based on new experiences and forgotten ones
4) Project Theory: Jean Paul Sartre; self is an event, not static, dynamic and always under construction
Describe self-deception
- self deception prevents self knowledge
- it is it deliberate but also not an accident, subconscious
Theories of personal identity (movie Momento)
- JOHN LOCKE said the most important component is continuous consciousness - ability to remember, relive the past, take responsibility for past actions
- If there is a break in continuity, you are no longer the same person
- DEREK PARFIT said what matters is a person’s continuous existence over time, not their identity
- memory and intention overlap t different stages of our existence and are linked together
