Philosophy Test - Metaphysics (Smaller) Flashcards
Hesiod:
Greek poet around 800 BCE - around the same time as Homer (Illiad and the Odyssey)
Considered one of the greatest myth-creators in the Ancient World
He is considered to be the conservative, orthodox version of Greek religion - the gods are all around, and they are not good.
Man’s lot in life is to work and suffer, and never understand why. All natural events are because of the gods, and the gods don’t like you. The gods have all the WORST human character traits….PLUS superhuman powers.
What is Metaphysics? What type of topics are discussed in Metaphysics?
Metaphysics is the study of the basic structure of reality.
Topics include:
Being and Nothingness
Time
Freedom and Determinism
Mind and Body
Personhood
Nature and Supreme Beings
Thales:
Born in Miletus around 625. Not very satisfied with the traditional explanation of existence.
Wondered if the universe and everything in it was created of a substance - that you came from, and eventually went back to upon death. Think ‘ashes to ashes’ sort of thing.
He believes that it may be water - as all things need water to live, and even in the driest seeds there is a drop of water that allows the seed to survive. Without water everything dies - perhaps water is the essential ‘thing’ in the universe
Anaximander
Born in 611 BCE
Humans could not have always looked like this - we are defenseless in a natural state and our young require YEARS to live on their own. The ‘first human’ would have been eaten immediately. Early creatures probably all emerged from the water.
The infinite (apeiron) is like god. It is the force of the universe that didn’t have a beginning - its always been there. The divine is deathless.
The earth is suspended aloft on air, and rotates around.
Anaximenes
Born in 585 BCE
Air is the fundamental substance of existence. When it changes, it becomes different things - it can be fire, or water, or steam.
Stars are actually small pieces of fire, very far away. When they change form, they become dilated and rise up into the sky.
Heavy rains and dry spells cause earthquakes, and can damage communities.
Xenophanes
Born 570
The stories of the gods are useless, made-up concepts. People make up the gods that represent them. African gods look African. Greek gods look Greek.
If they were really gods, they would not look or act like us at all. As they cannot die, they could not be made of human bodies. As they are not affected by time, they cannot be made of stuff from Earth.
No one knows the truth. And even if we stumble upon the truth, other people will argue against it.
Why Study these People?
The importance is not in WHAT they thought, but what changes were happening to human thought around this time.
They believed that there was a unity to all things, and that supernatural explanations should be abandoned if we wish to find truth.
They saw existence as orderly, and that order could be understood through a process of rational inquiry.
They set the conditions for philosophy and science to flourish.
Around this time…
(Pre-Soc)
Greece was rocky, divided and surrounded by water. There are thousands of islands. There are mountains and naturals barriers everywhere. Food was difficult to grow in major quantities. Resources are not plentiful.
Ancient Greece is divided politically. The people rarely unite together. Because resources are scarce everyone is seen as competition. Fighting is common. Warfare or the threat of warfare is endemic. Natural disasters can wipe out your home, or your whole village - tidal waves, storms, volcanoes - all occur there.
Everyone is trying to explain this natural evil through God but they took on more of a scientific approach
Plato - World of Forms vs Material World - why did he come up with this idea?
This is why he came up with it
One day, Plato had two problems floating around his mind………
1) How can humans live a fulfilling, happy life in a contingent, changing world where everything they attach themselves to can be taken away?
2) How can the world appear to be both permanent and changing?
The world we perceive through the senses seems to be always changing. The world that we perceive through the mind, using our concepts, seems to be permanent and unchanging. Which is most real and why does it appear both ways?
As a solution to his problems, Plato splits existence into two realms: the material realm and the transcendent realm of forms.
What is a form? Why did he believe in an actual “WORLD” of forms? (circles)
A form is like a perfect, idealistic quality.
Ie. Roundness
They are pure and do not actually exist in any space or time, there may be objects that embody many forms, but a form does not exist on its own
Plato believed in an actual world of forms because of our minds
Humans have access to the world of forms through the mind, through reason. This gives them access to an unchanging world, invulnerable to the pains and changes of the material world.
We should hold on to the material world less, and focus more on the forms.
The second realm is the immaterial world of forms (ideals)
Every human has access to the world of forms through introspection.
How can this idea be applied in various contexts?
(forms)
yourself
basktball
Think of yourself. You know your name, and who you are, and you believe yourself to be the same person as you were years ago.
This, however, is untrue. According to a Stanford Study, you have roughly 37 trillion cells in your body, and they will be replaced within 10 years on average.
Although your cells are constantly dying and being replaced, and you are NOT the same physical person, the IDEA of you survives.
A material object, a basketball, exists at a particular place at a particular time. A form, roundness, does not exist at any place or time.
The forms are also pure. This means that they are pure properties separated from all other properties. A material object, such as a basketball, has many properties: roundness, orange, elasticity, etc. These are all put together to make up this individual basketball.
Aristotle - How he differs from Plato
Why didn’t he like Plato’s ideas?
Because they are fantasy - there is not an actual separate world
Socrates had two major problems with this
The Problem of Christmas
Chorismos is Greek for separation.
In Plato’s metaphysics, there is too much of a separation between the Forms and sensible objects for the Forms to be the sources of material objects.
Plato’s attempts at explaining the relationship between the Forms and sensible objects are merely “empty words and poetical metaphors.”
The Problem of Change
Plato maintained that there is change in the World of Becoming (material world)
Plato, however, did NOT explain how this change occurs.
Why should there be change in the World of Becoming anyway, since it’s supposed to be a copy of the changeless World of Being?
How is Aristotle much more scientific than Plato?
He kept everything within one solo world that used material and forms but combined them with substances
He was able to explain substantial change (ie. a tree becoming a table or a chair’s wood becoming a table but everything still being the same material)
Plato maintained that the Forms are transcendent realities.
Aristotle maintained that form is within particular substances.
Stuffed animal analogy -
Matter is like the stuffing.
Form is like the outer skin.
He believed that Matter and form are distinct but indivisible.
Neither pure form nor pure matter exists. They exist only united to one another in particular substances.
E. g. ‘tableness’ does NOT exist apart from particular tables in some fantastic World of Being. Tableness exists only in particular tables.
While they are indivisible, matter and form are distinct because, if they were not, substantial change would be impossible.
Every object is made of something and it’s shape and properties are it’s form
Natural vs Revealed Theology - know the difference
Natural Theology
Arguments for the existence of God from reason and evidence
Using some sort of logic - all of the following are natural
Revealed Theology
Not philosophy
Not really arguable
“Jesus showed up in my mirror and told me to sell licorice”
Like “it came to me in a dream”
Three Arguments for God
Ontological - god would be the greatest to exist, something to exist is better than something that doesn’t, if god didn’t exist you could think of something greater, he exists
Counter - vague and undefined, semantics argument
Teleological - everything needs a designer for its design and order, that designer is god
Counter: some people believe that order does not need a creator
Cosmological: everything has a cause, the first cause was god
Counter: then who caused god?
Ontological
God would be the greatest being imaginable.
God is Possible
Since he is the greatest being, him being real is superior to him not being real
Therefore, he must be real
Something that exists in reality is superior to something that exists in fantasy.
If God didn’t exist, you could imagine something superior (A GOD THAT DOES EXIST)
Therefore to fulfill the 1st statement, God must exist.
Counter: Not really much of a counter, could be argued that this is just a semantics argument and the concepts of “greatest imaginable” and “god” and “exist” and “not exist” are too vague.
Teleological
Imagine a little machine thing on the floor of a forest.
You would assume purpose and a creator.
Things that exhibit a design, have a designer.
The designer of the universe and the world would be called “God”
William Paley - watchmaker analogy.
Counter: Can “order” arise without a creator? Those who disagree say yes.
Cosmological
All events have causes - those causes have causes - those causes have causes …
Either we accept an infinite casual chain or one event/thing that started all the causes. (that start would be called “God” as the “Unmoved Mover”, the one who made it all start.)
Counter: What caused God then? God does not explain the universe because nothing explains god.
Pascal’s Wager - Why should people believe in God, according to Pascal?
You have 2 choices
Believe
You’re right: Heaven :)
You’re wrong: Just dead
Don’t Believe
You’re right: Just dead
You’re wrong: Eternal damnation :(
Catholic church threatens to excommunicate him for this “Solution”.
Pascal’s wager isn’t based on faith or belief, but rather just fear of eternal damnation.
Counter: There are various religions to choose to believe, which one do you choose?
The OOG God and why its a problem for religion
In Monotheistic religions… God is OOG
Omnipotent (all-powerful, capable of anything they wish)
Omniscient (all-knowing)
Omnibenevolent (entirely, 100% good)
BUT… EVIL EXISTS
Not just moral evil, but natural evil. Certainly people kill each other or rob each other. People sometimes choose bad actions. But a volcano can wipe out whole cities, and a tsunami can wipe out thousands in mere moments.
So if God is all knowing, all powerful and all good, where did EVIL come from?
Natural vs moral evil - What is the difference?
Natural Evil - tsunamis, earthquakes, death, disease. A child is born with a genetic abnormality, lives for hours in constant pain and then dies, leaving a grieving family in turmoil with mental health issues or substance abuse or a destroyed life. No one CHOSE this, they just happen.
Moral Evil - Murder, assault, war, rape, kidnapping. A racist leader begins an international conflict, directly killing millions and indirectly destroying the lives of millions more. A serial killer kills someone. Someone steals. It was based on a choice; a moral failing.
Theodicy - explanations of evil - Soul-Making and Free Will Defense
Free Will Defence
This argument suggests that moral evil, such as human actions like murder or theft, arises from the existence of free will. God, in His omnibenevolence, granted humans the gift of free will to choose between good and evil, These, evil actions are the result of humans misusing their free will rather than a direct act of God.
Soul-Making Theodicy
This argument suggests that the presence of suffering and evil in the world serves a greater purpose in the development and refinement of human souls. Through facing and overcoming challenges, individuals grow in moral and spiritual maturity, ultimately leading to a deeper relationship with god.
Upanishads - what is ultimate reality?
– the universe is one thing
– the Universe is only one reality, which we can call God or Brahman if we want
- written 800-500BCE
- the oldest Hindu scriptures that exist
We will eventually wake from this world, and we will be in a higher reality
We will look back at this life, as if it was a dream – just like a dream, this world only seems real because we are still in it
Taoism - the way - Lao Tzu - live within the Tao
Taoism – the Tao or the Way – a universal force that governs all things - that isn’t close to a complete definition
500 BCE (ish) by Lao Tzu
You must attempt to live in tune with the Tao – to constantly change, not feel attachment to things, and not be overcome by desires
Human beings can never grasp ultimate reality.
Buddhism - existence is suffering - better understanding of what is important (4 noble truths) leads to less suffering
encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices based on the teachings of Siddhartha Guatama - aka Buddha
all life is suffering, which can be limited by controlling our cravings and desires
around 500 BCE
We suffer because we are attached to our things, our past, ourselves as individuals
You are just an illusion = anatta.
You are constantly changing, and impermanent.
“You are what the universe is doing right now, just like a wave is what the ocean is doing right now”
He’s suggesting that your existence is not separate from the unfolding of the cosmos. Just like a wave is not separate from the ocean but rather an expression of its movement and energy, you are an expression of the universe’s ongoing activity.
EASTERN VERSUS WESTERN
Eastern
Man is part of Cosmic unity.
Life is a journey towards eternal reality.
Existence is cyclical.
Inner-world dependent.
Self-liberation from the false “Me”
Western
Man is an element of the divine.
Life is for service, to knowledge, to God, to other people.
Existence is linear – moving in a straight line towards an end.
Outer-world dependent.
Self-dedication to the goal – heaven, knowledge.
Existence Precedes Essence
Existentialism is a set of philosophical ideals that emphasize the existence of the human being, the lack of meaning and purpose in life, and the solitude of human existence… “Existence precedes essence” implies that the human being has no essence (no essential self).
Anxiety
Anxiety stems from our understanding and recognition of the total freedom of choice that confronts us every moment, and the individual’s confrontation with nothingness.
Despair
Dread is a feeling of general apprehension. Kierkegaard interpreted it as God’s way of calling each individual to make a commitment to a personally valid way of life.
Alienation
From all other humans
From human institutions
From the past
From the future
We only exist right now, right here.
Absurdity
The belief is that nothing can explain or rationalize human existence.
There is no answer to “Why am I existing?”
Humans exist in a meaningless, irrational universe and any search for order will bring them into direct conflict with this universe. (closely related to Nihilism - which says nothing matters at all)
Some Famous Existentialists
Some Famous Existentialists
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
Albert Camus (1913-1960)
AND Simone DeBeavoir
Why did existentialism emerge as a philosophy?
In the late 1800s and early 1900s
Science was expanding and providing new technology. In medicine, product development, communications, electrical generation, transportation and consumer goods, people thought that the next 100 years would bring peace and prosperity.
But by the 1940s, the world had been through global war twice, and a huge economic downturn in the 1930s.
Society looked like it would never realize any progress at all. We couldn’t seem to stop ourselves from destroying ourselves.
At its most basic…
If worldwide war, depression and the Holocaust are possible, how can anyone really believe that the world has a pre-ordained order or a benevolent higher power?
What is living in “bad faith”?
Every time we blame someone else for something, every time we refuse to accept responsibility for our actions or choices, we are living in bad faith.
Free Will - do we have it? Why or why not? What reasons exist for NOT believing in free will?
There are 4 arguments for not believing in free will….
Can Free Will Exist? - 1. THE RELIGIOUS WORLD VIEW
Can Free Will Exist? - 2. THE EARLY MODERN SCIENTIFIC VIEW
Can Free Will Exist? - 3. QUANTUM SCIENCE VIEW
Can Free Will Exist - 4. CHAOS THEORY
Can Free Will Exist? - 1. THE RELIGIOUS WORLD VIEW
If God knows everything, can we have free will?
God knows all and sees all – past, present and future.
Therefore, you cannot make a choice that God doesn’t already know.
If your choices are already known, then by definition, you do not have free will.
Of course….if God DOESN’T know what you will choose, then God isn’t omnipotent. And we’re sliding into the OOG problem again.
Can Free Will Exist? - 2. THE EARLY MODERN SCIENTIFIC VIEW
If the laws of physics also govern OUR actions and thoughts, can we have free will?
All events follow the physical laws of the universe.
You are composed of exactly the same materials as everything else in the universe = you follow the laws too.
THE FIRST LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS - States that energy is neither created nor destroyed. It simply changes form.
This would mean that all of your physical actions/reactions are controlled by the same law, and that you CANNOT create energy (ie. A thought, or a motion)
No thoughts are actually ‘created’ by you. Thoughts are a result of electrical signals (energy) travelling along neural pathways that you didn’t CHOOSE to create.
You cannot create energy.
Therefore none of your actions (the outward display of earlier thoughts) are created by you either.
So… you do not have free will
Recent studies even show that you’re brain reacts to something before your mind does… so this complicated machine is making your decisions based on inputs, not you
Can Free Will Exist? - 3. QUANTUM SCIENCE VIEW
Einstein believed that free will was an illusion.
Quantum physics says that bodies in motion cannot be predicted, but are given to random and strange unpredictable motions.
It is not really determined, it is more probabilistic.
Free will vs Randomness?
That would mean that the universe is random and unpredictable. A causal relationship would never really exist.
That sounds even worse than no free will – the illusion that our free will actually matters, when in fact, the random movement of subatomic particles makes any ‘choice’ it wants to.
We then perceive things, and label them as either inevitable (gravity) or a result of ‘free will’ - when neither is true.
Can Free Will Exist - 4. CHAOS THEORY
Traditional science deals with supposedly predictable phenomena like gravity, electricity, or chemical reactions, Chaos Theory deals with nonlinear things that are effectively impossible to predict or control, like turbulence, weather, the stock market, our brain states, and so on.
Butterfly effect – A butterfly flapping its wings in Japan will cause a storm in New York City.
CHAOS THEORY SAVES THE DAY?
The future is only knowable if we were able to view the whole of space and time from the outside.
But for us, and our consciousnesses, imbedded within space-time, that future is never knowable to us.
It is that very unpredictability that gives us an open future.
The choices we make are, to us, real choices, and because of the butterfly effect, tiny changes brought about by our different decisions can lead to very different outcomes, and hence different futures.
These insignificant changes, will determine your possible future choices, however……..
“A man can surely do what he wills to do, but cannot determine what he wills” - Arthur Schopenhauer
Determinism vs Compatibilism
Determinism: Determinism asserts that every event in the universe, including human decisions and actions, is causally inevitable. It holds that when a person makes a specific decision or takes a particular action, they cannot have chosen differently or acted otherwise. This perspective denies the existence of genuine free will, suggesting that individuals are bound by the causal chain of preceding events (Allen, 2024).
Compatibilism. Soft determinism (or compatibilism) is the position or view that causal determinism is true, but we still act as free, morally responsible agents when, in the absence of external constraints, our actions are caused by our desires. Compatibilism does not maintain that humans are free.
Time - what are some of the various explanations for time?
Definition 1 – Time is Entropy
Definition 2 – Time is Motion
Definition 3 – Time was Created by the Big Bang
Definition 4 – Time is the Lorentz Transformation
Definition 5 – Time Doesn’t Exist
Definition 6 – Time is the Fourth Dimension
Definition 7 – The Multiverse
Definition 1 – Time is Entropy
Time is a measurement of order going to disorder.
The universe is going from an organized system to a less organized system…the measurement of this is TIME.
Definition 2 – Time is Motion
Imagine a world where nothing moves. No clocks, no sound (vibrations in air), no wind, no light (motion of electromagnetic radiation through space). Without motion, there is no time. Nothing can age if it is frozen in place. Time, ultimately, boils down to the ratio of distance to motion. T=D/R. You learn this in high school algebra, but most people prefer to think of time as something far more abstract, metaphysical, or philosophical.
This would mean that “Time is just the ordering of events as they happen and one follows the next”
There is just a series of static times that our brains somehow link together to form a ‘timeline’ - just like a film is a series of static images. Time and movement are now illusions?
Definition 3 – Time was Created by the Big Bang
Cosmologists would suggest that time began with the creation of the universe–the moment of the big bang, some 13.7 billion years ago. In this regard, time would not be infinite in both directions. It would be meaningless to refer to time before the beginning of time–“before” there was anything to measure.
Just because we can conceive of something, such as “before the big bang” or “flying pink unicorns” does not mean such things must exist.
Definition 4 – Time is the Lorentz Transformation
To = Ts /[ (1-v2/c2)0.5] Where T=Time, o=objective, s=subjective, and v=velocity.
This is saying that Time is actually dependent on the speed you are travelling. The faster you travel, the slower the time goes.
Time is not objective.
Definition 5 – Time Doesn’t Exist
Time is an artificial, abstract human invention that mankind uses to organize our recollection and understanding of past events and to anticipate, to some degree of accuracy, predictable future events.
In the physical world, there is no time - there is no past, there is no future. Memories of the past, and considerations about the future, are constructs of our own minds - they do not exist in the physical world.
Physically, there is only now.
It is also possible, that ALL time exists right now. The past is still occuring, and the future has happened somewhere already.
Think of the implications if this is true. It is mind-blowing!
Definition 6 – Time is the Fourth Dimension
Time is the fourth dimension in the space-time continuum. It’s a part of the fabric of space-time.
The universe exists in three dimensions, and we might call them length, width and depth. It is possible to label them x, y and z.
But all of the things in the universe can move through it, and this movement - any movement - happens across the fourth dimension, a dimension we call time.
As an object is displaced across a distance in space, it also moves across time simultaneously.
Time is not constant, but it is universal, and nothing can happen in space that does not happen in time as well.
From the movement of a subatomic particle in any situation to the movement of a galactic cluster through the blackness of the universe, this displacement happens across the dimension of time as well as the three dimensions we’re used to thinking about.
Definition 7 – The Multiverse
Term coined by William James
The idea that there could potentially be numerous universes, including our own.
Two types of Logic
Deductive and Inductive
Wrong and Right
Categorical and Disjunctive
Compound and Singular
Answer: Deductive and Inductive
He died by hemlock poison.
Plato
Socrates
Aristotle
Bacon
Answer: Socrates
Out of the people we examined, he believed that the Gods were responsible for all creation.
Thales
Anaxagora
Socrates
Hesiod
Answer: Hesiod
This field of philosophy examines reality.
Ethics
Logic
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Answer: Metaphysics
What is the correct order?
Socrates, Aristotle, Plato
Alexander, Socrates, Plato
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
Aristotle, Socrates, Plato
Answer: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
“You’re just wrong! You must be because your grades are horrible!”
Strawman
Slippery Slope
Composition
Ad hominem
Answer: Ad hominem
Plato’ school was called:
The Lyceaum
The Academy
The Agora
Hogwart’s
Answer: The Academy
Either day or night. Its not day, so it must be night.
hypothetical
categorical
syllogynistic
disjunctive
Answer: disjunctive
The Keg makes great food. So their steak must be good.
deductive
inductive
reductive
suductive
Answer: Deductive
The World of Forms was an idea from:
Aristotle
Pythagoras
Plato
Thales
Answer: Plato
Every object in the ____________________ is flawed.
Monistic world
Material world
Form world
First world
Answer: Material World
The cause of consciousness:
is unknown
is in the pineal gland
was a topic of Nietzsche
is dualist
Answer: is unknown
The tao is also known as _____________________
The Form
The Way
The Cave
The Wave
Answer: the way
The Sun represents:
Death
Life
Knowledge
Power
Answer: Knowledge
The Cave story is known as______________________
an analogy
an allegory
a metaphor
a simile
Answer: An allegory
The Value of Philosophy was written by:
Ayn Rand
Bertrand Russell
Plato
Aristotle
Answer: Bertrand Russell
You can believe…and then go to heaven!
Ontological
Telelogical
Pascal
Cosmological
Answer: Pascal
The founder of Buddhism was:
Atman
Kongfuzi
Guatama
Lao Tzu
Answer: Guatama
God would be the greatest being imaginable.
Teleological
Ontological
Cosmological
Pascal
Answer: Ontological
The universe is made up of ONE thing.
Monism
Universalism
Identity
Singularism
Answer: Monism
Which is a proposition?
RUN! NOW!
Do you like cake?
My aunt is sick.
JUST DO IT!
Answer: My aunt is sick.
Philo and sophia. What is most correct below?
Knowledge and power
Friend and Knowledge
Love and Books
Love and wisdom
Answer: Love and wisdom
Entropy is
Body fat
Breaking down
Breaking Bad
Laziness
Answer: Breaking down
Which is NOT a reason to doubt free will?
All-knowing god
Thermodynamics
Existentialism
Quantum theory
Answer: Existentialism
Argument by design
Teleological
Ontological
Cosmological
Pascal
Answer: Teleogical
An earthquake destroys a village.
Evolutionary evil
moral evil
fallacious evil
natural evil
Answer: Natural evil
You have a personal conversation with God.
natural theology
revealed theology
academic theology
abnormal psychology
Answer: Revealed theology
Which order is correct?
Plato, Alexander, Socrates, Aristotle
Aristotle, Socrates, Plato Alexander
Alexander, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander
Answer: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander
When you realize you have freedom, according to Existentialism.
Happiness
Sadness
Anxiety
Joy
Answer: Anxiety
The highest form in the World of Forms is:
Goodness
Table
Friendly
Happiness
Answer: Goodness
Anxiety in Existentialism…
is when you have a test you didn’t study for.
is when you are late for work.
is when you realize you are free.
is when you can’t determine valid versus sound
Answer: is when you realize you are free.
Socrates is from:
Athens
Sparta
Rome
Milesia
Answer: Athens
Hesiod explained the universe using:
Logic
Religion
Observation
Philosophical deduction
Answer: Religion
Which would be a ‘form’?
Basketball
Sun
Circle
Wheel
Answer: Circle
Metaphysics is the study of:
Knowledge
Logic
Meaning
Reality
Answer: Reality
