1. Definitions of Reality (ref . Wiki Discussions)

2. PHILOSOPHY LOVE OF WISDOM
Understand the fundamentals of nature, ideas or thinking, knowledge, the good life, aesthetics, politics and God
Reality and Truth
Consciousness, Soul, Spirit

3. WHAT IS REAL
The state of things as they actually exist
State (scale and dimensions, space and time, observation)
Things (stuff or objects)
Exist (mental or physical)

4. TRUTH Correspondence of statement to what is real
Correspondence of model to what is real: prediction vs creation; experience vs description
What is the best model?

5. Reality Two Ontologic Approaches
What exists: REALISM, independent of the mind
What appears: PHENOMEONOLOGY, what (and how) it occurs in consciousness

6. THEOLOGY
Study of the Gods
Sources include mythology, reason, revelation
Now separated generally from science

7. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY
Study of nature and the physical universe
Focus on application of reason
Precursor of modern science
Originally included study of Gods

8. WAYS OF KNOWING
Intuition
Revelation
Senses
Reason
Non-computable Sources (Penrose)

9. Metaphysics vs Epistemology vs Science
Metaphysics: study of what exists (idealism, materialism, dualism)
Epistemology: Study of nature and scope of knowledge (empiricism, rationalism, constructivism)
Science: use of empirical data to construct models that can predict the future

10. REASON Deduction vs Induction
Deduction: Reasoning based on definitions, rules of logic & axioms. Validity not Truth
Induction: Reasoning from general fact to a conclusion. Does not guarantee truth, but only likelihood. (Hume and Popper)
Limits of mind or mathematical tools?

11. Scientific Method Issues
Popper’s Falsifiability (problem with induction)
Gödel's Theorem (incompleteness of formal logical systems)
Measurement Precision (sensitivity to initial conditions results in deterministic chaos, e.g. weather)
Laws or approximations

12. Causality
Relationship between one event and another (necessary and sufficient)
Determinism (orderly laws that specify transformation from one state to another that are in principle reversible, Newton’s laws)
Indeterminism (laws can only predict likelihood of outcome, quantum theory)
Emergence (sum is greater than parts)
Problem of free will in either case

13. World View WELTANSCHAUUNG
Framework of beliefs and ideas through which one interprets and experiences the world
Belief vs Truth (depends on what “is” is)
What is my world view (try to write it down)
We will revisit at end of course
Rule: Each world view will be respected

14. Truths and Consequences of World View
Idealist
Materialist
Dualist
Other

15. Big Questions Time Space Matter, Energy, Nothingness (Vacuum?)
Complexity (reduction vs emergence)
Consciousness
Cosmology
Life
God