1. Chapter 6 Introducing Metaphysics
Philosophy: Questions and Theories
Chapter 6 Introducing Metaphysics

2. What is Metaphysics?
metaphysics is the study of the basic structures of reality: being and nothingness, time and eternity, freedom and determinism, mind and body, thing hood and personhood, space and time, and a supreme being and nature

3. The Philosophers Approach to Metaphysics
the most basic question in metaphysics is “What is reality?”
leads to questions like: What makes reality? How many building blocks of reality are there? What are they make of? Are they material or mental? What is matter? What is mind? What is it to exist? What is “being” and why is there something and nothing?
has direct relevance to life

4. a scientist would say that reality is composed of clouds of subatomic particles that are held together by an electromagnetic field, including people
this explains what matter is but not reality
metaphysical thought is developed through reasoning and not empirical thought

5. What Philosophers Have Said
Common Sense Realism
non-philosophical theory that believes that what people perceive under ordinary conditions is reality and the world consists of objects that can be perceived by the senses
the issue with this is that it is considered to be motivated by ignorance and laziness rather than the quest for truth

6. What Philosophers Have Said (Cont’d)
Idealism
George Berkley 18th century
denied the existence of material things, saying that reality ultimately consists of ideas and the minds that house them
what people see as objects are just ideas that were placed to them by God

7. What Philosophers Have Said (Cont’d)
Platonic realism
Plato
reality consist of ideal forms that are timeless, unchanging, immaterial and more perfect than the world of changeable that people encounter on a daily basis

8. What Philosophers Have Said (Cont’d)
Materialism
proposed by the pre-Socratics
everything is physical and reality consists of matter
matter is particles in motion
Hobbes was a materialist

9. What Philosophers Have Said (Cont’d)
Monists
say that reality consists of an all-encompassing thing and that all particular things are manifestations or expressions of this one thing
Spinoza thought that this one thing was divine in nature

10. What Philosophers Have Said (Cont’d)
Dualists
reality consist of mind and matter and they are different but interact
Descartes supported this view

11. How Philosophers Have Said It
Ontology
area of metaphysics that deals with nature of being and reality

12. How Philosophers Have Said It (cont’d)
Determinism
theory every event, including human behaviour and choices, is determined by a chain of causes extending back in time

13. How Philosophers Have Said It (cont’d)
Substance
something with independent existence
the basic element of which things are made
Essence
the fundamental nature of a thing
its unchanging blueprint
the thing that makes it what it is

14. Why Metaphysics Matters
e.g.: Does a supreme being exist?
to many if so then lives have a purpose, values have an objective grounding and death does not bring annihilation
if not then, to many, anything is permissible and people would invent his/her own meaning for life
e.g.: What is a person?
this matters in medicine, law and ethics

15. Reality and Appearance
Plato’s cave raises one of the central debates of metaphysics; how to distinguish between reality and appearance
most people consider what they experience to be real
the philosopher is willing to leave the cave and consider what is on the other side of appearances

16. Plato’s Ideal World
Plato believed that people’s concepts of things came from an ideal thing
this ideal thing exists independently of us, is unchangeable, is not visible or located and has always existed
but this does not exist in time and space because this would mean that it is subject to change and therefore not perfect
even though this thing can not be seen or placed in time or space it still exists as a thing
like an idea
this is the ultimate model for all of these things and everything that is a representation of it draws its characteristic from it and also partakes in it

17. The Forms
because the ideal thing gives form to things, Plato called this a form
this form is the essence of that thing
there is a form for every particular item in the world from actual material things, to people, to ideas like justice or courage or beauty
all forms of these copy and partake in their particular ideal forms

18. The Forms (cont’d) not all forms equal in metaphysical stature
some more inclusive and some more specific
e.g. form of horse is under broader form of animal and animals fall under broader form of being
form of good is the highest form

19. The Forms (cont’d)
to Plato the form of good is the source of all reality, intelligibility and truth
the allegory of the cave is about an encounter with the form of good
the journey of the prisoner is the journey from the world in which things are only available to perception to a world of ideal forms
although Aristotle agreed with Plato’s idea of looking beyond the surface to see universal structures, he did not believe in the existence of perfect forms
these structures to him were embedded in particular things in this world

20. Taoism: Reality and the Tao
Loazi believed that reason was not capable of comprehending reality
Taoists believe that all things come from the Tao, which sustains all things
this is the fundamental principle of the universe as a whole
the Tao is described in negative terms: it is not this and it is not that

21. Taoism: Reality and the Tao
all things in nature are in constant flux and behind this flux is a deep pattern: the endless cycle of development and decline
the Tao is responsible for this pattern

22. Taoism: Reality and the Tao
the oneness of Tao is expressed in nature through yin and yang
yin is the passive element in nature and yang is the active element
yin is the are being, receiving, night, rest, earth and decline
yang are doing, giving, day, activity, heaven and development
they are distinct yet inseparable
the Taoist strives to be at one with the Tao and not caught up in the desires of the senses

23. The Nature of Being
basic ontological questions are: What is being? What does it mean to be? Is “being” a thing, a substance, a process or a kind of super-thing
to Plato “being” was an ideal and thus timeless and second in power to the form of good and all things that exist partake of this form
to Aristotle “being” is the substance that all properties are ascribed but it is not itself a property
to Laozi “being” was the Tao and behind all existence and thus cannot be described

24. The Nature of Being
to Heidegger in Being and Time argued that being was not an entity such as a special form or substance
argued that the first question of philosophy is What is the meaning of “being” and not How do we know?
argued that “being” is not a thing at all
“being” is the background in which beings exist
e.g. like light
objects are made visible through light but light itself is not seen and in itself not an object
“being” is not a being but it is by means of “being” that beings stand out and become intelligible
Heidegger argued that human beings are not things
instead of being defined by factual properties, humans are defined by future-oriented possibilities of “being”

25. The Self
What is the self? What is it made of? How do people get to know it? When they do what are they exploring? How many selves do people have

26. Varieties of the Self Substance theory
according to Descartes the self is a determinate and unitary thing, a substance, that persists over time
a mental substance, but not the brain as the self controls the brain and body
cannot be divided and is not subject to change
supports changing experiences but does not itself change
it owns the experiences

27. Varieties of the Self Bundle theory
proposed by Hume as well as Buddhist philosophers, says that the self is a bundle or collection of bits and pieces of experience
when Hume looked introspectively at himself he found memories, perceptions, fleeting ideas, passing desires and other bits and pieces without a continuity or thread and thus concluded that the self is a loosely knit bundle of perceptions

28. Varieties of the Self Narrative theory
maintains that the self is defined by narrative structure and unity
people narrate their experiences
they are the central characters in their narratives

29. Varieties of the Self Project theory
proposed by Sartre, this theory maintains that the self needs to be thought of in temporal terms, that is like an event in time rather than a thing
the self is a dynamic and future oriented project and is thus always under construction