Metaphysics and the Nature of Reality philosophy chapter 6

These flashcards cover key concepts in metaphysics from Chapter 6, including theories of substance, self-identity, cosmological arguments for God, and the problem of free will.

Metaphysics

The field of philosophy concerned with identifying that which is real.

Telos

The Greek term for end, target, or goal; in Aristotle's view, every being has a specific end or purpose.

Teleological

A view or argument based on the idea that beings have an inherent purpose or end; derived from the Greek word telos.

Ergon

The Greek term for function; specifically the function by which a being seeks its proper end or purpose.

Potentiality

In Aristotelian thought, the beginning state or capacity of a being to move toward its intended purpose.

Actuality

In Aristotelian thought, the state or level to which a being has successfully realized its purpose or true being.

Substantia (Substance)

A Latin term referring to the basic reality or essence of a thing that supports or stands under features that are incidental or temporary.

Monism

The metaphysical position that the most fundamental reality is singular or one.

Thales of Miletus

A pre-Socratic monist who argued that water is the fundamental entity and material principle of all things.

Pluralism

The metaphysical view asserting that fundamental reality consists of many types or instances of being.

Atomism

The view held by philosophers like Leucippus and Democritus that reality consists of atomos, meaning uncuttable or indivisible eternal bits of matter in motion.

Acharya Kanad

A sixth-century BCE Indian philosopher who pioneered an early atomic model where beings are collections of indivisible particles called anu.

Anu

The term for an atom in Indian philosophy, representing the indivisible particles that collect to form observable wholes.

Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika

An Indian tradition that proposed an atomic theory based on five elements (pañca mahābhūtas) where atoms possess qualities like taste, odor, or color.

Dyaṇuka

In the Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika framework, a dyad formed by the joining of two similar atomic types.

Tryaṇuka

In the Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika framework, a triad formed by the joining of dyads to build the objects or wholes we experience.

Ontology

A sub-discipline of metaphysics dedicated to the study of being, existence, and the categorization of what is real.

Physicalism

A philosophical approach that equates the real world exclusively with the physical or material world.

Naturalism

The view that meaningful inquiry should only include the physical realm and empirical proof, rejecting the priority of a priori reason used in metaphysics.

Allegory of the Cave

Plato's depiction of prisoners mistaking shadows for real beings to illustrate the difference between illusion and the true form of reality.

Hylomorphism

Aristotle's theory that substance is a composite of matter (hyle) and form, where form resides within the instance of matter rather than in a separate realm.

Ship of Theseus

A thought experiment regarding a wooden ship whose parts are replaced over time, challenging the concept of identity and persistence.

Atman

An ancient Sanskrit term associated with the self, typically translated as the eternal self, spirit, soul, or breath.

Brahman

In Hindu tradition, the force supporting all things or the ultimate reality with which the atman seeks union.

Moksha

The Hindu concept of liberation from the cycle of reincarnation (samsara).

Dependent Origination

A central Buddhist doctrine asserting that all phenomena are joined in a causal link and are dependent upon one other; also known as interdependent arising.

Anatman

The Buddhist doctrine of No Self, which denies the existence of a permanent, enduring substance or autonomous self.

Dukkha

A Buddhist term for suffering, encompassing ordinary pain, the suffering of impermanence, and suffering from interdependency.

Tanha

The Buddhist term for thirst or craving for things that lack the ability to satisfy, identified as the cause of suffering.

Nirvana

The Buddhist goal of awakening achieved through the cessation of suffering and the letting go of cravings.

Skandhas (Five Aggregates)

The five processes through which the self interacts with the world in Buddhism: form, sensation, perception, mental formation, and consciousness.

Bundle Theory

David Hume's secular concept of self, which defines the self as nothing more than a constantly changing collection of different perceptions in movement.

Ubuntu

An African concept from the Zulu language meaning a person is a person through other persons, blurring the distinction between self and other.

Mind-Body Problem

The philosophical challenge of explaining how nonidentical and dissimilar entities like the material body and immaterial mind can have a causal relationship.

Qualia

First-person experiences and introspection of sensations, such as the specific awareness of the pain of a toothache.

Dualism

A view that posits two fundamental and irreducible realities, such as mind and body, to account fully for the nature of a thing.

Res Cogitans

René Descartes' term for the mind as a thinking thing.

Res Extensa

René Descartes' term for the body as an extended, nonthinking thing.

Behaviorism

A philosophical perspective that identifies the self or mind in terms of observable activities and behavior rather than mental states.

Cosmological Argument

A type of argument for the existence of God based on the need for a logically necessary first cause to explain the order of the universe.

Teleological Argument

An argument for the existence of God based on the level of intricate design and purpose found in living organisms and the cosmos.

Ontological Argument

An a priori argument for the existence of God proposed by St. Anselm, defining God as a being than which nothing greater can be conceived.

Logical Problem of Evil

David Hume's argument that the existence of evil is incompatible with a God who is simultaneously omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent.

Privation

Saint Augustine's defense against the problem of evil, arguing that evil is not a real being but a negation or absence of the good.

Ajogun

In Yoruba-African metaphysics, spiritual beings other than God who are responsible for specific types of wrongdoing and the destruction of life.

Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP)

A definition of freedom stating that a moral agent is free if and only if they could have done otherwise.

Metaphysical Libertarianism

The view that human actions are free and not caused by external forces, meaning choices are outside of the causality governing natural objects.

Determinism

The belief that human actions are governed by the laws of nature and prior causes, making alternative possibilities impossible.

Compatibilism

Also known as soft determinism; the view that free will and moral culpability are compatible with the deterministic nature of the universe.

Indeterminism

The view, promoted by William James, that the possibility of an uncaused effect suggests that not all events are rigidly controlled, allowing for human freedom.