Philosophy of Nature, Human Person, and Scientific Laws

Who was Aristotle?

A Greek philosopher who lived from 384-322 BCE, influential in various disciplines including logic, metaphysics, and ethics.

What is hylomorphism?

Aristotle's theory that ordinary objects are composites of matter (hulê) and form (eidos or morphê).

What does Aristotle mean by 'substance'?

The technical term for individual things, where the form of a substance is referred to as a substantial form.

What is the difference between accidental change and substantial change?

Accidental change does not alter the substance's identity, while substantial change involves the coming into or going out of being of a substance.

What are potentiality and actuality in Aristotle's philosophy?

Potentiality refers to the capacity for change, while actuality is the realization of that potential.

What is the first actuality of a natural organic body according to Aristotle?

The soul (psuchê), which is the principle of life in a living thing.

What are the three main kinds of souls according to Aristotle?

1. Nutritive souls in plants, 2. Sensitive souls in animals, 3. Intellectual souls in humans.

What distinguishes human beings from other animals according to philosophers?

Differences in behaviors, capacities, and abilities, including language, social structures, intelligence, sensory experience, tool use, culture, hedonism, and art.

What is the role of intellect (nous) in human beings?

It allows humans to abstract general concepts from sensory images.

How does Aristotle define the soul in relation to living things?

The soul is not separable from the living thing and is not a pre-existing entity infused into it.

What is the significance of Aristotle's influence on the Latin scholastic tradition?

His works dominated philosophical thought in Christian Europe and Islamic Asia during the High Middle Ages.

What does Aristotle mean by 'actuality' in the context of knowledge?

Actuality comes in levels, such as being a potential knower, an actual knower, and an actual thinker about a subject.

What is the distinction between the first and second actualities?

The first actuality is knowing something, while the second actuality is actively thinking about that knowledge.

What is the relationship between matter and form in Aristotle's philosophy?

Matter cannot exist without form, and form cannot exist without matter; they are distinct yet interdependent.

What is the concept of 'composite' in Aristotle's theory?

It refers to the idea that substances are made up of both matter and form, which cannot exist independently.

How does Aristotle view the soul in relation to cognition and consciousness?

Having a soul does not imply cognition or consciousness; it simply indicates that a being is alive.

What are the implications of Aristotle's view on human uniqueness?

It raises questions about the differences in abilities and behaviors between humans and other animals.

What are some key questions raised about animal behavior in comparison to humans?

Questions include whether other animals use language, have complex social structures, possess intelligence, or create art.

What does Aristotle say about human actions?

Human actions are often intentional and guided by future-directed conceptions of desired outcomes.

What is the principle of life in a living thing according to Aristotle?

The soul (psuchê) serves as the principle of life and organization in living beings.

How does Aristotle's view of the soul differ from Cartesian thought?

Aristotle does not see the soul as a separate thinking substance but as integral to the living being.

What are the implications of Aristotle's view on the nature of living things?

It suggests that the essence of living things is tied to their form and organization, rather than an external or separate entity.

What is the Free Will Doctrine?

The belief that human beings sometimes act freely and are self-controlled agents.

What does the Causal Determinism Doctrine state?

Every event is caused by prior events that necessitate it.

What is the Moral Responsibility Doctrine?

The belief that human beings are sometimes morally responsible for their actions.

What is Free Will Compatibilism?

The view that the Free Will Doctrine is logically compatible with the Causal Determinism Doctrine.

What is Free Will Incompatibilism?

The view that the Free Will Doctrine is logically incompatible with the Causal Determinism Doctrine.

What is Moral Responsibility Compatibilism?

The belief that the Moral Responsibility Doctrine is logically compatible with the Causal Determinism Doctrine.

What is Moral Responsibility Incompatibilism?

The belief that the Moral Responsibility Doctrine is logically incompatible with the Causal Determinism Doctrine.

What is the relationship between mental events and neurophysiological events?

Mental events are neurophysiological events, and human choices and actions are guided by mental events.

How do human actions relate to choices and intentions?

Human actions are bodily events that are guided and determined by human choices, decisions, and intentions.

What is the significance of causal antecedents?

Causal antecedents are necessary for effects to occur; once sufficient causes are in place, the effect must happen.

What does the Consequence Argument for Incompatibilism assert?

If both the Causal Determinism Doctrine and the Free Will Doctrine are true, then agents could change past facts or laws of nature, which is impossible.

What is the Alternative Possibilities Compatibilism?

The view that having free will does not require the existence of alternative possibilities for action.

What does the actual sequence compatibilist argue?

They argue that free acts are intentional and self-chosen, and do not require alternative possibilities.

What is the implication of rejecting the Free Will Doctrine?

Rejecting the Free Will Doctrine requires rejecting the Moral Responsibility Doctrine.

What should be adjusted in moral practices according to the text?

We should reward or punish actions to protect society but give up on punishment for retribution and ease self-recrimination.

What role does neuroscience play in understanding free will?

Neuroscience can help explain how agency, self-government, and decision-making occur without ruling out free will.

What is the relationship between moral responsibility and social organization?

Moral responsibility exists at a social level, distinct from the neurophysiological organization of actions.

What is David Hume's definition of the will?

The will is the internal impression we feel and are conscious of when we knowingly give rise to any new motion of our body or new perception of our mind.

What is Alien Hand Syndrome?

A syndrome associated with frontal lobe damage causing the patient to experience the opposite-side hand as autonomous, acting independently of their conscious intentions.

How does hypnotism relate to conscious will?

Hypnotism involves the experience of autonomous and irresistible behavior elicited by the suggestions of another person, not consciously willed by the individual.

What is the Table Turning Phenomenon?

A phenomenon where a group of people executes a collective action without any of them reporting an experience of having consciously willed their participation.

What is Automatism in the context of conscious will?

A term describing actions that are not experienced as consciously willed, as seen in alien hand syndrome, hypnotic suggestion, and table turning.

What is the Illusion of Control?

A phenomenon where individuals experience events not caused by them as if they were consciously willed actions.

What are Wegner's examples of the Illusion of Control?

Examples include video game joystick movements, rolling dice, coin flips, 'jinxing', and guilt over damaging a computer.

What does Hume say about causality?

Hume argues that our idea of cause and effect is based on experiencing events as contiguous in space and time, without a necessary connection.

What are the three divisions of the mind according to William James?

Cognition (thinking and reasoning), Emotion (responses to important circumstances), and Connation (willing and intending actions).

What is the intentional stance in attributing causal agency?

It involves attributing beliefs, desires, prior intentions, intentions in action, and plans to human behavior.

What is ontological determinism?

The principle that for every thing x and every property P, x is determined with respect to P.

What is causal determination?

A collection of causes causally determines an effect if the occurrence of those causes necessitates the effect.

What is Universal Causal Determinism?

The idea that every event that occurs is the effect of some collection of causes that causally determine that effect.

How does Baruch Spinoza relate to determinism?

Spinoza argued that everything that happens is determined by God's will, which acts timelessly and is omniscient.

What conflict exists between science and religion regarding human behavior?

Naturalistic explanations of human behavior may undermine moral sanctions associated with undesirable behaviors.

What is the significance of neurological explanations of meditative states?

They provide naturalistic accounts of religious experiences, avoiding supernatural explanations.

What does the term 'mechanical explanations' refer to?

Explanations that describe events in terms of pushes and pulls, assuming objects move inertially unless acted upon.

What is the relationship between science skepticism and moral behavior?

Skepticism about supernatural phenomena can reduce fear of punishment and hope for reward, impacting moral norms.

What does the term 'Feeling of Doing' refer to?

The experience of consciously willing an action, contrasted with 'No Feeling of Doing' where one does not feel they willed the action.

What did Spinoza deny in his later philosophical works?

He denied the immortality of the soul and rejected the notion of a transcendent, providential God.

What is the one substance that Spinoza claims exists?

God, or Nature, which exists in itself and is conceived through itself.

How does Spinoza define everything else that exists?

As a mode or affection of God, which exists dependently on God.

What is the nature of God's actions according to Spinoza?

God acts necessarily, and everything exists from the necessity of the divine nature, meaning there are no miracles.

What is a necessary truth?

A truth that could not have been otherwise and must be true under all possible circumstances.

What is a contingent truth?

A truth that is true but could have been false, true as it happens.

Give an example of a necessary truth.

7 + 5 = 12.

What does 'Natura naturans' refer to?

It refers to God as the attributes of substance that express eternal and infinite essence.

What does 'Natura naturata' refer to?

It refers to all that follows from the necessity of God's nature, including all modes of God's attributes.

Who was Pierre Simon, Marquis de Laplace?

A brilliant scientist who contributed to physics, astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy, known for his work in celestial mechanics.

What is Laplace's view on determinism?

He believed that given the state of the universe and the laws of nature, the future state of the universe can be determined.

What is Laplace's perspective on chance in the universe?

He argued that there is no fundamental chance; every set of initial conditions has a determinate outcome.

What is the significance of the Scientific Revolution?

It marked a period of rapid scientific development in Europe between about 1500 and 1750.

What did the Copernican Revolution achieve?

It replaced the geocentric model of the solar system with a heliocentric model.

What did Johannes Kepler discover about planetary motion?

He discovered that planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun.

What contributions did Galileo Galilei make to science?

He made significant discoveries using telescopes, advancing the understanding of celestial bodies.

What mechanical philosophy did René Descartes develop?

He developed a philosophy based on corpuscles of inert matter colliding with one another.

What is the role of laws of nature according to Laplace?

They are universal general truths that characterize the properties and behavior of naturally existing entities.

What is Laplacian Determinism?

The idea that the state of the universe at any time can determine its future states based on laws of nature.

How does quantum mechanics relate to determinism?

Quantum mechanics evolves deterministically but does not allow for exact predictions of physical properties.

What is the relationship between knowledge and ignorance in Laplace's view?

Attributing chances to outcomes is based on our knowledge of some features and our ignorance of specifics.

What conflict arises from our dual nature as rational beings?

The conflict between being governed by moral law as agents and being subject to deterministic natural laws.

What are the three laws of motion formulated by Isaac Newton?

1. A body remains at rest or in motion unless acted upon by a force. 2. The net force on a body equals its mass times acceleration. 3. Forces between two bodies are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

What does the Law of Universal Gravitation state?

Every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.

What does the Relativity Theory, developed by Albert Einstein, explain?

It shows that Newtonian physics fails at very high velocities.

What does Quantum Mechanics address?

It shows that Newtonian physics fails when applied to subatomic particles.

Who discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection?

Charles Darwin, published in The Origin of Species in 1859.

What significant discovery did John Watson and Francis Crick make?

They discovered the structure of DNA, the hereditary material in living cells.

What is Karl Popper's criterion for distinguishing scientific theories from pseudo-science?

The theory's falsifiability.

What is natural theology?

The practice of drawing inferences about God using natural powers of sense and reason, rather than relying on revelation or scripture.

What is the First Law of Thermodynamics?

The total energy of an isolated system remains constant.

What is Kepler's First Law of planetary motion?

Each planet's orbit about the Sun is an ellipse, with the Sun at one focus.

What does Kepler's Second Law state?

The imaginary line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps equal areas during equal time intervals.

What is the implication of Kepler's Third Law?

The squares of the orbital periods of planets are directly proportional to the cubes of the semi-major axes of their orbits.

What does the Second Law of Thermodynamics state according to Clausius's formulation?

Heat can never pass from a colder to a warmer body without some other change occurring.

What is a classical conception of laws of nature?

Laws of nature are universal, non-accidental, unchangeable, and deep propositions about natural entities.

What is the Gold Sphere Generalization?

No gold sphere is greater than one mile in diameter; it is true but not a law of nature because it is not non-accidental, unchangeable, or deep.

What is Mill's main proposal regarding laws of nature?

A law of nature is a general proposition that belongs to the smallest and simplest set of propositions from which all uniformities in the universe can be inferred.

What is the significance of Humean supervenience?

It suggests that there are no necessary connections between matters of particular fact, leading to the conclusion that there are no real laws of nature.

What does the Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum state?

The total angular momentum of an isolated system remains constant.

What is the relationship between scientific theories and real-world systems?

Scientific theories provide models that are abstract representations similar to real-world phenomena but are not perfectly exact.

What is the implication of the statement 'the world consists of an enormous number of local matters of particular fact'?

It suggests that each fact is self-contained and metaphysically independent of others.