Metaphysics Key terms

Substance

________: A thing that underlies or supports a phenomenon and that is separate from its properties.

Ontology

________: The area of philosophy that studies the nature of being and reality.

Taoism

________: A philosophy that holds that nature is ordered by the balance between positive and negative forces, which underlie the existence of all things.

Hedonism

________: The belief that the meaning of life is founded in pleasure or happiness.

New mysterianism

________: A theory that the human mind is structured in such a way that there are and always will be unsolved problems.

Form

________: The essence of quality in a thing that makes it what it is.

Functionalism

________: a theory that there are many kinds of brains that can support the same thoughts and perceptions.

Monotheism

________: The belief that there is only one supremely perfect omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent being.

Polytheism

________: The belief that there are many deities, each with a particular role in the creation or governance of the world.

Pantheism

________: The belief that god and the universe are identical, that god has no personal or anthropomorphic characteristics, and that god is not distinct from its creation.

Eliminative Materialism

________: A theory that our understanding of the mind is deeply mistaken and full of confusion.

Agnosticism

________: The belief that the existence of a deity or deities can not be known or proven.

Pessimism

________: The belief that life has a negative value and that the world is as bad as it could possibly be.

Idealism

________: The theory that reality is based on the mind or ideas.

Atheism

________: The belief that there is no such thing as a deity.

Panentheism

________: The belief that everything that exists is in god, there is nothing outside of god and nothing beyond gods reality, and that god is not a person or distinct from its creation.

Materialism

________: A theory that reality consists only of matter.

Ataraxia

________: a state of inner stillness.

Deism

________: The belief that a supreme being exists but does not influence the lives of humans.

Existentialism

________: The belief that there is no objective or absolute meaning in life and that the meaning of a persons life must be invented or chosen by that person in full awareness of the groundlessness of existence.

Monism

________: The belief that reality is based on one unified all- encompassing substance or principle.

Agent intelligent

________: The mind of god.

Dualism

________: The view that reality consists of ultimately of two fundamentally different kinds of things or properties: minds and matter, or mental states and physical states.

Cosmological argument

________: The argument that whatever exists must come from something else, so there must be a deity that caused the universe to exist.

Perceiver relativity

________ argument: The argument that an object of perception can look different ways to different perceivers.

Essence

________: The intrinsic nature of something, separate from its physical appearance.

Materialism

A theory that reality consists only of matter

Monism

The belief that reality is based on one unified all-encompassing substance or principle

Ontology

The area of philosophy that studies the nature of being and reality

Substance

A thing that underlies or supports a phenomenon and that is separate from its properties

Ultimate Reality

The absolute nature of all things, separate from the reality that is a product of the individual mind

Ultimate truth

The truth about the ultimate nature of reality as experienced by someone who is completely enlightened

Agent intelligent

The mind of god

Eliminative Materialism

A theory that our understanding of the mind is deeply mistaken and full of confusion

Functionalism

a theory that there are many kinds of brains that can support the same thoughts and perceptions

Identity theory

The theory that types of mental events, such as thoughts, correlate to types of physical events in the brain

New mysterianism

A theory that the human mind is structured in such a way that there are and always will be unsolved problems

Objective facts

Facts that can be accessed from more than one point of view

Qualia

Subjective conscious experiences or sensations

Subjective facts

Facts that can be accessed only from the point of view of the experiencer

Agnosticism

The belief that the existence of a deity or deities cannot be known or proven

Argument from design

The argument that the existence of order in nature implies that there must be some supremely intelligent agent who is responsible for creating this order

Argument from insufficient evidence

An argument that fails to provide sufficient evidence or reasoning to support a claim; often used in reference to the belief that there is not enough evidence to prove the existence of god

Ataraxia

a state of inner stillness

Atheism

The belief that there is no such thing as a deity

Cosmological argument

The argument that whatever exists must come from something else, so there must be a deity that caused the universe to exist

Deism

The belief that a supreme being exists but does not influence the lives of humans

Existentialism

The belief that there is no objective or absolute meaning in life and that the meaning of a persons life must be invented or chosen by that person in full awareness of the groundlessness of existence

Hedonism

The belief that the meaning of life is founded in pleasure or happiness

Monotheism

The belief that there is only one supremely perfect omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent being

Ontological argument

An argument that does not rely on any form of empirical observation evidence, or date, but is a prior argument, relying entirely on the logic of concepts

Panentheism

The belief that everything that exists is in god, there is nothing outside of god and nothing beyond gods reality, and that god is not a person or distinct from its creation

Pantheism

The belief that god and the universe are identical, that god has no personal or anthropomorphic characteristics, and that god is not distinct from its creation

Perceiver relativity argument

The argument that an object of perception can look different ways to different perceivers

Pessimism

The belief that life has a negative value and that the world is as bad as it could possibly be

Polytheism

The belief that there are many deities, each with a particular role in the creation or governance of the world

Theism

The belief that there is a deity that is distinct from and transcends the world, which it created and intervenes in