Have you ever thought you heard something, but there was nothing there? Have you ever thought you saw someone in the corner of your eye, and when you looked there was no person there? There are thousands of occasions when we think something is really there, but when we go to investigate, we find no...

In Immaneul Kant's work, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, the principle idea or question of discussion is whether or not metaphysics is possible. Although this is clearly the objective of his argument, the author is not concerned with constructing metaphysics. Rather he uses this questio...

Evolution. Is it just a scientific theory or fact, or perhaps a source of philosophical thought which one adopts as an evolutionist or chooses when one has a particular worldview? Evolution actually has philosophical ramifications, ones I want to examine in this essay. Evolution means several things...

Andrew Cruz PSY 2012/16/01Problem Paper In Immaneul Kant's work, Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics, the principle idea or question of discussion is whether or not metaphysics is possible. Although this is clearly the objective of his argument, the author is not concerned with constructing me...

Ryle's Refutation of the Metaphysical DoctrineRene Descartes holds a dualist view that the mind and body are two totally separate entities. In response to this Gilbert Ryle has published an article showing that the argument, and its premises, of Descartes' Metaphysical Doctrine are incorrect. He d...

Ryle's Refutation of the Metaphysical DoctrineRene Descartes holds a dualist view that the mind and body are two totally separate entities. In response to this Gilbert Ryle has published an article showing that the argument, and its premises, of Descartes' Metaphysical Doctrine are incorrect. He d...

According to my Metaphysical Profile, I would be considered a materialist. I believe in concrete items that can be touched and seen. The chair I sit on is at the top of the list because it is solid and can be felt underneath me. Love is also something that I believe in. It can't be touched, but ...

Jean-Paul Sartre starts off his monumental essay Being and Nothingness by telling us that he is going to throw aside all dualisms, but then quickly concedes that the dualism of finite-infinite cannot be avoided. Ultimately, this leads into the separation of self-other, or in his terms, the being-f...

In Hesiod's Theogany, myth is defined as a way of explaining the account of the origins of the universe through the origins of God with distinctive personalities. In Presocratics Reader, philosophy is the inquiry through abstract reasoning. It critically takes experience, assesses argume...

The Monadology attempts to define the ultimate substance of the world. The first part of The Monadology explains what a monad is, whereas, the second part of The Monadology concentrates on metaphysical principles. All that there is in the universe consists of monads, which there are an infinite numb...

Meditations is a discussion of metaphysics, or what is truly real. In these writings, heultimately hopes to achieve absolute certainty about the nature of everything includingGod, the physical world, and himself. It is only with a clear and distinct knowledge ofsuch things that he can then begin und...

Grendel follows the philosophical evolution, from solipsism to nihilism, of a socially isolated creature, a monster. It is an examination of human supernatural curiosity and its many dangers, specifically the tendency toward blind cynicism. Grendel is a censure of the rapid growth of this cynicism i...

Saint Anselm's line of reasoning in his argument for the existence of God is clear and simple. He clearly sets forth the idea that if God is so great, than no greater being can be thought of or conceived. For one who already believes in God, this argument is meaningful and easy to accept, yet f...

The Meditations are one of Descartes most important works. They consist of his views on sensory perception, God and Nature. He considers the problems of the sources and nature of knowledge; the validity of truth; the nature and destiny of man; the existence of god, and the creation of the universe...

Of all the topics that are currently occupying the attention of philosophers, the mind-b`ody problem is at center stage. It is one of the classical metaphysical issues concerning the relationship between that which is mental and that which is physical. The simple question asked is: what are we? Ar...

The central part of Berkeley's metaphysics seems paradoxical or even absurd. Its claim is that what we call solid, and indeed everything else that we find laid out in the three-dimensional physical word that is apparently around us, is only fictional. It appears to be there, but it does not re...

This paper will outline Spinoza's argument in Part 1 of his Ethics of substance. He argues that there is only one substance, which is the same as God, that includes everything in the universe. It will walk through each proposition and explain his proof of it, which relies of his stated definiti...

Your mind (Greek, nous; German, Geist [often translated 'spirit', but always meaning mind]) is absolute because you are able to think about yourself and know that you exist: you don't need anything other than thinking to prove that you exist. When you think about the world, however, ...

Humans existing in the world affects the world in some way and creates a certain reality or truth. Therefore, nothing is built into being. Nothing is a byproduct of negation. Negation is a product of our minds and can't be the subject of scientific reasoning. Totality is anything that is ...

The moral argument only 'works' in the framework of practical reason. Critically discuss the meaning and implications of this claim. Immanuel Kant was instrumental in demolishing the traditional philosophical arguments for God's existence. In Critique of Pure Reason (1781) ,his ...

Divisible Bodies and the Search for Substantial Unity In his meditations, Des Cartes posits that extension is the essential property of substantive bodies. In analyzing of the malleable properties of wax, he claims, "I would not be making a correct judgment about the nature of wax unless I believed...

David Hume was one of the greatest thinkers in Western History. He was an 18th century philosopher who looked at the world in logical terms. He was a realist who, through philosophy, sought to distinguish between the impression of human experience and the ideas, which are changing repre...

Early Sartrean philosophy is one of a pursuit of being. It is an attempt to grasp being through an investigation of the way being presents to consciousness - phenomenological ontology. Phenomenological ontology refers to the study of being through its appearances. This simplistic definition needs fu...

Prof. AmbuelRegarding the Interaction Involving Mind and BodyDescartes was a fervent supporter of dualism. However, having argued that the mind and body are two completely different substances, he still believed that they were capable of causal interaction. Claming that the essence of matter is defi...

Bob: Today in class, someone mentioned that the concept of God is a false belief. I am not sure whether I believe this and therefore know such a statement. What do you think?Jane: Hmmm...what an interesting topic. I see that you partake in agnosticism because you do not have enough evidence to neith...