Exam 4: The Nature of Reality

The early Greek philosophers' theories were epoch-making because they were attempting to explain the world

Describe the metaphysical views of Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. Focus especially on the nature and quantity of substance and the issue of how substances interact. What common threads do you find in their perspectives?   How do they disagree with one another? Which viewpoint seems strongest to you, and why?

We can understand Heraclitus's claim that the basic nature of reality is an "ever-living Fire" as being similar to

Contemporary scientists theorize about what is ultimately real, but in complicated mathematical terms that very few laypeople can follow.

While Immanuel Kant thought the Will was subject to human reason and so rational, Arthur Schopenhauer believed it was

According to Democritus, although things can be created and destroyed, the atoms that they are made of can neither be created nor destroyed.

Define ontology .

Charles Hartshorne responds to the idea that God is absolutely perfect, and therefore unchangeable, by saying that

Plato's metaphysics combines, but also reinterprets, the perspectives of

What is a teleological metaphysics?   How does it differ from a mechanistic metaphysics?   Is there anything in between a mechanistic and teleological viewpoint? Can there be a non-teleological but non-mechanistic viewpoint, or are these exhaustive of all metaphysical possibilities? Focus on six thinkers in Chapter 4, and clarify the teleological, non-teleological, and mechanistic dimensions of their viewpoints. Which viewpoint do you favor and why?

Because it was built on the "the will to live," Schopenhauer's metaphysics was essentially optimistic.

Briefly contrast Descartes's and Spinoza's views on substance, especially on the nature, number, and interaction between substances.

Scientists approach reality as something measurable and testable. Therefore, religious people are unable to accept the findings of science.

According to Kant, when we act and actually do something,

According to Spinoza, substance is

Describe the metaphysical viewpoint of idealism. Focus on Berkeley, Leibniz, Kant, Schopenhauer, and Hegel, and spell out the key elements of each of their idealist viewpoints. Is there a central thread that runs through all idealist metaphysics? Then focus on an area of sharp divergence between two or more of these philosophies. In what respects do they disagree with one another? Which of these viewpoints seems strongest to you, and why?

According to Bertrand Russell, if reality differs from its appearances, we have to wonder whether we have any way to know what reality is at all.

Hegel's idealism envisions a single cosmos, an all-embracing Spirit that develops through constant internal conflict.

Berkeley's statement "esse est percipi" implies a form of subjective idealism.

One of the two basic assumptions of Western metaphysical viewpoints is that