Timothy Nethery Essays - Philosophy, Metaphysics, Ontology

Timothy Nethery 12/12/2016 Intro into Philosophy Final Paper Pick one (1) of the following and explain and illustrate its metaphysical significance: determinism, pragmatism, or existentialism. Metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy. Without an explanation or an interpretation of the world around you and me, we would be helpless to deal with reality without it. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy responsible for the study of existence. Metaphysics is the foundation of a whole world view. Metaphysics answers the question of "what is?". Metaphysics encompasses everything that has ever existed and will ever exist, as well as nature of existence itself. Metaphysics says whether the world is real or merely an illusion. It is a fundamental view of the world around us. The degree to which our metaphysical worldview is correct is the degree to which we can comprehend the world, and act accordingly. Without this firm foundation, all knowledge becomes suspect. Any flaw in our view of reality will make it more difficult to live. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that investigates the fundamental nature of being and the world that surrounds it. This branch attempts to answer two questions; "what is there?" and "what is it like?" many topics such as existence, objects, and their properties, space and time, cause and effect, and possibility of an event occurring or not occurring. There are two main but very wide and broad conceptions and topics about what "world" is being studied by metaphysics. The strong classical view assumes that the objects studied by metaphysics exist independently of any observer, so that the subject is the most fundamental of all sciences. The weaker, more modern view assumes that the objects studied by metaphysics exist inside the mind of an observer, so the subject becomes a form of introspection and conceptual analysis. Some philosophers, notably Kant, discuss both "worlds" and what can be inferred about each one. In most of what follows, I will speak simply of determinism, ra ther than of causal determinism. This follows recent philosophical practice of sharply distinguishing views and theories of what causation is from any conclusions about the success or failure of. For the most part this disengagement of the two concepts is appropriate. But as we will see later, the notion of cause/effect is not so easily disengaged from much of what matters to us about determinism. Traditionally determinism has been given various, usually imprecise definitions. This is only problematic if one is investigating determinism in a specific, well-defined theoretical context; but it is important to avoid certain major errors of definition. Pragmatism as a philosophical tradition that began in the United States around 1870. Charles Sanders Peirce, generally considered to be its founder, later described it in his pragmatic maxim: Consider the practical effects of the objects of your conception. Then, your conception of those effects is the whole of your conception of the object. Pragmatism rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Instead, pragmatists consider thought an instrument or tool for prediction, problem solving and action. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topicssuch as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and scienceare all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes. The philosophy of pragmatism "emphasizes the practical application of ideas by acting on them to actually test them in human experiences". Pragmatism focuses on a "changing universe rather than an unchanging one as the Idealists, Realists and Thomists had claimed". Existentialism liberates us from the customs of the past founded on myth. The quote from Jean Paul Sartre, Existence precedes and commands Essence, be the foundation for existentialism. I exist as a human. In my existence, I define myself and the world around me. The ongoing popularity of existentialism philosophy (particularly amongst young people) can be understood by its freedom of personal choice and individualism within a postmodern context of no absolute truth. The problem with Existentialism is that it leaves us without absolute foundations, encourages a separate / individual sense of self and gives too much power to our imagination and how we may choose to live. While this may be liberating, it unfortunately offers little guidance and does not abide by the fact that humans