Monism Vs Dualism Essay

Pre-Socratic philosophers developed the doctrines of monism, dualism, and pluralism, which are different ways, to answer the same question. The question monism, dualism, and pluralism tries to answer is what is the nature of reality, meaning what is the basic substance(s) or processes upon which everything, including the universe, is depended on? Thales was a monist that tries to answer the question by stating that water is the substance that everything depends on. Pythagoras was a dualist that believed that nature is controlled by opposite forces between the limited (mathematics) and unlimited (mystical experiences). Empedocles was a pluralist and believed that they are four elements (water, earth, fire, air) and two motions (love and strife) that explain the nature of reality. Each of these Pre-Socratic philosophers answered the question differently as times passed and Greek society involved. Thales was a monist. A monist claims that all of reality is one. Monism tries to explain that existing things can be explained in terms of a single …show more content…
Pythagoras was a dualist. Dualism argues there are two basic realities, meaning there are two kinds of reality: the material (the limited/physical) and immaterial (the unlimited/spiritual). “The notion that the universe is not a chaotic hodgepodge but a thoroughly ordered system in which every element is harmoniously related to every other” (Jones 38) For Pythagoras the universe and reality can be derived from numbers, which is the most ordered system. The Pythagoreans were religious, but yet practice scientific inquiry. The Pythagoreans were into mathematics, which help them explain the sky. According to the Pythagoreans, everything is derived from number not physical material like air, water, or fire. For example, air is compose of forty-eight triangle surrounded by equilaterals, while fire is composed of twenty-four right-angled triangles surrounded by four