Metaphysics

take, it means that the man causes action. Having the freedom of choice could not have been caused or determined by any event that was not itself within the shooter’s power either to cause or not to cause. Even if the victim (second man) caused the shooting to occur, the results will be the same. If a man caused the act and people have the right to choose, then free will does exist. Chisholm then offers another hypothetical situation: under hypnosis, a man is unable to do anything other than…

Aha Moment Life as we know it is a fragile ecosystem hanging in the balance between the “Aha!” moments of greats—rejecting old ideas and accepting new ones. “Eureka Hunt” by Jonah Lehrer delves into the science behind epiphanies, and suggests that we relax and take breaks to induce them. I find this information useful for not only Art 221, but as a student at Samford University above all. To begin, Lehrer addresses the mystery of epiphanies. Society largely deems the left half of the brain as…

Strict dualism was developed by René Descartes. This dualism represents the mental inferences between a person in which the mind and body are not the same. I think that in a way, these two co-exist with each other but work indifferently. there are different sub-components which are materialism, epiphenomenalism, idealism, occasionalism, and double-aspect theory. Descartes thought that the mind was the center control center of the entire body. That the mind is in control over the body but…

The Origin of Evil In Augustine Confessions, Book Seven, Augustine talks about his views on the origin of evil. The first thing he talks about is how evil exists because of our free will (119). Augustine states how God would not have created evil because He is not able to be corrupted (120). God could not let evil into the world because evil is corrupted while God is incorruptible (120). Free will allows evil to come into because it gives humans a choice to either commit an evil act or not.…

Mystery Book definition/examples: “‘The best things cannot be said”’ (Pearce, 1989, p. 84). “One aspect of the experience of mystery is an awareness of the open-endedness of the world” (Pearce, 1989, p. 84). “Evens and objects do not come ‘prepackaged’ with their own interpretation, and they are not incorporated into the human world until they are interpreted. Further, interpretation is an act by an interpreter, not an attribute of the event or object interpreted; as a result, there is no…

Everyday we make choices. From the morning we wake up to the time we choose to rest at night, everything in between is a series of choices that turn into physical action. The actions, as a result of thoughtful choices, in turn largely contribute to the person we become. Hence, it is crucial to know how we, as human beings are able to make wise judgments and to know that our choice is the best choice. The will allows human beings to make a sound and best choice among infinite or finite…

Medieval philosophers built arguments and ideas based on the assumptions that God must be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. But are God and evil truly physical beings? This was the question that faced Saint Augustine as he entered Milan in the late fourth century. Under the Manichee, Augustine was taught to imagine God as a physical mass. Catholics in Milan, however, taught that God was a spiritual presence. If God is a being with a physical mass, this puts his omnipresence and…

Many year has past when Rene Descartes realize that everything he had thought was to be true wasn’t, It turn out that everything he had worked on was a lie as well. Rene Descartes realize what he now what he has to do, he has to start all over from the ground up. Rene Descartes say’s “reason tells me that as well as withholding assent from propositions that are obviously false, I should also withhold it from ones that are not completely certain and indubitable. So all I need, for the…

Pascal's Wager is an argument dealing with the belief in God; the belief that it is in one's best interest to either believe or behave as if they believe in God to avoid the possibility of being punished in hell for eternity. "Rather than arguing for the truth of the belief in the existence in God, Pascal's Wager attempts to demonstrate the utility of belief in God." There are four possible outcomes that basically state... 1. Metaphysical ignorance: if there is a God, we are incapable of knowing…

Descartes states he is constantly being deceived and it is the result of all the falsehoods he blindly accepted in his childhood. He believes the falsehoods of his life leads him to contemplate the foundation of his knowledge. One falsehood Descartes claims is his senses. He learned most of his knowledge from seeing and his perception deceives him because he can not conclude that he is even awake. He stated he was certain that he was sitting by the fire in a rob with a paper in his hand, however…