Questions tagged [metaphysics]
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the essence of things, of the fundamental nature of being and the world and the principles that organize the universe. Metaphysics is supposed to answer the question "What is the nature of reality?"
1,838
questions
3
votes
0
answers
47
views
Relations without Relata?
Ladyman’s ontic structural realism posits to the world is comprised of relations without relata. Can somebody please explain what this means conceptually? What are the reasons someone would have for ...
- 384
1
vote
2
answers
83
views
a Solution to The Problem Of Casuality and Thing-in-Themselves (Problem of Affection)
i have been interested in "the problem of affection" in Transcendental Idealism for a while now and a possible solution came to my mind,
Kant says that TIT Causes our Phenomena as if TIT (...
- 136
3
votes
3
answers
175
views
If something sounds like jazz, does that make it jazz? [closed]
Are things identifiable with a collection of properties characterizing them, or is there a difference between what a thing is vs. what it is like?
- 2,431
1
vote
2
answers
40
views
Is there not a muddy overlap between the great existentialist questions and the great metaphysical questions?
We all know the fundamentality of these two branches of philosophy. Metaphysics deals with existence as such while existentialism deals with the predicament of human existence.
What I am having ...
- 307
6
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Any philosophical works that explicitly address the heat death of the Universe and its philosophical implications?
I have been trying to grasp my brain over the last couple years with this topic and it appears that while I now have a quite decent grasp on it from a physics perspective, meaning on how it works and ...
- 307
1
vote
6
answers
4k
views
Does physical reality exist without an observer?
This question also considers principles of quantum physics.
When electrons or any other subatomic particles are "observed" or "measured", their wavefunction collapses to a certain ...
- 127
2
votes
3
answers
97
views
Is there really such a thing as metaphysical necessity?
I have read about the notion of necessity in a logical sense. For example, 2+2=4 seems to be logically necessary.
But I have also read about the notion of metaphysical necessity. God, for example, is ...
- 45
4
votes
0
answers
67
views
What is wrong with samsara and dukkha from the perspective of advaita philosophy? [migrated]
To my understanding, most Āstika schools of Hinduism view dukkha (suffering) and samsara (the cycle of life and death) as something bad, from which one should strive to be liberated (Moksha). This is ...
- 141
3
votes
5
answers
148
views
What are reasonable counter objections to the argument that materialism is incoherent because it conceptually separates Being and Mentality?
Appreciate the time. This is my first post.
I have looked at various resources and I've found that there's an aspect inherent to materialism/physicalism that gets overlooked and that I find central. ...
- 220
0
votes
2
answers
63
views
Chicken or Egg. Does anything begin Or is the idea of start/first origin. A misunderstanding of language
The existence of beginning. Origin/start/begin. All require something before. Are all just arbitrary measurements of traits we find of interest. Mapping how they change over time? The global Idea of ...
- 19
3
votes
2
answers
46
views
What is the view that Universe itself is not a compendium of things but a single entity?
The definition of the Universe as the sum of all that exists, seems to imply that human beings have created this term ‘Universe’ to be a catch-all term for all that exists. What I was suggesting is ...
- 307
4
votes
2
answers
630
views
Why do many philosophers consider a past-eternal universe to be self-explanatory but not a universe that began with no cause?
In philosophical papers that argue against theistic interpretations, many philosophers fight to demonstrate that the Big Bang was not a true beginning but merely a transformation, arguing that the ...
- 217
5
votes
5
answers
264
views
Is our consciousness evidence of the existence of a true ontology that underlies many "conventional" ontologies?
Note: to avoid confusion, this question presumes the correctness of some flavor of physicalism of the mind. The idea that conscious states supervene on the brain. I am making a point that since we ...
- 2,107
7
votes
11
answers
1k
views
Are Good and Evil relative or absolute?
I know how most religions would deal with this question.
However, how does philosophy deal with these two concepts?
- 963
14
votes
12
answers
4k
views
Can God transcend human logic and reasoning?
Apophatic theology holds that God is so far beyond human comprehension that He can only be described in negative terms.
The "problem of the creator of God" posits that if everything requires ...
- 217