TOMAS CLAUDIO COLLEGES

Morong, Rizal

GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT

Course Title : EDUC 204 – School Administration and Supervision

Professorial Lecturer : DR. RUEL G. MANALO
Topic : Metaphysics
Presenter :
Date of Presentation :

METAPHYSICS - The Study of the Nature of Reality

What is Metaphysics?
It deals with questions about the essence and the existence of things. What is
the true nature of reality. It is the philosophy of being which seeks to answer questions
about existence. It is study of questions about the world left unanswered by the natural
sciences, such as those regarding First Causes; Laws of the Universe; Mind/Body;
Freedom/Determinism.

Metaphysical Questions
 What is reality? Why is there something and not nothing? What is a being? What
is a person? Am I free? Is there a supreme being? Who am I? Why am I here?
Where did I come from? Where am I going?

What is Metaphysics and why do we study it?

Metaphysics is concerned with what there is or what we refer to by using such
terms as ‘reality’, ‘being’ and ‘existence’, beyond the physical nature of these terms.
Most people rely on common sense or a religious authority to answer them. But
philosophers try to build up a picture of the structure of reality based on reason and
logic.

Does God exist?

 Since we are concerned with beyond the physical, this question rates high on the
list of questions that metaphysics attempts to answer. Theology and metaphysics
shared a common interest, they both interested in finding proof of God’s existence.

What is God?
In philosophy we are not talking about a God of a particular religion but God as a
word that means creator, causer, intelligence, sustainer of the universe. The arguments
that philosophers consider, examine whether it is reasonable to suppose there is such a
being.

A priori - These are arguments we can make independently of our experiences. They
don’t have to be confirmed by our experience.

A Posteriori - These are arguments from our experiences and our senses. They have
to be confirmed by our experience. These arguments come after experience.

Foundational Principles

Principle of non-contradiction - no real being can both be and not be at the same
time and in the same respect.

Principle of sufficient reason: every being has the sufficient reason for existence in
itself or in another. It is not possible for something to be its own cause (otherwise it
would violate the Principle of non-contradiction). Every being that does not possess the
sufficient reason for its own existence in itself must have an efficient cause (necessarily
extrinsic to itself).

Theories of Metaphysics

Common Sense Realism - What people perceive under ordinary conditions is reality.
Idealism - George Berkeley 18th Century. It denies existence of material things. Reality
is ideas and the minds that hold these ideas. “Esse est percipi” (“to be is to be
perceived”). Objects are ideas that God placed in humans
Platonic Realism - Reality is ideal forms or ideas that are timeless, unchanging,
immaterial, and more perfect than the world of changeable things.
Materialism or Physicalism - Pre-Socratic Philosophers. Everything is physical;
Reality consists of matter. Matter – particles in motion and forces like gravity.
Monism - Reality is one all-encompassing thing. All particular things are expressions of
this one thing. Things can be material or mental. Baruch Spinoza argued it could also
be divine.. String Theory – everything is composed of one-dimensional strings of
energy.
Dualism - Descartes . Reality consists of two things: Mind and Matter. Interactionism is
a common version of dualism. Mind and Body co-exist as separate entities.

The Two-Fold Tendency of a Man

The Natural Tendency to the Good. - This tendency is best explained as: Will as
Object. This type of good is an object of natural desire. This tendency is to possess
things. This is HUMAN.

The Moral Choice of what is Reasonable - This tendency is best explained as: The
Will as Reason. This type of good is an object of reasonable love. This tendency is to
know and love another person. This is MORAL.

REFERENCES:

rmps.wikispaces.com/file/view/Metaphysics.pp

https://classnet.wcdsb.ca/.../Metaphysics

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics

www.newadvent.org 

www.oxforddictionaries.com

www.wikipedia.com