Introduction to Philosophy and Critical Thinking

5-What is Reality
Metaphysic –Question about nature of reality

5.1 Metaphysics: The question about nature of reality

5.2 Monism, Dualism & Pluralism
5.3 Materialism
5.4 Plato's Idealism
5.5 Berkeley's Subjective Idealism
 Learning objective
• Contrast between Idealism & Materialism as two metaphysical rival views

• Demonstrate understanding of Plato’s Idealism by interpreting his allegory of cave

• Differentiate Plato’s objective idealism from Subjective Idealism

• Explain Materialism and draw its implication

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5.1
Metaphysics

It’s the branch that deals with the “first principles” of existence,
seeking to define basic concepts like existence, being, causality,
substance, time, and space.

The study of “being as such” (i.e., the nature of being, or what it is for
a thing to be or to exist) and the study of “the first causes of things”
(i.e., their original or primary causes)
Metaphysical Questions
Everything comes from something

Everything was made up of some fundamental substance

From where does everything come?

From what is everything created?

How do we explain the things found in nature?

How might we describe nature systematically?

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5.2
Monism, Dualism & Pluralism

Monism
The view that there is ultimately only one substance, that all reality
is one. For e.g. : Mind or Matter
Dualism
The view that there is two fundamental substance exist, For e.g.
Mind and Body
Pluralism
The belief that the world is made of a plurality of basic elements.
For e.g Four basic element: air, fire, water, & earth
Reality as One

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5.3
Materialism

Materialism is a general view about what actually exists.

Everything that exists is material, or physical.

Many philosophers and scientists now use the terms `material' and `physical‘
interchangeably.
 Materialism
• It is an ontological, or a metaphysical, view; Matter is the fundame
ntal reality work with law of motion
• The physical world is primary reality in all
• Matter is inner organized energy arranged in patterns.
• Natural physical world is prior over supernatural world.
• Mental process is also mechanical neuron changes
• Mind is based on physic energy comes from physical body
Ancient Materialist

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The Atomic Theory of Matter
• The atomic theory poses a challen
ge to theories of substances or obj
ects
• Atomic theory: things are compos
ed of atoms; properties of things
depend on nature and motion of a
toms
• Things are not as they appear
5.4
Plato’s Idealism

Platonic idealism is the theory that the substantive reality around us is

only a reflection of a higher truth. That truth, Plato argued, is the
abstraction.

He believed that ideas were more real than things.

He developed a vision of two worlds: a world of unchanging ideas and a

world of changing physical objects.
 Argument for Idealism
• We have reason to believe that something exists only if we can know
it
• We can know an object only by making it an object of consciousness
• Any object of consciousness is conditioned by consciousness.
• Anything conditioned by consciousness is mind-dependent
• So, we have reason to believe that a thing exists only if it is mind-dep
endent
 The Allegory of the Cave

• Plato explains the theory of knowledge, prisoners in cave know through th

e shadow on wall and fire is a source of knowledge. They know nothing abo
ut the world outside cave . Therefore, they suppose the reality inside.
Two things the allegory of the cave tells us…

1. that the world of our direct experience is a shadow o

r imitation of the real world equally important:

2. that the world of our direct experience provides us w

ith some knowledge of the divine and ultimate reality
– glimpses of perfection
Allegory of the cave
…Plato’s Cave…
5.5
Berkley’s Subjective Idealism

Subjective Idealism

As such he thought that we can only acquire knowledge from our experiences, from our
perceptions.

we perceive objects, yet in fact, what we are doing when we perceive is forming ideas
about objects.
 Berkley -“To be is to be perceived’

• According to him, to exist, is to be perceived.

• Finite Minds- the world is composed of two things, ideas and minds.
• To be an idea it must be perceived. Perceived by what? A mind.
• A mind is a perceiving thing.
• Infinite Minds- Berkeley's answer is that it continues to exist because it conti
nues to be perceived.
• God is an infinite mind that perceives all things.
• To exist is to be an idea in the mind of God.

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Reading text

The philosopher’s way

• Chapter 5
• 5.1-----Pre-Socratic
• 5.2-----Plato

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