My Philosophy of Life: Metaphysics

1840 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: My own philosophy of life

What is meant by Metaphysics? Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value.

The central branch of metaphysics is known as ontology. This dives into the kinds of things that exist in the world and relations these things bear on one another. However, other areas that a metaphysician attempts to clarify may be how people understand the world, including existence, object hood, space and time to name a few.

A more delicacy view is that a metaphysical statement is not meaningless. There is no valid set of practical observations or any valid set of logical arguments to prove that metaphysical statements are true or false.

Some consider metaphysics to represent what is highest in human nature, the drive to know and understand the nature of the universe in which we find ourselves while we move towards our inevitable end. Others consider metaphysics, more or less, to be untrue. Perhaps Kant was correct when he said that although we can never hope to answer our metaphysical questions, we can't help asking them anyway.

I tend to agree with Kant, I don’t know that we can answer the questions we have on metaphysics. It is a matter of ones own opinion, thoughts, and interpretation.

Epistemology

Epistemology, also known as theory of knowledge is the part of philosophy that discusses the nature and scope of knowledge. Some questions that study the nature of knowledge could be, Have you ever thought about how we know things? What does it mean for someone to know something? How much can we possibly know? How do you know that 2 + 2 = 4, or that the square root of 144 is 12? Do we know something from reason or from di...

... middle of paper ...

...others the opportunity to view different ways to look at life, although it was not my intention to try to change the beliefs of others. If everyone would look at each other and realize the importance of life there would be fewer wars and less hate in the world.

Life is the ultimate value for each and every one of us. Probably the single most important thing we can do in life is to serve the purpose in which we were created. I still do not have a clear view of what my Philosophy of life is, but I do have a better understanding of the path I need to take to seek those answers and am well on my way of accomplishing this goal.

Work Cited

[1]. "Existence of God." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 Nov 2007, 07:57 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 1 Dec 2007 .

Show More
Related

  • The Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Kant’s, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals, some questionable ideas are portrayed. These ideas conflict with the present views of most people living today.

    Read More

  • Morality Vs Immanuel Kant

    2119 Words  | 5 Pages

    Immanuel Kant was an eighteenth century philosopher whose ideas redefined philosophical views of morality and justice, and provided a base for modern philosophers to argue these ideas. In Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, he argues against Hume’s idea of utilitarianism. Kant also explores the idea of freedom, free action, moral action, and how to determine if our actions are moral by use of the categorical imperative.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Immanuel Kant´s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    Immanuel Kant is a popular modern day philosopher. He was a modest and humble man of his time. He never left his hometown, never married and never strayed from his schedule. Kant may come off as boring, while he was an introvert but he had a great amount to offer. His thoughts and concepts from the 1700s are still observed today. His most recognized work is from the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Here Kant expresses his idea of ‘The Good Will’ and the ‘Categorical Imperative’.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism and Transcendental Meditation

    1417 Words  | 3 Pages

    The transcending, or going beyond, empiricism, and ascertaining the fundamental principles of human knowledge. Kant (1724-1804) was born and educated in East Prussia. He founded critical philosophy and Transcendental Logic. “Kant made significant revisions to just about every branch of philosophy.” (www.philosophy.ucdavis.edu). In the Critique of Pure Reason (1781) Kant showed the great problems of metaphysics: the existence of God, freedom, and immortality and how they are insoluble by scientific thought. Kant’s writings had a major influence on Emerson and Thoreau during the time of Transcendentalism and “still have an influence on modern philosophy to the present day.” (www.ilt.columbia.edu).

    Read More

  • Euthanasia and Ethics: Kant and Stewart Mill

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kant, Immanuel. "Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals: Immanuel Kant." Fifty Readings Plus: An Introduction to Philosophy. Ed. Donald C. Abel. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2004. 404-16. Print.

    Read More

  • Kant 's Three Propositions Of Morality

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Foundation of the Metaphysics of Morals Immanuel Kant presents three propositions of morality. In this paper I am going to explain the first proposition of morality that Kant states. Then I will assert a possible objection to Kant’s proposition by utilizing an example he uses known as the sympathetic person. Lastly, I will show a defense Kant could use against the possible objection to his proposition.

    Read More

  • Liberation, Reductionism, and Preferential Option

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, humankind is blessed with life as God created it. One must reflect on their actions throughout life because one will be judged by God in the next life, one must see the importance of gasping liberation, and one must have a loving and open heart when helping the poor. Life should be lived to its fullest because once time is lost, it cannot be regained; life needs to be appreciated.

    Read More

  • Immanuel Kant's Theory of Judgment

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... when looking at pure understanding. Because these concepts exist a priori, it is interesting that they are used in the understanding of experience. Kant is careful in his application of his framework, however, as a goal in his writing was to outline boundaries of metaphysics as a science, and to determine if “such a thing as metaphysics be at all possible” (p. 1). Unfortunately for Kant, it is impossible for all things to be described with objective reality, as seen in his case of the soul (p. 86). While “determinable bounds [to reason] cannot be thought,” Kant successfully established a framework to examine thought and experience (p. 87). This framework exists in itself as subjective, however, and truly shows how pervasive metaphysics is.

    Read More

  • Kant's and Aristotle's Ethics

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) branches of philosophy included contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics. Kant's deontological ethics, a duty based ethics. His focus is on rational will and a conception of self-governing reason, and not what kind of person one should be (Betzler 7).

    Read More

  • Kant and Mill’s Positions on Capital Punishment

    1862 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kant, Immanuel, and Mary J. Gregor. Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 1998. Print.

    Read More

  • Essay On Grounding For The Metaphysics Of Morality By Immanuel Kant

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, Immanuel Kant argues that human beings inherently have capability to make purely rational decisions that are not based on inclinations and such rational decisions prevent people from interfering with freedom of another. Kant’s view of inherent ability to reason brings different perspective to ways which human beings can pursue morality thus it requires a close analytical examination.

    Read More

  • Essay On Transcendental Idealism

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    Immanuel Kant analyzes metaphysics and claims that the validity of it depends on the foundation of the theory. He attempts to strengthen the foundation of metaphysics to help people accept it as an explanation of the universe. Metaphysics is the sector of philosophy that deals with general concepts such as knowing, being and existence of substances, (OED, n. 1.d). Kant’s theory of knowledge is based on transcendental idealism. This form of idealism is a system of thought that claims objects of knowledge to be dependent on how we perceive them in our minds. Kant stresses that things are the way that they appear to us when we perceive them, which is opposed to the idea that we perceive things being in themselves. Transcendental idealism is opposed to the theory of transcendental realism, a concept adopted by rationalists and empiricists. Transcendental realism is the failure of to see the distinction between things appearances and things in themselves. Kant claims that humans cannot see things in themselves due to the cognitive limitations that they have, (Grier). Using his theory of transcendental idealism, he proves transcendental realism wrong. Kant’s ‘Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics’ constitutes his theory of knowledge, while disproving any scepticism caused by Hume, by claiming that knowledge of objects are independently determined by how they are perceived by us.

    Read More

  • Thomas Aquinas Metaphysics: Catholic Theology and The Quest for the Cause for Being

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    Metaphysics comes from the Greek terms μετά, or metá, meaning above beyond or after, and φυσικά, or physiká, meaning physics. So at its roots, Metaphysics is the study of everything that lies above physical reality, and of what relationship those things have with it. However, one question arose repeatedly with almost every major metaphysical thinker, which narrowed the scope of metaphysics' targets. In contemplating that which lies after the corporeal, metaphysical minds began to wonder why things existed at all. After all, if things did not have existence, then there would nothing to consider. So, being and existence, which were before just two metaphysical concepts, became the highest powers presiding over the rest of reality, and the first philosopher to completely delineate these concepts would become equally important. This is how the quest for the cause for being began.

    Read More

  • Reflection in Living, Loving, And Learning by Leo Buscaglia

    2464 Words  | 5 Pages

    what I have to offer others. I was able to see the things I don't like about

    Read More

  • Good Will By Immanuel Kant

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    Immanuel Kant was a philosopher who made great contributions with his work on the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Kant’s interest with metaphysics left him in the company of Aristotle, who had the original work on metaphysics. Kant’s goal in the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals was to find and make the supreme principal of morality. Kant covers several concepts in his work on metaphysics, some of the key concepts in his work are good will, moral worth, and imperatives. When it comes to good will Kant believes that “Nothing in the world—indeed nothing even beyond the world—can possibly be conceived which could be called good without qualification except a good will” 1. In the next key concept, moral worth, Kant believes that actions are only morally right depending on their motives, “an action done not from inclination but from duty” 2 is morally right according to Kant. Kant’s imperatives are broken down into two types, those being hypothetical and categorical. A hypothetical imperative is an “action that is good to some purpose, possible or actual” 3. A categorical imperative “directly commands a certain conduct without making its condition some purpose to be reached by it” 4. From these concepts you can tell that Kant is a perfect world philosopher who thinks that all humans are rational beings, who have preeminent good in them, and should always strive to be their best selves.

    Read More

More about My Philosophy of Life: Metaphysics

Open Document