Metaphysics can be thought of as an investigation into the ultimate or fundamental nature of reality. In other words, it is the attempt to reveal and describe how and what things really are at some foundational level.The most popular kind of metaphysics seems focused on determining whether the world is best described as fundamentally physical, mental, neutral, or some combination of these. I have no quarrel with many of the questions that metaphysics seeks to investigate. Here I am concerned with the metaphysical doctrines which make grand claims, such as ‘everything is physical’ or ‘everything is mental’. Popular examples of these doctrines include physicalism and idealism. Less mainstream positions which are gaining in popularity include neutral monism and panpsychism. I will settle for brief descriptions of the two more popular positions. Physicalism refers to the thesis that everything which exists is physical, including thoughts, numbers, minds, and consciousness (if these things exist, of course). Idealism, in contrast, is the thesis that everything which exists is in some sense mental or a product of consciousness, including seemingly non-mental physical objects such as rocks, chairs, and planets. I am neither a physicalist nor an idealist. This isn’t because I take some other metaphysical theory as true, but because I am extremely skeptical of any position that makes grand sweeping generalizations regarding the fundamental nature of reality. Let me tell you why.
This story is from the August/September 2023 edition of Philosophy Now.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August/September 2023 edition of Philosophy Now.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
"Stand Out Of My Light"
Sophie Dibben watches Alexander the Great meet Diogenes the Cynic.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
Hilarius Bogbinder looks at a man who wanted to make Peace from Warre.
The Philosophy of Work
Alessandro Colarossi has insights for the bored and understimulated.
Towards Love
George Mason on love as shared identity.
Hume's Problem of Induction
Patrick Brissey exposes a major unprovable assumption at the core of science.
A Philosophical History of Transhumanism
John Kennedy Philip goes deep into the search for (post-) human heights.
How to Have a Good Life
Meena Danishmal asks if Seneca's account of the good life is really practical.
Horseplay in Hibernia
Seán Moran explores equine escapades in Eire and elsewhere.
Philosophy & Hurling: Thinking & Playing
Stiofán Ó Murchadha knowing how we know.
Philip Pettit & The Birth of Ethics
Peter Stone thinks about a thought experiment about how ethics evolved.