Portal:Metaphysics

Template:/box-header Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the ultimate nature of reality, being, and the world. Its name derives from the Greek words μετά (metá) (meaning "above" or "beyond") and φυσικά (physiká) (meaning "above or beyond physics"), "physics" referring to those works on matter by Aristotle in antiquity. Metaphysics addresses questions that have existed for as long as the human race - many still with no definitive answer. Examples are:

• What is the meaning of life?
• What is the nature of reality?
• What is humanity's place in the universe?
• Does the world exist outside the mind?
• What is the nature of objects, events, places?
• Is there any existence of spirit, and can the spirit manifest itself without body?
• What is consciousness?

Read more...

Template:/box-footer

Causality denotes a necessary relationship between one event (called cause) and another event (called effect) which is the direct consequence of the first.

While this informal understanding suffices in everyday use, the philosophical analysis of how best to characterize causality extends over millennia. In the Western philosophical tradition, discussion stretches back at least as far as Aristotle, and the topic remains a staple in contemporary philosophy journals.

Though cause and effect are typically related to events, candidates include objects, processes, properties, variables, facts, and states of affairs; which of these make up the causal relata, and how best to characterize the relationship between them, remains under discussion.

George Berkeley /ˈbɑːrkli/ (12 March 1685 – 14 January 1753), also known as Bishop Berkeley, was a philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism" (later referred to as "subjective idealism" by others). This theory contends that individuals can only directly know sensations and ideas of objects, not abstractions such as "matter." The theory also contends that ideas are dependent upon being perceived by minds for their very existence, a belief that became immortalized in the dictum, "Esse est percipi" ("To be is to be perceived"). His most widely-read works are A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710) and Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous (1713), in which the characters Philonous and Hylas represent Berkeley himself and his contemporary John Locke. In 1734, he published The Analyst, a critique of the foundations of infinitesimal calculus, which was influential in the development of mathematics.

• ... that spiritualism is a dualist metaphysical theory?
• ... that ideas and concepts are considered to be either abstract objects or mental representations?
• ... that ontology is basically an attempt to create a list of everything exists fundamentally?
• ... that your metaphysical view will influence your theory of mind?Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header

• Philosophy
• Aesthetics
• Ethics
• Logic
• Epistemology
• Spirituality
• Existentialism

Template:/box-footer

• Philosophy
• Physics
• Logic
• Aesthetics
• Epistemology
• Ethics
• Religion
• Spirituality

Template:/box-footer

Template:/box-header Requested articles: Pluralistic idealism · Downward causation · Ontological priority Template:/box-footer

• What are portals?
• List of portals
• Featured portals