Thesis on "Existence and Nature of Matter"

Thesis 3 pages (1091 words) Sources: 6 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Existence and Nature of Matter

Stating that matter is whatever entity which has a mass and occupies space is an oversimplification. The philosophical issue of matter is a complicated one, giving rise to numerous questions, from the nature of its existence to its characteristics and the consequences of these aspects upon the conception of the universe, god and ourselves. People have tried to explain the existence of matter ever since the Antiquity through various perspectives and the debate has not yet finished.

Taking for granted the fact that matter exists in itself and outside our mechanisms of perception and conception still leaves several important issues to be discussed. For example, what is the origin of matter or in other words, what made it and why? Did it create itself out of necessity or is there a superior entity (God)which created it? And if there is a God, then was it his will to create matter or does matter derive from his very existence and independently of his will? Furthermore, if God exists and he is matter, does this mean that matter initially appeared out of nothing? Stating it appeared out of itself is a self-contradictory statement, therefore, the only option which remains is the one according to which matter appeared out of chaos. However, does this mean that chaos is not matter? What happens then to the concept of "space"? And since time and space are connected, we could continue to speak about Time and eternity. Furthermore, the existence and nature of matter have consequences upon the conception of the self and demonstrating how and why one exists.

These are only several questions which come into mind when analyzing the concept of matter. There are various philosophers who have tried to answer them, starting with Democritus and Aristotle, continuing with Descartes, Bertrand Russell, Marx, Engels, etc. The scientific contributions of people such Newton or Einstein have played an important part upon the development of the philosophical debates regarding matter.

Descartes concentrated upon the existence of matter. He stated that everything can be doubted and in fact, it is this philosophical exercise which brings the awareness of the self. Dubito ergo cogito. Cogito ergo sum. The fact that one undergoes experiences proves that he exists and that is the only certainty one can have

Russell for example discusses the possibility of things existing independently and outside of our conception. On the one hand we have the sensory data which allows us to perceive the objects surrounding us and the other people. However, do things disappear completely when we don't have the sense data? Since they do not, it can be assumed that there is more to the existence of matter other than the sense data. Even so, one could wonder if the world is not a mere dream, since the data that one can trust most is in fact the subjective one. In addition, one can doubt the existence of everything other than itself. The conclusion that Russell arrives to is that while it is not illogical to question the objective existence of matter, there is no reason for us to think that everything is a dream, a result of our will and imagination. On the contrary, common sense and the so called instinctive… READ MORE

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