Term Paper on "Metaphysics and Its Relevancy to Ethics"

Term Paper 15 pages (4918 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Metaphysics and Its Relevancy to Ethics in the 21st Century

The first step toward knowing anything is always finding out. -- Louise Ropes Loomis, 1943

Throughout history, mankind has been searching for the secrets of the universe and what part we play in it. Early philosophers used metaphysical analyses to help them discern these mysteries, with varying degrees of success. Today, many people simply disregard metaphysics as being an esoteric blend of black magic and superstition, while others point to the fundamental knowledge that has emerged as a result of people delving further into the unknowns that have always characterized the human condition. In addition, even its proponents do not seem to be able to agree on a single definition for the term, but almost everyone recognizes the influence the discipline has had on contemporary thought. This paper provides an overview of metaphysics, an analysis of what some of its most well-known advocates have had to say about it, followed by an assessment of how metaphysical thought has influenced ethics today. A summary of the research is provided in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Background and Overview. In an effort to keep things on a level that people can understand, it seems that most authorities on metaphysics employ the word "simple" and "simply" a lot to describe what metaphysics is and how it works; for example, according to philosopher Frederick Sontag, the term "metaphysics" is "simply basic philosophy, the search for and the questioning of first principles" (p. 1). Likewise, the word "Metaphysics" in Greek "simply means 'After Physics'" (Loomis 1943). According to this author, the term Metaphysics derives from the title written by some ancient editor on certain unnamed rolls of Aristotle's own notes which he was placing next to the treatise on physics. "As it comes to us, the Metaphysics is a compilation of a number of originally separate blocks of notes, all dealing with the most fundamental problems of philosophy but put together without much care to make them fit" (p. 3). Finally, "metaphysics is simply philosophical study, the objective of which is determining the real nature of things; in other words, to determine the meaning, structure, and principles of whatever is insofar as it is" (Walsh & Grayling 2004). Beyond these simple concepts, though, exists an enormously complex and convoluted world of philosophical analysis where none but the intrepid may have ventured in the past.

While metaphysics today is popularly conceived as referring to anything excessively subtle and highly theoretical and although it has been subjected to many criticisms, it is presented by metaphysicians as being the most fundamental and most comprehensive of inquiries, so far as it is concerned with the nature of reality as a whole (Walsh & Grayling, 2004). Nevertheless, the very term is fraught with much historical and misinformation baggage that has colored the way people think about such philosophical approaches today. In fact, Walsh (1963) suggests that the very word "metaphysics" is.".. full of controversy; the emotions it excites vary in character, but are seldom anything but strong" (p. 11). This shift in views is fairly recent, and there was actually a time when metaphysics was believed to be the highest form of knowledge, the most fundamental and comprehensive of all the branches of study to which human beings could devote themselves.

According to Walsh, "Metaphysicians were said to be occupied with 'reality' as opposed to 'mere appearance', and they were supposed, as Plato put it, to take all being and all knowledge for their province" (1963, p. 36). This was clearly a lot of territory for any one discipline to cover, but for these ancient logisticians, it only made sense to begin at the beginning. "Because metaphysics was the fundamental discipline which discovered the most important of truths, its results might be expected to affect those of every other form of enquiry; the findings of all other sciences must accordingly be regarded as provisional, in need of revision or ratification by the metaphysician" (Walsh, 1963, p. 37).

According to Morris (1992), contemporary philosophical theories are concerned with explanations that conform to this schema: "(T) it is true that p, because q. That this is a distinctively philosophical kind of explanation can be seen intuitively by considering the intuitive difference between these two questions: 1. Why is she mowing the lawn? 2. Why is it true that she is mowing the lawn?" (p. 12). Morris notes that (1), but not (2), could be truthfully answered by saying: "Because she thinks the grass is too long. (2), but not (1), could be correctly, if uninformatively, answered by saying: because, as a matter of fact, she is mowing the lawn" (Morris, p. 12).

Morris says he calls explanations that conform to this precise schema "metaphysical explanations," which is "a terminological stipulation, though I think it is in tune with much current usage of the term 'metaphysical'" (p. 13). Such metaphysical reasoning may appear convoluted on the surface (and it is), but a careful analysis shows that the distinction made by Morris captures the essence of how such reasoning can be applied to a wide range of settings and circumstances in a "follow the money" type of logical assessment.

Aristotle. Metaphysics was Aristotle's study of the meaning and nature of being in the broadest sense; this contained Aristotle's ideas of the causes and character of all existence and of that one Cause that is the ultimate source and end of all (Loomis, 1943). The first step toward knowing anything, Aristotle maintained, was empirical analysis to determine why it is or what caused it. As a result,.".. we have his famous doctrine of the four causes, which between them all account for everything that is and every event that happens" (Loomis, p. 4). After showing that we can say of an object some things assuredly true, the most important and essential thing to say of it, he declares, is not how big or how old or where it is or what it is doing, but what it is -- in other words, what is its substance. "So, at length, the inquiry comes down to this -- what is substance? A combination, he now answers, of a blank, inert, limitless substratum or underlying something, which he calls matter, and a dynamic, purposeful, shaping principle or essence, he calls form" (Loomis, p. 3).

In fact, Aristotle maintained that everything in the universe that comes into any kind of being is a result of form entering into appropriate matter. "Matter alone has potentiality, a capacity, that is, of becoming something. Marble can become a statue, a human seed can become a man. But Nature or the hand of man must seize and put form into it before it can realize its possibilities or the potential become actual" (Loomis, p. 4). That actuality is then represented by the statue that was carved from the formerly featureless marble; in other words,.".. The man full grown from the feeble seed -- is the thing's end or final cause, to realize which it exists" (Loomis, p. 4).

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's Metaphysics. According to Hassing (2003), "Conventional scholarship would emphasize 1686 as the point at which the Leibnizian philosophical system was in place, subsequent obscurities concerning forces and monads notwithstanding" (p. 721). In his essay, "Leibniz: Determinist, Theist, Idealist," Adams (1994) points out that Leibniz's doctrine of monads and his theory of the physical world may have been overlooked by contemporary theorists at times by the interest in his philosophy of logic, but "they can hardly be said to have been neglected" (p. 5). In Leibniz's famous theory of preestablished harmony, there are several levels at play. For example, the deepest level involves a harmony between the perceptions of different monads; further, there is a harmony between body and soul (this can also be viewed as a harmony between diverse causal systems -- between the kingdom of "efficient causes," a system of mechanical causation operating in the phenomenal, corporeal world, and the kingdom of "final causes," a system of teleological causation operating within the monads) (Adams, 1994).

The highest level of Leibniz's hierarchy involves a harmony between "the Physical kingdom of Nature," comprising the "two Natural Kingdoms" of efficient and final causes, "and the Moral kingdom of Grace. In other words, the highest level of the hierarchy is "between God considered as Architect of the Machine of the universe, and God considered as Monarch of the divine city of Minds" (Adams, 1994, p. 83). Leibniz believed that it was possible to discern such interactions by thoughtful analysis, but was careful to avoid rushing ordinary people into accepting this enlightened view without preparing them for the powerful revelations that it might provide them. Hassing (2003) cites the following instructive guidance from Leibniz's unpublished De Summa Rerum of 1676:

metaphysics should be written with accurate definitions and demonstrations, but nothing should be demonstrated in it apart from that which does not clash too much with received opinions. For in that way this metaphysics can be… READ MORE

How to Reference "Metaphysics and Its Relevancy to Ethics" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Ethics in a Computerized Society Research Paper

Ethics in a Computerized Society

Ethics are extremely important in our society since they help to determine whether an action is right or wrong. There are different types of ethical… read more

Research Paper 7 pages (2132 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Ethics / Morality

---

Ethics Research the Role Creative Writing

Ethics Research

The role of research and science is very important in today's society. In many ways, this social class dictates much of what is accepted as truth. With this… read more

Creative Writing 7 pages (1946 words) Sources: 7 Style: APA Topic: Ethics / Morality

---

Ethics and Leadership, Forming Research Paper

ethics and leadership, forming a set of principles that can be applied in my particular leadership role. The paper is organized according to the principles that I have learned. This… read more

Research Paper 10 pages (3568 words) Sources: 10 Topic: Ethics / Morality

---

Ethics in the Sciences Essay

ethics in the sciences has become a focus of debate during the last century. Many scientists and statisticians have deviated from the more formal view of science as only being… read more

Essay 3 pages (1262 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Ethics / Morality

---

Ethics and Moral Theory Essay

Ethics - Moral Theory

ETHICS and MORAL THEORY in LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Life is Beautiful and Dishonesty:

The movie Life is Beautiful (1998) portrays the life of Guido Orefice, a… read more

Essay 4 pages (1154 words) Sources: 0 Style: MLA Topic: Ethics / Morality

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>