A Survey of Metaphysical Systems: From Plato to God
12 Main Features of Plato’s Metaphysics
According to Plato, two realities exist: material reality and the World of Ideas. Material reality, perceived through the senses, is subject to change. It is a copy of Plato’s World of Ideas, which is abstract and immutable.
13 Main Features of Aristotelian Metaphysics
Reality, for Aristotle, is substance. If something possesses natural substance, it causes its own motion and evolution. Thus, sense-perceptible things are real, unlike Plato’s view. To explain the movement and change of substances, Aristotle introduced the concepts of act and potency. Act is what is; potency is what is not yet, but can be. Change occurs when something moves from potency to act. Aristotle also posited several types of substances, including a superior, unchanging substance that moves other substances—the prime mover.
14 Main Features of Thomistic Metaphysics
Christian Thomistic metaphysics, developed by Thomas Aquinas, adapts Aristotelian philosophy. To explain reality, it postulates two principles: the existence of a creator God and the combination of faith and reason to explain reality according to Christian revelation.
A key difference is between God and “creatures,” highlighting the distinction between essence and existence:
- All living things possess essence but need not exist, except God, whose existence is inherent in His essence.
- Beings exist due to God’s creative action. Analyzing a creature requires understanding its creation, thus necessitating God as the only being whose essence includes existence.
15 Essence and Existence
Essence is what makes something what it is; existence is the fact of being (consciousness). Only in God are essence and existence identical.
16 Main Features of the Hegelian System
Hegel’s system comprises reason and spirit. Reason is reality’s supreme value; true reality is articulated as reason’s demands: all that is real is rational. Spirit, produced by reason, combines objective and subjective aspects—individuals and the universal human being—a self that is us, and we are a self. In short, spirit is humankind thinking and acting throughout history.
17 General Features of Marx’s Critique of Hegelian Metaphysics
Marx’s critique centers on material reality, supported by three arguments:
- Only matter exists.
- Matter is transformed by human labor.
- Human relationships evolve historically.
Material reality and natural forces form the basis of reality, but humans transform nature through work. This transformation constitutes a historical evolution characterized by different modes of production: slavery, feudalism, and capitalism.
18 What is the Superman?
The Superman is the individual who recognizes life’s value and the strength of their will, rejecting old moral codes, the imposition of gods, and the need for security beyond appearances.
19 Linguistic Analysis as a Critique of Metaphysics
This view reduces philosophy to language analysis, considering it fundamental human reality. For Wittgenstein, philosophy is the logical clarification of thoughts and their linguistic expression. Philosophical problems arise from linguistic issues.
20 The Sacred and the Profane
The sacred is a realm separate from ordinary reality, representing a higher power, full of mysteries symbolically manifested. The profane is what does not belong to the sacred.
21 Characteristics of Religion
- Recognition of a realm transcending contingent physical life and existence.
- The transcendent sacred realm influences the profane.
- The sacred inspires fear and submission, yet also fascinates and provokes admiration.
- The sacred is expressed through symbols and mysterious manifestations.
Religion is a significant cultural and historical fact, influencing human action.
22 The Metaphysical Problem of God
Three sets of metaphysical problems rationally address God:
- The Concept of God: God is an eternally existing, supreme being representing ultimate perfection.
- Proof of God’s Existence: Metaphysics examines the possibility of rationally proving God’s existence.
- God’s Relationship with the World: Two positions exist: God as creator of a world with its own rules, and God’s providential work on the world after creation.