Metaphysics Essay Examples - Free Research Paper Topics on StudyDriver.com

Descartes’ Method of Radical Doubt

Knowledge is the things that one has taken into itself and made the decision to believe that it is true. In order to find absolute certainty about certain pieces of knowledge, Descartes began to ask himself what makes the obtained information true. Thus, Descartes decided to doubt everything until arriving at a concrete truth that could not be denied. This method is called radical doubt. Descartes began to doubt his own existence. The philosopher asked many questions to himself and […]

History’s most Famous Philosophers

Twenty-four centuries ago, Plato, one of history’s most famous philosophers, compared the life of individuals solely having opinions and no actual knowledge. In Allegory of the Cave, there are three prisoners tied to a rock that can only look at a stone wall. Behind them is a fire that casts shadows of figures moving onto that stone wall. One day, one of the prisoners escapes and explores outside of the cave. This leads him to new experiences which formulate a […]

Moral Bounds

What are the moral bounds of sacrificing a child’s life for the enhancement of all others? How does living in a land with a buried burden affect its citizens? Although these rhetorical questions are complex and difficult to answer, this problematic situation is present in many contexts in our society today. In this paper I will argue that the captive child should be free to live, not just survive in LeGuin’s dystopian short story, The Ones Who Walk Away From […]

Hasidic Schools

In most Hasidic schools, including the ones I attended, Aristotle is taught to be synonymous with sin, and is depicted as the symbol of non-Jewish promiscuity and wickedness. Therefore, when I noticed that we would be exploring Aristotle this semester, I was both enthusiastic and anxious. Enthusiastic, because I would be learning the teachings of an individual who was vilified for most of my life, and anxious, because I was afraid my sub-conscious biases would corrupt my appreciation of his […]

Aristotle Define Moral Virtue

How does Aristotle define moral virtue? Aristotle defines moral virtue as a deposition to behave in the right manner and by recommending its relation to happiness. Aristotle defines moral virtue into subcategories, but he defines virtues as being exemplified by courage, temperance, liberality, etc.; the key intellectual virtues are wisdom, which governs ethical behavior, and understanding, which is expressed in scientific endeavor and contemplation. These virtues can also be vices depending on action. Every virtue has a vice in which […]

Student of Plato’s

Aristotle, as a student of Plato’s’ , does not come to agree with his teacher. He was forced to give reasons as to why he disagreed with Plato, and what his views on each subject were. But, he was so attracted to the work of Plato, that he insisted on having the corrected version of his overall work, pushing Plato’s ideas further in what he thought was the right direction. Aristotle, like Plato, was concerned with the amelioration of the […]

Virtues According to Nicomachean Ethics

In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle aims to answer the questions of what makes a human good, what happiness is, and how we as humans may use our goodness, if we possess it, to achieve the end of happiness in our lives. For Aristotle, the question of how to be happy is the question of how to live well as a human being, and living well is inseparable from attaining the virtue or virtues that make possible the best activity. In […]

Thomas Lavenziano

Thomas Lavenziano Professor Eugene Kelly ICPH 304 – W01 Aristotle on the Golden Mean One of Aristotle’s most well known works is the Nicomachean Ethics, written around the year 340 BC and was most likely named after his father or his son. Within this work Aristotle theorizes about the nature of the good life. He also delves into what it means for something to be good and attempts to define what happiness really is. One of the core concepts that […]

Socrates the Great Father of Philosophy

Once Socrates, the great father of philosophy, said To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge. In other words what Socrates is trying to tell us is that humans don’t know anything and it is ok. We weren’t made to know everything because life does not work like this. Socrates thought virtue is most important, that people should live for the truth only, and way to virtue is knowledge. He was a […]

Socrates Biography and Life

Over the past 1000 years, humans have progressed in the field of philosophy and have began to establish an understanding of life and how or why it is the way it is. This all started with a Greek Philosopher, Socrates (470 BC-399 BC). Although the subject of Philosophy has been challenged on its importance, many of the ideas proposed in this subject by Socrates has been used to help out people and better comprehend themselves, and this is why he […]

Allegory of the Cave and the Internet

On the internet you can find many things, and if it is used correctly, many of them can expand our knowledge. In the Allegory of the Cave, when talking about the Sun, it represents the absolute truth. This may be about the possibility of an Internet of the mind, a worldwide network of connected brains in which they could download and exchange emotions. This has been happening for a long time through music, movies or any good play. Any of […]

The Life and Times of Sir Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton is a widely known name, but most don’t actually know anything about him. Newton had a very interesting life, and helped advance the theory of gravity. Without Newton and his strange life, our knowledge of gravity may not have been as advanced as it is today. Even from his birth on January fourth in Woolsthorpe, England, Sir Isaac Newton had many hardships. His father died before he was born, and newborn Newton was not expected to survive his […]

Allegory of the Cave or Plato’s Cave

The assigned quotation comes from Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. It is a famous passage from the beginning of Book 7 called The Republic. Plato was born and lived in Athens, Greece around the time period of 427-347 BC. Plato was a very well-educated and influential philosopher. He was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle who believed in absolutes. Plato felt that knowledge of archetype, especially The Good, can only be attained through the use of reason- […]

The Allegory of the Cave Vs the Matrix

The allegory of the cave and the matrix are both presented with many themes, some examples of themes in the two are; what is real, the perception of reality, the acceptance of truth, and both worlds are controlled by a greater power. One of the themes that i think is the most important is the perception of reality. In the allegory of the cave the prisoners are blinded from the true reality, there shown images and objects without knowing what […]

On the Meaningfulness of Socrates Life

To someone in modern society who does not study philosophy, the name Socrates is synonymous with the image of a well-known philosopher. Some will recognize him as a significant figure and contributor to ancient Greece’s reputation as a cornerstone of philosophy. There are also many who disagree with his views, whether that be in his time, in ours, or in between. It’s what ultimately resulted in his sentencing and execution (Plato 40). Were his actions during life meaningful enough to […]

About Socrates Life

Through the ages there have been many great philosophers. Socrates, one of these, is known and respected throughout history. Socrates was born in Athens in 470 BCE, and he dedicated his life to teaching. He never wrote a book, but his teachings were passed on through his student’s writings. He was sentenced to drink hemlock, a poison that killed him in 399 BCE, because his ideas were considered to corrupt the youth of his time (Haber). Although he did not […]

What is Enlightenment

What is enlightenment, that’s a question many of want to figure out. Kant describes it as Man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. I’m sure that other people in the world in his time, before his time and after his time have probably describes it as something different. Kant’s enlightenment essay was written twenty-five years after Voltaire’s Candide was. So, how does the story of Candide and the goals in Kant’s Enlightenment essay verses what optimism is and how they go […]

Idea of Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the most prominent essays in American history. Emerson has influenced and inspired many individuals through his notable points such as that one should not toss aside our instincts but rather others judgment in order to live properly. In Emerson’s essay Self Reliance he expresses that individuals need to focus on themselves, listen to their own voice, and follow their own path rather than others in order to achieve one’s fullest potential. In […]

About the most Influential Thinker of Modernism

Can we achieve some absolutely unquestionable and obvious knowledge? The individual in solitude, in the almost desperate task of finding a firm ground on which to rest his convictions. This is the pretense of the philosophy of Ren© Descartes. The result of this theme focuses on the phrase “I think, therefore I am”. With it Descartes expresses the discovery of an unquestionable truth, but also a new realm of the real: individual self-conscious subjectivity. Also called Cartesius, he was born […]

Descartes and Exploration the Reality of the Exist

In the Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes speaks through the mind of the meditator and explores the reality of the existence of God and all things. At the end of the Second Meditation, Descartes concludes that because he is doubting his existence, he is therefore thinking, meaning that he exists. This conclusion pushes Descartes to explore if all thoughts and realities perceived by the mind are true or false. Descartes’ divisions of the mind include the theory of a materially […]

Beliefs and the Existence of God

In Meditations on First Philosophy, Ren© Descartes attempts to rebuild his beliefs from the ground up, accepting only those he can be absolutely certain of. In order to decide the certainty of a belief, Descartes creates proofs through a series of questions and statements. Each belief he attempts to prove is thoroughly explained in a new Meditation. In Meditation III specifically, Descartes attempts to prove the existence of God. However, proving the existence of God does not serve solely for […]

The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God

The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God The ontological argument is an a priori argument. The arguments attempt to prove God’s existence from the meaning of the word God. The ontological argument was introduced by Anselm of Canterbury in his book Proslogion. Anselm’s classical argument was based on two principals and the two most involved in this is St Anselm of Canterbury as previously mentioned and Rene Descartes. The ontological argument argues that if you understand what it means […]

Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God

The goal of this essay is to explain and evaluate the two arguments for the existence of God formulated by Descartes in Meditations. The first argument is the cosmological argument. In essence, Descartes argues that the world was created by God because a person cannot create their own existence nor could have the world spontaneously come into existence. I clearly understand that there is more reality in an infinite substance than there is in a finite one. Thus, the perception […]

Machiavelli was Influenced by Plato and Aristotle

In Machiavelli’s writing, it gives the reader a window to see into what he perceives as virtue. He was a philosopher who believed in the ideals of an authoritative figure being there to guide, or uphold his followers similar as a pillar, with respect and leadership. Although, Machiavelli’s theory is quite different, and in some way contradicts, from other philosophers, it is still respected and at times, proven by people of high authority. Machiavelli was influenced by philosophers, such as […]

Difference between Two Types of Value: Intrinsic and Instrumental

Virtue ethics is an important aspect in shaping the character as well as the morality of an individual. Virtue ethics focuses on issues that emphasize the role of a character as well as the aspects of moral philosophy. It looks into an individual’s character rather than focusing on the duty of a person with the aim of coming up with real consequences. Learning things related to ethics and virtue ethics is important mainly because it provides an efficient platform for […]

Freudian Theory of Mind in Lord of the Flies

Freudian’s theory on personality comes from the school of thought that personality is divided into three sections that correlate. The three sections of personality include the Id, ego, and super ego. The theory places these sections into classes where Id falls under unconscious while ego and super ego fall under pre conscious and the conscious consecutively. In the book lord of the flies, Freudians theory is presented by the different symbols used by the author. The symbols used include conch, […]

Physical and Personal Space

Science and technology has brought deeper understanding and thus meaning in the way human beings think, feel and act in regards to various aspects of life that touches human’s and animal’s functionality. One such area that has widely caught the attention of scientists is the brain accentuated by space science. Both the conscious and the sub-conscious minds possessed by animals give a sense of comprehension and meaning in deciphering and in turn makes it easier for animals perfectly well maneuver […]

The Shortfall of Sticks and Stones

If an individual is reminded of anything at any time he or she must have known that thing before (Apolloni, 32). Recollection therefore can be defined as knowledge that is gained through this manner whereby when an individual sees one thing, he or she becomes very conscious and also something else too (Gallop, 207). Socrates discussed his ways of life, philosophy as well as the fate of his soul the day before his death. Practice of death is said to […]

Scientific Theories : Instrumentalism

The view that scientific theories do not describe reality and that they are mere tools for prediction describes instrumentalism. In a nutshell, the view describes scientific theories such as those of mathematical-logical conception among others. This essay will focus on instrumentalism, the mathematical-logical conception of scientific theories and how the view leads to instrumentalism of scientific theories. Philosophy of science springs around several enigmatic issues that philosophers are striving to unravel, deduce their meaning and bring into light their sole […]

Philosophy of Religion Assignment

Saint Augustine addresses three theological problems which he has to deal with and provide solutions so that the remaining mankind do not have to deal with. The three problems are metaphysical, ethical and one directly theological. He later discusses the solutions to each. Therefore, this paper will focus on the three problems, the solution and the evaluation of the solutions to see if it has really solved the problems. The first problem Saint Augustine addresses is metaphysical problems of ethics. […]

Metaphysics Essays