METAPHYSICS

Metaphysics: Determinism and Free will



Table of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction3

Overview3

Thesis Statement3

Significance of the Study4

Rationale4

Chapter Two: Literature Review6

Chapter Three: Methodology20

Research Method20

Literature Selection Criteria20

Search Technique20

Theoretical Framework21

Chapter Four: Discussion22

Chapter Five: Conclusion24

References25

Chapter One: Introduction

Overview

Over the course of all the work that has been done, two major schools of thought have been developed, which are dualism, and monism (specifically materialism). (Le Poidevin 2009) Dualism, which was founded by Rene Descartes, and outlined in his Meditations, is based on the fundamental claim that the mind is a metaphysical aspect, and thus cannot be described in a material sense; whereas, the body can. This implies their conclusion that the mind and brain are essentially two separate things. Materialists on the other hand take an opposing view, saying that the mind can be explained in a material sense because they claim that the mind and body are essentially the same thing. Even within these two schools, there are several subdivisions, each of which has their own individual unique approach to solving the mind/body problem. However, for this paper, we will be examining one particular solution, which is the one proposed by property dualism, (Kim 2000) and shall attempt to determine whether it is a satisfactory solution or not.

Thesis Statement

The mind/body problem is a fundamental philosophical problem that even the greatest thinkers have pondered throughout our history, but still have yet to provide an adequate solution for.

Significance of the Study

The importance of solving the mind/body problem is crucial. Firstly, because if we were to find an answer, the effect it will have on our perspective of reality would be analogous to the collapse of the Newtonian world of physics, in the face of Einstein's relativistic world. Doors that were previously locked on philosophical issues such as artificial intelligence, free will, and immortality would be opened. (Loux 2006) This would also apply to issues in other academic fields such as theology, psychology, and cognitive science. Also, based on the solution we could conceive of another realm of academic study, which previous to the solution, was unconceivable. However, in spite of the great rewards that will come from solving the mind/body problem, we must come to the sad realization that we have not yet solved it; but thankfully, much progress has already been made.

Rationale

The problem lies specifically in the philosophical realm of metaphysics, which involves the examination of the nature of our reality. According to metaphysics, reality consists of two things: the physical, and the mental. The 'physical' are things that exist in a material sense, such as neurotransmitters, DNA, and so on, whereas the 'mental' are things that do not exist in a material sense, and thus are immaterial, (Lowe 2002) such as things like pain, thoughts, emotions, and desires. The two things at first seem intuitively unrelated. However, we as humans actually encapsulate both realms in our very being, illustrated by the fact that we have a brain, are made up of DNA, and yet we can also think, and experience pain. Thus, there must be a relationship between the ...