PHI 3000C Lecture 1: Notes for Chapter 1
Document Summary
Metarealism: things have natures & we can know them. Argument: living thing has a natural function; it must do certain things. If cognitive realism is true, then we can know the natures of things. The nature of living things involve ends or functions. (telos) (ergon) That answer is a why: material, efficient, formal final. Human beings: we are a physical thing, we are alive, we have perception and sensory awareness, when we abstract and form concepts, thinking is a way of being alive. The function or end of human being is to live in its unique way. To succeed or not is up to you. You hold your own possibility of your own divinity is your own hands. Each living thing has its own divinity and function/meaning. We can"t know how we are made of if we don"t understand more than biological or chemical. One of the great issues of metaphysics: what is the meaning of things? .