PHIL-230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Reductionism, Arche, Atomism
Document Summary
The elementalists: all 3 aim to understand the basic elements that move us from being to becoming, preserving both common sense and philosophy. A middle path avoiding the extremes of rejcting cs or philosophy. Will use the building blocks as a path from being to becoming so that both can be saved : anaxagoras: (500-428): reductionist in his approach: reduces the complex to a singular thing. The multiplicity of human life and perception can be reduced (all material reality of the world of becoming) to singularity bits of matter called seeds. The seeds contain within themselves (within their nature) the potential to become differentiated (determinate) beings. But as a pure potential, they harness no actuality: they are indeterminate. Seeds are not determinate beings (ie to be seen) but a potential to be made actual to create things which we can actually encounter. The bits of matter/the seeds, don"t come in and out of existence but just are.
