PHILOS 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Anti-Realism, Monism, Mental Substance
Document Summary
Metaphysics is about what there is fundamentally. We want to know what there is at the most basic level or reality. Problem: what do we mean by "fundamentally": Things appear to be different but also appear to be the same. So how many fundamental things are there. Toes, catfish, the internet, spite, heft, money, rainbows. Some things seem to be basically physical or non-physical/mental. A substance is something that is given as the basis of the existence of something else. A property is a characteristic of a substance (ex. Some properties are intrinsic to a substance (ex. Some properties are manifested in relation to the observer (ex. Color, value of money, aesthetic value, etc. A bill has certain value because it was issued by the right authority, it is used by the right people, etc. This substance is essentially and ultimately physical/material in nature. Mental properties/minds are "nothing but" a property of matter.
