Definitions.....

Some of the words used are so difficult to remember and I need a quick dictionary. This was the first word I needed to look up and I have since heart it used wrongly on two or three occassions. This is the word as it is used in Philosophy.


METAPHYSICS The branch of philosophy which studies the underlying structure of reality. Central questions in metaphysics include: Can we act freely? What is it for something to exist? How are causes related to their effects? What is time? What is space? How is change possible?

I found this word confusing every time I met it! So here is its definition.

ONTOLOGY The branch of METAPHYSICS which studies the nature of existence. Central questions include: What kinds of objects exist? What is it for something to exist?

tel·e·ol·o·gy

[tel-ee-ol-uh-jee, tee-lee-]

–noun Philosophy .

1.

the doctrine that final causes exist.

2.

the study of the evidences of design or purpose in nature.

3.

such design or purpose.

4.

the belief that purpose and design are a part of or are apparent in nature.

5.

(in vitalist philosophy) the doctrine that phenomena are guided not only by mechanical forces but that they also move toward certain goals of self-realization.

(philosophy) a doctrine explaining phenomena by their ends or purposes
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Teleology (from the Greek - telos, root: τελε-, "end, purpose") is the philosophical study of design and purpose. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleology

The study of the purpose of natural occurrences; The use of a non-natural purpose to explain an occurrence
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/teleology

teleologist - advocate of teleology
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

teleological - of or relating to teleology
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

teleologically - In a teleological context or manner
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/teleologically

in theology, the doctrine that all things are designed by God; in biology, the theory or study of development as caused by the purposes which things serve.
www.willdurant.com/glossary.htm

is the practice of evaluating a decision against the criterion of whether the outcome achieves the original goal.
wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/213/218150/glossary.html

I will add to this list as time goes on....

first unit, first posting.

I thought this might be a place to store some of the things I have learnt, or details of my reading as I progress through the Pathways course. The first unit is challenging as it asks questions about other possible universes and then hits you with Hume's Fork. This immediately takes you to the heart of Metaphysics - what can we know for certain? This has been argued since the days of Plato, in various forms, and I am not sure that we are much the wiser for all that has been said - for all the miles of print and papyrus etc etc.

I will try to come here to save information, try out dialogues and save links or pages that might be of use in the future.