PHILOSOPHICAL OR ONTOLOGICAL QUESTIONS:
USEFUL DEFINITIONS:
Philosophy – n. the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct;
three branches: natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and metaphysical philosophy
Metaphysics – n. the branch of philosophy that treats of first principles, includes ontology and
cosmology, and is intimately connected with epistemology
Ontology – n. the branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence or being as such
Cosmology – n. the branch of philosophy dealing with the origin and general structure of the universe
with its parts, elements, and laws, and especially with such of its characteristics as space, time, causality,
and freedom
Epistemology –n. a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of
human knowledge.
ONTOLOGICAL QUESTIONS:
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Who are you?
Where does the world come from?
How was the world created?
Is there any will or meaning behind what happens?
Is there life after death?
How can we answer those questions?
How ought we to live?
What is the limit of our knowledge?
Is there such a thing as Fate?
Is sickness the punishment of the gods?
What forces govern the course of history?
“The only thing we require to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder.”
What is the limit of our knowledge? It has been said – the world is like a rabbit – we crawl down within
its fur and sit comfortably.
Myths = religious explanations handed down from generation to generation.
Philosophical question: “Is there a basic substance that everything is made of?”
In 585 BC Thales (from Melelus in Asia Minor) theorized that the source of all things was water.
Anaximander of Meletus held that there are a “myriad of worlds” that evolve and dissolve into the
“boundless.”
Anaximenes of Meletus thought that the source of all things was air or vapor. Air gave birth to earth,
water, and fire (which was rarified air).
By 500 BC Parmenides was positing that the senses give an incorrect picture of reality and Hericlitus of
Ephesus thought that everything flows from changes or the interplay of opposites. God can be seen in
transformations and contrasts.
Logos = Reason
Entity = ONEness = God or “Logos”: “In the beginning was the Word and … the Word was God.”
Empedocles of Sicily maintained that there was no single basic substance or substances; there are four
elements: earth, air, fire, and water. He saw the two forces in nature as love and strife.
Anaxagoras said nature was built up of minute particles (akin to modern particle theory)
Democritus – Everything is built of tiny invisible (b---)
“a-tom” = “uncuttable”
Nature consists of an unlimited number or variety of atoms (uncuttable bits). Atoms+ void = existence.
Democritus was a “materialist” who believed that there was no such thing as an immortal soul.
Carved on stone at the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was the admonition: “KNOW THYSELF.”