Ontology (or Metaphysics)

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Ontology(or Metaphysics)

• What exists?
• What is?
• Whats real?

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ology the study of

• Onto-logia That which isthe study of (Ontology)
• Episteme-logia Knowledgethe study of
  (Epistemology)
• Theo-logia Godthe study of (Theology)
• Bios-logia Lifethe study of (Biology)
• Kinesis-logia Movementthe study of (Kinesiology)
• Ideo-logie Ideasthe study of (Ideology)
• Anthropos-logia Humanitythe study of
  (Anthropology)

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What really exists?Is this

• A silly question
• because the answers are so obvious!

• A practical question
• because the answers
• have rather
• important
• implications!

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Lets keep in mind that

• Errors and disagreements about the nature of
  reality have, do, and will continue to result in
  ----------------------

• Arguments and fights
• Lawsuits
• Wars
• Oppression and destruction of whole cultures
• Huge wastes of time, money, and energy
• Mental illness

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Obeying God

• Love thy neighbor
• Loving the neighbor also involves serving their
  needs and providing for their good. Every time we
  do our job or our daily tasks with thoughtfulness
  and care we are loving our neighbor because we
  are providing for their needs in one way or
  another. Everything we do that is of some benefit
  to another person or that gives another person
  happiness and joy is loving our neighbor.

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Obeying God

• Isrealthe Holy Land, the Promised Land
• The Jewish religious belief that the area is a
  God-given inheritance of the Jewish people is
  based on the Torah, especially the books of
  Genesis and Exodus, as well as the Prophets.
  According to the Book of Genesis, the land was
  promised by God to the descendants of Abraham
  through his son Isaac and to the Israelites,
  descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson.

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Obeying God

• Gain martyrdom by slaying infidels who attack
  Muslims

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Warm up exerciseWhats This?
Chair
Clothes Horse
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Warm up exerciseIs this real?
Ghosts
Sacred burial mound
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Warm up exerciseIs this real?
Miwok or Ohlone Indian sacred burial site at the
Hidden Oaks subdivision in Lafayette, CA
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Ontology is

• the study of the nature of being, existence or
  reality as such, as well as the basic categories
  of being and their relations.

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A Challenging Ontological ExerciseCreating
Categories of Like Things
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One Ontological Category Scheme

1. Physical Objects (a house, a tree)
2. Minds (thoughts, emotions, memories,
   imaginations)
3. Classes (set of all planets, set of all females)
4. Properties (redness, heaviness, stickiness)
5. Relations (sitting on, taller than, next to)
6. Space and Time (far away, long ago, soon,
   yesterday, east)
7. Propositions (snow is white, philosophy is fun)
8. Events (Maria acted in the play)

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For DiscussionA Simplified Ontological Scheme
Material Mental Spiritual
tree ideas deceased ancestors
house emotions gods
planet memories ghosts
cell perceptions auras
sound wave language magic
electron imaginations karma
hydrogen sulfide dreams soul
human body morals enlightenment
gravity attitudes evil spirits
etc. etc. etc.
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Material Mental Spiritual

• The field of philosophy offers many different
  theories or points of view on the nature of these
  categories of reality, and on the relationships
  between them.

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Materialism or Naturalism

• Some philosophies believe that only physical
  objects or matter and energy are real that even
  mental creations are simply detectable and
  measurable changes in the brain and body and,
  that spiritual things are merely another type of
  construction by the mind.

Physical Matter and Energy
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Materialism or Naturalism
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Materialism or Naturalism
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What is Love?

• A Poetic Mystery?

• A Simple Chemical Reaction?

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Idealism

• Some philosophies believe that all reality exists
  only in our minds the material and spiritual
  worlds have no objective or independent existence
  or reality beyond our mental ideas, feelings, or
  images about them.

Mental Constructs
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Idealism
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Idealism Platos Cave
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Wilma learns about Idealismby Joel Cosson
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Spiritualism

• Some philosophies believe material, mental, and
  spiritual things are all very real but, they do
  not exist in separate categories rather, they
  are interactive elements within a single
  integrated reality.

Material Mental Spiritual
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Spiritual Religion
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Spiritual Holistic Health
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Spiritual New Age

• meditation channeling
• crystal healing astral projection psychic
  experience
• holistic health simple living
  environmentalism
• extraterrestrial life
• unidentified flying objects
• crop circles reincarnation
• seances mediums
• chanting singing bowls
• etc. etc.

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Spiritualism

• Supernatural forces, beings, and places are real,
  and they are interactive with humans.

• They are not material things that can be measured
  or weighed.
• They are not created by our minds nor dependent
  on our minds to exist.

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What is a Centaur?
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Skepticism

• Some philosophies doubt that we can know what
  exists or is real our primary means of knowing
  (senses, minds, hearts) are simply too deceptive,
  too confused, and too unreliable to allow for any
  certainty about existence or reality.

? ? ? ? ?
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Skepticism
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Social Constructionism

• Some philosophies believe that, in the final
  analysis, what really exists is whatever the most
  influential and powerful groups in society say
  really exists.

Social Constructs
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Are TheseSocial Constructs?

• Gender Roles?
• Race?
• California Mission History?
• Evolution?
• Global Warming?
• Islamic Extremism

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Existentialism

• Some philosophies believe that the issue of
  ultimate existence is irrelevant all that really
  matters is what each person believes exists, and
  how those beliefs affect his or her personal life.

Personal Construction
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Existentialism
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So, is Existence or Reality

• Only Physical Matter? (Materialism)
• All Mental Constructs? (Idealism)
• An Integrated Physical/Mental/Spiritual Whole?
  (Spiritualism)
• Unknowable? (Skepticism)
• Defined by Each Societys Elite? (Social
  Constructionism)
• Whatever Each Individual Thinks It Is?
  (Existentialism)
• Something Else Entirely?