Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Discuss any topics related to metaphysics (the philosophical study of the principles of reality) or epistemology (the philosophical study of knowledge) in this forum.
User avatar
3017Metaphysician
Posts: 1621
Joined: July 9th, 2021, 8:59 am

Re: Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Post by 3017Metaphysician »

JackDaydream wrote: September 23rd, 2021, 5:47 am @3017Metaphysican

Hello Meta,
I have been thinking about what you wrote on science and metaphysics and I believe that it is complex as the relationship between the two is interconnected. I know that as a young child was so puzzling because I had so little scientific knowledge. I believe that a 'missing link' is religious thinking and, for many that has been replaced by science. I was taught the account of creation in the Bible by my parents and I can remember being so confused when I first learned the theory of evolution. Some of my education was at a Catholic school and it did seem that some of
the teachers were trying to reconcile religious and scientific thinking.

I believe that a lot of the question of how we think about 'reality' is dependent on our entire worldview. It is so much about juggling what appears to be subjective, objective and inter subjective aspects of knowledge. There is the world of immediate experience and narratives told amongst social groups as well as that contained within the news, as well as books and the internet.

I believe that metaphysics is at the centre of all thinking even if people do not acknowledge it. The physicists come from basic assumptions, but, also, all psychological models and ones within the social sciences begin from premises about the nature of reality. There are viewpoints which range from idealism and naturalism, but they are all based on metaphysics, and there are likely to be such varying perspectives according to historical and cultural contexts. There is a difference in Western and Eastern metaphysical assumptions, and probably subtle shades in between. Our basic empirical and theoretical background inform our starting point, our searches and research, and interpretations of what we find may challenge our thoughts about reality. It appears to me to be an interactive relationship between reality 'out there' and the construction and descriptive accounts.
JD!

Yes. Similarly, I feel like since the phenomenon of life is both physical and non-physical, and being biologically self-aware creatures who naturally love and wonder, we are all metaphysicians (to some degree) and don't even know it!

So much for my supposition :roll:
“Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. There is no matter.” "Spooky Action at a Distance"
― Albert Einstein
User avatar
JackDaydream
Posts: 3218
Joined: July 25th, 2021, 5:16 pm

Re: Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Post by JackDaydream »

@3017Metaphysican

Thanks for your contributions to the thread and indeed life is physical and non physical in a complex and way. I hope to make a contribution to your thread on time in the next few days as time is one of the essential aspects of reality,
User avatar
3017Metaphysician
Posts: 1621
Joined: July 9th, 2021, 8:59 am

Re: Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Post by 3017Metaphysician »

JackDaydream wrote: September 23rd, 2021, 2:56 pm @3017Metaphysican

Thanks for your contributions to the thread and indeed life is physical and non physical in a complex and way. I hope to make a contribution to your thread on time in the next few days as time is one of the essential aspects of reality,
My pleasure...please do!

In the spirit of positive thinking:

Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.- John Keats
“Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. There is no matter.” "Spooky Action at a Distance"
― Albert Einstein
Nick_A
Posts: 3364
Joined: April 19th, 2009, 11:45 pm

Re: Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Post by Nick_A »

Metaphysics brings one back to the origin. Contemplating or Remembering the forms is a metaphysical action. When the forms devolve vertically into fragments of the whole at the visible realm or as Plato described as below the illumination of the sun, then the relationship enters the realm of science and opinions.

Metaphysics and science should be connected. The human condition prevents it.
Man would like to be an egoist and cannot. This is the most striking characteristic of his wretchedness and the source of his greatness." Simone Weil....Gravity and Grace
PoeticUniverse
Posts: 638
Joined: April 4th, 2015, 7:25 pm

Re: Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Post by PoeticUniverse »

3017Metaphysician wrote: September 23rd, 2021, 3:31 pm Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.- John Keats
On this Earth you are ever born again,
When the roseate hearts are cleansed by dew,
And lucky are you if spring finds you new,
When every blossom on the bush blows full.

When these wonders the new morning bestrew,
The beauty of truth was all that you ‘knew’.

Life’s hardships here are softened by beauty,
And its weaknesses strengthened by the truth—
As when roses blossomed, like realizations,
Beauty itself bloomed from the well of truth.
PoeticUniverse
Posts: 638
Joined: April 4th, 2015, 7:25 pm

Re: Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Post by PoeticUniverse »

The present undergoes a dynamical ‘updating’, or exhibits a quality as of a fleeting swoosh, and this additional dynamical aspect is what threatens the substance of the debate between the presentist and an eternalist opponent.

In other words, what is going to exist or was existent, as the presentist must refer to as to be or has been is indicated as coming or going and is thus inherent in the totality of What IS, and so it has no true ‘nonexistence’, for this as ‘Nothing’ cannot be. This is saying that there is no contrast between a real future and an unreal future, for what is real or exists can have no opposite to form a contrast class.

!
!
V

The unborn future is inherent in the past,
Its ‘will be’ is real, with no unreal contrast class,
As there’s no opposite to existence—no Nil;
It’s not just that future is going to exist.

The present ‘now’ undergoes an updating,
In a fleeting swoosh that passes it away,
For the ‘now’ fades, consumed, as future becomes,
Yet, what will become past can’t just non-exist.
User avatar
JackDaydream
Posts: 3218
Joined: July 25th, 2021, 5:16 pm

Re: Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Post by JackDaydream »

@PoeticUniverse

It is interesting how so much in life appears in cycles, and it appears that there is a constant shifting of most aspects of experience through change, mortality and impermanence. Everything is fleeting and hard to pin down, and almost dissolves before our eyes, because all the life forms are in constant processes of change and regeneration. It makes everything appear as fragmentary, as
reflections of larger systems and patterns with in eternity and the infinite picture.
PoeticUniverse
Posts: 638
Joined: April 4th, 2015, 7:25 pm

Re: Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Post by PoeticUniverse »

JackDaydream wrote: September 23rd, 2021, 5:26 pm larger systems and patterns with in eternity and the infinite picture.
I was trying to post it in the 'Time' thread but I goofed.

Th larger system constantly changes through the laws of nature. Lucky the we can take a picture to show something of the past.
User avatar
JackDaydream
Posts: 3218
Joined: July 25th, 2021, 5:16 pm

Re: Is There Any Absolute, or Ultimate 'Reality?'

Post by JackDaydream »

@PoeticUniverse

It blended into this smoothly, so don't worry about it. I am planning to write in the 'time' thread as well, but have exhausted myself on this thread. I hope to write about time tomorrow in 3017Metaphysican's thread if the throw and unfurling current of time flows smoothly. But it is all interrelated, and sometimes it is like the many threads are like various houses along a road.
Post Reply

Return to “Epistemology and Metaphysics”

2023/2024 Philosophy Books of the Month

Entanglement - Quantum and Otherwise

Entanglement - Quantum and Otherwise
by John K Danenbarger
January 2023

Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul

Mark Victor Hansen, Relentless: Wisdom Behind the Incomparable Chicken Soup for the Soul
by Mitzi Perdue
February 2023

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness

Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature: How Civilization Destroys Happiness
by Chet Shupe
March 2023

The Unfakeable Code®

The Unfakeable Code®
by Tony Jeton Selimi
April 2023

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
by Alan Watts
May 2023

Killing Abel

Killing Abel
by Michael Tieman
June 2023

Reconfigurement: Reconfiguring Your Life at Any Stage and Planning Ahead

Reconfigurement: Reconfiguring Your Life at Any Stage and Planning Ahead
by E. Alan Fleischauer
July 2023

First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough

First Survivor: The Impossible Childhood Cancer Breakthrough
by Mark Unger
August 2023

Predictably Irrational

Predictably Irrational
by Dan Ariely
September 2023

Artwords

Artwords
by Beatriz M. Robles
November 2023

Fireproof Happiness: Extinguishing Anxiety & Igniting Hope

Fireproof Happiness: Extinguishing Anxiety & Igniting Hope
by Dr. Randy Ross
December 2023

Beyond the Golden Door: Seeing the American Dream Through an Immigrant's Eyes

Beyond the Golden Door: Seeing the American Dream Through an Immigrant's Eyes
by Ali Master
February 2024

2022 Philosophy Books of the Month

Emotional Intelligence At Work

Emotional Intelligence At Work
by Richard M Contino & Penelope J Holt
January 2022

Free Will, Do You Have It?

Free Will, Do You Have It?
by Albertus Kral
February 2022

My Enemy in Vietnam

My Enemy in Vietnam
by Billy Springer
March 2022

2X2 on the Ark

2X2 on the Ark
by Mary J Giuffra, PhD
April 2022

The Maestro Monologue

The Maestro Monologue
by Rob White
May 2022

What Makes America Great

What Makes America Great
by Bob Dowell
June 2022

The Truth Is Beyond Belief!

The Truth Is Beyond Belief!
by Jerry Durr
July 2022

Living in Color

Living in Color
by Mike Murphy
August 2022 (tentative)

The Not So Great American Novel

The Not So Great American Novel
by James E Doucette
September 2022

Mary Jane Whiteley Coggeshall, Hicksite Quaker, Iowa/National Suffragette And Her Speeches

Mary Jane Whiteley Coggeshall, Hicksite Quaker, Iowa/National Suffragette And Her Speeches
by John N. (Jake) Ferris
October 2022

In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All

In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All
by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
November 2022

The Smartest Person in the Room: The Root Cause and New Solution for Cybersecurity

The Smartest Person in the Room
by Christian Espinosa
December 2022

2021 Philosophy Books of the Month

The Biblical Clock: The Untold Secrets Linking the Universe and Humanity with God's Plan

The Biblical Clock
by Daniel Friedmann
March 2021

Wilderness Cry: A Scientific and Philosophical Approach to Understanding God and the Universe

Wilderness Cry
by Dr. Hilary L Hunt M.D.
April 2021

Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute: Tools To Spark Your Dream And Ignite Your Follow-Through

Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute
by Jeff Meyer
May 2021

Surviving the Business of Healthcare: Knowledge is Power

Surviving the Business of Healthcare
by Barbara Galutia Regis M.S. PA-C
June 2021

Winning the War on Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards a Natural Cure

Winning the War on Cancer
by Sylvie Beljanski
July 2021

Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream

Defining Moments of a Free Man from a Black Stream
by Dr Frank L Douglas
August 2021

If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your Buts

If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your Buts
by Mark L. Wdowiak
September 2021

The Preppers Medical Handbook

The Preppers Medical Handbook
by Dr. William W Forgey M.D.
October 2021

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress: A Practical Guide

Natural Relief for Anxiety and Stress
by Dr. Gustavo Kinrys, MD
November 2021

Dream For Peace: An Ambassador Memoir

Dream For Peace
by Dr. Ghoulem Berrah
December 2021