The Effect of Metaphysics on Epistemology

With special consideration of what has happened to our understanding of the

human person

by Sue Reilly

Being

BeingFirst, mind grasps existence outside the mind

Second, mind develops ideas about the existent

Being

Being is the object of human knowledge

Being is the subject of epistemology

The Nexus Point

Being

Material Substance

Immaterial Substance

Metaphysical Terms

• Substance or Substantial Being– The thing itself– Substantial being, which exists in its own right– Every substance has an essence or nature that is one with the

substance

Metaphysical Terms (cont’d)

• Accident or Accidental Being– Aristotle had nine categories of accidents, four of which are below– Exists only in a substance; not on its own– Intrinsic to the substantial unity of a substance– To know the substance and its accidents is to know something (not

everything) of the substance’s essence or identity

Quantity(big vs small)

Red

Quality(color)

Action(teaching)

Time(calendar)

Summary of Metaphysical Terms

• According to Aristotle - Aquinas, a substance refers to a subsistent being, which exists per se and is one with its accidents and essence (nature). “Substance” can be used interchangeably with “substantial being” and “subsistent being.”

• The understanding of the term substance has dramatically influenced our understanding and knowledge of the human being.

NominalismWilliam of Occam 1285 - 1347

• No essences, natures, universals. These terms are empty of meaning.

• Consequence: human mind has no power of abstraction, which distinguishes us from the animals

• Consequence: there is no such thing as a human nature or “humanity”

• Severe consequences in medical field as well as structure of society.

Rene Descartes (1596 -1650)

• Mind-Body dualism: human being is two substances not one

• Consequence: what is man’s true identity, as a material body or an immaterial soul? How do they communicate with each othere?

• Consequence: if purely spiritual, then why worry about needs of the body

• Consequence: if purely material, no worries about the afterlife

John Locke (1632 -1704)

• Is there such a thing as a human substance? If there is, we can’t know it. It lies beyond the human mind’s grasp.

• Consequence: distortion of what constitutes the source of man’s true identity

• Consequence: man’s identity lies in his consciousness, which means man’s identity lies in an accident not a substance.

• Consequence: lose of integrity of human being

George Berkeley (1685 -1753)

• Only purely spiritual substances are given existential value above the ranking of ‘mere ideas.’

• Consequence: human beings are defined by their immateriality; their material qualities being discounted.

• Consequence: humans are ontologically akin to angels

• Consequence: what happens to human beings when their bodily needs are not met (hunger, sickness, pain)?

David Hume (1711 -1776)• Elimiates both immaterial and material

substances. • Consequence: human mind is so limited

that it cannot know immaterial or material substances. Ideas are only copies and as such the essence of the image is unintelligible.

• Consequence: if we can’t know immaterial and material substances, then how do we know and understand human beings?

• Consequence: human person cannot be considered a substantial existent

• Consequence: human mind nothing but repository of various perceptions that are related

Immanuel Kant (1724 -1804)• Shifted starting point of human

knowledge from outside world to a priori ideas or categories inside the mind

• Consequence: human mind can’t know the thing in itself, ie, the essence or nature

• Consequence: the human person is cut off from knowing the world, knowing oneself, and knowing other human beings.

• Consequence: human autonomy instead of human community

Pragmatism William James (1685 -1753)

• Coined the phrase “stream of consciousness,” which describes the mental activity occurring in the mind

• Consequence: emphasis on the mind as the defining element in the human person

• Consequence: ‘stream of consciousness’ is what actually thinks not the thinking subject itself.

• Consequence: “…substances and selves done away with…there is consciousness without a conscious being, thought without a thinker, accidents without subject…”

Summary

• Aristotle, a realist, developed term “substance” • His understanding prevailed until Descartes• Idealism caused shift from viewing the human

being as a substance to a mind • The object of the human intellect is truth• We must know the truth about the human

being/human person• The understanding of human being influences

legal, medical, and moral behavior in society