The phrase metaphysics factually means something that is beyond physical. This part of philosophy dwells on what is nature of reality and beauty regarding to human beings, what constitutes a good life, and how we can understand these things. Metaphysics tries to find unity across all the domains of thought and experience. In this paper, different examples of the way the systems of thought realism, idealism, materialism, and feminism have perceived and explored human perspectives will be discussed.
Idealism refers to the philosophical doctrine, which refutes the existence of the outside world thereby reducing it to subject representations. The philosophy can be traced back to the work of German philosopher Immanuel Kant (724 –1804). He established a sophisticated idealism form that was based on the distinction between noumena (“things-in-themselves”) and phenomena (“things as they appear”). For the philosopher, our minds usually draw some hard-wired techniques used in shaping noumena into phenomena; hence, humans can never perceive them directly (Zöller 79). For instance, perchance the entire notion of “physical/material” reality is one of the perceived mental techniques on people. Perhaps the entire difference between ‘mental’ and ‘material’ is something, which human beings’ minds utilize in making sense to the world; however, that does not in any way exist in the “noumenal dimension” since it would place people in a point that is beyond idealism and materialism. Also, Plato established the eternal forms of doctrines in the theory of idealism. He postulated that all objects people see around them are as a result of abstract concepts, which are like numbers (Zöller 83). For example, when one has four dollars, four cars, or four bananas; all these are instances of a similar abstract quantity of “four.” However, for the philosopher, the same thing was factual for the physical objects themselves. Thereby the ‘four bananas’ represents an instance of the abstract ‘four’ and an instance of the abstract ‘bananas.’
Realism is a philosophy that began during the 19th and ended in the early 20th century, which postulates that reality does exist independently of observers. It points out that it is the common sense of many people in the world. People use their feelings in gathering information regarding real objects that exist around them. The objects have physical properties that they can sense since they can omit odor for natural smell or even reflect light that they can see. The mind also can connect to the objects through thinking and memory. In other words, the objects are real. Greek philosopher Aristotle differed with Plato claiming that his proof of forms rests on the prior knowledge that if people in the first place did not know what universals were, they would not know what they are trying to prove and thus could not try to prove anything (Millikan 78). He also pointed out that particulars and universals imply each other. For example, it is hard to verify whether the mythical beings such as tooth fairy exist thus not qualifying as realities. A realism is when a tree is cut down; it produces a sound that can be heard. Hearing the noise and seeing the tree on the ground is real, which proves Aristotle’s realism philosophy.
Karl Marx materialism stands as a materialist ontological doctrine, which points out that there is no other greater substance than matter (Marx 38). In materialistic philosophy, consciousness is a secondary phenomenon and a trial of explaining the material world. For example, it rejects the existence of God and afterlife. The credo attempts to explain everything on the notion that wealth and goods are the most significant things in life, for instance, valuing material things over love.
Lastly, feminism is also another philosophical movement, which strives for the total emancipation of women, both social and political. Its theoretical perspective observes gender with equality between men. It focuses on race, nationality, sexual orientation, and economic status. One of the greatest feminism philosophers, Simone de Beauvoir, in 1949 wrote her book “The Second Sex” that laid the ground for feminism. Her work paved the way for first-wave feminism groundwork, which was concerned with property rights and women’s suffrage. The second wave widened these concerns to comprise of sexuality, work, reproductive rights, and family advocating for equal treatment of both sexes (Jardine 228).
Conclusion
The system of thought in philosophy is broad in explaining human beings interaction and understanding of everything around them. Philosophers have used their thoughts in describing some of the things that people find hard to tell. For instance, Kant used idealism in trying to refute the existence of the outside world by utilizing subject representations. Aristotle also used realism in explaining that reality exists in everything that we can sense in the environment. Simone de Beauvoir also used the feminism philosophy in revealing the truth that all sexes are equal thereby championing for equality. Lastly, Marx used the materialistic philosophy to there is no substance than matter thus postulating how material things are better than other things in life.
Works Cited
Zöller, Günter. Res Publica: Plato's Republic in Classical German Philosophy. Chinese University Press, 2015.
Millikan, Ruth Garrett. Language, thought, and other biological categories: New foundations for realism. MIT press, 1984.
Jardine, Alice, and Simone de Beauvoir. "Interview with Simone de Beauvoir." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 5.2 (1979): 224-236.
Marx, Karl, et al. On historical materialism: A collection. International Publishers, 1974.
