Metaphysics - Ch. 2 (B)

(Originally written July 22, 2006 in Book 6)

Metaphysics
Peter van Inwagen

Ch. 2 - Individuality

An individual thing is not a process. Processes start and end and happen. Individual things come into existence and go out of existence.

The Common Western metaphysic holds that the World consists of many individual things. Contrary to the Common Western metaphysic there are those who believe:
1) There are no individual things (nihilism)
2) There is one individual thing (monism)
3) There is more than one individual thing, but there are not many

Dualists believe that there are two types of things, not just two individual things: mental things and physical things. Some dualists hold that there are two things that are either good or evil, or order and disorder.

Nihilism believes in universals and the things that we see are not individual things, but modifications and collections.

Nihilists can also only believe in stuff and no individual things or collections or modifications.

Nihilism that bases its theory that individual things do not exist and only modifications of universals exist is not plausible. Nihilism that bases its theory that individual things do not exist and only collections exist is even less plausible. Nihilism that believes that individual things exist only as stuff is the most plausible but does not match up with modern physics.

Monism believes that there is only one individual thing. "Monists believe that there is only one thing that is at all like things that those who believe that there are many individual things" (van Inwagen, 20). Monists hold that only one non-universal thing can exist. Thus, monists basically hold that only these things exist:
1) Universals
2) Stuffs
3) Modifications
4) The One (the only individual thing)
5) Modifications of the One
6) Collections of modifications of the One

Some monists hold that what individual things (seemingly) are are actually various modifications of the One. (This is Spinoza's version).

Some monists hold that seemingly individual things are appearances and cannot be viewed as reality at all. This school of thought was held by the Absolute Idealists. (Berkeley held this version).

Berkeley believed that minds were actually individual things, so he couldn't be an Absolute Idealist or a true monist.

A third form of monism holds that seemingly individual things are actually how the One portraits itself to himself. The Sun (the One) presents itself to me (the One) in a certain way.

Linehan - Sexual gratification is thus only masturbation. The One is one horny bastard.

Some people stat that Hindus hold this third view.

Monism, while it has various forms believes that individuality is either illusionary at its lowest and not fully real at its best.

Why would anyone be a Monist?

Spinoza - "If a thing is not absolutely independent of everything else, then it must be a mere modification of something that is absolutely independent of everything else" (van Inwagen, 32).

Linehan - While I do not hold to monism or Spinoza at all, this is a very good argument.

When the One is called 'god' it becomes pantheism. Theism is a mean between pantheism (all is God) and atheism (nothing is God). Atheists do not believe in God, thus only the physical universe composes the world.

While theists and atheists disagree profoundly, they both reject pantheism (and monism).

Atheists reject monism on a number of levels:
1) Some hold that there are no independent beings
2) some hold that there are many independent things

Some monists accept monism simply because of a certain experience that has shown them individuality is only an illusion. These experiences do not come from senses (which indicate individual things) but from religious or mystical experience. Whatever triggers these experiences (chance, drugs or rigorous spiritual exercises) they end them with the feeling that one of the mot important pieces of knowledge is that individuality is an illusion. People who have these experiences call them ineffable, impossible to articulate or describe.

Linehan - at the end of chapter 2 I find myself questioning why I ever wished to embark on metaphysical studies. What good can come from questions without answers? I find myself slipping into a metaphysical madness. But, metaphysics and anything in philosophy (save for history) is similar to faith. Faith provides for me the knowledge of God (for me, knowledge is the comprehension of truth). Undoubtedly, truth exists. Just as sure as truth exists, I am incapable of comprehending it all. Thus, I am wholly incapable of comprehending all truth and thus, ill-equipped to handle or possess absolute knowledge. While I do not have absolute knowledge of God, I have enough partial knowledge to assert his existence as real. Faith then provides me with the assurance of God, which I cannot get from my own knowledge.

Metaphysics cannot provide concrete knowledge. Without the assurance of God's existence, provided by faith, anyone would be lost in metaphysical madness, entering endless dark alleys of speculation ultimately leaving him or her with nothing but hopeless skepticism. I will never produce concrete metaphysical facts, but I am assured that any questions I 'answer' will continue to point me towards God. What I cannot produce through metaphysics will undoubtedly be overcome through faith. Questions are a process (one of the many processes) that ultimately lead to God. The final question that they produce is (thankfully) an answerable one. Will you accept God's existence and the mercy he offers or will you deny God and His grace? As for me and my house, I will accept the Lord.