In this article we shall explore six concepts in philosophy that are important to all of us and that will be essential to understanding the way our minds work. The six concepts in philosophy that we are going to cover are Naturalism, Necessity, Aesthetics, Logic, Politics, and Personhood. Now these six concepts in philosophy might not seem very important to us and in fact many of us may already agree with some or all of them. However, if we do not have a good understanding of these concepts then perhaps we do not truly understand what is being discussed and maybe we can use this article as a refresher course.
Naturalism states that everything in the universe is composed of atoms and molecules. Everything that we see, feel, and taste is made up of atoms and molecules. Now we cannot touch these things and therefore they are subject to naturalism. Also, we cannot know about their properties unless we experiment and science has no way to test the properties of things that we do not know about. Now most scientists believe that there are several different types of particles and that they are all made up of multiple atomic units.
Aesthetics believes that the physical world around us is composed of beauty. We all have noticed that there are beautiful objects that are both inside and outside of our bodies such as the beach and the trees in the woods. In science the concepts of aesthetics are closely tied to the concepts of science. For example, light is considered beautiful because it is a function of electromagnetic radiation.
Logical believes that the universe and human minds are rational and therefore can be used to deduce the truth. However, one of the biggest problems with logical philosophy is that it is very vague as it has no language and it makes claims about what the world is like without reference to human experience. It also appears to be a very subjective philosophy. Another problem is that it is extremely vague and is very dependent on human imagination. A common concept in logic is the use of analogies or similes.
Naturalism believes that the universe and human beings are entirely unique. We are the only ones creating it. Other people in the universe who are not ourselves create everything they see and experience. This is part of the concept of naturalism. The concepts of religion, ethics, justice, and reason are seen as values that can be learned and applied. There is no concern with the existence of an entity controlling the events in the universe.
Theistic philosophy believes that life is sacred and that God is a force of nature that produces and controls the universe. This philosophy is very similar to scientific materialism where science serves as a pseudo-ontological point of view. It does not have a belief in the existence of deities or any other supernatural powers. The concept of theistic philosophy is highly dependent on religion and the belief of some in a deity. The major difference between the two is that theists believe in the power of a higher being to work through all of the events of life.
The rationalists believe that we live in a universe that is rational and is the product of physical laws that were put in place by intelligent entities. The six concepts of philosophy of rationalism include: objectivity, realism, skepticism, idealism, and rational privilege. Most rationalists do not hold to any of these six concepts, except for objectivity which is the only one that allows for objective knowledge about the world without reference to human experience. Most scientists who adhere to the rationalist school of thought also hold to a form of realism which means there is some reality to reality and the scientific methods to study it.
Aesthetics philosophy is the study of beauty. It differs slightly from aesthetics in the sense that the focus is not so much on the creation of beauty but the ways in which beauty is experienced. Aesthetics philosophers include Descartes, Sartre, Leibniz, and Nietzsche. Metaphysics covers different areas of natural philosophy including biology, physics, astronomy, and psychology. A scientist might be considered to be a metaphysician if he or she uses natural methods to study nature or to make discoveries about nature.