Metaphysics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics

Mind and matter
See also: Matter, Materialism, and Philosophy of mind
The nature of matter was a problem in its own right in early philosophy. Aristotle himself introduced the idea of matter in general to the Western world, adapting the term hyle, which originally meant "lumber." Early debates centered on identifying a single underlying principle. Water was claimed by Thales, air by Anaximenes, Apeiron (the Boundless) by Anaximander, fire by Heraclitus. Democritus, in conjunction with his mentor, Leucippus, conceived of an atomic theory many centuries before it was accepted by modern science. It is worth noting, however, that the grounds necessary to ensure validity to the proposed theory's veridical nature were not scientific, but just as philosophical as those traditions espoused by Thales and Anaximander.
The nature of the mind and its relation to the body has been seen as more of a problem as science has progressed in its mechanistic understanding of the brain and body. Proposed solutions often have ramifications about the nature of mind as a whole. René Descartes proposed substance dualism, a theory in which mind and body are essentially different, with the mind having some of the attributes traditionally assigned to the soul, in the seventeenth century. This creates a conceptual puzzle about how the two interact (which has received some strange answers, such as occasionalism). Evidence of a close relationship between brain and mind, such as the Phineas Gage case, have made this form of dualism increasingly unpopular.
Another proposal discussing the mind-body problem is idealism, in which the material is sweepingly eliminated in favor of the mental. Idealists, such as George Berkeley, claim that material objects do not exist unless perceived and only as perceptions. The "German idealists" such as Fichte, Hegel and Schopenhauer took Kant as their starting-point, although it is debatable how much of an idealist Kant himself was. Idealism is also a common theme in Eastern philosophy. Related ideas are panpsychism and panexperientialism, which say everything has a mind rather than everything exists in a mind. Alfred North Whitehead was a twentieth-century exponent of this approach.
Idealism is a monistic theory which holds that there is a single universal substance or principle. Neutral monism, associated in different forms with Baruch Spinoza and Bertrand Russell, seeks to be less extreme than idealism, and to avoid the problems of substance dualism. It claims that existence consists of a single substance that in itself is neither mental nor physical, but is capable of mental and physical aspects or attributes – thus it implies a dual-aspect theory.
For the last one hundred years, the dominant metaphysics has without a doubt been materialistic monism. Type identity theory, token identity theory, functionalism, reductive physicalism, nonreductive physicalism, eliminative materialism, anomalous monism, property dualism, epiphenomenalism and emergence are just some of the candidates for a scientifically informed account of the mind. (It should be noted that while many of these positions are dualisms, none of them are substance dualism.)
Prominent recent philosophers of mind include David Armstrong, Ned Block, David Chalmers, Patricia and Paul Churchland, Donald Davidson, Daniel Dennett, Fred Dretske, Douglas Hofstadter, Jerry Fodor, David Lewis, Thomas Nagel, Hilary Putnam, John Searle, John Smart, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Fred Alan Wolf.

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I am exploring the "internet world" on the subject of metaphysics and I found the above interesting   . john

Well I read it all a few times and think I understood a bit of it.
It would help if the dictionary gave an easy to understand definition of metaphysics.

I could probably discuss some of it, if led to xx

mia wrote:Well I read it all a few times and think I understood a bit of it.
It would help if the dictionary gave an easy to understand definition of metaphysics.

I could probably discuss some of it, if led to xx

 Mai I said that it was interesting, but I didn't actually say that I understood it   . I am researching "Metaphysics" on the internet to see what the word means in today's world and to see what kinds of things are going on in today's world of metaphysics.  So, just for something to do I thought that I would post some of the stuff that I run across just for fun and to create activity while I am do this internet research. john

lol Sunny ..... you and my eldest would get along fine.

At age 8, his favourite book was a 1966 Pears Encyclopedia.
To this day, I need a thesauraus or/and dictionary when he messages me.
And I always interrupt him to ask the meaning of a word when we talk lol

I know when you are drawn to something all you want to do is learn more xx

I found what you wrote John an excellent summary of  metaphysics.
I think the advent of quantum physics and the computer are impacting
metaphysical ideas.
Keep well
Stephen
Check out this blog spot 
http://thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.co.il/
Look through all his posts.He has collected in one place a mass
of really interesting stuff.Years of reading.
See October 2012