Month: May 2023

The Unity of Being Part I Section 3 [24] Section 3 　Present Controversies on the Issues of Monism 1. The Persistence of Monism. The notable place of the monistic principle in philosophic thought is still illustrated in contemporary conditions. The most impressive realistic metaphysician of today is a thorough going monist —Professor Alexander. The thesis… Continue reading Part I Section 3

The Unity of Being Part I Section 4 [60] Section 4 　Assumption or Principles of Method 1. The Nature of a Philosophical Assumption. The only “assumptions” which perhaps ought to be made in philosophy are — as we have suggested in the section heading — those which are really implied in the very undertaking of… Continue reading Part I Section 4

The Unity of Being Part I Section 5 [82] Section 5 　Plan and Divisions of the Outline 1. Division by Categories. The argument is divided according to categories. Each division represents a phase of the necessity for a Monistic view of Being — the first of the categories considered — a necessity which becomes apparent… Continue reading Part I Section 5

The Unity of Being Part II Section 5A [92] PART II. THE ARGUMENT. Section 5A 　Prefatory Word to Sections 6-9. The rise of the problems of unity in connection with the Categories of Being, Individuality or Uniqueness, Quality, and Relation may be indicated in the following manner. The pluralist and the monist alike might readily… Continue reading Part II Section 5A

The Unity of Being Part II Section 6 [99] Section 6 　The Argument from the Category of Being Argument 1. Thesis: Whatever “Being” may be, all things are related to this something by a relation which is indispensable or internal to them, and which alone renders them other than nothing. Whether “to be” denotes membership… Continue reading Part II Section 6

The Unity of Being Part II Section 7 [117] Section 7 　Individuality Thesis: The category of individuality or distinct identity (or thisness) is in the same foundational or constitutive relation to all entities as, we have held, is the category of being. Argument 1. The present category is sometimes treated as though a thing (in… Continue reading Part II Section 7

The Unity of Being Part II Section 8 [127] Section 8 　The Implications of Quality Thesis: Not only has every entity a nature or quality, but every quality has itself a nature, i.e., requires to be specified in its determinate difference from all other qualities by means of a further universal. In the end, since… Continue reading Part II Section 8

The Unity of Being Part II Section 9 [144] Section 9 　　Relations 　A. External Relations. Thesis: External or non-contributory relations imply an underlying reality to “mediate” these. Argument 1. Let us consider the three factors: the term A, the relation R, and the relatedness or being- related of A by R. The third factor, the… Continue reading Part II Section 9

The Unity of Being Part II Section 10 [170] Section 10 　　Space and Time Argument 1. Thesis: Space and Time are not wholes merely in the sense of parts in external relations to each other. This thesis follows a priori1 from the previous discussion of relations. But the problem may be taken more empirically as… Continue reading Part II Section 10

The Unity of Being Part II Section 11 [192] Section 11 　　Knowledge Argument 1. Thesis: Knowledge is not a collocation of objects, nor any relation between them simply. It is not reducible to terms that do not involve knowledge as essential to their being. The mere statement of the proposition that mind is an arrangement… Continue reading Part II Section 11