Essay On What Exists And What Accounts For Changes In What Exists

Introduction

Logical paradoxes have always existed as long as the Greeks in the classical era were graced with philosophers and logicians such as Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. This is because, engagement in philosophy and its branches such as logic helped in the identification of fatal logical flaws. Thus, logic has helped in identifying the impossibility or the paradox that may accost flawed thinking. Through the use of the same logic, it became possible to establish the difference between what exists and what accounts for the changes that exist.

The question above in part addresses the essence of existence. The question of existence is fundamental and it brings up problems in logic, the philosophy of language, ontology and metaphysics. In this question, it may be argued: whether or not existence is a property of individuals; and whether or not, there are individuals who lack this property, if the property is a property of the individuals.
As touching the philosophy of language, terms such as reality and being may be considered and compared in order to determine non-fictitious, common and non-abstract forms of existence from one another. There is the issue of contingency: contingent properties differ with necessary properties. For instance, composing this essay may be one among the writer’s contingent properties. These are different from the necessary properties. The necessary property may for instance strictly dictate that the writer of this paper is human.

Dichotomy Paradox of Ultimate Reality

In the Aristotelian sense, the contingent properties are accidents. The same school of thought contends that all essences are essential and irreplaceable, though some properties can be accidents. It is in this light that there are properties due to the writer as the bearer of the qualities due to him. Similarly, an adequate account of the essence of the object composes the properties of the bearer. This is the primary ingredient that will help in answering the question; What is it? The writer of this essay is for instance human even if there are individual essences existing alongside general essences. The significance of Aristotle’s input is that it laid stage for his medieval protégés by informing the historical precedence of the debate which mainly focused on essence.
Socrates in Heculitus Democratus maintained that the real world’s existence superseded that of the world of sense. The latter in this case is not subject to decay or generation and is therefore a mirage. On the contrary, the real world was taken as the underlying unity which existed and operated behind all forms of diversity.

Zeno’s Dichotomy Paradox

Just as Leonard divulges, Zeno of Elea was a philosopher who existed in 5 BC who propounded several ingenious paradoxes. For instance, Zeno showed that motion is impossibility. Zeno achieved this by discussing latent contradictions or light apparent contradictions surrounding ordinary assumptions that define occurrence. Zeno also makes mention of 20 paradoxes that he calls Paradoxes of Plurality. In this Paradoxes of Plurality, Zeno speaks of ontological plurality to mean that existence or reality is the existence of several things and not one thing (Leonard, 347).

Pythagoras

The postulation by Zeno above brought about arguments which arose from the problematization of the quantitative conception of physical bodies in respect to spatial expanses. This is because Zeno’s standpoint fundamentally affected Pythagoras’ application of mathematical notions on the natural or physical world. It is for this reason that Pythagoras introduced the concept, extant paradoxes.

Plato

In Plato’s argument on reality and existence, Plato splits existence or reality into two realms. These are the transcendent realm and the material realm of forms. Man in his mind has access to real of forms in his mind, via reason. In this instance, Plato induces the subdivision of the human soul. The subdivision of the human soul allows for access into the unchanging world, changes in the material world and the emotions thereof. Human detach themselves from the material world, while developing their capacity to grapple with forms and change.

Descartes

According to Descartes, one has to doubt the beliefs that are arrived at through the senses. This is because, the knowledge adduced through the senses are subject to doubt. This is to the effect that if scientific knowledge was adduced through the senses, it would be impossible to attain empiricism. Descartes uses the deceiving God argument, the dream argument and the evil demon argument as arguments for reality and existence. Descartes argues that there are three kinds of existence or substances (by substance, Descartes means: that which does not rely on anything for existence): God, the mind and the body (Bain, 259-264).

Spinoza

Unlike Descartes, Spinoza believes that there is only one kind of substance. For this, he continues that it is impossible to have several substances having the same attributes. The attributes in this case are Cartesian essences. Spinoza also argues that there are two or more attributes which are thinking and extension. Spinoza contends that there cannot be substances with the same attribute because: attributes distinguish two or more substances; and substances with similar attributes mean that they are the same, having the same nature (Youpa, 310-34).

Locke

John Locke argues that the ways of knowing about existence are: intuition (which is used to arrive at knowledge of personal existence); knowledge by demonstration (which refers to knowledge on the existence of God); and pseudo-grade knowledge which is used to conceive, interact with and perceive the external world.

Leibniz

In composites monads independent existence appearance reality imperialism rationalism, Leibniz contends that substance and reality must be: never subject to predication, given that inherence is expressed and perceived in modal terms; casually independent; an agent such as a an agent of active change; unity (must be a simple entity that does not have parts); keeping or maintaining its identity through change. Leibniz also contended that monads exist because: they are unified composites that through their unity, serve as unifiers (this is because, only unities can unify aspects or manifestations of plurality); and pluralities are in need of unities.

Works Cited

Bain, A. “The Meaning of `Existence' and Descartes' `Cogito'.” Mind, 2.6 (1877): 259 – 264. Print
Leonard, Angel. “A physical model of Zeno's dichotomy.” The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 52.2 (2001): 347. Print
Youpa, Andrew. “Spinoza on the Very Nature of Existence.” Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 35.1 (2011): 310 – 334. Print