The ancient period philosophy and their view of reality

 

Abstract

The content of this article explains the different view of reality in different eras and the instrument or means use in their quest for reality. It discuss about the ancient period philosophy and their view of reality. The medieval search for reality was theocentric (God centered), Modern historians consider the medieval era to be one of philosophical development, heavily influenced by Christian theology, it is an era of dependance on faith rather than reason. The renaissance era was the advent of science,  "the diminishing authority of the church and the increasing authority of science" (Russell, 479), the contemporary which uses variety of methods in investigating reality which include: analysis, phenomenology, hermeneutics, etc It entails the imperative nature of philosophy in the endeavours of man on the quest for reality, philosophy serves as a vehicle for man quest for reality, it accelerate and facilitate the endeavours of man in his quest, thats why the whole of this article revolves around it. It further explains that realities are not exactly the same, for this reason, different disciplines may study the same reality in different ways and different realities in the same way. Reality have been widely define in different ways and from different scholars and philosophers, which we concluded that since reality is seen in different views, and nobody is wrong in their views, then we should have the responsibility to ask question ourselves, since our individual view for reality are personal.

 

Introduction

Man had make rational attempts for ontological validity and unveiling of reality. Some of man's endeavour  weather scientific, pre- scientific or non scientific all have there base on philosophy. It is said that the whole journey of philosophy could be regarded as a search; the search for certainty, the search dor ultimate being and the search for real existence. Philosophy tries to distinguish truth from falsehood, wisdom from foolishness and reality from appearance. Most often what appears to be reality are false or fake presentation of our own opinions or views about them. We know very well that "all is not gold that glitters". The mirage of al " pool of water" on a sun bathed tarred road is a pointer to fake or false reality. we will look at the theories of Plato, Descartes and Aristotle and their views on what reality is, we look at what perception means to reality, and how everyone’s view on reality is different.

Many philosophers observe the concept of reality from the side of space and time. For example, they claim that the past and future are unreal since they do not exist currently. For that reason, many philosophers say that reality is a state of things at the present time. Other thinkers say that past and future are real, but the passage of time is unreal and illusionary.

Overall, reality is a very disputable and broad philosophical category. Different philosophical schools observe this problem from their own angles. Some experts focus on the physical and immaterial embodiments of reality. Others analyze this issue in the context of space and time or truthfulness and falseness

Attempts in defining reality

As we begin to question what reality is, we learn more about ourselves and our perceptions of life, we begin to question ourselves, and we slowly learn what reality means to us, as individuals. it aims to bring individuals to closer to understanding what life means to them. Perception is what we sense in our environment from what our senses and mind tells us. The definition of reality is the state or quality of being real (dictionary.com) but if we know what is real because of our perceptions and senses, how do we know our senses can be trusted to tell us the truth, and thus how do we know what is real? Every philosopher has searched within themselves for the answer to what is reality, and how we know what is real, but every philosopher has their own views on reality, to begin idealist Renee Descartes argued that sensations and experience can be doubted, so it is pure reason, not the senses, that must form the basis of Truth and what reality is. Next, an Idealist, Plato who claimed that the world of ideas, for example the ideal nature or essence of a tree or a circle or a color, was more fundamental, more “real,” than physical reality, and that physical reality, a tree for instance, comes into being as an imperfect instance of the ideal. John Locke an empiricist said that the mind starts out without any knowledge and everything one knows is built up from experience through the senses. So who is right? Is there any one way to know what reality really is?

As humans we struggle to know why we exist and what reality is, but many of us are too afraid to give up the comfort of believing what we see to be true to discover the answers to what reality is, because of this there are select few individuals who question their life and what it means, these individuals give insight to others and are able to teach other individuals about what it means to question our existence and perceptions. Although for many of us the theories of philosophers such as Descartes, Plato, and Locke may seem wildly unlikely, the more we question what reality is, the more we ourselves create new theories about reality, and they themselves may seem far-fetched to other individuals. We may look at what other philosophers have theorized in the past, but for us, as individuals, to discover what reality means to us personally, we must think deeply ourselves, we must theorize and question ourselves until we are so confused by our questions we no longer know what it means to exist. We cannot rely on other theories of reality because everyone perceives reality differently, what one person may perceive is different than what another person may perceive, and because of this not everyone can have the same views and theories on what reality and existence means. Some of us may see God as an important part and influence in our reality, while others may not. Some people may say nothing truly exists, and that we are just an illusion and others may say everything they see is real. No one is wrong; our individual views on reality are personal, our perceptions are not the same as other individual’s perceptions, and that does not mean one is wrong or right. What it means is that we as humans have the responsibly to question ourselves, to question what it means to live. In order for any of us to achieve true happiness we must question reality, existence, and our perceptions. If we live in ignorance, we are not truly being happy; we are letting ourselves be satisfied with not understanding the world. Thinking deeply about reality inspires growth, it inspires us to realize there is more to the world then what we can see, the world is a limitless place of our desires.

According to English dictionary reality is the quality or state of being real or a real event, entity, or state of affairs (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reality) Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, reality is the totality of a system, known and unknown 

Philosophy as a vehicle of man's quest for reality

The whole endeavour of philosophy could be regarded:as the quest for reality. All endeavours at knowledge and enlightenment have always reveal one aspect or the other of reality. The quest for wisdom has been to distinguish being from non-being/nothingness and reality from appearance which will be discussed in this artcle. All these endeavour whether scientific, pre-scientific, or non- scientific, are man's rational attempt for ontological validity and unveiling of reality. Philosophical questions about the nature of reality or existence or being are considered under the rubric of ontology, which is a major branch of metaphysics in the Western philosophical tradition. Ontological questions also feature in diverse branches of philosophy, including the philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophical logic. These include questions about whether only physical objects are real (i.e., Physicalism), whether reality is fundamentally immaterial (e.g., Idealism), whether hypothetical unobservable entities posited by scientific theories exist, whether God exists, whether numbers and other abstract objects exist.

The whole of philosophy could be regarded as a research, a search for certainty, a search for foundation or primary stuff, a search for ultimate being, real existence etc. These search find its fullest engagement in metaphysics, which is the core of man's quest for realty.

Man's quest for reality differs in history and eras in philosophy

 

Man's quest for reality in  the Ancient period philosophy

 

Ancient philosophy is philosophy in antiquity, or before the end of the Roman Empire. It usually refers to ancient Greek philosophy. It can also encompass various other intellectual traditions, such as Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy, and Iranian philosophy

 

Ancient Greek Philosophers and their view of  reality.

 

Aristotle and Plato were both great thinkers but their views on realty were different. Plato viewed realty as taking place in the mind but Aristotle viewed realty is tangible. Even though Aristotle termed reality as concrete, he stated that reality does not make sense or exist until the mind process it. Therefore truth is dependent upon a person’s mind and external factors. According to Aristotle in his theoretical philosophy, reality is being and being's properties are substance and accidents, is a composite of matter and form, and has four causes—the material, formal, instrumental, final cause. Correspondingly, what is reality Aristotle? Even though Aristotle termed reality as concrete, he stated that reality does not make sense or exist until the mind process it. Therefore truth is dependent upon a person's mind and external factors. According to Aristotle, things are seen as taking course and will eventually come to a stop when potential is reached.

According to Aristotle, it is only when the mind processes the reality that it has some meaning. For instance; A  table maker gains more expertise with time as he keeps making tables. And as time passes, he makes better tables because of his experience and experimentation done over the years. But those tables are never perfect because nothing in the material world is perfect. With the passage of time, the table maker starts making tables with his mind instead of his hands. He develops his own perception of a perfect table, sees its form, and starts making better and better forms of the table according to what he thinks is a perfect table as he has perceived in his mind. He further explained that this world was the real world but when it came to the understanding of this world, he did not include the view of his teacher, Plato in it. He said everything was made of matter, shape, substance, and structure and the changes in them were the results of the organism trying to reach its potential. This potential was the part of the thing itself and every member of that species had the same potential. When it came to the reproduction process, Aristotle’s reality said that the potentiality was concealed within the organism. Like, for humans, who reproduce sexually, what mother gives is the matter, that is she provides the material that would form the body, but what father gives is the soul, the spirit of humankind for that matter to absorb. Therefore, as per Aristotle’s reality, biology is the study of such capabilities, such forms, and such key properties that are unique to every species and the study of those properties that are common to all the species. So there are two steps of biology. The first step is to research and document the anatomy of the organism. And after that, the scientist should observe and find out the spirit of the species, the goal of the species. The second step is that scientists should build a catalog of all species and include the goal of that species in it. Groups of species are formed based on the common elements in their essences.

When the Church found out about Aristotle’s reality and his beliefs and took his views on science as the official principle, it did not have any problem in accepting the biological parts – just like physical parts – for theological purposes. It adapted them easily. So it was no longer believed that the plants and the beasts had souls but it was accepted that they had plans. These plans were placed inside based upon the greatest design for creation. Aristotle 's views of reality were enshrined in what he referred to as his "first philosophy," or what we today call metaphysics. This involved in-depth study of the universal principles and qualities of all material existence. He had studied biological and other scientific phenomeno.

Plato was a student of Socrates. Plato believed that true reality is not found through the senses. Phenomenon is that perception of an object which we recognize through our senses. Plato believed that phenomena are fragile and weak forms of reality. They do not represent an object's true essence.  Plato had said that we could not find reality in the material world because material objects were not perfect. And for Plato also, change was theological. According to him, if something was changing, it meant it was trying to reach its aim and that meant it was imperfect. He said if a thing was perfect, there was no need for it to change because it had reached its goal. So as per him, what we found in the material world was not what was real but its perfect idealized perception. These were called forms by Plato and according to him these forms did not live in the world that people see with their eyes, rather they lived in the world of forms that remained unchanged forever and which could only be seen with the mind’s eye. But Aristotle’s reality was different. He did not subscribe to Plato’s theory. Other ancient Greek philosophers include; Thales of Miletus who regarded the primary stuff of all reality to be water, because according to him everything is compose of water. Anaximander argued that the primary stuff of all reality is neutral or indeterminate or indefinite, because according to him elements we know are finite and what we call reality cannot be one of them, Anaximenes considered the underlying stuff to be air, because according to him air encompasses the whole world and holds things together. Just as the human soul being air holds man together. Heraclitus stands out in ancient Greek philosophy not only with respect to his ideas, but also with respect to how those ideas were expressed, he view reality as change, while parmenides of Elea views reality permanent.

 

Man's quest for reality in the Medieval period philosophy:

 

medieval philosophy  is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, historians mark off medieval civilization as starting with the downfall of the Roman Empire and ending with the founding of the Renaissance, roughly from the years 400-1500. It included philosophers from the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faith traditions. Saint Augustine is certainly the most important and influential philosopher of the Middle Ages, and one of the most influential philosophers of any time. In medieval Europe, the influence of Christians were so overwhelming that the search for reality took normative methodology or prescription. The medieval search for reality was theocentric (God centered), Modern historians consider the medieval era to be one of philosophical development, heavily influenced by Christian theology

. An issue which interest the medieval philosophers was proving the existence of God. Many argued that, while we can certainly believe in God on the grounds of faith alone, there are rational proofs that we can also give to show God’s existence. Chief among these is a causal argument:  motion and change on earth trace back to a first cause, which is God. Several versions of this argument were put forward, some with a high level of sophistication. Other proofs for God’s existence where also offered, which used entirely different strategies. Many other issues discusses in this era include the relation of faith to reason, the existence and simplicity of God, the purpose of theology and metaphysics, and the problems of knowledge, of universals, and of individuation.

 

Man's quest for reality in the renaissance period philosophy

 

 For 1,000 years, philosophy in Europe had been dominated by medieval Christian theologians, and since about the twelfth century by the Scholastic tradition in particular. Beginning around 1400 in Italy, though, Europe experienced a dramatic intellectual movement called the Renaissance, which emphasized the resurgence of science and culture through classical influences. The Renaissance and modern periods starting with the " rejection of ecclesiastical authority" and the assertion of, liberal mentality or science, aptly applied the methods of criticism in their search for reality. Bertrand Russel noted two most prominent features of these period as : "the diminishing authority of the church and the increasing authority of science" (Russell, 479).

However, the critical and liberal search for reality most often led to individualism which later grew to the point of moral and political anarchy, as well as societal instability, evident in machiavellian doctrines. In voth theorical founders of modern period - Rene Descates (french) and Francis Bacon (English), the paths of individualism, subjectivism and scientific freedom as citeria of truth, have been as progressive as (they have been) catastrophic.

Man's quest for reality in the contemporary period  philosophy

 Some uncritical people are tempted to refer to contemporary period as postmodern, this is incorrect. The contemporary period is not the same as post modernism, while contemporary period is an area in philosophy, postmodern is not. The contemporary period offers variety of methods in investigating reality which include: analysis, phenomenology, hermeneutics, etc one openness to knowledge, understanding and wisdom from different perspectives. In their unassuming nature, openness to knowledge, understanding and wisdom from veracity of reality, these methods try to eliminate prejudice, bias, and presuppositions. They would allow reality to express or manifest itself in their concrete facts or experience of existence. Globalization or universalism as a method of assessing reality grew in the most recent period (20th century upward) as "technology allowed for those who lived in one part of the world to reach those who live in other part of the world" (kaarbo and Ray, 25) with this criss- crossing of ideas coming at the heels of a scientific and technological advancements, it is easier to assess or explore reality from different perspective. This method, though cumbersome to appraise and prone to divergent manipulations, has the advantages of easy self - evaluation, dictating of source of errors or virus as well as integral or holistic comprehension of reality in its essence, substance and quiddity" (whatness  whyness).

Conclusion

 we can conclude that in as much reality is seen differently by different people, The major endeavors of man, in his quest for reality all begin with philosophy(rational and critic reasoning), despite the change in era man still tries to adjust and continue in his quest. It has been shown that reality differs in opinions, views and era. We cannot rely on other's theories of reality because everyone perceives reality differently, what one person may perceive is different than what another person may perceive, and because of this not everyone can have the same views and theories on what reality and existence means. Some of us may see God as an important part and influence in our reality, while others may not. Some people may say nothing truly exists, and that we are just an illusion and others may say everything they see is real. . No one is wrong; our individual views on reality are personal, our perceptions are not the same as other individual’s perceptions, and that does not mean one is wrong or right. What it means is that we as humans have the responsibly to question ourselves, to question what it means to live.

Source: Joe Dee