Philosophical Issues Terms

The area of philosophy concerned with fundamental questions about the nature of reality

• Metaphysical dualism

• Metaphysical monism

• Idealism

• Metaphysics

A metaphysical position that claims that there is only one kind of reality

• Metaphysical dualism

• Metaphysical monism

• Metaphysical materialism

• Ockham's razor

a metaphysical position that claims that there are two kinds of realities

• Metaphysical dualism

• Metaphysical monism

• Metaphysical materialism

• Ontology

a type of monism that claims that reality is totally physical in nature

• Metaphysical dualism

• Metaphysical monism

• Metaphysical materialism

• functionalism

a type of monism that claims that reality is entirely mental or spiritual in nature

• idealism

• Ockham's razor

• mind-body dualism

• interactionism

the principle that we should eliminate (shave off) all unnecessary entities and explanatory principles in our theories

• mind-body dualism

• eliminativism

• Ockham's razor

• physicalism

The area of metaphysics that asks what is most fundamentally real.

• interactionism

• physicalism

• functionalism

• ontology

the claim that the mind and the body (which includes the brain) are separate entities

• functionalism

• physicalism

• mind-body dualism

• identity theory (or reductionism)

the theory that human beings can be explained completely and adequately in terms of their physical or material components.

• ontology

• physicalism

• idealism

• metaphysics

a type of dualism that claims that the mind and body, though different, causally interact with one another

• physicalism

• functionalism

• eliminativism

• interactionism