Metaphysology And Epistemology

Metaphysics and Epistemology are two closely related philosophical terms. Metaphysics focuses on theories that involve reality, whereas Epistemology deals with theories of knowledge (Alexander, 2010). The firm connection between these two branches of philosophy emerges as a domino effect since our assumptions regarding reality affect our ideas concerning knowledge. The area of metaphysics is composed of a variety of theories; the most crucial are: materialism, idealism, dualism, and neutralism. Moreover, epistemological theories focus on how true beliefs can be classified such as to count as real knowledge. Dogmatism, rationalism, empiricism, pragmatism, and skepticism are different epistemological theories. “Idealism is the view that ultimate reality is mind, or spirit, or form” (Alexander, 2010, 65). Like Plato, when it comes to metaphysics, I favor Idealism, and I think it presents itself as self-evident.

Empiricism is an epistemological theory, and it refers to “the view that experience (sensory perception) is the basis for knowledge” (Alexander, 2010, 65). John Locke further developed the theory of empiricism by using “Ockham’s razor”, or the principle of simplicity, which argues that simple factual explanations are more compelling than complicated explanations (Alexander, 2010). When a human being is born, he receives a clean slate, a blank page to write on. According to Locke, the basis to all knowledge is the use of sensory perceptions to create simple ideas, which will eventually come together to form more complex ones. Therefore, perceptions and sensations such as taste, odors, colors, noises, red, and sour, etc., are the primary components of knowledge (Alexander, 2010, p. 83). Even though I partially agree with Locke’s theory, I think that ideas come as a whole, and our outlook of a complex statement cannot be broken down into a series of simple