Metaphysics: Fundamental Questions

Religion and Spirituality - A Devine being put us in the universe for an unknown reason
Example: “God” wouldn’t have put us here without a reason

Determinism - There is a pre-made chain of events that every human being has a place in
Example: Person becomes a doctor to save another person who has a child who becomes an important world leader.

Free Will- Having the sense of free will makes human beings feel like their life has meaning
https://samharris.org/life-without-free-will/
This article talks about the different views of having a sense of free will, and how it effects one conscious

Objects:does our meaning of life connect to the relations between us and objects, do abstract objects control our sense of meaning (happiness, sadness)
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/happy_life_different_from_meaningful_life
This article is asking the question, is there a difference between having a meaningful life and a happy life, and does having a happy life make it meaningful?

Religion - does believing in a divine being give meaning to one’s life, or does it take away from it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3979581/
This article from the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health written by Stephen Cranney, talks about their research into if people who believe in God have more of a sense of purpose in life.

Existence and Consciousness- It’s hard to deny the world’s existence when we’re living in it and touching/interacting with it every day, somewhat like the idea that you can’t deny your minds existence because you’re using your mind to deny it.
Example: If you’re physically touching a tree, how is it not existing

Cosmogony- humans have the constant need to know about their existence and the world around them
https://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/astronomy-terms/cosmogony-info.htm
This article explains the idea of cosmogony

Religion- The idea that since a great Devine being created the world, it must be real.
Example: Someone who practices a religion may believe in the world’s existence because of their faith in a great Devine being.

Free Will- The idea that humans are rational agents and make our own decisions and path in life.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-will/480750/
This article from The Atlantic argues that humans do not have free will- from a philosophical, psychological, and scientific standpoint

Consciousness- We have to be conscious of our decisions to have free will
Example: If someone is unconscious, they can’t be held responsible for their actions.

Religion- Some religions believe that a Devine being controls our actions and intentions
https://dashhouse.com/2009821does-god-control-human-decisions-and-actions-html/
This article talks about the idea of “God” having control of everyone’s actions

Mind and Matter- The idea that our mind is both physical and not at the same time
Example: Our brain operates through transmitting messages through the body physically, but our thoughts aren’t physical

Consciousness: We can’t deny human consciousness because we’d be using our consciousness to deny it.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00567/full
This article talks about how the human consciousness is an undeniable behavior, and not a physical human trait.

Time: Time is something the human consciousness had come up with on its own, the human consciousness I creates concepts (Idealist view)