Metaphysical Thought Of Thomas Aquinas Philosophy Essay

Metaphysical Thought Of Thomas Aquinas Philosophy Essay Each science studies beings in a specific and determinate way. According to Aristotle, metaphysics studies the being in general, leaving aside their particular determinations.  [1]  Metaphysics thus, studies being qua being and what belongs essentially to it.  [2]  One of the concerns of metaphysics is what Aristotle termed as substance to indicate what, in fact, has existence in time and space, being subjected to the action of natural laws. Aristotle says: Clearly, then, the investigation of all things qua things belong to one science. Now in every case a science is concerned mainly with that which is first, both as that on which the others depend, and as that through which the others are named. Accordingly, if this is a substance, it is of substances that the philosopher should possess the principles and causes.  [3]   According to Aristotles metaphysical account, there is a distinction between what is apprehended by intuition and what is grasped by the intellect, between substance and essence. He says: Substances are also the parts which are constituents in substances taken in the first sense, which limit these substances and indicate a this, and without which the whole is annihilated. () The essence, whose formula is a definition, is also said to be the substance of each thing. The term a substance, then has two senses: it means the ultimate subject which is not predicated of something else, and also that which is a this and is separable, such being the shape or the form of each thing.  [4]  For Aristotle, substances are related to what exist in fact in the world, and about essence it is possible to say that, despite of the fact that it is part of the determination of the being, it has only conceptual existence. Aquinas adopted some of the presuppositions from Aristotles metaphysics in his ontology: such as all other sciences, metaphysics is causal, since it studies the principles through which beings are what they are.  [5]  Furthermore, Aquinas had to redefine some aspects and terminology of his predecessors in order to create his own metaphysical account. Staring with entia, given in sense experience it should be called substances. Each substance forms a complete whole, endowed with a structure that constitutes on ontological unity, or a unity of being. Insofar as a substance can be understood as one and defined, it is given the name essence. Essence is only substance insofar as it can be defined, it is what the definition says substance is. This is also a description of reality.  [6]   In Aquinas study of metaphysical beings, it is possible to assume that they can be analyzed in two distinct ways: as having a determinate form which distinguish themselves; or as existing in a strict sense, called respectively essentialist and existentialist perspectives by F. C. Copleston  [7]  . Considering the essentialist approach, Aquinas affirms that all beings have an essence which establishes a certain form to these beings: Because, a being in this sense is divided by the ten categories, essence must mean something common to all the natures trough which different beings are placed in different genera and species, as for example humanity is the essence of man, and so with regard to other things. Because the definition telling what a thing is signifies that by which a thing is located in its genus or species, philosophers have substituted the term quiddity for the term essence.  [8]   Considering the second way, the existentialist approach, beings existing in a strict sense, it is possible to realize that this book or this man are actually part of this world, inserted in space and subjected to the natural and causal laws. Here Aquinas makes a distinction between essence and existence. Therefore, after looking for reality in the sensible qualities of beings, then in their essences, then in their substances, philosophy had finally realized through Aquinas that true reality is actual essence.  [9]  Having an essence, means being able to be inserted into a genre and be part of a species through a specific difference. One can note that, given elements actually exist in time and space. Armand Maurer explains that Aquinas intends to expose the meaning of the terms a being and an essence, how being and essence are found in the different orders of reality, and the relation they have to our logical notions of genus, species and difference.  [10]   According to Gilson, existence is a condition for being, essence and all that can be studied by metaphysics and the core of reality. In Thomas technical language, the term esse means actual existence. It is the way a thing, which he calls res, is a being, an ens. It is to be that makes a certain thing to be a being. Esse is defined by its essence, namely that which the thing is.  [11]   By essentialism, it is possible to answer the following question: what something is? The definition, so states the essence of beings in general. For material substances, essence means the matter form composite subject to perception. Aquinas makes an analogy of the terms essence and existence to what Aristotle had made to the terms potency and act. Thus, the essence is the possibility that something determined to come into existence. By existentialism, the existence, in turn, is the upgrade of essence. This distinction between essence and existence as occurs with matter and form, act and potency, it is a logical one. Aquinas says: Everything that receives something from another is potential with regard to what it receives, and what is received in its actuality. The quiddity or form, therefore, which is the intelligence, must be potential with regard to the being it receives from God, and this being is received as an actuality.  [12]   Copleston explains that essence is that which answers the question what a thing is; it is substance considered as definable. It is clear that essence is that which is signified by the definition of a thing. In the case of material things the word essence signifies that which is composed of matter and form. Existence, on the other hand, is the act by which an essence or substance is or has a being. Existence denotes a certain act; for a thing is not said to exist by the fact that it is in potentiality but by the fact that it is in act. Essence is the potential metaphysical component in a thing, while existence is the act by which essence has being.  [13]   After having analyzed Aristotles and Aquinas concepts on essence and substance, it is possible to realize that Aquinas starting point to his metaphysics is Aristotles ontology, which is based in the doctrine of being qua being, or substance, the primary kind of being. From the distinction between essence and existence, as understood by Aquinas predecessors, such as Boethius and Avicenna, Aquinas goes beyond the Aristotelian metaphysics, to show that the final foundation of the ontology is not the substance but existence. Thus, St. Thomas establishes the metaphysical assumptions necessary to built his own metaphysical thought. 1,371 words

Dear Skooter :: Arthur Koestler Music Creativity Essays

Dear Skooter, How is it going? It seems to be an eternity since I last talked to you. As for me I am over here at MIT working from sunup to sunset. There is little time for fun anymore and I seem to have lost my sense of the little pleasures in life. That is what MIT will do for you. Well enough said about me, what about you? How is the band doing? I remember last time I saw you guys performing was at the senior field day. You guys did great by the way. I miss the old days when we used to jam out, out in the garage with you playing the guitar and me beating away at the drums. Hard to believe that I enjoyed playing music so much that I haven't touched a drumstick over here at MIT since I left in June. On another note it may seem a surprise but I thought of writing to you because the other day I came across a short essay by Arthur Koestler discussing creativity and the three domains that compose it; the "Haha!", the "Aha" and "Ah... ". At first I thought his theories could not relate to a musician because I mean what performing music has to do with laughing and crying. But as I fmished reading it, it seemed to make sense when I thought of what goes on when you perform on stage. In his essay Koestler introduces a new theory that describes the three domains of creativity that he discusses "artistic originality, scientific discovery, and comic inspiration". To better understand the domains he paired each one up with a reaction: comic inspiration - "Haha!", scientific discovery – "Aha", and finally artistic originality – "Ah..." Before I further dwell into describing his ideas we need to establish a term commonly used by Koestler in his essay, which is bisociation. In bisociation, two or more different frames of reference are combined to coexist on several planes at once. The three reactions follow no set sequence, the "Haha" is caused by the "collision of the bisociated contexts", and the "Aha" feeling can be associated with the word "eureka" who signals their fusion into a solution with truth to it and the "Ah..." reactions signals an emotion brought on by an artist focusing on beauty. Do you see what I mean by not having understood what it has to do with creativity?

Home-Coming Analysis Essay

Good morning/afternoon teacher and classmates. Last week, our group was designated to analyse the poem Home-Coming by Australian poet Bruce Dawe, who was born in 1930 in Geelong, Victoria. Out of the four siblings in the family, he was the only one to ever attend a proper secondary school. Previously being a part of the Royal Australian Air Force in 1959, his purpose for writing this particular poem was because of the Vietnam War, which claimed a seemingly endless number of lives. This really angered him and so he dedicated this poem to the casualties during the war. In our analysis of the poem, we noticed that the poem effectively incorporated a variety of useful techniques which significantly enhanced the subtle meaning behind the poem. With the clever use of language and structural devices, Bruce Dawe was really able to augment his views and exhibit his true perspective upon war. Some techniques utilised throughout the passage were similes, repetition and irony, just to name a fe w. In a nutshell, the poem revolves around soldiers apparently coming home from the destructive course of war to their loved ones. From the title of â€Å"Home-Coming†, the audience gain an implication of relief and happiness and it insinuates a positive atmosphere. However, later on in the poem this is found to not be the case as the status of all the soldiers are revealed to be deceased. As soon as we read this, we quickly picked up on the fact that it was an anti-war poem. In our points of view, we believe the poem resembles an elegy because of its depressing mood. Also, our group thought that the poet was striving to depict the soldiers as unimportant and expendable through a satirical perspective as well as showing us how little respect they gain from laying their lives down for our freedom. To begin with, the first device embedded in the first section of the poem is repetition. The repetition of the word â€Å"day† in the quote â€Å"All day, day after day† presents a tedious mood in which time is moving extremely slowly and almost seems perpetual when we read it. This technique has such a strong and potent effect on the audience as it is applied in the opening lines of the poem, which forces us to have an immediate reaction. Also, the word â€Å"they’re† is continuously written later on in the poem, such as â€Å"they’re bringing them in, they’re zipping them up†. By doing this, Dawe attempts to  show a somewhat mechanical and constant process of the storage of corpses, thus displaying the soldiers with the qualities of inanimate objects and not worthy of have equality to human beings. Repetition is an important aspect in this poem and gives us the stereotypical view on the soldiers fighting at war. In addition to this, Dawe includes a descriptive array of similes that paint very vivid images in the minds of the audience, which allow them to picture the particular scene that the poet is trying to conjure. As a result, the composer is able to manipulate the imagination of readers and stimulate them into thinking about a specific theme through the use of words. In this case, Bruce Dawe induces strong visual imagery that promotes a lonely, mournful and silent atmosphere. An example of this mood is demonstrated in the quote â€Å"telegrams tremble like leaves from a wintering tree†. To base an image upon a â€Å"wintering tree† provides negative connotations whilst also allowing Dawe to take advantage of words to reinforce the depressing mood of the text. Because of this, the strong meaning behind the similes used is an essential component in the poem of Home-coming. Finally, the last technique adopted in the poem sparingly but effectively is irony. Dawe entices the audience to positive emotions such as hope and relief through the title of â€Å"Home-coming† which obviously is supposed to spark happiness. However, in this case, the poet deceptively turns our hope into confusion as the text then turns to a melancholy mood through quotes such as â€Å"they’re picking them up, those they can find†. The intended reaction that Bruce Dawe wants from the audience is shock, because as we read on, the soldiers are disclosed as dead people. This is where the irony lies as the content of the poem and its atmosphere almost completely contradicts the message that the title is insinuating. Furthermore, another instance of irony is the phrase â€Å"frozen sunset†. Once again, these words build up a cold and desolate basis for the mood of the poem. Bruce Dawe has combined a number of techniques such as irony and similes in this anti-war poem that makes the audience wonder about the terrible effects of war and the devastation it can bring to families. It persuades them to  see through the faà §ade of war with the twisted but true contrasts of the title and content of the poem. As well as this, the text tries to make us consider the way that we act in regards to soldiers and we they should respect them more as they are the reason why our freedom is able to be reserved for the future generations.

The Relevance of Organizational Behavior as a Management...

Organizational Behavior: Managing People Objective The objective of this study is to assume the position as principal of a school and to undertake a critical evaluation of the relevance of organizational behavior as a management perspective. The response will emphasize the importance of interpersonal relations, facilitation of group/teams and leadership in improving organizational performance and reflect the knowledge and understanding of the key theoretical concepts and best practices. Background The management process is centered on organizing people into working groups that are effective. A group is reported to be defined as two or more interdependent individuals interacting nd influencing each other in a collective pursuit of a common goal. (Bartol, et al, 2005, p. 461) Thre is reported to be no clearly agreed view of what an organization is ¦ (Bennett, 2001, p.99) Therefore, it can be understood that the reasons that organizations exist is to apply a group effort toward goal achievement. The role played by organizations is significant in nature and the individual is born into organizations for the purpose of play, work, and study. The school principal manages a unique organization that includes various actors and stakeholders and as noted in the work of Thompson (2003) there is a natural division within the large discipline of an organization that can be characterized as micro and macro. (p.1) The school principal must lead in manner that is positiveShow MoreRelatedTran sition From Direct And Organizational Leadership1112 Words   |  5 Pagesdirect and organizational leadership to the strategic level. 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