The world that
one lives in is viewed from different angles,
and it is through these angles that individuals
attempt to explain the unknown and what lies beyond.
Indeed, what lies beyond one’s perception
is truly intriguing, and has been a point over
which much has been debated. Generally, two well-known
positions that oppose each other in these debates
include the materialist approach and the metaphysical
approach. Each of these have their own unique
views, and each of these claim to be realistic.
Whichever of the two one chooses to stand by is
another question, but they each make sense in
their own right.
It must be asserted that materialists are those
who hold that there is nothing more to the world
which one lives in aside from the matter that
one is exposed to. This refers to every thing
tangible and all that affects one physically.
Moreover, this view takes science to be its strong
supporter because of the fact that it provides
physical explanations to how the physical world
functions. Opposing this viewpoint is the metaphysical
one or the Aristotelian one. This is because this
view holds that there is more to the world than
what one sees and feels. There are more things
beyond the human being that s/he is capable of
knowing. Indeed, there is a lot that one will
never know and there is immense scope for investigation
and exploration. However, there are particular
views to which Aristotle holds as a realist
As a realist, Aristotle may be considered to
be an individual who believes in the proof tat
is present before him, as well as the possibility
of all that is not within one’s grasp. This
refers to his view of the psyche. A human being’s
psyche is something that may not always be accounted
for . This is because there are particular characteristics
about one’s psyche that may not be explained.
Intertwining this concept is that of the soul,
that is believed to be a human being’s continuous
form. It is this form that is believed to reveal
to one what lies ahead, and it is the soul that
makes a person. Without it, there is little substance
to an individual. The soul is the continuous form
of human existence that goes beyond matter and
perception. Often, as human beings, one does is
deceived by what lies a few feet away, and it
is this deception in a physical sense that is
used to make sense of what lies beyond death.
Coming down from Plato’s work in the allegory
of the cave, one can see the deeper significance
in this because in a realistic view one can see
the manner in which the human sense can so easily
deceive one in the simplest of ways .
In this sense, realism comes into the picture
and along with it so does the concept of life
beyond the physical world one experiences. This
is why philosophical realism holds that other
worlds and every other thing that humans do not
know about exist independent of anyone thinking
about them. Deviating from this line of thought
is an alternative kind of realist who deals with
the world in its literal sense. Here, one can
observe two types of realists. However, there
are others that may be highlighted, and they are
as follows:
structural realists, biological realists, radical
realists, strong realists, and finally hedged
realists (Donnelly, 2000). The five types of realists
mentioned may not be in sync with the types of
realists that is of interest here. Therefore,
the two types of realists described prior to the
five mentioned are the ones that are relevant.
Generally, one may assert that the realist, who
believes in other universals and other unknown
things operating independently of human knowledge,
is the kind that is opposed to materialist thought.
This strongly refers to those who believe in the
concept of the soul. Indeed, the soul is believed
to be the psyche, and this is something that extends
in manners which sometimes cannot be defined completely.
Hence, it goes beyond what one can describe.
If the psyche is something that one cannot encompass
by words, one cannot be certain about what lies
beyond the human body and a limited way of thinking.
This is because there is so much more to look
forward too and so much tat can be discovered.
This is in fact a realistic way to observe the
world and keep an open mind to possibilities .
Realists who believe in the literal world are
perhaps the ones that are on the same platform
as materialists. It might be argued that they
only believe in the tangible and all that is scientifically
explained; matter and occurrences that can be
explained scientifically are also included in
materialist notions.
In comparing the two forms of realism, one is
compelled to observe the limitations of each view.
In this regard, it can easily be asserted that
the realism that limits itself to the literal
world is the one that ignores possibilities. Man,
having lived in this world for a long time has
always been surprised at every nook and corner.
Even science had its surprises. Hence, it would
be wiser to do away with limited modes of thought.
Finally, one may assert that to keep an open
mind to possibility is a wise approach. One does
not know what lies ahead, and it would be wiser
to accept views that there is indeed no much that
one knows about the eternal world. Even scientific
thought would agree with this view because it
is true to say that science itself has accepted
a great many possibilities for existence in other
parts of the universe. Hence, to accept and support
Aristotle’s realist view is a wise approach
rather than supporting a limited approach that
only deals with what is known. This is because
not keeping an open mind can result in ignorance
of things that are obvious, and this is the attitude
tat slows one down.
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