Materialism vs Idealism :: essays papers

Materialism vs IdealismHistory tells us very little of Titus Lucretius Carus, but ace can seefrom reading his work that he has a strong dislike towards religious superstition,which he claims is the root of human fear and in figure the cause of impiousacts. Although he does not deny the existence of a god, his work is aimedat proving that the world is not guided or controlled by a divinity. Lucretiusasserts that intimacy exists in the form of atoms, which move around theuniverse in an empty space. This empty space, or vacuity, allows for themovement of the atoms and without it everything would be one mass. He explainsthat matter and vacuity can not occupy the same space, ...where at that placeis empty space, there matter is not..., and these two things makeup the entire universe. These invisible particles find together to formmaterial objects, you and I are made of the same atoms as a hot seat or atree. When the tree dies or the chair is thrown into a fire the atoms donot burn u p or die, but are dispersed back into the vacuity. The atomsalone are without instinct or secondary qualities, but they can combine toform living and thinking objects, along with sound, color, taste, etc...Atoms form life, consciousness, and the soul, and when our body dies thereis nothing left of the last mentioned except for its parts, which randomly becomeparts of other forms. Matter is never ending reality, only changing inits form. In the philosophical system create by Irish philosopher GeorgeBerkeley, Idealism, Berkeley states that physical objects, matter, do notexist independent of the mind. The pencil that I am writing this essaywith would not exist if I were not perceiving it with my senses, but inthe dialogue between Hylus and Philonous Berkeley attempts to show thingscan and do exist apart from the human mind and our perception, but onlybecause there is a mind in which all ideas are perceived or a deity thatcreates perception in the human mind, either way its God. He says thatthe external world can not be understood by thought, but sensiblethings, objects that we perceive, can be reduced to ideas in themind. These ideas, or objects to begin with the mind, possess primaryqualities, the main structure, and secondary qualities, what we derivefrom our senses, which are inseparable. Im confused about this, if Imthinking about a star in a different galaxy, which makes the star an objectbefore my mind, then where are the secondary qualities?