What is Physical? Exploring Ontology

[baywax]

I agree with you, because in the end we cannot understand the physical beyond what our senses tell us.
Our understanding of this physicality we sense, will always be at mercy of ou r senses, but at the same time our senses are probably all physical, which means you'd have to look outside yourself to see the true physical, which would again just be another viewpoint and not the "true" physical right?

But, just because we can't really see anything from outside our senses, doesn't mean the physical isn't there in its unobserved form.
And that's where things get complicated I think, because in theory nothing exists if its not perceived, but the moment it's perceived it becomes only the filtered viewpoint, not the true essence of what it "is" right?

Yes, we have this biased method of perceiving "what is physical" because our senses were established by physical means. "Getting outside" our senses is a conceptual process that relies heavily upon our physical nature, so this is a cunundrum that can only be surmounted with intellect. And intellect is also a physical process. Some people will tell you to "feel" outside of the physical. "Feel the essence, feel the spirit" of an occasion or even "feel" the non-physical aspect of a situation. Well, I'm sorry to point out that "feeling" is a descriptor with regard to the physical senses and these senses are stimulated by physical stimuli so what is it we are really feeling... in this case? Certainly not a non-physical event.

However, you know we'll never find out, but, people have pointed to non-physical causes for things that are physical. The research into quantum mechanics may or may not be related to that idea. For now, it appears to be up to the imagination to come up with probable answers to what is and what isn't physical.