Metaphysics Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Definition<!--'First philosophy' and 'Philosophia prima' redirect here--> == Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of [[reality]], including [[existence]], [[Subject and object (philosophy)|objects]] and their [[Property (philosophy)|properties]], possibility and necessity, [[space]] and [[time]], change, [[Causality|causation]], and the relation between [[matter]] and [[mind]]. It is one of the oldest branches of [[philosophy]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|pp=1–3}} | {{harvnb|Koons|Pickavance|2015|pp=1–2}} | {{harvnb|McDaniel|2020|loc=§ 0.3 An Overview of Metaphysics and Other Areas of Philosophy}} | {{harvnb|Mumford|2012|loc=§ What Is an Introduction?}} }}</ref> The precise nature of metaphysics is disputed and its characterization has changed in the course of history. Some approaches see metaphysics as a unified field and give a wide-sweeping definition by understanding it as the study of "fundamental questions about the nature of reality" or as an inquiry into the [[essence]]s of things. Another approach doubts that the different areas of metaphysics share a set of underlying features and provides instead a fine-grained characterization by listing all the main topics investigated by metaphysicians.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|pp=1–4}} | {{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|pp=1–2}} | {{harvnb|McDaniel|2020|loc=§ 0.3 An Overview of Metaphysics and Other Areas of Philosophy}} | {{harvnb|Mumford|2012|loc=§ 10 What Is Metaphysics?}} | {{harvnb|Ney|2014|pp=9–10}} | {{harvnb|van Inwagen|Sullivan|Bernstein|2023|loc=Lead Section, § 1. The Word 'Metaphysics' and the Concept of Metaphysics}} }}</ref> Some definitions are descriptive by providing an account of what metaphysicians actually do while others are normative and prescribe what metaphysicians ought to do.<ref>{{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|p=2}}</ref> Two historically influential definitions in [[ancient philosophy|ancient]] and [[medieval philosophy]] understand metaphysics as the science of the [[first cause]]s and as the study of being ''qua'' being, that is, the topic of what all beings have in common and to what fundamental categories they belong. In the modern period, the scope of metaphysics was extended to cover topics such as the distinction between mind and body and [[free will]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|pp=1–4}} | {{harvnb|van Inwagen|Sullivan|Bernstein|2023|loc=Lead Section, § 1. The Word 'Metaphysics' and the Concept of Metaphysics}} }}</ref> Some philosophers follow [[Aristotle]] in describing metaphysics as '''first philosophy'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->, implying that it is the most basic inquiry while all other branches of philosophy depend on it in some way.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Koons|Pickavance|2015|pp=8–10}} | {{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|pp=2–3}} }}</ref>{{efn|For example, the metaphysical problem of causation is relevant both to [[epistemology]], as a factor involved in perceptual knowledge, and [[ethics]], in regard to moral responsibility for the consequences caused by one's [[Action (philosophy)|actions]].<ref>{{harvnb|Koons|Pickavance|2015|pp=8–10}}</ref>}} [[File:Kant gemaelde 1.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting of Immanuel Kant|[[Immanuel Kant]] conceived critical metaphysics as the study of the principles underlying all human thought and experience.]] Metaphysics is traditionally understood as a study of mind-independent features of reality. Starting with [[Immanuel Kant]]'s [[critical philosophy]], an alternative conception gained prominence that focuses on conceptual schemes rather than external reality. Kant distinguishes transcendent metaphysics, which aims to describe the objective features of reality beyond sense experience, from critical metaphysics, which outlines the aspects and principles underlying all human thought and experience.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|pp=1–2, 6}} | {{harvnb|Bengtson|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pUHvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT35 35]}} | {{harvnb|Wood|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=i7PG-Vk824UC&pg=PA354 354]}} }}</ref> Metaphysics differs from the individual sciences by studying very general and abstract aspects of reality. The individual sciences, by contrast, examine more specific and concrete features and restrict themselves to certain classes of entities, such as the focus on physical things in [[physics]], living entities in [[biology]], and cultures in [[anthropology]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Mumford|2012|loc=§ 10 What Is Metaphysics?}} | {{harvnb|Ney|2014|p=xiii}} | {{harvnb|Tahko|2015|pp=206–207}} }}</ref> It is disputed to what extent this contrast is a strict dichotomy rather than a gradual continuum.<ref>{{harvnb|Tahko|2015|pp=203–205}}</ref> Philosophers engaged in metaphysics are called ''metaphysicians'' or ''metaphysicists''.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Mumford|2012|loc=§ 10 What Is Metaphysics?}} | {{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|p=2}} }}</ref> Outside the academic discourse, the term ''metaphysics'' is sometimes used in a different sense for the study of [[occult]] and [[paranormal]] phenomena, like metaphysical healing, [[Aura (paranormal)|auras]], and the [[Pyramid power|power of pyramids]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|p=1}} | {{harvnb|Turner|1911|loc=[[:s:Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Metaphysics]]}} }}</ref> The word ''metaphysics'' has its origin in the ancient Greek words ''[[Meta (prefix)|metá]]'' (''[[wikt:μετά|μετά]]'', meaning ''after'', ''above'', and ''beyond'') and ''phusiká'' (''[[wikt:φυσικά|φυσικά]]'') as a short form of ''ta metá ta phusiká'', that is, what comes after the physics. This is frequently interpreted in the sense that metaphysics discusses topics that, due to their generality and comprehensiveness, lie beyond the realm of physics and its focus on empirical observation. It is often suggested that metaphysics got its name by a historical accident when [[Metaphysics (Aristotle)|Aristotle's book]] on this subject was published. Aristotle did not use the term ''metaphysics'' but his editor may have coined it for its title to indicate that this book came after the book published on physics. The term entered the English language through the Latin word ''[[wikt:metaphysica|metaphysica]]''.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Hoad|1993|pp=291, 351}} | {{harvnb|Cohen|Reeve|2021|loc=Lead Section}} | {{harvnb|Carroll|Markosian|2010|pp=1–2}} | {{harvnb|Mumford|2012|loc=§ 10. What Is Metaphysics?}} | {{harvnb|Veldsman|2017|pp=1–2}} | {{harvnb|Heidegger|1996|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zqXDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 39]}} }}</ref> === Branches <!--'Metametaphysics' and 'Meta-metaphysics' redirect here-->=== The nature of metaphysics can also be characterized in relation to its main branches. An influential division from early [[modern philosophy]] distinguishes between general and special or specific metaphysics.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|pp=3–5, 10}} | {{harvnb|van Inwagen|Sullivan|Bernstein|2023|loc=§ 1. The Word 'Metaphysics' and the Concept of Metaphysics}} | {{harvnb|Craig|1998}} | {{harvnb|Koons|Pickavance|2015|pp=1–2}} }}</ref> General metaphysics, also called ''[[ontology]]'',{{efn|The term ''[[ontology]]'' is sometimes also used as a synonym of metaphysics as a whole.<ref>{{harvnb|Hawley|2016|p=166}}</ref>}} takes the widest perspective and studies the most fundamental aspects of being. It investigates the features that all entities have in common and how entities can be divided into different [[categories of being|categories]]. Categories are the most general kinds, such as substance, property, [[Relation (philosophy)|relation]], and [[fact]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|pp=10–14}} | {{harvnb|van Inwagen|Sullivan|Bernstein|2023|loc=§ 1. The Word 'Metaphysics' and the Concept of Metaphysics}} | {{harvnb|Campbell|2006|loc=The Categories Of Being}} }}</ref> Ontologists research which categories there are, how they depend on one another, and how they form a system of categories that provides an encompassing classification of all entities.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Hofweber|2023|loc=§ 3. Ontology}} | {{harvnb|Campbell|2006|loc=The Categories Of Being}} | {{harvnb|Thomasson|2022|loc=Lead Section}} }}</ref> Special metaphysics considers being from more narrow perspectives and is divided into subdisciplines based on the perspective they take. [[Metaphysical cosmology]] examines changeable things and investigates how they are connected to form a [[world]] as a totality of entities extending through space and time.<ref name="Loux 2017 3–5, 10">{{multiref | {{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|pp=3–5, 10}} | {{harvnb|van Inwagen|Sullivan|Bernstein|2023|loc=§ 1. The Word 'Metaphysics' and the Concept of Metaphysics}} }}</ref> Rational psychology restricts itself to exploring metaphysical foundations and problems concerning the mind, such as its relation to matter and the freedom of the will. Natural theology studies the divine and its role as the first cause.<ref name="Loux 2017 3–5, 10"/> The scope of special metaphysics overlaps with other philosophical disciplines and it is often not clear whether a topic belongs to it rather than to disciplines like [[philosophy of mind]] and [[theology]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|pp=10–11}} | {{harvnb|Craig|1998|loc=§ 2. Specific Metaphysics}} }}</ref> Applied metaphysics is a young subdiscipline. It belongs to [[applied philosophy]] and studies the applications of metaphysics, both within philosophy and other fields of inquiry. In [[ethics]] and [[philosophy of religion]], it concerns topics like the ontological foundation of moral claims and religious doctrines.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Hawley|2016|pp=165–168}} | {{harvnb|Brumbaugh|1966|pp=[https://www.jstor.org/stable/20124133 647–648]}} }}</ref> Applications outside philosophy include the use of ontologies in [[artificial intelligence]], [[economics]], and [[sociology]] to classify entities<ref>{{harvnb|Hawley|2016|pp=168–169, 171–172}}</ref> as well as questions in [[psychiatry]] and [[medicine]] about the metaphysical status of [[disease]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Hawley|2016|p=174}}</ref> '''Meta-metaphysics'''{{efn|Some philosophers use the term ''[[metaontology]]'' as a synonym while others characterize metaontology as a subfield of meta-metaphysics.<ref>{{harvnb|Tahko|2018|loc=Lead Section}}</ref>}} is the [[metatheory]] of metaphysics and investigates the nature and methods of metaphysics. It also examines how metaphysics differs from other philosophical and scientific disciplines and how it is relevant to them. While the discussions of its topics have a long history in metaphysics, it has only recently developed into a systematic field of inquiry.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|McDaniel|2020|loc=§ 7 Meta-metaphysics}} | {{harvnb|Tahko|2018|loc=Lead Section}} }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page