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Metaphysics

  • Metaphysics (pronounced /medəˈfiziks/) is that branch of philosophy dealing with basic principles and fundamental questions of ontology and epistemology concerning the nature of reality. Metaphysical questions typically concern themselves with the existence or non-existence of non-physical things, such as that of abstract objects (ontology) and their features, as well as questions about cosmology, free will and determinism, personal identity, mind versus matter, the existence of God, identity and change, necessity and possibility, substance, cause, rationalism versus empiricism, universals versus particulars, time, space, and any fundamental non-empirical issues about reality.
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Discussion[edit]


Metaphysics[edit]

In Metaphysics:The Key Concepts,authors Helen Beebee, Nikk Effingham, and Philip Goff in their "Introduction" to the field of philosophical metaphysics define it to be "the philosophical study of the nature of reality."[1] They immediately point out that the philosophical part of the definition is crucial because many other disciplines, in addition to philosophy, study the nature of reality, such as physics, biology, sociology, or archeology.

➢ How does philosophy differ from these other disciplines in its study of reality?

The above authors claim there are two related distinctive ways as to how philosophy differs from these other scientific disciplines. The first is that there are questions studied by metaphysicians which the other disciplines do not appear to be able to answer. These questions, in effect, are not in the purview of these other disciplines. For example, it is not part of the science of sociology to address the question of whether or not people have free will. This is not a sociological question; rather, it is a philosophical question of metaphysics.
The second distinctive way separating philosophy from science is the emphasis science places on empirical investigations using the scientific method. These non-philosophical disciplines concern themselves with an empirical investigation into facts related to their discipline and justifying their answers to these factual issues through scientific investigations. This is not what is at issue with metaphysical questions such as free will. There is no scientific investigation that could determine a yes or no answer to the question of free will. The reason for this is because BEFORE there could be such a determination one must first wrestle with questions about what CONSTITUTES free will. These will involve arguments concerning both the concepts involved with free will as well as the nature of free will. Beebee, Effingham, and Goff put it this way: "whether or not we have free will depends, in part, on what it means to attribute free will to someone."[2]
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Abstractions[edit]

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Sentient Beings[edit]

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Internet Resources on Metaphysics[edit]

NOTES[edit]

  1. ↑ Helen Beebee, Nikk Effingham, and Philip Goff, Metaphysics: The Key Concepts, "Introduction" (Cornwall: Routledge, 2011), xiii.
  2. ↑ Helen Beebee, Nikk Effingham, and Philip Goff, Metaphysics: The Key Concepts, "Introduction" (Cornwall: Routledge, 2011), xiii.
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