What is Metaphysics?

Definition

• Branch of philosophy dealing with general and abstract questions:
  • Nature of existence
  • Categories of space and time
  • Existence of God
  • Immortality of the human soul
• Seeks to provide a comprehensive account of the world proof against uncertainties of experience

Origin

• Term derived from Greek words: ta meta ta physica ("the work after the physics")
• Named after Aristotle's treatise catalogued after his Physics

Aristotle's Contributions

• Aristotle's Metaphysics, also called First Philosophy
• One of the earliest works on the subject
• Immense influence on Western philosophy
• Metaphysics: Systematic account of categories used by physics (study of nature)
• Relationship: Metaphysics is to physics as meta-language is to language

Central Questions

1. What is existence and what sorts of things exist in the world?
2. How can things continue to exist and yet undergo change we see in the natural world?
3. How can this world be understood?

20th Century Criticism

• Metaphysics attacked from multiple directions
• Natural Sciences: Questions of space and time now addressed by mathematicians and theoretical physicists
• Linguistic Turn in Philosophy: Traditional metaphysical concerns seen as language misuse
  • Logical Positivists: Metaphysics considered speculative and unverifiable
  • Analytic & Ordinary Language Philosophy: Metaphysical problems as language ambiguities
  • Aim: Better understanding of concepts through language to eliminate metaphysical pseudo-problems

Deconstruction and Metaphysics

• Jacques Derrida and Deconstructionists:
  • Use the term metaphysics as synonymous with philosophy
  • Consider it a dangerous form of logocentrism