What is Metaphysics?
Summary
TLDRMetaphysics, the branch of philosophy exploring the nature of existence, space, time, and the divine, has faced scrutiny in the 20th century. Traditionally seen as foundational to understanding the world, it has been challenged by scientific advancements and philosophical movements like logical positivism and deconstruction, which view metaphysical inquiries as linguistic ambiguities or a manifestation of logocentrism.
Takeaways
- 📚 Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the most general and abstract questions, such as the nature of existence, space, time, God, and the human soul.
- 🔍 It aims to provide a comprehensive account of the world that is not affected by the uncertainties of experience, offering a systematic understanding beyond empirical knowledge.
- 📜 The term 'metaphysics' is derived from 'ta metatar physica', meaning 'the work after the physics', and was catalogued after Aristotle's 'Physics'.
- 👶 Aristotle's 'Metaphysics', also known as 'first philosophy', is one of the earliest and most influential works on the subject in Western philosophy.
- 🔄 Metaphysics is considered to be the study that comes after physics, offering a systematic account of the categories used by physics, the study of nature.
- 🤔 Central to the subject are three fundamental questions: the nature of existence, the persistence of things through change, and the overall understanding of the world.
- 🛑 In the 20th century, metaphysics faced criticism and its existence was questioned, with some viewing it as outdated or unnecessary in light of scientific advancements.
- 🧑🔬 The natural sciences, particularly mathematics and theoretical physics, have taken over questions that were once the domain of metaphysics, such as those about space and time.
- 🗣️ The 'linguistic turn' in philosophy led to the view that traditional metaphysical concerns are often rooted in linguistic misuse and ambiguities.
- 🔍 For logical positivists and analytic philosophers, metaphysics is seen as speculative and unverifiable, with problems arising from language misuse.
- 📚 Deconstructionists, like Jacques Derrida, use 'metaphysics' or 'Western metaphysics' as a synonym for philosophy itself, critiquing its inherent logocentric tendencies.
- 🔄 The task for philosophers, according to some traditions, is to clarify concepts and language to eliminate metaphysical pseudo-problems.
Q & A
What is the traditional definition of metaphysics?
-Metaphysics is traditionally defined as the branch of philosophy that deals with the most general and abstract questions, such as those pertaining to the nature of existence, the categories of space and time, the existence of God, or the immortality of the human soul.
What does metaphysics aim to provide?
-Metaphysics aims to provide a comprehensive account of the world that is proof against the uncertainties of experience.
What is the origin of the term 'metaphysics'?
-The term 'metaphysics' is supposedly derived from the Greek words 'ta metatar physica', which means 'the work after the physics', referring to the treatise by Aristotle that was catalogued after his 'Physics'.
What is the significance of Aristotle's 'Metaphysics' in the history of philosophy?
-Aristotle's 'Metaphysics', which he himself called 'first philosophy', is one of the earliest treatises on the subject and has had immense influence on the entire history of Western philosophy.
In what way is metaphysics related to physics?
-Metaphysics is to physics as meta-language is to language, offering a systematic account of the categories employed by physics, which is defined as the study of nature.
What are the three central questions at the heart of Aristotle's 'Metaphysics'?
-The three central questions are: 1. What is existence and what sorts of things exist in the world? 2. How can things continue to exist and yet undergo the change we see about us in the natural world? 3. How can this world be understood?
Why has metaphysics come under attack in the 20th century?
-Metaphysics has come under attack due to developments in the natural sciences, which have made questions pertaining to space and time a matter for mathematicians and theoretical physicists, and the so-called 'linguistic turn' in philosophy, which views traditional concerns of metaphysics as problems arising from the misuse of language.
What is the view of the logical positivists of the Vienna Circle on metaphysics?
-For the logical positivists of the Vienna Circle, metaphysics is viewed as a derogatory term to be applied to speculative or unverifiable statements, such as 'God exists'.
How do philosophers associated with analytic philosophy and ordinary language philosophy view metaphysical problems?
-For these philosophers, metaphysical problems are simply a product of the ambiguities of language, and the task of philosophy is to arrive at a better understanding of concepts through a better understanding of language.
What is the perspective of Jack Derrida and practitioners of deconstruction on metaphysics?
-Jack Derrida and practitioners of deconstruction tend to use the term 'metaphysics' or 'Western metaphysics' as a synonym for philosophy itself and hold that it is the most dangerous manifestation of logocentrism.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Metaphysics
Metaphysics is explored as a branch of philosophy that delves into the most fundamental and abstract questions about existence, space, time, and the nature of reality. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the world beyond the uncertainties of experience. The term is derived from 'ta metatar physica,' meaning 'the work after the physics,' which refers to Aristotle's treatise that followed his work on physics. Aristotle's 'Metaphysics,' also known as 'first philosophy,' has significantly influenced Western philosophy. The core of the book revolves around three key questions: the nature of existence, the continuity of existence amidst change, and the understanding of the world. Despite its historical significance, metaphysics faced criticism in the 20th century, particularly from natural sciences and philosophers who view its concerns as arising from the misuse of language.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Metaphysics
💡Existence
💡Space and Time
💡God
💡Immortality
💡Aristotle
💡Linguistic Turn
💡Logical Positivism
💡Deconstruction
💡Continuity and Change
💡Conceptual Understanding
Highlights
Metaphysics is traditionally defined as the branch of philosophy that deals with the most general and abstract questions.
It pertains to the nature of existence, categories of space and time, the existence of God, and the immortality of the human soul.
Metaphysics seeks to provide a comprehensive account of the world that is proof against the uncertainties of experience.
The term 'metaphysics' is derived from the Greek words 'ta metatar physica', meaning 'the work after the physics'.
Aristotle's 'Metaphysics', also known as 'first philosophy', is one of the earliest treatises on the subject.
Aristotle's work has had immense influence on the entire history of Western philosophy.
Metaphysics is considered to come after physics in offering a systematic account of the categories employed by physics.
Metaphysics is to physics as meta language is to language.
The core of the book revolves around three questions: existence, continuity of existence, and understanding the world.
Metaphysics has been under attack in the 20th century, with its very existence being called into question.
Developments in natural sciences have made questions about space and time more a matter for mathematicians and theoretical physicists.
The linguistic turn in philosophy views traditional metaphysical concerns as problems arising from the misuse of language.
Logical positivists view metaphysics as speculative or unverifiable statements, often derogatory.
Analytic philosophy and ordinary language philosophy see metaphysical problems as a product of language ambiguities.
For philosophers of these traditions, philosophy's task is to understand concepts better through a better understanding of language.
Jack Derrida and deconstructionists use the term 'metaphysics' or 'Western metaphysics' as a synonym for philosophy itself.
Derrida holds that metaphysics is the most dangerous manifestation of logocentrism.
Transcripts
what is metaphysics
metaphysics is traditionally defined as
that branch of philosophy which deals
with the most
general and abstract questions such as
those pertaining to the nature of
existence
the categories of space and time the
existence of god
or the immortality of the human soul
metaphysics therefore seeks to provide a
comprehensive
account of the world that is proof
against the uncertainties of experience
the term metaphysics is supposedly
derived from the greek words
ta metatar physica which means the work
after the physics
or in other words the treatise by
aristotle that was catalogued after his
physics in some lost library
as is well known aristotle's metaphysics
which he himself called first philosophy
is one of the earliest fetuses
on the subject and has had immense
influence on the entire history of
western philosophy
it might also be said to come after the
physics in that it offers a systematic
account of the categories employed by
physics
defined as the study of physicist or
nature
in that sense metaphysics is to physics
as meta language is to language
at the heart of the book lie three
questions
1. what is existence and what sorts of
things exist
in the world 2. how can things continue
to exist
and yet undergo the change we see about
us in the natural world
and 3. how can this world be understood
although it was long considered to be
the most noble branch of philosophy
metaphysics has come under attack from a
variety of quarters in the 20th century
and its very existence has been called
into question
on the one hand developments in the
natural sciences mean that questions
pertaining to space and time are now a
matter for mathematicians and
theoretical physicists
rather than speculative philosophers
the developments within philosophy
itself and especially the so-called
linguistic turn
mean on the other hand that the
traditional concerns of metaphysics are
often viewed as problems that arise from
the misuse of language
for the logical positivists of the
vienna circle metaphysics is viewed as a
derogatory term to be applied to
speculative
or unverifiable statements such as
god exists indeed for many
of the theorists associated with
analytic philosophy and ordinary
language philosophy
metaphysical problems are simply a
product of the ambiguities of language
for the philosophers associated with
these traditions the task of philosophy
is
therefore to arrive at a better
understanding of concepts through a
better understanding of language that
will rid philosophy of metaphysical
pseudo-problems
jack derrida and the practitioners of
deconstruction
tend to use the term metaphysics or
western metaphysics
as a synonym for philosophy itself and
hold that it is the most dangerous
manifestation of logocentrism
you
Посмотреть больше похожих видео
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)