Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of reality, including existence, objects and their properties, possibility and necessity, space and time, change, causation, and the relation between matter and mind. It is one of the oldest branches of philosophy.[1]
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 essences 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.[2] Some definitions are descriptive by providing an account of what metaphysicians do while others are normative and prescribe what metaphysicians ought to do.[3]
Two historically influential definitions in ancient and medieval philosophy understand metaphysics as the science of the first causes 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.[4] Some philosophers follow Aristotle in describing metaphysics as "first philosophy", implying that it is the most basic inquiry while all other branches of philosophy depend on it in some way.[5]
- Further reading
Metaphysics, Wikipedia
Notes
- ↑ Carroll & Markosian 2010, pp. 1–3, Koons & Pickavance 2015, pp. 1–2,McDaniel 2020, § 0.3 An Overview of Metaphysics and Other Areas of Philosophy, Mumford 2012, § What Is an Introduction?
- ↑ Carroll & Markosian 2010, pp. 1–4 | Loux & Crisp 2017, pp. 1–2 | McDaniel 2020, § 0.3 An Overview of Metaphysics and Other Areas of Philosophy | Mumford 2012, § 10 What Is Metaphysics? | Ney 2014, pp. 9–10 | van Inwagen, Sullivan & Bernstein 2023, Lead Section, § 1. The Word 'Metaphysics' and the Concept of Metaphysics
- ↑ Loux & Crisp 2017, p. 2
- ↑ Loux & Crisp 2017, pp. 1–4 | van Inwagen, Sullivan & Bernstein 2023, Lead Section, § 1. The Word 'Metaphysics' and the Concept of Metaphysics
- ↑ Koons & Pickavance 2015, pp. 8–10 | Loux & Crisp 2017, pp. 2–3
Sources
See: 
Metaphysics#Sources, Wikipedia
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