What is Metaphysics?

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The term “metaphysics” comes from the ancient Greek “ta metá ta physiká”, which means “the ones [i.e., books] after the ones about nature." “Ta metá ta physiká” is the title given by the editor of Aristotle’s 14 books that came after his works on nature. It is from here that the Latin term “metaphysica” was derived, the term now used as the title of Aristotle’s treatise and as the name of its subject matter.

Metaphysics is traditionally defined as the study of the nature of being or of the first principles of things. Today, however, this definition is considered inaccurate. This is because, starting from the 17th century, the term metaphysics has been applied to a wider range of philosophical problems—most of which are in no way related to traditional metaphysics—such as the problem of free will and the problem of the physical and the mental.

To understand metaphysics more accurately, therefore, scholars divide it into two periods based on the problems they tried to answer: the ancient and medieval period, also known as the “old” metaphysics; and the modern and contemporary period, or the “new” metaphysics.


The Old and the New Metaphysics

A. The “Old” Metaphysics

As mentioned earlier, old metaphysics refers to the metaphysics of the ancient and medieval period, roughly from Anaximander (c. 610—546 B.C.) up to the 16th century.

The metaphysical problems it dealt with were:

  1. Being as such, first causes, and unchanging things
  2. Categories of beings and universals
  3. Substance

While some of the types of metaphysical theories we find in these periods are Platonism, Aristotelianism, and Thomism.


B. The “New” Metaphysics

New metaphysics, on the other hand, refers to the metaphysics of the modern and contemporary period, from Descartes (1596-1650) up to the present.

In addition to the problems of the old metaphysics, it is also concerned with:

  1. Modality
  2. Space and Time
  3. Persistence and Constitution
  4. Causation, Freedom and Determinism
  5. The Mental and Physical

Some of the types of metaphysical theories we can find in these periods are Cartesianism, Idealism, and Kantianism.


Criticisms

1. Lack of Empirical Evidence

Unlike the natural sciences, which rely on observation, experimentation, and data analysis to support their claims, metaphysics is often seen as relying on purely speculative reasoning. As such, critics argue that metaphysical claims often lack the necessary empirical evidence to establish their validity, and thus are either unverifiable or unfalsifiable.


2. Lack of Clarity

Another criticism of metaphysics is that its concepts are often vague and ill-defined. Critics argue that metaphysical concepts such as “existence,” “being,” and “reality” are difficult to define and understand, and that this lack of clarity makes it problematic in making meaningful claims or arguments. Moreover, other critics argue that the very act of attempting to define these concepts is misguided, as they are inherently ambiguous or meaningless.


3. Inability to Provide Definitive Answers

Still another criticism of metaphysics is that it is inherently incapable of providing definitive answers to its questions. Critics argue that many metaphysical questions are either meaningless or unanswerable, and that attempts to answer them often result in circular reasoning or paradoxes. In addition, some critics argue that metaphysical claims are often based on intuition or subjective experience, and therefore lack the objective rigor necessary to establish their validity.


References

Craig, Edward. Bibliography. “Metaphysics.” Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed December 13, 2024. https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/overview/metaphysics/v-1.

van Inwagen, Peter, A.C. Grayling, William Henry Walsh, Richard Wolin, and Dean W. Zimmerman. “Metaphysics.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed December 13, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/metaphysics.

van Inwagen, Peter, Meghan Sullivan, and Sara Bernstein. “Metaphysics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed December 13, 2024. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/metaphysics/.

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