Notes: The Atlas of Reality: A Comprehensive Guide to Metaphysics: Part I: Foundations, Chapter 1: Introduction
Purpose
This is the first post in the The Atlas of Reality: A Comprehensive Guide to
Metaphysics notes series, on Part I: Foundations, Chapter 1: Introduction.
Content:
1 What is Metaphysics?
2 A Brief History of Metaphysics
2.1 Beginning of Metaphysics
2.2 Hellenistic Period
2.3 Late Antiquity
2.4 17th and 18th Centuries
2.5 Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
2.6 20th Century
2.7 21st Century
2.1 Beginning of Metaphysics
2.2 Hellenistic Period
2.3 Late Antiquity
2.4 17th and 18th Centuries
2.5 Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
2.6 20th Century
2.7 21st Century
3 Is Metaphysics Useless?
3.1 Skeptical Objection
3.2 Pragmatist Objection
3.2.1 Fatalism
3.2.2 Causation
3.2.3 Science
3.2.4 Mind-Body Problem
3.2.5 Identity
3.1 Skeptical Objection
3.2 Pragmatist Objection
3.2.1 Fatalism
3.2.2 Causation
3.2.3 Science
3.2.4 Mind-Body Problem
3.2.5 Identity
1 What is Metaphysics?
Metaphysics studies the nature of ultimate reality. It is also called first
philosophy.
The most fundamental aspects of reality are studied by Metaphysics, like
existence, parts and wholes, space and time, causality, possibility and
necessity, similarity and dissimilarity, etc..
2 A Brief History of Metaphysics
Metaphysics is the oldest branch of philosophy.
2.1 Beginnings of Metaphysics
The pre-socratic philosophers of Ionia and Southern Italy proposed
metaphysical theories of change.
Materialism was held by early philosophers like Empedocles and Democritus,
with their Atomism, etc..
In response to this, Plato developed his Theory of Forms as an alternative to
these materialistic philosophies. His student, Aristotle, built on Plato's
work to develop the first full systematic metaphysics. Both of them rejected
materialism and emphasised the qualitative features of reality.
Both Plato and Aristotle founded schools, the Academy and the Lyceum,
respectively, to carry on their philosophy.
2.2 Hellenestic Period
During the Hellenestic Period[the time between the conquests of Alexander the
Great and the rise of Rome], three schools of philosophy arose: Stoicism,
Epicureanism and Skepticism. The Stoics and Epicureans supported a
materialistic philosophy. Then, Metaphysics became less popular, while more
work was done in Ethics, Politics and Epistemology, as people focused on
defending the possibility of knowledge from the Skeptics. Plato's Academy were
moderate skeptics during this time.
2.3 Late Antiquity
During the Late Antiquity, Christians, Jews and Muslims were the main ones
doing philosophy. Metaphysics became popular again and Aristotle's works were
becoming more influential due to more translation of them being done and
spread. Out of this period came Scholasticism and was dominant for centuries.
2.4 17th and 18th Centuries
During the 17th and 18th centuries, materialism regained popularity as modern
science was seen to be successful, and it worked on a materialistic
philosophy.
Rene Descartes reintroduced the problem of skepticism, renewing the focus of
defending the possibility of knowledge. Descartes solution to skepticism was
to build knowledge on an indubitable foundation: the mind and self, leading to
the rise of Idealism, the idea that the most fundamental reality is the
mental. Idealism was popular for a centuries.
2.5 Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
During the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, for a
brief time, Metaphysics was rejected by many philosophers. This was because
studies in psychology and culture had shown that external and internal
societal and psychological factors impacted the conclusions of metaphysics,
rendering metaphysics too relative and therefore useless.
So, extreme empiricism, or Verificationism, was common, the view that all
assertions must be verifiable or falsifiable by the senses to be meaningful.
This made metaphysics seem useless.
The ability of metaphysicians to analyse the grammar and logic of language was
also criticised, further attacking metaphysic's viability.
However, during the 20th century, interest in metaphysics was revived.
2.6 20th Century
During the 20th century, many started to reject Idealism and argue that
skepticism did not need to be answered. G.E. Moore argued that knowledge of
the external world is more rationally justified than any skepticism. Ludwig
Wittgenstein argued that skepticism required justification but lacked it.
Many philosophers during this time also argued that science required no
justification except for empirical observation.
So, Metaphysics regained popularity as people now wanted to study the external
world. As such, traditional metaphysical schools regained popularity, such as
Materialism, Platonism, Scholasticism and Aristotelianism.
In the Philosophy of Science, philosophers of physics explored the nature of
space, time, causation and their underlying structures.
In the Philosophy of Language, philosophers studying the logical structure of
language were lead to ask metaphysical questions of ontology.
In Logic, logicians were lead to ask metaphysical questions of modality and
time.
2.7 21st Century
By the beginning of the 21st century, Metaphysics was the most prominent field
of philosophy once more.
3 Is Metaphysics Useless?
There are two main objections to the study of Metaphysics.
3.1 Skeptical Objection
The first objection is a skeptical objection: that we cannot achieve knowledge
with Metaphysics.
To respond to this objection, one should just do metaphysics to show the
skeptic that we can get knowledge from it.
3.2 Pragmatist Objection
The second objection is a pragmatist objection: that Metaphysics is not
important, as compared to other fields of philosophy like Ethics and
Epistemology.
The first response would be to note that metaphysics comes naturally from a
curiosity about the world, from which philosophy itself originates. So,
metaphysics is a necessary by-product of philosophical inquiry and wonder.
The second response would be to note that metaphysics is deeply relevant to
many other areas of philosophy, like Axiology, Epistemology and Philosophy of
Science.
3.2.1 Fatalism
In Ethics, it is important to ask whether or not we really do have free will.
What if Fatalism is true and we do not really have free choices, then we would
not have moral responsibility. Metaphysics can help answer this question, as
it relates to modality and other metaphysical fields of inquiry.
If Fatalism were true, then it would also have many implications on our lives
and meaning.
3.2.2 Causation
In Ethics and Epistemology, it's important to ask if we can causally impact
the future. If not, then we would have no moral responsibility or even
knowledge, as our knowledge would merely come accidentally and not be causally
influenced by facts, making it hard to achieve justification for our beliefs.
Metaphysics can help to answer this question.
3.2.3 Science
Science presupposes many metaphysical propositions that can only be justified
by metaphysics, that relate to modality, fundamentality, ontology and space
and time, contrary to scientists that assume that science has made Metaphysics
useless.
3.2.4 Mind-Body Problem
In the Philosophy of Mind, we have the mind-body problem, that asks us how do
we reconcile what we seem to know about our mind and what science tells us
about it. Metaphysics can help a lot in attempts to solve the mind-body
problem.
3.2.5 Identity
Do we retain identity over time? If not, then the meaning of our lives would
be significantly impacted. This question is answered using metaphysics,
relating to composition.
Conclusion
The next post in the The Atlas of Reality: A Comprehensive Guide to
Metaphysics notes series will be on Part I: Foundations, Chapter 2:
Truthmakers.
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