metaphysics
Study of being
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the fundamental nature of reality—what exists, what kinds of things exist, and how they relate.
Questions about time, causation, free will, and the existence of God fall under metaphysics.
In casual use, metaphysical often suggests the abstract, spiritual, or beyond ordinary experience: The conversation turned metaphysical after midnight.
The word can carry a whiff of the speculative or impractical.
Existing as something
- existenceState of being real
- essenceFundamental nature of something
- substancePhysical material with mass
- realityWhat actually exists
identity · causality · modality · necessity · contingency · potentiality · actuality · universals
Supreme spiritual authority
- soulInnermost animating essence
- afterlifeExistence beyond mortality
- immortalityExemption from death
- supernaturalBeyond natural explanation
divine · spiritual · sacred · numinous · transcendence · ultimate · infinite · absolute
Seat of consciousness
- qualiaSubjective character of experiences
- intentionalityPurposeful action quality
- phenomenalExceptionally impressive or unusual
- subjectiveBased on personal perspective
experience · awareness · self · free will · mental causation · zombies · emergence · reduction
Single-substance metaphysics
- dualismPhilosophy of opposed pairs
- pluralismCoexistence of differing views
- idealismBelief in noble principles
- materialismPrioritizing goods over spirit
realism · nominalism · physicalism · determinism · libertarianism · presentism · essentialism · nihilism
Greek founder of formal logic
- PlatoGreek philosopher, academy founder
- HeraclitusPre-Socratic philosopher of flux
- AquinasScholastic philosopher-theologian surname
- DescartesCogito ergo sum's author
Spinoza · Leibniz · Locke · Hume · Kant · Hegel · Schopenhauer · Nietzsche
Independent of experience
- analyticExamining by decomposition
- syntheticProduced artificially, not natural
- necessaryIndispensable, cannot omit
- possibleAble to occur
thought experiment · intuition · counterfactuals · grounding · revisionary · descriptive
being
Existing as something
- existenceState of being real
- essenceFundamental nature of something
- substancePhysical material with mass
reality · identity · causality · modality · necessity · contingency · potentiality · actuality · universals · particulars
God
Supreme spiritual authority
- soulInnermost animating essence
- afterlifeExistence beyond mortality
- immortalityExemption from death
supernatural · divine · spiritual · sacred · numinous · transcendence · ultimate · infinite · absolute · unconditioned
mind
Seat of consciousness
- qualiaSubjective character of experiences
- intentionalityPurposeful action quality
- phenomenalExceptionally impressive or unusual
subjective · experience · awareness · self · free will · mental causation · zombies · emergence · reduction · functionalism
monism
Single-substance metaphysics
- dualismPhilosophy of opposed pairs
- pluralismCoexistence of differing views
- idealismBelief in noble principles
materialism · realism · nominalism · physicalism · determinism · libertarianism · presentism · essentialism · nihilism · solipsism
Aristotle
Greek founder of formal logic
- PlatoGreek philosopher, academy founder
- HeraclitusPre-Socratic philosopher of flux
- AquinasScholastic philosopher-theologian surname
Descartes · Spinoza · Leibniz · Locke · Hume · Kant · Hegel · Schopenhauer · Nietzsche · Heidegger
a priori
Independent of experience
- analyticExamining by decomposition
- syntheticProduced artificially, not natural
- necessaryIndispensable, cannot omit
possible · thought experiment · intuition · counterfactuals · grounding · revisionary · descriptive
- Greek conceptslogos, ethos, pathos, hubris, arete
- Aristotelian metaphysicsprime mover, unmoved mover, first cause, actuality, potentiality
- fields of studyart, music, mathematics, history, biology
- abstract conceptsparadox, emotions, justice, truth, beauty
- academic fieldsmathematics, biology, chemistry, history, philosophy
- disciplinesbiology, chemistry, mathematics, psychology, sociology
metaphysicsphysics
Science of matter and energy
empiricism · natural science · experimental science · positivism · observation
metaphysicsethics
Study of right conduct
moral philosophy · applied ethics · pragmatics · praxis · epistemology
metaphysicsmaterialism
Prioritizing goods over spirit
physicalism · naturalism · scientism · nominalism · reductionism
- metaphysical poetryVerse blending intellect and emotion