Understanding Metaphysics: Truth, Knowledge, and Being

Understanding Metaphysics

The word "metaphysics" was coined in the 1st century BC to refer to a book in Aristotle's works that followed physics and dealt with the first principles of all sciences. It came to be used for knowledge that falls outside the scope of the positive sciences, encompassing philosophical knowledge.

Metaphysics explores concepts like truth, knowledge, the soul, God, and the good. The distinction between the forces of nature and philosophy lies not only in their subjects of study but also in the degree of verification involved:

Science precisely defines its object of study, continuously refines its testing procedures, and expresses findings in precise language. The strength of scientific evidence is such that it typically leads to agreement among competent minds.

Philosophy, however, often lacks this level of agreement. Philosophers may disagree on themes, language, methods, and outcomes. Metaphysics, as Aristotle stated, is "the science being sought."

Philosophy and metaphysics serve as "knowledge frontiers," addressing more contentious areas of inquiry.

However, it's important to acknowledge that there has been progress in philosophical knowledge. Solutions, sufficiently justified to be universally accepted, can be presented alongside the problems.

Philosophical ideas address matters that have a profound impact on people's lives. Therefore, assessing their truth is crucial. The works of philosophers can be viewed as:

• Stories of their personal perspectives on the world (autobiographical philosophy).
• Theories with universal truth claims, supported by underlying reasons that allow for testing the strength of their evidence.

Philosophical theories are corroborated sufficiently by philosophic science. Autobiographical philosophy reveals ways of seeing the world that are simply personal truths, requiring corroboration.

Ontology

The word "ontology" comes from the Greek term logos tou Ontos, meaning the science of everything that exists. Defining a science requires specifying its purpose and the perspective from which it is studied. Medieval philosophy referred to the "material object" and "formal object" of science.

The material object of ontology is the set of all beings, and its formal object is the study of what they all have in common: self. As Aristotle said, "being is said in many ways." There are real beings and unreal beings.

Problems of Ontology

Ontology faces problems from various fields, including physics. Physicists develop theories about reality to explain or predict phenomena. However, when discussing entities, it's difficult to determine whether they are real objects or simply invented ideas useful for understanding and manipulation.

The social sciences also present challenges, such as explaining the existence of concepts like nation and rights.

The question arises whether these entities are real, unreal, or ideal. What initially seems like an abstract science becomes an investigation that can affect our lives.

The First Task of Ontology: Clarifying Terms

An introduction to ontology can involve clarifying terms used to discuss all things. Many of these concepts are so basic that they are difficult to define and require examples.

The task of ontology can be described as a search for real definitions of certain terms, based on the meaning ascribed to them in the language from which they are taken. The terms that ontology seeks to define are largely drawn from the technical language used in investigations and, to some extent, from colloquial language.