See also:

• METAPHYSICS
• METAPHYSICS, or METAPHYSIC (from Gr. /sera, after, d v med, things of nature, lots, i.e. the natural universe)

METAPHYSICS, or METAPHYSIC (from Gr. /sera, after, d v med, things of nature, lots, i.e. the natural universe)  , the 4ccepted name of one of the four See also:

• GREAT

great departments of See also:

• PHILOSOPHY (Gr. gthos, fond of, and vo4 (a, wisdom)

philosophy (q.v.) . The See also:

• TERM

term was first applied to one of the See also:

• TREATISES

treatises of See also:

• ARISTOTLE
• ARISTOTLE (384-322 B.C.)

Aristotle on the basis of the arrangement of the Aristotelian See also:

• CANON

canon made„ by Andronicus of See also:

• RHODES
• RHODES, CECIL JOHN (1853-1902)
• RHODES, JAMES FORD

Rhodes, in which it was placed " after the See also:

• PHYSICAL

physical treatises" with the description' ra See also:

• AGRA

Agra ra See also:

• OAT (O. Eng. ate; the word is not found in cognate languages; it may be allied with Fr. eitel, knot, nodule, cf. Gr. oiSos swelling)

Oat Ka . The term was used not in the See also:

• MODERN

modern sense of above or transcending nature (a sense which /sera cannot See also:

• BEAR
• BEAR, BLACK
• BEAR, BROWN
• BEAR, GRIZZLY
• BEAR, ISABELLINE
• BEAR, WHITE

bear), but simply to convey the See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea that the See also:

• TREATISE

treatise so-called comes " after " the physical treatises.' It is therefore nothing more than a See also:

• LITERARY

literary See also:

• ACCIDENT
• ACCIDENT (from Lat. accidere, to happen)

accident that the term has been applied to that See also:

• DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

department or discipline of philosophy which deals with first principles . Aristotle himself described the subject See also:

• MATTER

matter of the treatise as " First ' On the true See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order of the Aristotelian treatises see ARISTOTLE . After C . Claus, Schriften der Gesellsch. See also:

• SUS

sus Beford. der gesammten Naturwissen. su See also:

• MARBURG
• MARBURG, COLLOQUY OF (Marburger Religionsgesprach)

Marburg . (i) first antenna; (2) See also:

• COMPOUND
• COMPOUND (from Lat. componere, to combine or put together)

compound See also:

• EYE
• EYE (O. Eng. edge, Ger. Auge; derived from an Indo-European root also seen in Lat. oc-ulus, the organ of vision (q.v.)

eye; (3) See also:

• SIMPLE

simple eye; (4) biramous appendages . (After J . See also:

• MULLER, FERDINAND VON, BARON (1825–1896)
• MULLER, FRIEDRICH (1749-1825)
• MULLER, GEORGE (1805-1898)
• MULLER, JOHANNES PETER (18o1-1858)
• MULLER, JOHANNES VON (1752-1809)
• MULLER, JULIUS (18oi-1878)
• MULLER, KARL OTFRIED (1797-1840)
• MULLER, LUCIAN (1836-1898)
• MULLER, WILHELM (1794-1827)
• MULLER, WILLIAM JAMES (1812-1845)

Muller.) Philosophy" or "See also:

• THEOLOGY

Theology," which deals with being as being (Metaph. r. i., Eariv brwri n vs it Oewpei r8 ov ;3 Sv Kai rd roirrcq inreiPxovra KaB' afro) . From this phrase is derived the later term " See also:

• ONTOLOGY (adapted from a modern Latin form ontologia used by Jean le Clerc 1692; Gr. 6v, Evros, pres. part. of dam, to be, and klryos, science)

Ontology " (q.v.) . The misapprehension of the significance of pert& led to various mistaken uses of the term " See also:

• METAPHYSICS
• METAPHYSICS, or METAPHYSIC (from Gr. /sera, after, d v med, things of nature, lots, i.e. the natural universe)

metaphysics," e.g. for that which is concerned with the supernatural, not only by the schoolmen but even as See also:

• LATE

late as 17th-See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century See also:

• ENGLISH

English writers, and within narrower limits the term has been dangerously ambiguous even in the hands of modern philosophers (see below) . In the widest sense it may include both the " first philosophy " of Aristotle, and the theory of knowledge (in what sense can there be true knowledge?), i.e. both ontology and See also:

• EPISTEMOLOGY

epistemology (q.v.), and this is perhaps the most convenient use of the term; See also:

• KANT, IMMANUEL (1724-1804)

Kant, on the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, would represent metaphysics as being " nothing more than the See also:

• INVENTORY (post-class. Lat. inventarium, a list or repertory, from invenire to find)

inventory of all that is given us by pure See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason, systematically arranged " (i.e. epistemology) .

The earliest "metaphysicians " concerned themselves with the nature of being (ontology), seeking for the unity which they postulated behind the multiplicity of phenomena (see IONIAN SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY and articles on the See also:

• SEPARATE

separate thinkers); later thinkers tended to inquire rather into the nature of knowledge as the necessary pre-requisite of ontological investigation . The extent to which these two attitudes have been combined or separated is discussed in the ensuing See also:

• ARTICLE (from Lat. articulus, a joint)

article which deals with the various See also:

• SCHOOLS

schools of modern metaphysics in relation to the principles of the Aristotelian " first philosophy."' (X) I.—THE See also:

• SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

SCIENCE OF BEING See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

Side by side with See also:

• PSYCHOLOGY
• PSYCHOLOGY (>Guxrl, the mind or soul, and X yos, theory)

psychology, the science of mind, and with See also:

• LOGIC (Xoy1K7, sc. rixvrt, the art of reasoning)

logic, the science of reasoning, metaphysics is tending gradually to reassert its See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient Aristotelian position as the science of being in See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general . Not See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long ago, in See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England at all events, metaphysics was merged in psychology . But with the decline of dogmatic belief and the spread of religious doubt—as the See also:

• SPECIAL

special sciences also grow more general, and the natural sciences become more speculative about matter and force, See also:

• EVOLUTION

evolution and See also:

• TELEOLOGY (Gr. Taos, end)

teleology—men begin to wonder again about the nature and origin of things; just as it was the decay of polytheism in See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion and his own discoveries in natural science which impelled Aristotle to metaphysical questions . There is, however, a certain difference in the way of approaching things . Aristotle emphasized being as being, without always sufficiently asking whether the things whose existence he asserted are really knowable . We, on the contrary, mainly through the See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of See also:

• DESCARTES, RENE (1596-1650)

Descartes, rather ask what are the things we know, and there-fore, some more and some less, come to connect ontology with epistemology, and in consequence come to treat metaphysics in relation to psychology and logic, from which epistemology is an offshoot . To this pressing question then—What is the See also:

• WORLD

world as we know it?—three kinds of definite answers are returned: those of See also:

• MATERIALISM (from Lat. materia, matter)

materialism, See also:

• IDEALISM (from Gr. i5Ea, archetype or model, through been urged of the truth of its point of view is the persistency Fr. idealisme)

idealism and See also:

• REALISM (from Low Lat. realis, appertaining to res, things, as opposed to ideas and imaginations)

realism, according to the emphasis laid by metaphysicians on See also:

• BODY

body, on mind, or on both . See also:

• META

Meta-physical materialism is the view that everything known is body or matter; but while according to ancient materialists soul is only another body, according to modern materialists mind with-out soul is only an attribute or See also:

• FUNCTION

function of body . Metaphysical idealism is the view that everything known is mind, or some See also:

• MENTAL

mental See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state or other, which some idealists suppose to require a substantial soul, others not; while all agree that 'body has no different being apart from mind . Metaphysical realism is the intermediate view that everything known is either body or soul, neither of which alone exhaust's the universe of being . Aristotle, the founder of metaphysics as a distinct science, was also the founder of metaphysical realism, and still remains its See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main authority .

His view was that all things are substances, in the sense of distinct individuals, each of which has a being of its I The article is supplemented by e.g . IDEALISM; See also:

• PRAGMATISM

PRAGMATISM; RELATIVITY OF KNOWLEDGE, while separate discussions of ancient and See also:

• MEDIEVAL

medieval philosophers will be found in See also:

• BIOGRAPHICAL

biographical articles and articles on the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief philosophical schools, e.g .