Please explain to a beginner: what is metaphysics? @jowehler I don't think there is any criterion, beyond the trivial semantic one: metaphysical questions are the questions studied by metaphysicians Pick up an anthology or a journal and look at how papers are categorized--the questions above are the kind of thing you'll see under the heading "metaphysics" –
What is the difference between the spiritual and the metaphysical The metaphysical evidence or not preceptive to five gross senses--eyes, ears, nose, etc --but it is clear to your intellect You can't deny the consciousness of your thoughts Don't think metaphysical level is bogus Gedankenexperiment or thought experiment is a very good example of a valid and highly valued type of metaphysical activity That
metaphysics - What is the criteria for a metaphysical truths . . . Metaphysical truths are usually truths that predicate the "true being", if one believes in such a thing So to Plato existence of the ideal realm is a metaphysical truth, and to Aristotle of the unmoved mover, to Christians God and angels, etc Necessity and universality are neither necessary nor sufficient
What exactly makes something (an event) metaphysically (i. e. not . . . Metaphysical possibility does not supervene on the way our actual world is, that would be nomic possibility, perhaps, what is allowed by the actual laws of nature Proponents of metaphysical possibility do not offer cogent criteria as to what limits it beyond logical possibility, it is rather something vague conjectured to lie between logical
epistemology - What exactly is metaphysical possibility? - Philosophy . . . Therefore, we know that (p ∨ ¬p) is metaphysically necessary Metaphysical possibility is defined in an analogous manner: Definition 5 (Metaphysical possibility m) Formula φ of propositional modal language is metaphysically possible (symbolically: m φ) iff it is true in Carnapian models at some valuation Example
What is the difference between metaphysics, supernaturalism, and . . . But this suggests that there is a metaphysical reality - a summum bonum or true good - that provides a foundation for ethics, which would be at odds with naturalism's overall rejection of supernatural or transcendent realities In this quote, metaphysics and supernaturalism are somehow equated
What is the difference between metaphysics and ontology? So, a metaphysical conclusion we can draw from this is: "The world is such that matter is governed by physical laws " This is a metaphysical conclusion because it describes a way that reality is - laws are a property of reality (and further, reality is the kind of reality that can have laws)
Is metaphysics necessarily a first philosophy? @MauroALLEGRANZA but in some sense, many ‘metaphysical’ questions are indeed very important to conduct science (the mind body problem, the first cause, etc ) Quine put them into epistemology, make them have a relatively more ‘horizontal’ relation with other disciplines, make them use more scientific method and results, which is fine
Metaphysical vs ontological necessity - Philosophy Stack Exchange Metaphysical necessity depending on presuppositions generally entails definition Classically in the West, for a thing to exist, it must have properties or an essence expressible as a definition For instance, it is generally ontologically necessary for a human to have two legs and no feathers by definition
Is solipsism truly unprovable? - Philosophy Stack Exchange In any case, metaphysical solipsism is easier to counteract Metaphysical solipsism is the thesis that only "I" exist (sole ipso) and everything is either my creation, or is experienced because I am its ultimate purpose (being the only thing existing) It is hard and highly problematic and incoherent to phrase metaphysical solipsism differently