what are metaphysics???

Question

is it real?? and how good is it? also if you know any books for beginners on metaphysics that would be great.

Answer 1

Metaphysics
The term metaphysics originally referred to the writings of Aristotle that came after his writings on physics, in the arrangement made by Andronicus of Rhodes about three centuries after Aristotle's death.

Traditionally, metaphysics refers to the branch of philosophy that attempts to understand the fundamental nature of all reality, whether visible or invisible. It seeks a description so basic, so essentially simple, so all-inclusive that it applies to everything, whether divine or human or anything else. It attempts to tell what anything must be like in order to be at all.

Read more at this link:
http://websyte.com/alan/metamul.htm

Here's a link to an Amazon.com seach:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/104-7025427-6103959?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=metaphysics&Go.x=16&Go.y=9

Answer 2

I'm sure you can look up words online just like the rest of us. So here's about how I would describe it in my own words:

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that deals with all things that CAN'T be dealt with by regular physics. Advances in physics shrink the possible domain of application to metaphysics, therefore.

Of course, many things contemplated by metaphysicists aren't likely to be taken up by physicists any time soon: the nature of reality, objects or personhood, religion, and many topics that are sometimes considered 'occult'. In these pursuits, tools such as logic can be useful but sensory and other kinds of measurements are less so.

Studying metaphysics, then, tends to involve familiarizing yourself with what other thinkers of the past have thought of these things. Some are considered now to be unreasonable, while others are still 'standard' arguments. In this sense, it can be a time-saver in the same way that studying famous chess games can help you play chess.

Until someone develops a god-o-meter, there will probably always be metaphysics around of some sort. Hope that helps!

Answer 3

Metaphysics ( Greek: μετά (meta) = "after", φυσικά (phisiká) = "those on nature", derived from the arrangement of Aristotle's works in antiquity[1]) is the branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the nature of the world. It is the study of being or reality.[2] It addresses questions such as: What is the nature of reality? Is there a God? What is man's place in the universe?

A central branch of metaphysics is ontology, the investigation into what categories of things are in the world and what relations these things bear to one another. The metaphysician also attempts to clarify the notions by which people understand the world, including existence, objecthood, property, space, time, causality, and possibility.

More recently, the term "metaphysics" has also been used to refer to "subjects which are beyond the physical world". A "metaphysical bookstore," for instance, is not one that sells books on ontology, but rather one that sells books on spirits, faith healing, crystal power, occultism, and other such topics.

Before the development of modern science, scientific questions were addressed in metaphysics under the natural philosophy branch. This practice continued until up to the time of Isaac Newton (who was a natural philosopher himself) straight through the 18th century (the term "science" simply meant knowledge prior to the 19th century). However from the 19th century onwards natural philosophy became science, thus changing the definition of metaphysics to mainly include subjects beyond the physical world. Natural philosophy and thus science can still be considered topics of metaphysics, depending on whether or not the definition of the term includes empirical explanations.

Answer 4

Visit www.metaphysicscourse.com for a course in metaphysics ;)

Answer 5

Ck out the site Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy.

Answer 6

Theories of knowledge that discuss the nature of knowledge itself and speculation about those theories.