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Metaphysics & Philosophy Discussion

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Philosophy
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What is Metaphysics and what does this branch of Philosophy cover?
Metaphysics is not easy to explain. Early philosophers claimed that metaphysics was similar to,
alchemy or astrology, to be defined by its subject-matter: metaphysics was the school of thought
that studied existence or “things that do not change”. It is not possible anymore to define
metaphysics such a way. There are many philosophical problems that are now seen as
metaphysical problems (or partly metaphysical problems) that are in no way related to existence
or “things that do not change” —the problem of free will, or the problem of the difference
between the mental and the physical for example.
The word, Metaphysics, lacks a clear synonym or definition. Although that some would
conclude that the word implies that metaphysics is a study that goes beyond physics, a study
devoted to things that surpass the ordinary concerns of Einstein and Newton, this is a common
misconception. The word ‘metaphysics’ is resultant from a shared title of the fourteen books by
Aristotle that are currently known as Aristotle's Metaphysics. First Philosophy, “First
Science, “Wisdom, and “Theology” are the four branches that are in ‘metaphysics’ according
to Plato. One hundred years after the death of Aristotle, an editor of his work named those before
mentioned books “Ta Meta Ta Phusika”.The title was intended to caution students of Aristotle's
philosophy that they should attempt Metaphysics only after they had mastered “physics or “the
physical”.
This is the probable answer to what is Metaphysics; it is about things that do not change. As far
as what this branch of philosophy covers, it clearly covers all the things that are beyond or

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above things that change, things that are of “the physical” realm. Metaphysics contributed to
and developed many schools in philosophy, even modern philosophy; it is arguably the
foundation of philosophy, and without it there would be no modern philosophy.

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What is Metaphysics and what does this branch of Philosophy cover? Metaphysics is not easy to explain. Early philosophers claimed that metaphysics was similar to, alchemy or astrology, to be defined by its subject-matter: metaphysics was the school of thought that studied existence or “things that do not change”. It is not possible anymore to define metaphysics such a way. There are many philosophical problems that are now seen as metaphysical problems (or partly metaphysical problems) that are in no way related to existence or “things that do not change” —the problem of free will, or the problem of the difference between the mental and the physical for example. The word, Metaphysics, lacks a clear synonym or definition. Although that some would conclude that the word implies that metaphysics is a study that goes beyond physics, a study devoted to things that surpass the ordin ...
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