形而上学英文版Word格式文档下载.docx
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形而上学英文版Word格式文档下载.docx
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andtheconceptofmetaphysics.
2.Theproblemsofmetaphysics:
the“old”metaphysics
2.1Thecategoriesofbeing
2.2Substance
3.Theproblemsofmetaphysics:
the“new”metaphysics
3.1Modality
3.2Problemsofspaceandtime
3.3Problemsaboutthementalandthephysical
3.4Theproblemoffreewill
3.5Problemsofmaterialconstitution
4.TheNatureofMetaphysics
5.IsMetaphysicsPossible?
Bibliography
OtherInternetResources
RelatedEntries
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Theword…metaphysics?
isnotoriouslyhardtodefine.Twentieth-centurycoinageslike…meta-language?
and…metaphilosophy?
encouragetheimpressionthatmetaphysicsisastudythatsomehow“goesbeyond”physics,astudydevotedtomattersthattranscendthemundaneconcernsofNewtonandEinsteinandHeisenberg.Thisimpressionismistaken.Theword…metaphysics?
is
derivedfromacollectivetitleofthefourteenbooksbyAristotlethatwecurrentlythinkofasmakingup“Aristotle'
sMetaphysics.”Aristotlehimselfdidnotknowtheword.(Hehadfournamesforthebranchofphilosophythatisthesubject-matterofMetaphysics:
…firstphilosophy?
…firstscience?
…wisdom?
and…theology?
.)AtleastonehundredyearsafterAristotle'
sdeath,aneditorofhisworks(inallprobability,AndronicusofRhodes)entitledthosefourteenbooks“Tametataphusika”—“theafterthephysicals”or“theonesafterthephysicalones”—,the“physicalones”beingthebookscontainedinwhatwenowcallAristotle'
sPhysics.ThetitlewasprobablymeanttowarnstudentsofAristotle'
sphilosophythattheyshouldattemptMetaphysicsonlyaftertheyhadmastered“thephysicalones,”thebooksaboutnatureorthenaturalworld—thatistosay,aboutchange,forchangeisthedefiningfeatureofthenaturalworld.
ThisistheprobablemeaningofthetitlebecauseMetaphysicsisaboutthingsthatdonotchange.Inoneplace,Aristotleidentifiesthesubject-matteroffirstphilosophyas“beingassuch,”and,inanother,as“firstcauses.”Itisanice—andvexed—questionwhattheconnectionbetweenthesetwodefinitionsis.Perhapsthisistheanswer:
Theunchangingfirstcauseshavenothingbutbeingincommonwiththemutablethingstheycause—likeusandtheobjectsofourexperience,theyare,andtheretheresemblanceceases.(ForadetailedandinformativerecentguidetoAristotle'
sMetaphysics,seePolitis(2004).)
TheGreekpluralnoun-phrase…tametataphusika?
becameinMedievalLatinthesingularnoun…metaphysica?
—muchastheGreekplural…tabiblia?
(…thebooks?
)becametheLatinsingular…biblia?
(…thebible?
).ThewordwasusedbothasatitleforAristotle'
sbook(nowthoughtofasasingleentity)andasthenameofthe“science”thatwasitssubject-matter.Thewordfor…metaphysics?
ineverymodernEuropeanlanguage(…lamé
taphysique?
…dieMetaphysik?
…lametafisica?
…)isanadaptationoftheLatinwordtotheorthographicandphoneticrequirementsofthatlanguage.Thisistrueevenofthenon-Indo-Europeanlanguages(likeFinnishandHungarian)thatarespokeninEurope.Workswritteninsomenon-Europeanlanguages,however,usewordsconstructedfromnativematerialsbothtotranslatetheEuropeanword…metaphysics?
andtorefertowritingsintheirownphilosophicaltraditionswhosesubject-matterissimilartothesubject-matterofWesternmetaphysics.Forexample,theChinesephrasethatisthecustomarytranslationof…metaphysics?
isanallusiontoastatementintheIChing:
“thatwhichisabovematteristheTao”;
thephrasecanbeliterallytranslatedas…[thatwhichisabovematter]-ology?
thefinalwordofthephrasebeinga“disciplinemarker”thatperformsmuchthesamefunctionastheEnglishsuffix…-ology?
.ThewordthatistheusualArabictranslationof…metaphysics?
means…thescienceofdivinethings?
.UnliketheChinesephraseandtheArabicword,however,theEuropeanwordsderivedfrom…metaphysica?
carrynointernalindicationsoftheirmeaning.(Thewordhas,aswehaveseen,anetymology,butasissooftenthecase,etymologyisnoguidetomeaning.)Itisuncontroversialthatthesewordsallmeanexactlywhat…metaphysics?
meansinEnglish—or,lessparochially,thatalltheEuropeanwordsderivedfrom…metaphysica?
meanexactlythesamething.Butwhatisitthattheyallmean?
Cantheoriginofthewordhelpustoanswerthisquestion?
Canwesaythattheword…metaphysics?
isanameforthat“science”(thatepisteme,thatscientia,thatstudy,thatdiscipline)whosesubject-matteristhesubject-matterofAristotle'
sMetaphysics?
Ifwedosaythis,weshall
becommittedtosomethesisintheneighborhoodofthefollowingtheses:
“Thesubject-matterofmetaphysicsis…beingassuch?
”;
“Thesubject-matterofmetaphysicsisthefirstcausesofthings”;
“Thesubject-matterofmetaphysicsisthatwhichdoesnotchange.”Anyofthesethreethesesmighthavebeenregardedasadefensiblestatementofthesubject-matterofwhatwascurrentlycalled“metaphysics”tilltheseventeenthcentury,when,rathersuddenly,manytopicsandproblemsthatAristotleandtheMedievalswouldhaveclassifiedasbelongingtophysics(therelationofmindandbody,forexample,orthefreedomofthewill,orpersonalidentityacrosstime)begantobe“reassigned”tometaphysics.Onemightalmostsaythatintheseventeenthcentury“metaphysics”begantobeacatch-allcategory,arepositoryofphilosophicalproblemsthatcouldnotbeotherwiseclassified:
“notepistemology,notlogic,notethics…”.(Itwasataboutthattimethattheword“ontology”wasinvented—tobeanameforthescienceofbeingassuch,anofficethattheword…metaphysics?
couldnolongerfill.)Theacademicrationalistsofthepost-Leibnizianschoolwereawarethattheword…metaphysics?
hadcometobeusedinamoreinclusivesensethanithadoncebeen.ChristianWolffattemptedtojustifythismoreinclusivesenseofthewordbythisdevice:
whilethesubject-matterofmetaphysicsisbeing,beingcanbeinvestigatedeitheringeneralorinrelationtoobjectsinparticularcategories.Hedistinguishedbetween“generalmetaphysics,”(orontology)thestudyofbeingassuch,andthevariousbranchesof“specialmetaphysics,”whichstudythebeingofobjectsofvariousspecialsorts,suchassoulsandmaterialbodies.(Hedoesnotassign“firstcauses”togeneralmetaphysics,however:
thestudyoffirstcausesbelongstonaturaltheology,abranchofspecialmetaphysics.)Itisdoubtfulwhetherthismaneuverisanythingmorethanaverbalploy.Inwhatsense,forexample,isthepractitionerofrationalpsychology(thebranchofspecialmetaphysicsdevotedtothesoul)engagedinastudyof“being”?
Hasasouladifferentsortofbeingfromthatofotherobjects?
—sothatinstudyingthesoulonelearnsnotonlyaboutitsnature(thatis,itsproperties:
rationality,immateriality,immortality,itscapacityorlackthereoftoaffectthebody…),butaboutits“modeofbeing,”andhencelearnssomethingaboutbeing?
Itiscertainlynottruethatall,orevenverymany,rationalpsychologistssaidanything,quarationalpsychologists,thatcouldplausiblybeconstruedasacontributiontoourunderstandingofbeing.
Perhapsthisdevelopment,thiswiderapplicationoftheword…metaphysics?
wasduetothefactthattheword…physics?
wascomingtobeanameforanew,quantitativescience,thesciencethatbearsthatnametoday,andwasbecomingincreasinglyinapplicabletotheinvestigationofmanytraditionalphilosophicalproblemsaboutchangingthings(andofsomenewlydiscoveredproblemsaboutchangingthings).Whateverthereasonforthechangemayhavebeen,itwouldbeflyinginthefaceofcurrentusage(andindeedoftheusageofthelastthreeorfourhundredyears)tostipulatethatthesubject-matterofmetaphysicswastobethesubject-matterofAristotle'
sMetaphysics(orthatitwastobe“thatwhichisabovematter”or“divinethings”).Itwould,moreover,flyinthefaceofthefactthat,inthecurrentsenseoftheword,thereareandhavebeenparadigmaticmetaphysicianswhodenythattherearefirstcauses—th
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