METAPHYSICS
Metaphysics has a reputation for being fanciful and ultimately very abstract. This is not due to the subject of metaphysics itself, but rather due to the failure of philosophers/metaphysicists to solve the fundamental problem of metaphysics. The question is: "What is the one substance that exists and causes and connects our world of many different things?" The following quotes from Aristotle explain this well:
"The first philosophy (Metaphysics) is universal and is exclusively concerned with primary substance.... And here we will have the science to study that which is just as that which is, both in its essence and in the properties which, just as a thing that is, it has. The entire preoccupation of the physicist is with things that contain within themselves a principle of movement and rest. And to seek for this is to seek for the second kind of principle, that from which comes the beginning of the change." (Aristotle, Metaphysics, 340 BCE)
Most of us have beliefs about what exists: the universe, time, living beings, we as humans, and our place within the cosmos, etc. These individual entities or concepts that we believe in, however, normally do not exist in a vacuum without interrelation. Instead, we construct systems of belief, where things fit together into a “big picture” explanation of reality. This big picture makes up our metaphysical beliefs.
A person who is devoted to metaphysics is called a metaphysicist or a metaphysician. Metaphysician attempts to clarify the fundamental notions by which people understand the world, existence, objects and their properties, space and time, cause and effect, and possibility. It is a study of certain aspects common to all beings, and it is the task of the metaphysician to uncover the factors of being that are indeed common and without which a thing could not be. There are certain characteristics of being that are common insofar as they are generally applicable to all that dwell in the Universe, and these are ESSENCE and EXISTENCE; all creatures exist and have an essence, hence metaphysics will be primarily concerned with the nature of essence, and existence and their relationship to each other.
Aristotle 340 BCE
It is the study of first principles or ultimate truths, and the effort to comprehend the universe, not simply by fragments, but somehow as a whole. The language of Metaphysics is the Ultimate language about Reality and what it is You are Existing in. It is Communication on a very Sacred Level of Knowing. It is the study of those aspects of human experience that are still considered "non-physical" or "spiritual" only because our physical senses, research, and technology cannot as yet measure or detect them.
ALL men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight. For not only with a view to action but even when we are not going to do anything, we prefer seeing (one might say) everything else. The reason is that this, most of all the senses, makes us know and brings to light many differences between things.
It is the study of the one substance that necessarily exists and causes/connects the many material things we observe. It is the one substance in this space we all experience existing in. As only one substance, space, exists it cannot be bounded by, created from, or contain another substance - thus it is necessarily infinite, eternal, and continuous. Because of the interconnection of all things with one another, reality cannot be found except in One single source. All substances, material and immaterial cannot be conceived without any activity, as the activity is of the essence of substance in general.
A simple way to explain metaphysics is to simply drop an object. Notice that you do not see any obvious connection between the object and the earth - yet they are obviously connected because we see the effect of this connection, the object moves (accelerates) towards the earth. The same argument applies to the Earth orbiting the sun, an electron in an atom, and how we can see stars across the universe.
We call these connections light and gravity, but no one knew what these hidden causal connections were.
Metaphysics has two principal divisions: general metaphysics and special metaphysics. General metaphysics includes Ontology and most of what has been called universal science; it is concerned, on the whole, with the general nature of reality. Ontology as a branch of the Metaphysical study attempts to clarify of the nature of being, becoming, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations. Special metaphysics is concerned with certain problems about particular kinds or aspects of being. These special problems are associated with the distinction between the mental and the physical, the possibility of human freedom, the nature of personal identity, the possibility of survival after death, and the existence of God. While Metaphysics is defined as the "fundamental nature of being and the world" and answers questions about how the world is, Ontology is defined as "The study of being and existence", and answers questions of what things exist in the world.
Every once in a while we all have a realization or an “ah ha” moment so grand, it completely shakes our entire perspective of reality to the core. We look around and don’t see things the same way again. We all have a lens through which we see the world. As humans, the lens we use to interpret and apply ourselves, in reality, is made up of beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and some might even say, your soul’s essence and the presence of Spirit. While sometimes it’s hard to see beyond our current range of focus, when we do, often we can gain a glimpse, an understanding, and a deep sense of self that lands within us. Existence raises deep and important questions in metaphysics, the philosophy of language, and philosophical logic. Maybe we will never find the answers in this lifetime, but the natural thirst for knowledge will lead us to the right path.
Paola Luciani Fulbright
