metaphysics
Americannoun
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the branch of philosophy that treats of first principles, includes ontology and cosmology, and is intimately connected with epistemology.
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philosophy, especially in its more abstruse branches.
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the underlying theoretical principles of a subject or field of inquiry.
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(initial capital letter, italics) a treatise (4th century b.c.) by Aristotle, dealing with first principles, the relation of universals to particulars, and the teleological doctrine of causation.
noun
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the branch of philosophy that deals with first principles, esp of being and knowing
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the philosophical study of the nature of reality, concerned with such questions as the existence of God, the external world, etc
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(popularly) abstract or subtle discussion or reasoning
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of metaphysics
First recorded in 1560–70; from Medieval Latin metaphysica, from Medieval Greek (tà) metaphysiká (neuter plural), Greek tà metà tà physiká “the (works) after the Physics ”; with reference to the arrangement of Aristotle's writings
Explanation
Metaphysics is the philosophical study of being and knowing. If you have ever contemplated your own existence in the universe, you were dabbling in metaphysics. Metaphysics comes from the Greek meta ta physika ("the works after the Physics"), which refers those of Aristotle's writings that followed the natural sciences. This field of inquiry was later understood as "the science of things transcending what is physical and natural," like the existence of god or the origin of human knowledge. Metaphysics must therefore rely on philosophical logic, rather than scientific experiments, in exploring these questions.
Vocabulary lists containing metaphysics
Tuck Everlasting
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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The Enlightenment
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Aristotle began his Metaphysics with the idea that the desire to know is a universal human quality.
From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022
The system was subtly directional: it showed how a subject could ascend from speculation to experience, from Metaphysics to Astronomy.
From The New Yorker • Feb. 25, 2019
Star Wars and Philosophy: Destiny, Justice and the Metaphysics of the Force introduces fans to the ideas of free will and the link between free will and moral responsibility.
From BBC • Dec. 13, 2017
A world traveler and former philosophy student, Pirsig would blend his life and learning, and East and West, into what he called the Metaphysics of Quality.
From Washington Times • Apr. 24, 2017
The book Aristotle is holding is his Metaphysics; the text, translated, reads: ‘A sign of those who know is that they can teach.’
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
