Possible Questions and Answers Based on Chapter Two: Metaphysics

1. Meaning and Nature of Metaphysics

Q: What is the etymological origin of the term “metaphysics”?
A: The term comes from the Greek words “meta” (after/beyond) and “physical” (physics/nature), meaning “after or beyond physics.” It was coined by Andronicus of Rhodes around 70 BC to label Aristotle’s untitled treatise placed after his work on physics.

Q: How does Alfred North Whitehead define metaphysics?
A: Whitehead defines it as “the endeavour to frame a coherent, logical, necessary system of general ideas in terms of which every element of our experience can be interpreted.”

Q: What did Aristotle call metaphysics, and why?
A: Aristotle called it “first philosophy” because it is the foundational inquiry into ultimate reality, from which all other inquiries spring. He also termed it “natural theology” (study of God) since it examines the unmoved mover (God) as the source of all existence.

2. Branches of Metaphysics

Q: What is the difference between descriptive and speculative metaphysics?
A:

  • Descriptive (analytic) metaphysics analyzes concepts (e.g., substance, cause) and theories (e.g., materialism) used to explain reality.
  • Speculative metaphysics constructs overarching theories about reality (e.g., monism, dualism).

Q: Name two theories examined under descriptive metaphysics.
A: Materialism and idealism.

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3. Major Schools of Metaphysics

a. Unity and Diversity
Q: What are the three approaches to explaining the unity of the universe?
A: Monism, dualism, and pluralism.

Q: Define neutral monism. Who supported this view?
A: Neutral monism posits that reality’s basic substance is neither matter nor spirit but a neutral “stuff” (e.g., pure experience). William James advocated this.

b. Dualism
Q: What is Cartesian dualism?
A: René Descartes’ doctrine that mind (immaterial) and body (material) are separate substances. The mind cannot occupy space, and the body cannot think.

Q: How does parallelism address the mind-body problem?
A: It claims mind and body operate in parallel without interaction, either through pre-established harmony (Leibniz) or occasionalism (God synchronizes their actions).

c. Materialism
Q: What did Baron Paul Von Holbach argue in The System of Nature?
A: He asserted that only matter in motion exists; human thoughts/actions are determined by natural laws, rendering free will an illusion.

d. Idealism
Q: Contrast subjective and objective idealism.
A:

  • Subjective idealism (Berkeley): Reality is perception (“to be is to be perceived”).
  • Objective idealism (Plato/Hegel): The material world is a projection of a spiritual absolute (e.g., Plato’s world of Forms).

e. Essentialism
Q: How does Aristotle distinguish “essence” from “accidents”?
A: Essence is the unchangeable nature of a thing (e.g., wood’s “woodness”), while accidents are mutable sensory attributes (e.g., color, size).

f. Existentialism
Q: What does Sartre mean by “existence precedes essence”?
A: Humans first exist and later define themselves through choices, unlike objects whose essence (purpose) is predetermined.

g. Determinism
Q: How does hard determinism view free will?
A: It denies free will, asserting all actions are causally determined by prior events (e.g., Holbach’s materialism).

4. Nature of God

Q: How does Aristotle describe God’s nature?
A: God is perfect, immutable, and unrelated to the imperfect world; a “self-thinking” unmoved mover (first cause).

Q: What is the key difference between theism and deism?
A:

  • Theism: God intervenes in the world (e.g., Christianity).
  • Deism: God created the world but does not intervene (e.g., Aristotle’s view).
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5. Criticism of Metaphysics

Q: Why did David Hume reject metaphysics?
A: He deemed it unverifiable by empirical observation, leading to sophistry rather than knowledge.

Q: What are Comte’s three stages of human intellectual development?
A: Religious → Metaphysical → Positive (scientific).

Dates

  • 70 BC: Andronicus of Rhodes coins “metaphysics.”
  • 17th century: Descartes proposes Cartesian dualism.
  • 1723–1789: Baron Paul Von Holbach advocates materialism.
  • 18th century: Hume and Kant critique metaphysics.
  • 19th century: Auguste Comte introduces positivism.

Note this words

  • “Being as being” (formal object of metaphysics).
  • “Existence precedes essence” (Sartre).
  • “To be is to be perceived” (Berkeley).
  • “Pure experience” (William James’ neutral monism).

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