Changes in the Concept of Metaphysics - Essay Example

Assignment Changes in the Concept of Metaphysics That branch of philosophy that is metaphysics is truly a difficult area of study in the sense that it is difficult to define conceptually, and difficult to define in terms of scope. There is a general sense that metaphysics deals with “what is”, yet even such a description is rather vague. Further, there is the sense that it deals with anything abstract, yet even this latter view is unclear, for fictitious concepts are also abstract concepts. To complicate matters further, the term “metaphysics” has taken a rather different meaning in contemporary pop culture, often referring to anything that pertains to religious experience. In this paper, the author examines the concept of metaphysics by surveying the changes in the use of the term, from the ancient, philosophic sense, to the contemporary esoteric sense, such as that found in New Age teachings. Ancient Metaphysics The term “metaphysics” was coined by Andronicus, the editor of Aristotle’s works, to refer to the collection of writings that dealt with a subject outside of physics, that is, Aristotle’s works on the natural or physical sciences. Aristotle himself did not refer to his works as being divided into the Physical and the Metaphysical. Instead, he somewhat classified his works as dealing primarily with the nature of the natural or physical world, and those that deal with first causes. But does it make sense to make such a distinction? It appears that it does make sense, because in seeking to understand the nature of the physical world, Aristotle argues that the latter is characterized by change. Thus, Aristotle’s physics deals with change. Consequently, the “metaphysics” or those “beyond or after the physics” deals with first causes, or those that do not change. This latter point explains why the concept of Being is central to Aristotle’s metaphysics. Van Inwagen writes: In one place, Aristotle identifies the subject-matter of first philosophy as “being as such,” and, in another, as “first causes.” It is a nice—and vexed—question what the connection between these two definitions is. Perhaps this is the answer: The unchanging first causes have nothing but being in common with the mutable things they cause—like us and the objects of our experience, they are, and there the resemblance ceases (2007). In tackling the question of Being and existence, metaphysics deals essentially with the question of reality. In book 12 of his Metaphysics, Aristotle writes that “the subject of our inquiry is substance; for the principles and the causes we are seeking are those of substances. For if the universe is of the nature of a whole, substance is its first part” (“Metaphysics”). Indeed, if the observable world is subject to change, of what substance is this world made of? Could there be an unchanging, hence, metaphysical substance? In other words, he was preoccupied with examining the nature of reality. Modern Metaphysics In the e-book, Metaphysics (2006), Ethan Vorly states that “Metaphysics is the science of all realms, their laws and functions”(2). He defines metaphysics as the “study of multi-dimensional energies, forces and substances” (5). This view of metaphysics clearly delves into the esoteric interpretation of the term. In discussing metaphysics along the lines of energy forces and dimensions of existence, Vorly has much in common with the Eastern philosophies of Taoism and Confucianism. For example, he writes of reality in terms of an Ultimate Reality, not very different from the Eastern concept of Tao. In this sense, an esoteric understanding of metaphysics is somewhat consistent with the ancient Greek conception of the term, to the extent that there is a search for an ultimate principle or substance, as Aristotle would refer to it. However, while the ancient Greek approach to the question of reality was meant to gain an understanding of the nature of reality itself, the modern esoteric interpretation of metaphysics tends towards an applied spirituality, in the sense that the primary idea is to attain a higher level of awareness of self, characterized by a unity with this Ultimate Reality. This latter statement points to the idea that metaphysics is here used in a rather broader sense, one that primarily refers to a non-physical, spiritual experience or phenomenon. In other words, the meaning of the term “metaphysics” is no longer simply used to refer to the problem of Being, or Reality; instead, the term now encompasses both the theory and practice of achieving a purported higher plane of existence. Vorly refers to this practice as “alchemy”. He writes: Alchemy refers to the use of this knowledge and certain practices designed to transform these energies, forces and substances to achieve a certain goal. Metaphysics and alchemy go hand in hand as to study metaphysics you need to begin Alchemical processes to awaken your sense to Multi-Dimensional phenomena and to succeed in Alchemical transformation you require some metaphysical understanding (5). What these statements point to is the fact that the concept of “metaphysics” is now understood to refer to a discipline that deals with extra-physical or extra-material concepts and ideas. New Age Metaphysics In the book, Perspectives on the New Age (1992), James Lewis and Gordon Melton state: While the New Age is a synthesis of many different preexisting movements and strands of thought, its most influential predecessor was the occult-metaphysical community, represented organizationally by such groups as the Theosophical Society. The New Age can be distinguished from this older metaphysical community by the New Age movement’s emphasis on transformation (xi). It appears that the notion of the metaphysical in the New Age movement is derived from the idea of change, rooted in Aristotelian metaphysics. As mentioned earlier, the New Age concept seems to be a modification, and thereby a reinterpretation, of the philosophical concept of metaphysics, in the sense that the former tends to equate the metaphysical concept of Being with a vague notion of God, and the movement of potency to actuality being understood in terms of a transformation of the self into a oneness with this universal Being. As such, the truly philosophical concept of Being loses its original sense. In sum, the points given above demonstrate that metaphysics, in its original philosophical sense, is concerned with the concepts of Being, existence, change, and Reality. On the other hand, modern esoteric interpretations tend to be more spiritual-centered, and are characterized by an emphasis on attaining unity with an Ultimate Reality. References Aristotle. "Metaphysics." Translated by W. D. Ross. Internet Classics Archive. Web. 5 May 2011. . Lewis, James R. & Gordon Melton. Perspectives on the New Age. Albany, New York, US: State University of New York Press, 1992. van Inwagen, Peter, "Metaphysics", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2010 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = . Vorly, Ethan. Metaphysics. Alchemy Realm Publications, 2006. Read More