metaphysics

[ met-uh-fiz-iks ]

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. the branch of philosophy that treats of first principles, includes ontology and cosmology, and is intimately connected with epistemology.
2. philosophy, especially in its more abstruse branches.
3. the underlying theoretical principles of a subject or field of inquiry.
4. (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.

metaphysics

/ ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪsɪst; ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪks; ˌmɛtəfɪˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. the branch of philosophy that deals with first principles, esp of being and knowing
2. the philosophical study of the nature of reality, concerned with such questions as the existence of God, the external world, etc
3. See descriptive metaphysics
4. (popularly) abstract or subtle discussion or reasoning

metaphysics

1. The field in philosophy that studies ultimate questions, such as whether every event has a cause and what things are genuinely real.

Derived Forms

• metaphysician, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of metaphysics¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of metaphysics¹

C16: from Medieval Latin, from Greek ta meta ta phusika the things after the physics, from the arrangement of the subjects treated in the works of Aristotle

Example Sentences

Plotinus drew on obscure ancient Egyptian metaphysics, Viola on the esoteric technology of modern life.

From Los Angeles Times

Regarding subject and theme, he pogoed from sex to metaphysics to serial killers to psychology, and he had a way of collapsing high art and jokes that aimed much lower.

From New York Times

In a fit of fury after the rejection of his latest novel, an abstruse story about Aristophanes, Euripides and “the death of metaphysics,” Monk produces an over-the-top satirical novel featuring an uneducated Black teenager who already has four children with four different women.

From New York Times

It would take a triumph of metaphysics to pry into his soul, but it’s fair to conjecture that he’s trying to maintain his extreme right-wing cred after his near-career-death experience in September.

From Los Angeles Times

A new staging presented by Bedlam makes a valiant effort to adapt Stoppard’s cerebral probes into chaos theory, Newtonian law, thermodynamics and metaphysics for a 2023 audience, but the result is a muddled one.

From New York Times

Related Words

• attitude
• doctrine
• idea
• ideology
• logic
• outlook
• reasoning
• system
• tenet
• theory
• thinking
• thought
• truth
• view
• viewpoint
• wisdom