Metaphysics
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the underlying nature of reality and the origin and structure of the world. It is concerned with the study of "First Principles" (those that cannot be deduced from any other) and of "being" (ontology). Defined as such, it is different from philosophical speculation and it is not a human knowledge.
The word metaphysics comes from the Greek words meta meaning "after/beyond" and physics meaning "nature". Simply put, it is the study of things that are "beyond nature." It involves abstract thought about topics, not on the concrete or physical level of understanding. This includes subjects like existence, the soul, being, and the supernatural. In recent times, metaphysics has come to include the study of phenomena such as reincarnation, astral travel, psychic people, chakras, auras, etc.
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Questions Addressed
Metaphysical studies can concern difficult, perhaps unanswerable, questions bordering theology, and includes any suggestion that something, not immediately obvious, does exist.
Some examples of metaphysical types of questions are:
- What exists?
- What entities form this universe?
- Can we act freely?
- What is it for something to exist?
- How are causes related to their effects?
- What is time?
- What is space?
- How is change possible?
Metaphysical paradigms
Metaphysical paradigms are philosophical views about the universe itself. There are three dominant metaphysical paradigms related to creationism.
Naturalism
- Main Article: Philosophical naturalism
Philosophical naturalism is the position that science cannot admit supernatural activity by definition. According to this view, belief in divine action cannot be scientific by definition. Naturalism is the doctrine that the world can be understood in scientific terms without spiritual or supernatural explanations. It is an ancient doctrine, and has existed in constant conflict with theism and supernaturalism, as exhibited by ancient manifestos of naturalism such as On the Nature of Things. It is now the dominant doctrine of modern science. The word naturalist today usually refers to one who holds this philosophy, although in the 19th century the term naturalist was used to refer to one who studied nature.
For example, one naturalist wrote:
| “ | Science is fundamentally a game. It is a game with one overriding and defining rule: Let us see how far and to what extent we can explain the behavior of the physical and material universe in terms of purely physical and material causes, without invoking the supernatural. (Richard Dickerson, Journal of Molecular Evolution 34:277, 1992) | ” |
Supernaturalism
- Main Article: Supernaturalism
Supernaturalism is the belief that there are beings, forces, and phenomena such as God, angels or miracles which interact with the physical universe in remarkable and unique ways. Supernaturalism is a fundamental premise of theism. Theists by definition hold to a supernaturalistic worldview which stands in contrast to the atheistic premise of naturalism, which denies the existence of any supernatural phenomena.
The word supernatural comes from the Latin word super meaning "above" + nature. It should however, be noted that although some supernatural phenomena may not be perceived by natural or empirical senses, a great many supernatural events have been witnessed in biblical and modern times. Numerous events in Earth's history require a supernaturalistic belief before they can be correctly understood or interpreted.
Theistic realism
- Main Article: Theistic realism
Theistic realism is the position that nature should be defined as how things are, rather than how we think things are. Thus, when God interacts with the universe, those activities are just as natural as anything else. Acts by God do not violate the laws of nature. Instead, they reflect laws of nature which we cannot yet understand. Since the purpose of science is to understand nature, and God acts naturally, the purpose of science is to understand God.
Related References
- Aristotle's Metaphysics Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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