The science of “first principles” or “first causes” as laid out by Aristotle in his book Metaphysics. Much of the development of modern physics has proceeded from an empirical refinement through mathematical modeling or empirical investigation of theoretical propositions that can be defined as “metaphysical.” Aristotle regarded metaphysics in much the same way as modern philosophy of science regards the practice of science. The philosophy of science studies and analyzes the theoretical premises and procedures as well as the general ground plan of knowledge that enter into the pursuit of science as an empirical discipline. Today metaphysics is a separate branch of philosophy that no longer enjoys the prestige it possessed in its heyday up until the early nineteenth century. The philosopher Immanuel Kant redefined metaphysics as an inquiry into the foundations of how knowledge as a whole is gained, making it an appendage of epistemology, the theory of knowledge. In this view, the “first...
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Raschke, C. (2013). Metaphysics. In: Runehov, A.L.C., Oviedo, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_200856
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_200856
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