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Novy
Metaphysics SP08
The Necessity of
Metaphysics
Taylor
Chapter 1; Aristotle’s Metaphysics excerpts
Aristotelian notion of human nature: we are social, rational, &
creative
Taylor: “The Need for
Metaphysics”
- Metaphysics is the pursuit of wisdom
- This activity is a necessary condition to
live as a fully rational beings
- Necessity is
evidenced by the popularity of tawdry substitutes
- A fully
rational being cannot help but wonder
- Wisdom requires ignorance and preserves
ignorance
Aristotle: Metaphysics Bk1 – Metaphysics is the science of
first causes
- All of our desire to know cannot be
attributed to brute usefulness.
- \We must want
to know about the world for its own sake.
- “Wisdom is knowledge about certain principles
and causes”
- Wise person
can sort instances into proper universal categories
- This requires
a grasp of causes
- \ Wisdom
requires knowledge of first principles and causes
- This requires
a science that investigates first principles & causes
- \ Wisdom requires
metaphysics
- Metaphysical freedom
- Wisdom is the
result of wonder rather than need
- Wisdom is
pursued for its own sake rather than use-value
- \Metaphysics is
doubly a divine science
- Hierarchy: sense perception → memories
→ experiences → art
- Sense: show us
things and the differences between things
- Memory:
sensations + temporal existence
- Experience:
memories + context
- Art:
Experience + cause
i.
An artist has theoretical knowledge/ wisdom of a class
Aristotle: Metaphysics Bk2 – The Study of Philosophy
- The gathering of knowledge requires/
celebrates failure
- Knowledge evolves: hence, there must be a
first cause
- It is a methodology that requires practice
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