These are lectured notes from Sacred Heart Seminary from the lecture of Rev. Fr. Erlito Maraya on Metaphysics. This discusses the nature of being, causality, matter and substance, etc.
Lectured Notes on Metaphysics
AB Philosophy
Metaphysics
Sacred Heart Seminary, Philippines
METAPHYSICS
THE NATURE OF METAPHYSICS
The universe has always spurred men to wonder about its origin. Men have labored
continuously, seeking an explanation for the universe – an explanation that can be considered
ultimate and universal or all-encompassing. In this effort, various schools of thought arose
throughout the course of history, each one offering its own explanation.
This body of knowledge is called philosophy, wisdom, or science. Soon after, however,
studies on different aspects of reality (e.g., mathematics, medicine grammar) gave rise to
special or particular sciences, which became distinct from philosophy. In turn, as the body of
philosophical knowledge grew, there appeared branches of philosophy dealing with specific
objects of study.
Among these branches, metaphysics is considered the core of philosophical knowledge
that influence all other branches, for it seeks the ultimate structure of the universe, which
necessarily leads to the study of its first and radical cause. Aristotle called it First Philosophy,
since it studies the first causes and principles of reality. This name differentiates metaphysics
from the other branches of knowledge which he called “Secondary Philosophies.” The name
“Metaphysics” (which literally means “beyond physics”) was coined by Andronicus of Rhodes,
which were placed after his books on physics. The name aptly expresses the nature of this
science which goes beyond the sphere of material reality studied by Physics. In the 17th
century, Christian Wolff called it Ontology, a term derived from a Greek phrase which means
“the study of being.”
A. The Notion of Metaphysics. Metaphysics is defined as the study of ultimate
cause and of the first and most universal principles of reality.
Particular sciences study the proximate causes which produce in an immediate manner
some specific effects. For instance, the heart is the organ that causes blood circulation,
whereas metaphysics considers the absolutely ultimate cause of the universe. It strives to
identify the cause, and know more about its nature and its activity.
Aside from causes that exert their influence on their effects from the outside, there exist
internal elements in the effects themselves that constitute them and affect their manner of
being and acting. These are usually called principles. For instance, cells act like the principles
of the organism. Likewise, metaphysics also studies the first and most universal principles of
reality, which radically constitute all things.
Hence, metaphysics includes everything real within its field of study because it seeks the
ultimate cause and fundamental principles of reality; in contrast, particular sciences study only
a limited aspect of the world.
B. Metaphysics as the Science of Being as Being. Every science has its own
object of study which is an aspect of reality that it deals with. Particular sciences have as
objects of study some specific aspects of reality. For instance, biology considers the world of
living beings. However, metaphysics studies the whole reality by focusing on the most
common aspect of everything: that everything “is,” that is “real.” This common aspect is
presupposed by any other particular form of knowledge. Thus, when a botanist studies and
classifies plant species, he knows that “plants are,” that they are “beings”; the notion of being
come before that of any plant species. So, metaphysics studies being as being, its properties
and its causes.
1. Being: it is the metaphysical term equivalent to what is called “thing” in ordinary
, language. It signifies “that which is.” A tree is being, and so is a bird, a man, or a
diamond. The word “being” is the present participle of the verb “to be.” Just as a
man, insofar as he hears (i.e. he exercises the act of hearing) is called “hearer,”
and insofar as he studies is called a student, so, too, a man, insofar as he has the
act of being is called a “being.” In short, Being is that which is endowed
something with the act of being.
2. As being: All the objects of study of the sciences are beings. Hence, other
sciences, which deal with particular beings, do indeed consider being; however,
they do not consider being as being, but as some particular kind of being, for
example, number or fire or the like. Since all things whatever their nature are
beings then it can be said that the material object of metaphysics is reality in its
entirety, while its formal object is “being as being” or “being as such.”
3. The properties and causes of being: In tackling its object of study, every science
must study its characteristics and everything that is in any way related to it. As
Physics studies the consequences of physical properties of bodies such as their
mass or energy, metaphysics studies the properties of beings insofar as they are
beings. It is also the task of metaphysics to discover aspects of being as such
(e.g. truth), as well as those aspects which do not belong to being as being (such
as “matter” or corporeal nature).
Further, any science studies a specific type of things and their proper causes
because knowledge is not complete unless a good grasp of the causes is
reached. Metaphysics, therefore, must study the cause of all beings insofar as
they are beings: this is one of its principal areas of study within its proper object.
Just as medicine seeks the causes of bodily health, metaphysics leads us to the
cause of the act of being of all things – God, as Creator.
C. Metaphysics and Human Knowledge.
1. Metaphysics and spontaneous knowledge. All men have a global knowledge
about reality, acquired through the light of natural reason. They know what they
mean when they talk about “being,” “truth,” or “the good.” They too can know God
as the First Cause of the universe. This is what we call the spontaneous
knowledge, which deals with the same issues or topics studied by metaphysics.
This should not prove surprising, for man has a natural tendency to know the
world, his place in it, the origin of the universe, and other related matters. This
knowledge has been called spontaneous metaphysics.
2. The guiding role of metaphysics in relation to other sciences. Since metaphysics
deals with the most fundamental questions of human knowledge, and since its
object of study is the whole of reality, it is but natural that particular sciences
depend upon metaphysics in some way. That is why metaphysical principles, the
properties of being, and other basic notions about reality must somehow be
reflected, too, in the specific sector of scientific research covered by a particular
science. These principles are assumed by the particular sciences, and, though
not expressly investigated by them, are nonetheless used by these sciences
whenever necessary. For instance, when biologists study the functions of a living
organism, they constantly make use of the principle of finality. It can be seen,
then, that metaphysics plays a guiding role with respect to particular sciences,
since it is the summit of human knowledge in the natural order. The role is rightly
called sapiential, since wisdom has the proper role of guiding human knowledge
and activity in the light of the first principles and of the last end of man.
D. The Notion of Being and Esse. Being is “that which is” (in Latin, Ens est “id quod
est”). In order to define being, one needs a more general concept within which being can be
included; however, no such concept exists, simply because being encompasses all reality.
Instead of a strict definition, several descriptions of being can be given: being is “that which
exists,” or “that which is real.” In other words, being in metaphysics is anything that exists in
the world. Being is derived from the verb “to be” (esse), and it signifies things insofar as they
are, somewhat in the same way as “runner” designates a person who runs. The notion of
being implies the compositions of a subject (id quod) and an act (est). Two elements are
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