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Metaphysics, introduction
A metalanguage is still a language, and a meta-theory a theory.
Meta-mathematics is a branch of mathematics. Is metaphysics a branch of
physics? "Meta" in Greek means over, and --- since when you jump over
something you find yourself behind or after it --- it is also understood as
behind and after. The word "metaphysics" is said to originate from the
mere fact that the corresponding part of Aristotle's work was positioned
right after the part called "physics". But it is not unlikely that the
term won a ready acceptance as denoting this part of philosophy because it
conveyed the purpose of metaphysics, which is to reach beyond nature (physis) as we perceive it, and to discover the "true nature" of things,
their ultimate essence and the reason for being.
Such a theory would obviously be priceless for judging and constructing
more specific physical theories. When we understand language as a
hierarchical model of reality, i.e. a device which produces predictions,
and not as a true static picture of the world, metaphysics is understood as
much more valuable than just the "free fantasy" of philosophers. To say
that the real nature of the world is a certain way means to propose the
construction of a model of the world along those lines. Metaphysics creates
a linguistic model (logical or conceptual structure) to serve as a basis
for further refinements. Even though a mature physical theory fastidiously
distinguishes itself from metaphysics by formalizing its basic notions and
introducing verifiable criteria, metaphysics, in a very important sense,
is physics.
Philosophies traditionally start with an ontology or metaphysics: a theory
of being in itself, of the essence of things, of the fundamental principles
of existence and reality. In a traditional systemic philosophy,
"organization" might be seen as the fundamental principle of being,
rather than God, matter, or the laws of nature. However this still begs the
question of where this organization comes from. In a constructive systemic
philosophy, on the other hand, the essence is the process through
which this organization is created.
Copyright© 1993 Principia Cybernetica -
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