METAPHYSICS
LECTURE 1
“WHAT IS
METAPHYSICS?”
PETER VAN INWAGEN
(1942- )
VAN INWAGEN’S CHARACTERIZATION
OF METAPHYSICS
•“THE STUDY OF
ULTIMATE REALITY”
G. E. MOORE (1873-1958)
• G. E. MOORE’S CHARACTERIZATION OF WHAT
PHILOSOPHERS HAVE TRIED TO DO:
• “TO GIVE A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE
WHOLE OF THE UNIVERSE, MENTIONING ALL THE
MOST IMPORTANT KINDS OF THINGS WHICH WE
KNOW TO BE IN IT, CONSIDERING HOW FAR IT IS
LIKELY THAT THERE ARE IN IT IMPORTANT KINDS
OF THINGS WHICH WE DO NOT ABSOLUTELY
KNOW TO BE IN IT, AND ALSO CONSIDERING THE
MOST IMPORTANT WAYS IN WHICH THESE
VARIOUS KINDS OF THINGS ARE RELATED TO ONE
ANOTHER” (p. 13, SOME MAIN PROBLEMS OF
PHILOSOPHY)
VAN INWAGEN’S QUESTIONS
OF METAPHYSICS
• 1. “WHAT ARE THE MOST
GENERAL FEATURES OF THE
WORLD, AND WHAT SORT OF
THINGS DOES IT CONTAIN?
WHAT IS THE WORLD LIKE?”
• 2. WHY DOES A WORLD EXIST –
AND, MORE SPECIFICALLY, WHY IS
THERE A WORLD HAVING THE
FEATURES AND CONTENT
DESCRIBED IN THE ANSWER TO
QUESTION 1?
• 3. WHAT IS OUR PLACE IN THE
WORLD? HOW DO WE HUMAN
BEINGS FIT INTO IT?