Good Books

&fist; Metaphysics is distinguished as general and
special. General metaphysics is the science of all
being as being. Special metaphysics is the science of one kind
of being; as, the metaphysics of chemistry, of morals, or of
politics. According to Kant, a systematic exposition of those notions
and truths, the knowledge of which is altogether independent of
experience, would constitute the science of metaphysics.

Commonly, in the schools, called metaphysics,
as being part of the philosophy of Aristotle, which hath that for
title; but it is in another sense: for there it signifieth as much as
"books written or placed after his natural philosophy." But the
schools take them for "books of supernatural philosophy;" for the
word metaphysic will bear both these senses.

Now the science conversant about all such inferences
of unknown being from its known manifestations, is called ontology,
or metaphysics proper.

Metaphysics are [is] the science which
determines what can and what can not be known of being, and the laws
of being, a priori.


Pages:
716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740