Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,907,390,003 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

metaphysics
(redirected from Metaphisics)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
met·a·phys·ics  (mt-fzks)
n.
1. (used with a sing. verb) Philosophy The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value.
2. (used with a pl. verb) The theoretical or first principles of a particular discipline: the metaphysics of law.
3. (used with a sing. verb) A priori speculation upon questions that are unanswerable to scientific observation, analysis, or experiment.
4. (used with a sing. verb) Excessively subtle or recondite reasoning.

[From pl. of Middle English methaphisik, from Medieval Latin metaphysica, from Medieval Greek (ta) metaphusika, from Greek (Ta) meta (ta) phusika, (the works) after the Physics, the title of Aristotle's treatise on first principles (so called because it followed his work on physics) : meta, after; see meta- + phusika, physics; see physics.]

metaphysics [ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪks]
n (functioning as singular)
1. (Philosophy) the branch of philosophy that deals with first principles, esp of being and knowing
2. (Philosophy) the philosophical study of the nature of reality, concerned with such questions as the existence of God, the external world, etc.
3. (Philosophy) See descriptive metaphysics
4. (popularly) abstract or subtle discussion or reasoning
[from Medieval Latin, from Greek ta meta ta phusika the things after the physics, from the arrangement of the subjects treated in the works of Aristotle]
metaphysician  [ˌmɛtəfɪˈzɪʃən], metaphysicist [ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪsɪst] n

metaphysics
a branch of philosophy concerned with being, first principles, and often including aspects of cosmology and epistemology. — metaphysician, n.metaphysical, adj.
See also: Philosophy
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.metaphysics - the philosophical study of being and knowingmetaphysics - the philosophical study of being and knowing
hypostasis - (metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality
philosophy - the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics
ontology - the metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence
cosmology - the metaphysical study of the origin and nature of the universe
entelechy - (Aristotle) the state of something that is fully realized; actuality as opposed to potentiality
Translations
metaphysics [ˌmetəˈfɪzɪks] NSINGmetafísica f
metaphysics [ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪks] nmétaphysique f
metaphysics
n singMetaphysik f
metaphysics [ˌmɛtəˈfɪzɪks] nsgmetafisica


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Add definition
Mentioned in?   Dictionary browser?   Full browser?
 
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.