metaphysics

Introduction
Nature and scope of metaphysics
Problems in metaphysics
- The reality of the external world
  - The problem in early modern philosophy
  - Berkeleyan idealism
  - The problem in 20th-century and later philosophy
- Mind and body
- Existence
- Universals and particulars
- Causation
- Substance
- Identity
- Persistence through time
- Modality
Types of metaphysical theory
- Platonism
- Aristotelianism
- Thomism
- Cartesianism
- Kantianism
- Idealism
- Materialism
- Naturalism
Contemporary metaphysics
- Analytic metaphysics in the 20th century
- Continental metaphysics in the 20th century
Criticisms of metaphysics
- The epistemology of metaphysics
- Specific criticisms
  - Hume
  - Kant
  - The logical positivists
  - Moore and Wittgenstein
  - Postmodern and other Continental critiques

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Marble bust of Aristotle with a beard and draped robe, showing detailed facial features and wavy hair, set against a dark background.

Engraved portrait of Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz with long curly hair, wearing a buttoned coat and cravat, facing forward.

Portrait of Benedict de Spinoza, 17th-century Dutch-Jewish philosopher, with shoulder-length dark hair, white collar, and black robe, set against a dark background.

At a Glance

Painting by Rembrandt showing Aristotle in rich dark clothing with a gold chain, resting his hand thoughtfully on a marble bust of Homer, illuminated against a dark background.

metaphysics summary

Related Questions

How can biological knowledge be used to argue for the existence of universals?
How did Aristotle define the goals of first philosophy?
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How did G.E. Moore attempt to prove the existence of an external world?
How did Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz contribute to rationalist metaphysics?
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Why did Hume think causal reasoning cannot establish knowledge of a supersensible reality?
Why did Kant deny that existence is a property of objects?
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Why did Kant say that intuitions without concepts are blind?
Why did ancient Greek philosophers see motion and change as metaphysical problems?
Why did logical positivists regard many metaphysical statements as meaningless?
Why did rationalists compare metaphysical reasoning to mathematics?
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Why have metaphysicians struggled to reach agreement on major questions?
Why is it difficult to give one definition that covers all of metaphysics?
Why was Aristotle’s treatise given the title Ta meta ta physika?
Why was the discovery of incommensurable lengths difficult for Pythagorean philosophy?
What is ethics?
How is ethics different from morality?
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External Websites

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Metaphysics
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Russell, Bertrand: Metaphysics
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Metaphysics
ABC listen - Let's get metaphysical
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction - Metaphysics

metaphysics

philosophy

Written by

A.C. Grayling

Lecturer in Philosophy, Birbeck College, University of London. Senior Research Fellow, St. Anne's College, University of Oxford. Author of An Introduction to Philosophical Logic and others.

A.C. GraylingAll

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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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Last updated

Nov. 8, 2026 •History

metaphysics, branch of philosophy whose topics in antiquity and the Middle Ages were the first causes of things and the nature of being. In postmedieval philosophy, however, many other topics came to be included under the heading “metaphysics.” (The reasons for this development will be discussed in the body of the article.) In the 4th century bce the Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote a treatise about what he variously called “first philosophy,” “first science,” “wisdom,” and...

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