Glossary of Marxist Philosophy
Metaphysics
– Metaphysical method of thinking
Metaphysics
(Gk.
meta ta physika— the works after physics)
1. The term M. came into usage
in the 1st century B.C. to denote part of the philosophical heritage of Aristotle (q.v.). He called
this most important part of his philosophical doctrine the "First Philosophy", that which
studies the "highest" principles of all that exists, which are
inaccessible to the senses, comprehensible only to speculative reason, and indispensable
for all sciences. In this sense the term M. was current in subsequent
philosophy. In the philosophy of the Middle Ages M. was
subordinated to theology. Approximately
from the 16th century on the term M. was used in the same sense as the term ontology (q.v.). With Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza (qq.v.) and other
philosophers of the 17th century M. was still closely connected with the
natural and humanitarian sciences. This connection was broken only in the 18th
century, particularly by such philosophers as Wolff (q.v.).
2. In modern times there has arisen the understanding of M. as an
anti-dialectical method of thinking, owing to its one-sidedness and
subjectivism in cognition; it regards things and phenomena as final and
immutable, independent of one another; denies that inherent contradictions are
the source of the development of nature and society. Historically, this was
explained by the fact that in ancient times and during the Renaissance scientific and
philosophical knowledge regarded nature as a whole, in movement leading to
development; subsequently, due to the deepening and differentiation of
scientific knowledge, the latter divided nature into a number of isolated
spheres, each being investigated without any connection with the others. Hegel (q.v.)
was the first to use the term M. in its anti-dialectical sense, but he neither
explained nor justified it. This was done by Marx and Engels, who, generalising the data of science and social progress,
demonstrated the scientific bankruptcy of metaphysical
thinking and counterpoised to it the method of materialistic dialectics.[*]
[*] Source: “A
Dictionary of Philosophy”, Edited by M. Rosenthal and P. Yudin, Progress
Publishers, Moscow 1967, page 288.