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'''Metaphysics''' is a '''branch of philosophy which deals with the ultimate, essential nature of reality; the investigation and interpretation of the most fundamental, general, and lasting of all questions.''' | |||
When it is said that one has arrived at a 'metaphysical premise' then it is being implied that one has discerned the nature of reality itself, which is not necessarily correct or accurate. | When it is said that one has arrived at a 'metaphysical premise' then it is being implied that one has discerned the nature of reality itself, which is not necessarily correct or accurate. | ||
In either "vulgar materialism"<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1914/granat/ch02.htm</ref> or "mechanical materialism", as Marx calls it, metaphysical thought and materialist thought are left isolated and seperate from each other. Hence the term "mechanical", which refers to two ''opposing yet isolated'' sides of thought. One of the most notable mechanical thinkers is René Descartes. As Marx understands Cartesian metaphysics and the materialist response to it: | |||
<blockquote>"Descartes, in his physics, endowed matter with creative power and conceived mechanical motion as its manifestation of life. He completely severed his physics from his metaphysics. Within his physics, matter is the only substance, the only reason of its existence and cognition. The French mechanical materialism adopted the physics of Descartes and rejected his metaphysics. His disciples were anti-metaphysicians by profession, namely, physicians. This school begins with the physician Leroy, reaches its culmination with the physician Cabanis, while the physician Lamettrie was its centre.... But the man who destroyed the credit of the metaphysics of the seventeenth century was Pierre Bayle. The negative refutation of theology and metaphysics, however, sharpened the desire for a positive, anti-metaphysical system. And it was Locke who supplied it. His ''Essay Concerning Human Understanding'' came in the nick of time for the other side of the Channel. It was enthusiastically acclaimed as a long-expected guest."<ref>https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/holy-family/english-materialism.htm</ref></blockquote> | |||
In Marxism-Leninism, the term "metaphysics" refers to '''the worldview of isolated, cyclical, immutable phenomena, an "accidental conglomeration" of things which randomly came to compose reality.'''<ref>https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1938/09.htm</ref> Thus, in this sense, the term "metaphysics" is used to denote any method of undialectical (dogmatic, idealistic, one-sided) thought. | |||
Latest revision as of 11:36, 22 July 2024
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy which deals with the ultimate, essential nature of reality; the investigation and interpretation of the most fundamental, general, and lasting of all questions.
When it is said that one has arrived at a 'metaphysical premise' then it is being implied that one has discerned the nature of reality itself, which is not necessarily correct or accurate.
In either "vulgar materialism"[1] or "mechanical materialism", as Marx calls it, metaphysical thought and materialist thought are left isolated and seperate from each other. Hence the term "mechanical", which refers to two opposing yet isolated sides of thought. One of the most notable mechanical thinkers is René Descartes. As Marx understands Cartesian metaphysics and the materialist response to it:
"Descartes, in his physics, endowed matter with creative power and conceived mechanical motion as its manifestation of life. He completely severed his physics from his metaphysics. Within his physics, matter is the only substance, the only reason of its existence and cognition. The French mechanical materialism adopted the physics of Descartes and rejected his metaphysics. His disciples were anti-metaphysicians by profession, namely, physicians. This school begins with the physician Leroy, reaches its culmination with the physician Cabanis, while the physician Lamettrie was its centre.... But the man who destroyed the credit of the metaphysics of the seventeenth century was Pierre Bayle. The negative refutation of theology and metaphysics, however, sharpened the desire for a positive, anti-metaphysical system. And it was Locke who supplied it. His Essay Concerning Human Understanding came in the nick of time for the other side of the Channel. It was enthusiastically acclaimed as a long-expected guest."[2]
In Marxism-Leninism, the term "metaphysics" refers to the worldview of isolated, cyclical, immutable phenomena, an "accidental conglomeration" of things which randomly came to compose reality.[3] Thus, in this sense, the term "metaphysics" is used to denote any method of undialectical (dogmatic, idealistic, one-sided) thought.