What Is Metaphysics?

The word "metaphysics" turns up in philosophy, spirituality, and pop culture—and it doesn't mean the same thing everywhere. In philosophy, metaphysics is the branch that studies being, reality, identity, cause, and possibility. This article is about that philosophical sense and how it differs from "metaphysical" in other contexts.

In short: it's the branch of philosophy that asks what there is (ontology), what it is for something to be real, what identity and change are, what causation is, and what is possible or necessary. It isn't "beyond physics" in a mystical sense; it's the study of the most general structure of reality and our concepts for describing it. Below: what the field is, main questions it tackles, how it relates to ontology and epistemology, and where to go deeper with ontology vs epistemology, learning paths, and epistemology for beginners on schrodingers.cat.

The philosophical answer

In philosophy, metaphysics is the study of the most general features of reality and our ways of thinking about them. It asks: What exists? What is it for something to be real? What is identity over time? What is causation? What is possible or necessary? The field often works hand in hand with ontology (the study of what there is) and epistemology (the study of knowledge and justification)—you can't fully separate "what there is" from "how we know about it," but we can distinguish the questions. For the difference between those two, see ontology vs epistemology; for how we know, see epistemology for beginners.

Where the name came from

The word comes from the title given to a set of Aristotle's treatises—"the ones after the physics" (ta meta ta physika). So it didn't originally mean "beyond the physical" in a spiritual sense; it meant "the books that come after the Physics." Those books dealt with being, substance, cause, and first principles—the most general study of reality. Over time, the term came to mean the branch of philosophy that studies being and reality in that broad sense. For more on Aristotle and ancient philosophy, see philosophy of the ancient Greeks and Aristotle and the golden mean.

Main questions

The field tackles a family of questions:

Ontology—what is there? What exists? Are there only material things, or also minds, numbers, properties, or possibilities? The ontological part is the study of what there is and how we categorize it. For more on ontology and how it differs from epistemology, see ontology vs epistemology.

Reality and appearance. What is it for something to be real? Is there a difference between how things appear and how they really are? Metaphysics asks whether reality is what science describes, or whether there are deeper layers (e.g. substance, form, or structure).

Identity and change. What makes something the same thing over time? If you change enough, are you still you? The field studies identity, persistence, and the puzzle of change.

Causation. What is it for one thing to cause another? Is causation a real relation in the world or a feature of our thinking? Metaphysics asks what causation is and how it relates to laws and explanation.

Possibility and necessity. What is possible? What is necessary? The field studies modal notions—could things have been otherwise? What must be true in every possible world?

For paths on metaphysics and related topics, browse learning paths or the philosophy map.

Metaphysics vs physics

Physics (the natural science) studies matter, energy, and the laws that govern them—it's empirical and tested by observation and experiment. Metaphysics studies the most general concepts we use when we describe reality—being, cause, identity, possibility—and it often asks questions that go beyond what current physics can decide (e.g. whether there are abstract objects, or what causation "really" is). The two can inform each other, but they're not the same: physics is a science; metaphysics is a branch of philosophy. For how we know and justify beliefs, see epistemology for beginners.

Philosophy vs popular use

In philosophy, metaphysics is the study of being and reality in the sense above. In popular and spiritual use, "metaphysical" often means something like "beyond the ordinary," "spiritual," or "paranormal"—energy, consciousness, afterlife, etc. The academic field and popular usage overlap in asking "what is really there?" but the methods and standards differ: academic metaphysics uses argument and conceptual analysis; popular metaphysical discourse often uses different standards of evidence. If you're comparing institutions that use "metaphysics" in the spiritual/New Thought sense, see University of Metaphysics vs University of Metaphysical Sciences; for the philosophical branch, you're in the right place.

Metaphysics, ontology, and epistemology

Ontology is the part of metaphysics that asks what there is—what kinds of things exist. Epistemology asks what we know and how we know it. So metaphysics (including ontology) is about what there is; epistemology is about what we know and how we justify it. They're related—your metaphysics can constrain your epistemology and vice versa—but they're different questions. For a clear comparison, see ontology vs epistemology; for epistemology alone, see epistemology for beginners.

Where to go deeper

You don't need to "solve" metaphysics to benefit from it. Pick one question: What exists? What is cause? What is identity? On schrodingers.cat you can: (1) read ontology vs epistemology to see how metaphysics (and ontology) differs from epistemology; (2) browse learning paths for paths on metaphysics, ontology, or philosophy of mind; (3) use the path quiz to get a path that fits you; (4) try Socratic dialogue on questions about reality, identity, or cause.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is metaphysics in simple terms?

It's the branch of philosophy that studies the most general features of reality: what exists, what it is to be real, what identity and change are, what causation is, and what is possible or necessary. It's not "beyond physics" in a mystical sense—it's the study of the structure of reality and our concepts for describing it.

What is the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?

Metaphysics studies what there is and how reality is structured (being, cause, identity, possibility). Epistemology studies what we know and how we know it (knowledge, justification, evidence). So one is about reality; the other is about knowledge. For more, see ontology vs epistemology.

Is metaphysics the same as ontology?

Ontology is the part of metaphysics that asks what there is—what kinds of things exist. So ontology is a branch of metaphysics; metaphysics is broader (it also studies cause, identity, possibility, etc.). For more, see ontology vs epistemology.

Conclusion

In philosophy, metaphysics is the branch that studies being, reality, identity, cause, and possibility. It's not the same as "metaphysical" in popular or spiritual use. It overlaps with ontology (what there is) and connects to epistemology (what we know). Use the question—then go deeper with ontology vs epistemology, learning paths, and epistemology for beginners on schrodingers.cat.

Ontology vs epistemology → · Epistemology for beginners → · Learning paths → · Path quiz →