THE WISEMAN AND THE SAGE: METAPHYSICS AS WISDOM IN ARISTOTLE AND NEO-CONFUCIAN SCHOOL OF PRINCIPLE (original) (raw)
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Frontiers of Philosophy in China, 2013
Among scholars of classical philosophy in the West, it is not uncommon to hesitate about the existence of metaphysics in non-Western philosophical traditions. At times, the dilemma seems due to culture-specific ideas or standards about what metaphysics is or how it should be done. Other times the problem seems to lie in a general lack of awareness about the methods and approaches of divergent philosophical traditions. This article explores an often ignored Aristotelian notion of metaphysics: That it is wisdom. If we acknowledge wisdom to be a common value or ideal found in different cultures, then characterizing metaphysics as wisdom promises to be more inclusive than prevalent ideas about it, being broad enough to allow for the appreciation of metaphysical insights and achievements in non-Western schools. I first examine Aristotle’s account of what wisdom consists of. I shall then test the inclusivity of this conception of metaphysics by showing how its characteristic features are manifest in the Neo-Confucian ideal of sagely learning.
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Among scholars of classic philosophy in the West, it is not uncommon to deny the existence of non-Western metaphysics. This seems due largely to culture-specific ideas or standards about what metaphysics is or how it should be done. In addition, there is a general unfamiliarity with methods and approaches of divergent philosophical traditions. Such a scenario occasions the need to ask once again what metaphysics is. This paper seeks to rediscover an original conceptualization of this science in the West: that which Aristotle tackles in the introductory chapters of his Metaphysics. In the introductory sections of said treatise, Aristotle takes metaphysics to be the kind of knowledge that the wise have. As wisdom, it is the highest exercise of theory.
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In this essay an attempt is made to bring out the importance of the understanding of metaphysics. The origin of the term is discussed and the implication in the ancient Greek philosophy and medieval period in the West are given some consideration. The Ancient Greek philosophers were metaphysicians with a scientific mind. Their search is to find out the one 'stuff' out of which the universe is made. Whereas the Pre-Socratics considered the 'stuff' as one or the other of the elements Socrates and Plato takes Ethics as one thing that is responsible for the universe. Aristotle names it as 'the philosophy' which is the 'wisdom' that inquires the first cause. It has implications on modern science.
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Izvestia Volgograd university for Education, 2014
4 gineering. His fundamental experience before the universe is quite similar with Lao-tzu and Ch-uang-tzu in ancient China. The first is wonder and nothingness. Aristotle said that Philosophy is wonder. this word is very famous. man has so many opportunities to wonder in his ordinary life. the most typical wonder is to see the universe. When man sees the movement of the moon, the sun, other celestial bodies and the galaxy, he feels wonder. The emotion of the intuition of the infinite universe is so big that man cannot express anything. it is beyond the expression of words, nothingness. In ancient Chi-nese philosophy, wonder of Aristotle is nothing-ness. aristotle also intuited nothingness as wonder same as Lao-tzu. The second, according to Aristotle, man that holds doubt and feels wonder is aware of his ignorance. the awareness of his ignorance is Docta ignorantia by Socrates. He also intuited nothing-ness as the lack of knowledge and death. i treated this in my paper 'Mediation and intuition' [5, p. 92]. man who is aware of ignorance seeks for knowledge and truth. He is philosopher. as aris-totle adopted Docta ignorantia of Socrates, he in-tuited nothingness. The third, Aristotle proposed the law of contradiction and the law of excluded middle. By that he established logic. it was the foundation of all sciences during 2300 years in Europe. But there is no rule without exception. the law of contradiction and the law of excluded middle contributed to all sciences but they were not adequate with universal philosophy and god as the ultimate reality in metaphysics, e.g. the ultimate reality is named as " prime mover that is itself unmoved" [1]. This is the first cause of all movements in the universe. But this expression is contradictory. it is impossible to move something without movement. aristotle thought it as an idea. But he denied an idea that is far from this real world. Furthermore, today absolute standstill is denied by the theory of relativity. according to contemporary cosmology, the universe is moving and expanding. Therefore, it is non-realistic and contradictory to assume a prime mover that is itself unmoved. the law of contradiction is not adequate with the ultimate reality as god. it means that the law of contradiction is not absolute. If man says that it is still, it is not moving. If man says that it is moving, it is moving. Man KiyoKazu NaKatomi (Sanmu) Metaphysics of aristotle and asian philosophy. froM the Viewpoint of Japanese philosophy Aristotle said that Philosophy is wonder. Man has so many opportunities to wonder in his ordinary life. The most typical wonder is to see the universe. When man sees the movement of the celestial bodies and the galaxy , he feels wonder. The emotion of the intuition of the infinite universe is so big that man cannot express anything. It is beyond the expression of words, nothing-ness. In ancient Chinese philosophy, wonder of Aristo-tle is nothingness. Aristotle also intuited nothingness as wonder same as Lao-tzu.From same origin, European and Asian philosophies developed.
In Defence of Aristotelian Metaphysics
T. E. Tahko (Ed.), Contemporary Aristotelian Metaphysics (Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 26–43., 2012
The so called 'Aristotelian' conception of metaphysics is often ridiculed because it takes certain notions as fundamental, or appears to require some sort of mysterious rational insight to establish epistemic access to metaphysical truths. In this paper I examine the methodology of this conception of metaphysics, contrast it with the predominant Quinean conception of metaphysics and ontological commitment, and make some suggestions regarding the methodology of Aristotelian metaphysics. Specifically, I argue that the Quinean idea of viewing all ontological questions as existence questions is flawed, and that the proper understanding of (many) ontological questions views them as questions concerning the natures or essences of the entities under investigation. Another way to put this might be to say that Aristotelian metaphysics is interested in explaining entities in virtue of others rather than reducing entities to other entities. I also examine the relationship between metaphysics and natural science and argue that Aristotelian metaphysics is in fact continous, or parallel, to natural science.
Synthesis and Comment to Aristotle's Metaphysics (A)
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