1st Edition

An Analysis of Aristotle's Metaphysics

By Asiste Celkyte Copyright 2017
    92 Pages
    by Macat Library

    96 Pages
    by Macat Library

    Aristotle’s Metaphysics is a collection of essays on a wide range of topics, almost certainly never put together by Aristotle himself. This helps to explain why the material covers such a very wide range of material, from meaning to mathematics, from logical sequences to religion. It includes very useful treatments of the nature of axioms (or primary truths) such as the law of non-contradiction and the laws of logic.

    In looking at these, Aristotle provides sustained guides to clear thinking as would be evidenced in analysis and evaluation of arguments and the production of good reasoning. He also provides some valuable discussion of interpretation by looking at homonyms (as in ‘this knife is sharp’ and ‘this note is sharp’) and what he calls ‘paronyms,’ which lie between homonyms and synonyms: an example is the word ‘healthy’. Metaphysics is also useful to study for its frequent examples of hypothetical reasoning, including their use in mathematics (‘if x, then y…’) and science (‘if a moves b, then b moves c...’, so what moves a?). In addition, we find Aristotle analysing Plato’s arguments and subjecting them to sustained (critical) evaluation. While Metaphysics shows Aristotle in many well-developed critical thinking modes, it is first and foremost a work of exquisite reasoning, creating strong arguments that continue to be debated and deployed today, nearly 2500 years after they were written.

    Ways in to the text 

    Who was Aristotle?  

    What does Metaphysics Say? 

    Why does Metaphysics Matter?  

    Section 1: Influences 

    Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context  

    Module 2: Academic Context 

    Module 3: The Problem 

    Module 4: The Author's Contribution  

    Section 2: Ideas 

    Module 5: Main Ideas  

    Module 6: Secondary Ideas 

    Module 7: Achievement 

    Module 8: Place in the Author's Work 

    Section 3: Impact  

    Module 9: The First Responses  

    Module 10: The Evolving Debate  

    Module 11: Impact and Influence Today 

    Module 12: Where Next? 

    Glossary of Terms  

    People Mentioned in the Text  

    Works Cited

    Biography

    Dr Aiste Celkyte is a researcher specialising in Ancient Philosophy. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Yonsei University in South Korea.