The rationality of metaphysics

• Published in: Synthese (Dordrecht) Vol. 178; no. 1; pp. 99 - 109
• Main Author: Lowe, E. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01.01.2011; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: A priori knowledge; Conceptual analysis; Education; Empirical science; Epistemology; Formal systems; Logic; Mathematics; Metaphysics; Modal realism; Ontological essence; Ontology; Philosophers; Philosophy; Philosophy of Language; Philosophy of Science; Physics; Rationality; Reality; Science; Categories; Rationality; Empiricism; Realism; Formal ontology; Metaphysics; Modality; Essence
• ISSN: 0039-7857; 1573-0964
• DOI: 10.1007/s11229-009-9514-z

In this paper, it is argued that metaphysics, conceived as an inquiry into the ultimate nature of mind-independent reality, is a rationally indispensable intellectual discipline, with the a priori science of formal ontology at its heart. It is maintained that formal ontology, properly understood, is not a mere exercise in conceptual analysis, because its primary objective is a normative one, being nothing less than the attempt to grasp adequately the essences of things, both actual and possible, with a view to understanding as far as we can the fundamental structure of reality as a whole. Accordingly, it is urged, the deliverances of formal ontology have a modal and epistemic status akin to those of other a priori sciences, such as mathematics and logic, rather than constituting rivals to the claims of the empirical sciences, such as physics.