Metaphysics as a Science: A Sketch of an Overview [Special Issue]
Issue: Issue 19 • Author/s: Lauri Snellman
Topics: Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of science, Theoretical philosophy
This article sketches a pragmatist method for metaphysics. Bottom-up or descriptive metaphysics describes the domains of quantification, essences and the categories of a linguistic activity by describing the linguistic activities of encountering reality and seeking and finding objects and relationships. Constructive or top-down metaphysics constructs alternative conceptual schemes, which can be used as world-view backgrounds to construct scientific paradigms and theories. Metaphysical theories are then assessed by comparing the research traditions that arise when the theories are used as conceptual schemes. The pragmatic circle can be generalized into a world-view…