(Classical) Metaphysics - Prerequisite
Since the field of metaphysics is so vast, this section simply outlines a systematic metaphysics study guide. Learning Metaphysics systematically is a challenging but rewarding endeavor. “Systematic” can mean 2 things:
- a thematic approach (tackling specific problems like time, free will, or universals one by one), or
- a historical approach (tracing the evolution of these ideas from the Greeks to today)
For a truly systematic understanding, it is often best to start with a strong thematic map to understand the landscape, then dive into the historical foundations, and finally engage with contemporary systems.
Phase 1: The Map (Thematic Introduction)
Before reading the dense primary texts, we need a high-level overview of the major debates. These textbooks are the gold standard for structuring the chaos of metaphysical problems.
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Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction by Michael J. Loux
This is arguably the best “textbook” for a systematic start. It breaks the field down by topic (Universals, Particulars, Proposition, Modality, etc.) and clearly explains the opposing views (e.g., Realism vs. Nominalism) without getting bogged down in jargon.
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A Survey of Metaphysics by E.J. Lowe
E.J. Lowe was a major systematic metaphysician. His survey covers the entire waterfront of the discipline with a focus on how different metaphysical commitments (like how you view time) affect others (like how you view causation).
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Metaphysics by Peter van Inwagen
Less of a textbook and more of a guided tour by a master philosopher. Van Inwagen demonstrates how to think metaphysically rather than just listing facts.
Phase 2: The Foundation (Historical Systems)
Once we understand the basic terms (ontology, epistemology, substance, accident), we should turn to the primary texts that defined the discipline.
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Aristotle: Metaphysics (specifically Books I, IV, VII, VIII, and XII)
The origin of the term and the discipline. This introduces the concepts of Substance, Essence, and Potentiality/Actuality.
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René Descartes: Meditations on First Philosophy
The birth of modern metaphysics, shifting the focus to the mind-body distinction and the nature of material substance.
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David Hume: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Essential for his devastating critique of causation and necessity. We cannot do modern metaphysics without answering Hume.
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Immanuel Kant: Critique of Pure Reason
This is the most difficult but most important text. Kant argues that traditional metaphysics is impossible without first understanding the limits of human reason. It fundamentally changes how we view “reality” vs. “appearance”.
Phase 3: The Deep Dives (Specific Branches)
Systematic metaphysics is often divided into specific branches. Once we have the basics, we can specialize what we are more interested in such as
| Branch | Key Question | Essential Resource |
|---|---|---|
| Ontology | By this time, Christians had a network of Bishops, a hierarchy, and a strict system of doctrine. It functioned like a “state within a state.” | On What There Is by W.V.O. Quine |
| Modality | What is possible vs. necessary? | On the Plurality of Worlds by David Lewis |
| Time | Does time flow or is it a block? | The Unreality of Time by J.M.E. McTaggart |
| Free Will | Is freedom compatible with determinism? | Free Will (Oxford Readings) ed. by Gary Watson |
| Identity | What makes us the same person over time? | Reasons and Persons by Derek Parfit |
Recommended Study Plan
A syllabus-like structure would allow us to follow this order:
- Read Loux (Chapters 1–2 on Universals/Particulars).
- Read Aristotle (Metaphysics Book Zeta/VII).
- Read Loux (Chapters on Modality and Causation).
- Read Hume (Enquiry Section IV-VII).
- Read Kant (Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics - a shorter, clearer version of the Critique).
- Finish with Van Inwagen for a modern synthesis.
Chinese Metaphysics
Chinese philosophy also independently developed deep inquiries into the fundamental nature of reality. However, while Western metaphysics (originating with the Greeks) often focused on substance and being (what things are), Chinese metaphysics traditionally focused more on process, change, and becoming (how things interact and transform).
Daoism offers the earliest and most distinct metaphysical system in China. It posits a formless, nameless source of all reality that precedes the physical universe. Unlike the Greek Logos (which implies logic and reason), the Dao is the ineffable, generative force of the universe. It deals with the interplay of 有 (Being/Something) and 无 (Non-being/Nothingness).
The key work of 道德经 (Classic of the Way and Virtue) describes the Dao as the “mother of ten thousand things”(万物之母), asserting that reality is born from a void or non-being (无)
The opening of 道德经 in Chinese
Another masterpiece of 庄子(Zhuangzi) challenged human categories of reality, famously questioning whether he was a man dreaming he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was a man. This text explores skepticism and the relativity of existence.
Overall, the major distinction between Greek and Chinese thought is
- Greek Metaphysics: Often asks “What is the substance?” (e.g., Water, Atoms, Forms). It seeks a static, eternal truth behind the changing world.
- Chinese Metaphysics: Often asks “What is the pattern?” (e.g., Dao, Li). It accepts change as the ultimate reality and seeks to understand the “process” or “way” things unfold.
(Quantum) Metaphysics - The Synthesis Between Chinese and Western Philosophies
Loux’s Metaphysics: A Contemporary Introduction claims that
”… there is a single unchanging structure (about metaphysics) that underlies anything that can be called human knowledge or experience”.
This further intensifies an interesting “conflict” between Western and the Chinese metaphysics; focus on “change”.
However, a modern reconciliation (often seen in Whitehead’s Process Philosophy or Quantum Field Theory) suggests the Chinese view might be more physically accurate: there are no static particles, only fields in constant vibration. The “unchanging structure” Loux speaks of might just be a necessary “user interface” for human consciousness, even if the underlying reality is pure flux.
In his master text of Process Philosophy, Process and Reality (1929), Whitehead argues that the fundamental units of reality are not static “things,” but momentary events he calls “Actual Occasions” or “Actual Entities”. He also explicitly developed this system to accommodate the discoveries of Quantum Mechanics and Relativity, which had shattered the Newtonian view of static matter in absolute space.
Whitehead developed this process philosophy directly in response to the collapse of the classical Newtonian worldview. While classical physics assumed a universe of solid matter moving through absolute space and time, the advent of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics revealed a universe of dynamic, interwoven fields, relational spacetime, and quantum events. Whitehead, a mathematician and physicist himself, recognized that this new scientific reality required a new metaphysics. He developed a framework capable of underpinning these complex, non-deterministic physical realities.
Furthermore, because reality in this framework is an ongoing, creative advance rather than a mechanistic clockwork, it inherently rejects strict determinism. In Whitehead’s universe, every single “actual occasion” involves a degree of self-determination, integrating the past but adding its own novel drop of experience. This provides a very robust metaphysical grounding for libertarian free will. It suggests that the future is not pre-calculated, but genuinely open, allowing conscious agents to possess true metaphysical agency in shaping an unfolding reality.
In addition, Process and Reality is arguably the most sophisticated modern elaboration of the thought from Heraclitus of Ephesus (fl. 500 B.C.), a philosopher who maintained that despite appearances, everything was in a continual state of change. Both thinkers fundamentally reject the idea that reality is made up of static, enduring “substances” or “things,” asserting instead that the fundamental nature of the universe is continuous change, flux, and event
For Heraclitus, this was expressed through metaphors of the river and of ever-living fire. Fire is not a solid object, but a transformative process, constantly consuming and becoming. Whitehead formalized this exact intuition into a rigorous metaphysical system. In Whitehead’s cosmology, the ultimate building blocks of the universe are not physical atoms, but what he calls “actual occasions” or “actual entities.” These are momentary, interconnected events of experience that flash into existence, relate to the past, and immediately perish to form the foundation for the next event. Being is entirely constituted by becoming.
Unfortunately none of Heraclitus’ complete works survived antiquity, all we have are these preserved quotations from later authors. The original Ancient Greek fragments of Heraclitus is the standard scholarly reference the Diels-Kranz (DK) edition, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker There are also excellent online resources:
- Greek Wikisource - Heraclitus
- Scaife Viewer - Heraclitus
- Heraclitusfragments.com
- Philoctetes - Heraclitus
Quantum Field Theory Study Roadmap
Studying Quantum Field Theory (QFT) is one of the most challenging intellectual undertakings in physics but also rewards a lot by assisting us to grasp the nature of the conflict from a different perspective.
We offer a systematic roadmap to guide one from foundational prerequisites to advanced topics.
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Phase 0 - The Prerequisites: QFT is mathematically demanding. Before starting, make sure to have a solid grasp of these foundations. If you are shaky here, QFT will be impenetrable.
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Classical Mechanics: Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms, Principle of Least Action, Poisson brackets. Textbook:
- (QFT) Mechanics by Landau & Lifshitz
- (Auxiliary, Undergrad Level) Classical Mechanics by John R. Taylor
- (Auxiliary, Grad Level) Classical Mechanics by Herbert Goldstein
Aiming for Quantum Field Theory (which relies heavily on Lagrangian mechanics and symmetry), Landau & Lifshitz is often considered the more direct preparation because it emphasizes the Principle of Least Action and symmetries right from page one. However, Goldstein is the better reference if we get stuck and need a step-by-step explanation.
One can also use Taylor if they open Landau & Lifshitz and find that they are struggling with the basic physical concepts (e.g., “Why is energy conserved?”, “What is a coupled oscillator?”). Taylor is undergrad-level while Goldstein is grad-level auxiliary text
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