Note – this is a cross-post from the original article which was submitted to the Young Australian Skeptics site.
Language twists and turns like (to borrow a Blackadder simile) a twisty turning thing. Words and their meanings flow, merge and separate over the long years of human discourse, as new generations come along and take ownership of the language of those who came before, changing it to suit their own needs and to reflect their own time.
Lol, so random. :-)
Those who stand as guardians of language and protectors of the past are, more often than not, seen as faintly ridiculous – rapping people over the knuckles for misusing “their”, “there” and “they’re” in a bluster of outrage. Although they’re right (note the correct usage there… ooh, and there again), use of language is the ultimate arbiter and perhaps we’re witnessing a slow and inexorable evolution to a fully interchangeable “ther”….a Ther For All Occasions, mayhap.
It’s probably not worth getting too worked up about this… But sometimes words and their meanings twist in such a way as to obscure rather than to illuminate, and that’s a definite problem.
“Metaphysics” is one such word. Defined by Wikipedia:
“Metaphysics investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science.”
And that’s perfectly fair enough, when you think about how and where the principle originated. From the Greek metá (meaning “beyond”) and physiká (meaning “physical”), metaphysics addresses itself to concepts and ideas of reality which either cannot be explained by current science or which fall outside the boundaries of the physical world.
Considering that in the time of Aristotle, which is when metaphysics was being seriously addressed, science as it existed at that stage couldn’t explain very much at all, so metaphysics was a rational position for any thinker to take – it was rather like the difference between modern-day experimental and theoretical physics… one group discourses and postulates and the other group tests the ideas by blowing things up. Yes, that’s simplistic… :-)
The problem with metaphysics as it is used today is that it has managed to crawl into the space occupied by words like “metadata” or “metalanguage”. These words do not describe ideas beyond the boundaries of data or language, but rather the concepts which underpin them. Given the way it is used by obscurantists, metaphysics has come to relate to some sort of fundamental physics or physical rules for the universe which science doesn’t understand.
Now, there are quite obviously rules about the universe which science doesn’t understand (yet), but the very real problem is that metaphysics are most often called upon by those of an anti-scientific, anti-empirical bent – the religious, the superstitious and the flat-out deluded. Metaphysics is used like a Trump Card of Ignorance: “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” and so on ad infinitum.
The interesting thing about metaphysical arguments is that they explain absolutely nothing. Anything which is beyond physics is not of this world. Anything not of this world is nothing. Of course, that’s not how the arguments are used. Metaphysics is trotted out as some sort of “proof” that just because science can’t explain something, that must mean that the priest, medium and yogi must all have a valid place at the table. Taking that position to its logical conclusion, so does a beagle, a vase of geraniums and a pack of Tim Tams. Two hundred years ago, science couldn’t explain stomach ulcers or continental drift, but that doesn’t invalidate its position or mean that you should have your dyspepsia treated by the vicar.
So if you encounter metaphysics in your travels, don’t make the mistake of granting it any sort of authority. Metaphysics is neither provable nor falsifiable, and is therefore meaningless. The only thing beyond the boundaries of science is the ability to make certain people see sense.
