Metaphysical

as 'originating behind'

Morphological Analysis

• Etymon: Latin by way of Ancient Greek metaphysica: 'of or pertaining to metaphysics'
• Morpheme breakdown: From surface analysis of Ancient Greek prefix μετα- (meta-) meaning 'behind' + φύσις (phúsis), meaning 'origin' -> metaphysical: 'originating behind' → 'originating behind'

Essential Definition

That which originates behind existence; pertaining to the foundational, generative principles or conditions that are logically and ontologically prior to manifest reality.

Semantic Context

• Conventional sense: Of or pertaining to metaphysics. (Note: Semantic drift from essential meaning)
• Essential meaning (my usage): originating behind

Philosophical Significance

This definition restores metaphysics to its classical role as the foundational science of first principles, positioning it not as a study separate from the physical world, but as the necessary inquiry into the prior, generative conditions that originate behind and make possible existence itself.

Usage in This Lexicon

When I use the word metaphysical in my work, I mean exactly 'originating behind'. This enables:

• Historical Fidelity and Conceptual Anchoring: Defining 'metaphysical' via its Greek morphological components meta: 'after' or 'beyond', and physika: 'the natural things' as 'originating behind' of existence grounds the term in its historical emergence. This approach honors the Aristotelian tradition where the inquiry into first principles and being qua being was literally placed 'after the physics' in the corpus, yet conceptually understood as the foundational inquiry behind or prior to the physical. It directly links to the pre-modern understanding of metaphysics as the study of the primary conditions and causes that stand behind and give rise to manifest reality.
• Epistemological Priority of Principles: By emphasizing the 'behind' or foundational aspect, this definition foregrounds the epistemological and ontological priority of principles (archai). It aligns with the Plutarch quotation, clarifying that metaphysical entities (abstracta, first causes, forms, etc.) are not merely subsequent abstractions from experience but are logically and ontologically prior conditions that make existence and our understanding of it possible.^[1] This frames metaphysics as the study of what must be already in place for anything to be.
• Clarification of Abstraction's Status: This definition helps distinguish metaphysical abstracta (like Platonic Forms or Aristotelian essences) from mere psychological or linguistic abstractions. If they 'originate behind' existence, they are not simply mental constructs derived from particulars, but rather the very grounds from which particulars derive their being and intelligibility. This protects the objective and realist claims of many metaphysical systems against nominalist or subjectivist reductions.
• Emphasis on Generative Causality: The phrasing 'originating behind' inherently suggests a generative or causal role. It frames metaphysics as the study of the ultimate productive sources of reality, not just a static catalog of the most general categories of being. This aligns with ancient and medieval conceptions of metaphysics as concerned with final and efficient causes, not merely formal ones, and connects directly to inquiries into why there is something rather than nothing.
• Resolution of the 'Meta' Ambiguity: The prefix meta- in contemporary usage often drifts into meaning 'separate from' or 'transcending' in a dualistic sense. Defining it as 'behind' retains the sense of transcendence (as being prior and foundational) but crucially maintains a connective, explanatory link to the physical existence it grounds. It avoids the implication of complete detachment, instead suggesting a foundational relationship, much like a blueprint stands 'behind' a constructed building.
• Integration with Systematic Hierarchy: This definition naturally supports an hierarchical and ordered view of reality and knowledge. As Firmus's statement in Plutarch indicates, principles are before (proteron) what they govern. This establishes a clear logical structure: metaphysics studies the first principles; physics and other sciences study the derivative manifestations. This provides a philosophical justification for the architecture of the sciences and the unique, architectonic role of metaphysics.
• Defence Against Empirical Dissolution: By insisting that the metaphysical is what originates behind the physical, not merely abstracted from it, this definition provides a philosophical bulwark against positivist or strict empiricist claims that metaphysical statements are meaningless. It asserts that the objects of metaphysics, while not empirically encounterable in the same way as physical objects, are nevertheless required for a complete account of reality and are accessed through reason's inquiry into the conditions of existence itself.

Related Terms

• Abstracta

Sources

• Wiktionary

*This definition follows morphological essentialism principles. See the Methodology for details.