Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
metaphysical
English answer:
above the mere appearance of the physical
Added to glossary by
Stephanie Ezrol
Mar 27, 2010 12:58
14 yrs ago
English term
Devoting myself to translation
Native in: Chinese 
Works in: Chinese to English, English to Chinese, Japanese to Chinese, and 2 more.
metaphysical
English
Social Sciences
Philosophy
I confess that neither the structure of languages, nor the code of governments, nor the politics of various states possessed attractions for me. It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world.
Does metaphysical have any realtionship with physical secrets?
Does metaphysical have any realtionship with physical secrets?
Responses
| 5 +2 | above the mere appearance of the physical |
Stephanie Ezrol
|
| 3 +2 | beyond the physical |
Rolf Keiser
|
| 5 | transcendental experience |
Alexandra Taggart
|
References
| Info |
Kim Metzger
|
Change log
Apr 2, 2010 00:43: Stephanie Ezrol Created KOG entry
Responses
+2
3 mins
Stephanie Ezrol
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
United States
French to English, English to English
Native in: English
Works in: English, French to English, French Middle (ca.1400-1600) to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
above the mere appearance of the physical
Especially in this context, this is how Frankenstein is discussing the classical idea of metaphysical, as not merely the physical appearance of the phenomenon, but searching for causes.
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Note added at 5 mins (2010-03-27 13:04:36 GMT)
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Metaphysical can have different shades of meaning. In this context he seems to identify that search for invisible causes, as that which lead him to the study of the occult writers whom his father told him were worthless.
Metaphysical studies do not necessarily go in that direction.
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Note added at 5 mins (2010-03-27 13:04:36 GMT)
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Metaphysical can have different shades of meaning. In this context he seems to identify that search for invisible causes, as that which lead him to the study of the occult writers whom his father told him were worthless.
Metaphysical studies do not necessarily go in that direction.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thanks a lot!"
+2
32 mins
Rolf Keiser
Switzerland
Switzerland
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
Switzerland
Translate complexity through simplicity
Native in: English (Variants: US, British) , German (Variants: Germany, Swiss)
Works in: German to English, English to German, English, and 1 more.
beyond the physical
Principles of reality transcending those of any particular science seeking to explain the fundamentals of being
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jenni Lukac (X)
1 hr
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Thanks, Jenni, and have a nice weekend.
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| agree |
Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
1 day 8 hrs
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Danke, Harald.
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6 hrs
Alexandra Taggart
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Native in English
&
English
Russian Federation
proficient translation
Native in: English , Russian
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, English
transcendental experience
- going beyond the limits of human knowledge of physical wor, empirical experience; or human REASON in a mystical way. I would like to quote here illustrious Immanuel Kant:
"Human reason has this peculiar fate that in one species of its knowledge it is burdened by questions which, as prescribed by the very nature of reason itself, it is not able to ignore, but which, as transcending all its powers, it is also not able to answer.
The perplexity into which it thus falls is not due to any fault of its own. It begins with principles which it has no option save to employ in the course of experience, and which this experience at the same time abundantly justifies it in using. Rising with their aid ( since it is determined to this also by its own nature ) to ever higher, ever more remote, conditions, it soon becomes aware that in this way - the questions never ceasing - its work must always remain incomplete; and it therefore finds itself compelled to resort to principles which overstep all possible empirical employment, and which yet seem so unobjectionable that even ordinary consciousness readily accepts them. But by this procedure human reason precipitates itself into darkness and contradictions; and while it may indeed conjecture that these must be in some way due to concealed errors, it is not in a position to be able to detect them. For since the principles of which it is making use transcend the limits of experience, they are no longer subject to any empirical test. The battle-field of these endless controversies is called metaphysics."
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Note added at 7 hrs (2010-03-27 19:58:45 GMT)
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Sorry - "going beyond the limits of human knowledge of physical world"
"Human reason has this peculiar fate that in one species of its knowledge it is burdened by questions which, as prescribed by the very nature of reason itself, it is not able to ignore, but which, as transcending all its powers, it is also not able to answer.
The perplexity into which it thus falls is not due to any fault of its own. It begins with principles which it has no option save to employ in the course of experience, and which this experience at the same time abundantly justifies it in using. Rising with their aid ( since it is determined to this also by its own nature ) to ever higher, ever more remote, conditions, it soon becomes aware that in this way - the questions never ceasing - its work must always remain incomplete; and it therefore finds itself compelled to resort to principles which overstep all possible empirical employment, and which yet seem so unobjectionable that even ordinary consciousness readily accepts them. But by this procedure human reason precipitates itself into darkness and contradictions; and while it may indeed conjecture that these must be in some way due to concealed errors, it is not in a position to be able to detect them. For since the principles of which it is making use transcend the limits of experience, they are no longer subject to any empirical test. The battle-field of these endless controversies is called metaphysics."
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Note added at 7 hrs (2010-03-27 19:58:45 GMT)
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Sorry - "going beyond the limits of human knowledge of physical world"
Reference comments
2 hrs
Kim Metzger
Mexico
Mexico
Native in English
&
English
Mexico
Committed to Quality and Service
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: German to English
Reference:
Info
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science. Cosmology and ontology are traditional branches of metaphysics. It is concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world.
Before the development of modern science, scientific questions were addressed as a part of metaphysics known as "natural philosophy"; the term "science" itself meant "knowledge" of epistemological origin. The scientific method, however, made natural philosophy an empirical and experimental activity unlike the rest of philosophy, and by the end of the eighteenth century it had begun to be called "science" in order to distinguish it from philosophy. Thereafter, metaphysics became the philosophical enquiry of a non-empirical character into the nature of existence.
Metaphysics is called the "first philosophy" by Aristotle. The editor of his works, Andronicus of Rhodes, is thought to have placed the books on first philosophy right after another work, Physics, and called them τὰ μετὰ τὰ φυσικὰ βιβλία (ta meta ta physika biblia) or "the books that come after the [books on] physics". This was misread by Latin scholiasts, who thought it meant "the science of what is beyond the physical"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics
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Note added at 2 hrs (2010-03-27 15:49:22 GMT)
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Book Alpha Outlines "first philosophy", which is a knowledge of the first principles or causes of things. The wise are able to teach because they know the why of things, unlike those who only know that things are a certain way based on their memory and sensations. Because of their knowledge of first causes and principles they are better fitted to command, rather than to obey. Book Alpha also surveys previous philosophies from Thales to Plato, especially their treatment of causes.
"Little alpha": The purpose of this chapter is to address a possible objection to Aristotle’s account of how we understand first principles and thus acquire wisdom. Aristotle replies that the idea of an infinite causal series is absurd, and thus there must be a first cause which is not itself caused. This idea is developed later in book Lambda, where he develops an argument for the existence of God.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics_(Aristotle)
Before the development of modern science, scientific questions were addressed as a part of metaphysics known as "natural philosophy"; the term "science" itself meant "knowledge" of epistemological origin. The scientific method, however, made natural philosophy an empirical and experimental activity unlike the rest of philosophy, and by the end of the eighteenth century it had begun to be called "science" in order to distinguish it from philosophy. Thereafter, metaphysics became the philosophical enquiry of a non-empirical character into the nature of existence.
Metaphysics is called the "first philosophy" by Aristotle. The editor of his works, Andronicus of Rhodes, is thought to have placed the books on first philosophy right after another work, Physics, and called them τὰ μετὰ τὰ φυσικὰ βιβλία (ta meta ta physika biblia) or "the books that come after the [books on] physics". This was misread by Latin scholiasts, who thought it meant "the science of what is beyond the physical"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics
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Note added at 2 hrs (2010-03-27 15:49:22 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Book Alpha Outlines "first philosophy", which is a knowledge of the first principles or causes of things. The wise are able to teach because they know the why of things, unlike those who only know that things are a certain way based on their memory and sensations. Because of their knowledge of first causes and principles they are better fitted to command, rather than to obey. Book Alpha also surveys previous philosophies from Thales to Plato, especially their treatment of causes.
"Little alpha": The purpose of this chapter is to address a possible objection to Aristotle’s account of how we understand first principles and thus acquire wisdom. Aristotle replies that the idea of an infinite causal series is absurd, and thus there must be a first cause which is not itself caused. This idea is developed later in book Lambda, where he develops an argument for the existence of God.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics_(Aristotle)
Note from asker:
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