First philosophy
First philosophy ( πρώτη φιλοσοφία - prōtē philosophia) denotes for Aristotle the primary subject area within theoretical science.
It is made up of:
- an ontology that is 'what is (in the highest degree) being?' asks;
- a theology , the subject of which is the question of the existence and nature of a supreme being, the immobile, moving one (cf. natural theology );
- and possibly a meta-science whose objects are evidence or first principles of thought such as the principle of contradiction .
Such a science is presented by Aristotle in those of his writings that were later summarized under the title " Metaphysics ". The so-called First Philosophy by Aristotle corresponds to the philosophical sub-discipline known today as metaphysics .
It is controversial whether the early designation of this Aristotelian script as "Metaphysics" actually refers to the content or merely expresses that the lectures on the "First Philosophy" followed those of the natural sciences (Greek "meta" = "after" or "Behind"). In any case, Aristotle gives the First Philosophy systematic priority over all other sciences that he cultivated and subordinated to philosophy (as was still common in antiquity) (such as physics, logic, grammar, astronomy , etc. ). René Descartes supports this division and explains in a famous comparison: «The whole of philosophy is thus comparable to a tree whose root is metaphysics, whose trunk is physics, and whose branches are all other sciences that can be reduced to three main ones, namely Medicine, Mechanics and Ethics ».
See also
literature
- René Descartes : Meditations on the First Philosophy . Ditzingen: Reclam, 1986. ISBN 3-15-002888-4
Individual evidence
- ^ Kwame Anthony Appiah , Ethical Experiments. (Translation: Michael Bischoff ). Publisher: CH Beck oHG, Munich 2009, pp. 16-17.