Introduction to Metaphysics

THE THOMI T A SPECULATIVE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY EnrroRs: THE DoMINICAN FATHERS OF TRE PROVINCE OF ST. JosEPH Publishers: The Thomist Press, Washington 17, D. C. VoL. XX APRIL, 1957 No.2 INTRODUCTION TO METAPHYSICS ~WO approaches to the text of Aristotle's Metaphysics _l are used by many scholars today. The first is by way of historical and philological analysis. This method tends to dismember the text and reduce it to disordered frag~ ments which are supposed to represent the different stages of Aristotle's thought, or of his school, or the vagaries of his ancient editors. Thus far no substantial agreement is to be found among the authors who have pursued this method. Is it not because the exegesis of a text must first of aU be one which enters into the author's thought? Aristotle wrote as a philosopher, not as a philologist, and if we do not read him in his own light we are sure to " discover " contradictions where they do not exist. The second method is to read Aristotle philosophically but still with historical preoccupations. The effort here is to show his position as a unique stage in human thought, different 121 WILLIAM H. KANE from that of any other thinker. His must be seen as a" pure postion " opposed to other positions. Thus the problem becomes one of recovering the " genuine Aristotle " in contrast to his disciples or his commentators. This method leads inevitably to a minimizing interpretation, because it excludes from the account much that is implicit in the text, and turns differences of emphasis into differences in doctrine. But if our concern with Aristotle is mainly philosophical, the historical approach can be regarded as merely ancillary, and then a third method is appropriate. This is to regard Aristotle as a teacher from whom we can learn something of the truth. When we approach him in this way we seek to grasp his meaning according to his own mind, with all its implications about the t:ruth of things. We are not concerned about how he came to know what he is teaching, nor to compare him with other teachers, but to follow his lead and to see things which he points out and helps us to see. It is this third approach which I shall use in this article, trying to see what care the Philosopher takes to introduce the beginner to first philosophy. A careful study of Aristotle's metaphysics may raise in our minds more questions than the text itself seems to answer. Nevertheless, there is one point which stands out with particular clarity, and this is the caution with which we are introduced to the science of the first principles and causes of being as such. Aristotle does not lead us immediately into a sea of difficult questions where our minds must inevitably and hopelessly founder. He does not assume that we already know what the task is which we are trying to accomplish, or whether it is worth the effort, or whether other attempts have been made, or to what extent others have succeeded or failed, or whether it is genuinely possible, or how we should proceed with this final consideration of philosophic t:ruth.. Rather, he meets us on our own ground, and beginning with what we already know he leads us boldly on to an understanding of the ambitious inquiry which we are undertaking. INTRODUCTION TO METAPHYSICS 128 The futroduction to a science is designed to render the beginner docile and eager to perfect his knowledge by his own effort together with the help of the teacher.1 It is not expected that the ordinary student will be able to make progress in his studies unaided, particularly not in difficult matters. The reasonable way to learn is by cooperating with a teacher who already knows the scope and order of the discipline, who can distinguish between the known and the unknown, and who can point out the right path and maintain it with right reason. In order to begin a long and difficult course of study, the student must first of all be convinced that an understanding of the subject is useful...