Epistemology And Metaphysics Of A Philosopher Philosophy

When reading a paper on the epistemology and metaphysics of a philosopher it becomes necessary to fully understand the meaning of the two words before any other readings on the subjects are to be done. The first of the two, epistemology, is perhaps the most important branch of philosophy that "studies the nature of knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations, and its extent and validity" Dictionary.1 The latter of the two words, metaphysics, is "another branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value" Dictionary.2 Aristotle, perhaps the best known philosopher in western thought, believed understanding epistemology and metaphysics is the way of understanding the world, and living processes in general. Intelligence, knowing, is the most important and the most significant fact in the universe the one big thing in the world for men, and for Greeks, trying to understand their world.3

To start, let's focus on Aristotle's thoughts of metaphysics, or his theories of reality that he in fact called "first philosophy". In the early years of his life, Aristotle was a student of Plato. During this time is when he began accepting Plato's views and beliefs. To understand Aristotle's views of the world we must first briefly examine Plato's views.

Plato believed in a world of forms. That is, he believed that even though geometry can help us understand the world of experience, its perfect shapes do not seem to exist in this world at all…instead the perfect prototypes, or forms…must exist somewhere else.4

But Aristotle also began making his own theories. In his books titled "Metaphysics" Aristotle writes,

"Above all one might discuss the question what on earth the forms contribute to sensible