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Single Idea 6864

[filed under theme 1. Philosophy / E. Nature of Metaphysics / 7. Against Metaphysics ]

Full Idea

Metaphysics is the finding of bad reasons for what we believe upon instinct; but to find these reasons is no less an instinct.

Gist of Idea

Metaphysics is finding bad reasons for instinctive beliefs

Source

F.H. Bradley (Appearance and Reality [1893]), quoted by Robin Le Poidevin - Interview with Baggini and Stangroom p.165

Book Ref

Baggini,J/Stangroom,J: 'New British Philosophy' [Routledge 2002], p.165

A Reaction

A famous and very nice remark. The idea of believing things on instinct sounds more like David Hume than an idealist. Personally I am not so pessimistic about the enterprise. I think metaphysics is capable of changing what we believe.

The 14 ideas with the same theme [rejections of metaphysics as a worthwhile activity]:

12767 Kant exposed the illusions of reason in the Transcendental Dialectic [Kant, by Fraassen]
3301 On the continent it is generally believed that metaphysics died with Hegel [Benardete,JA on Hegel]
14767 The demonstrations of the metaphysicians are all moonshine [Peirce]
14860 Kant has undermined our belief in metaphysics [Nietzsche]
6864 Metaphysics is finding bad reasons for instinctive beliefs [Bradley]
13737 The empiricist says that metaphysics is meaningless, rather than false [Schlick]
16252 Metaphysics uses empty words, or just produces pseudo-statements [Carnap]
7919 Humeans rejected the a priori synthetic, and so rejected even Kantian metaphysics [Ayer, by Macdonald,C]
12325 Philosophy has been relieved of physics, cosmology, politics, and now must give up ontology [Badiou]
15054 'Quietist' says abandon metaphysics because answers are unattainable (as in Kant's noumenon) [Fine,K]
17713 After 1903, Husserl avoids metaphysical commitments [Mares]
16276 Wide metaphysical possibility may reduce metaphysics to analysis of fantasies [Maudlin]
16413 Science has discovered properties of things, so there are properties - so who needs metaphysics? [Hofweber]
21666 'Fundamentality' is either a superficial idea, or much too obscure [Hofweber]