Full Idea
Lowe argues that the sciences need metaphysics to discharge the assumptions that they simply made at the outset.
Gist of Idea
Science needs metaphysics to weed out its presuppositions
Source
report of E.J. Lowe (The Possibility of Metaphysics [1998]) by Thomas Hofweber - Ambitious, yet modest, Metaphysics 1.2
Book Reference
'Metametaphysics', ed/tr. Chalmers/Manley/Wasserman [OUP 2009], p.262
A Reaction
Hofweber doesn't buy this, and neither do I. I don't think science 'needs' metaphysics (or barely needs it), but I do think metaphysics needs a fair degree of science. It is high-level abstraction based on the facts.
Related Idea
Idea 16413 Science has discovered properties of things, so there are properties - so who needs metaphysics? [Hofweber]