Category of being. Categorical distinctions[edit] The common or dominant ways to view categories as of the end of the 20th century. via bundle theory as bundles of properties – categories reflect differences in thesevia peer-to-peer comparisons or dialectics – categories are formed by conflict/debatevia value theory as leading to specific ends – categories are formed by choosing endsvia conceptual metaphors as arising from characteristics of human cognition itself – categories are found via cognitive science and other study of that biological system.
Ontology. Study of the nature of being, becoming, existence or reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations Parmenides was among the first to propose an ontological characterization of the fundamental nature of reality.
Etymology[edit] Metaphysics. Metaphysics is a traditional branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it,[1] although the term is not easily defined.[2] Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:[3] Ultimately, what is there?
What is it like? Prior to the modern history of science, scientific questions were addressed as a part of metaphysics known as natural philosophy. Originally, the term "science" (Latin scientia) simply meant "knowledge".