METAPHYSICS

Metaphysics, as the foundational inquiry into the ultimate nature of reality, has long been subject to both reverence and rejection in the history of philosophy. Various intellectual movements, ranging from empiricism to logical positivism, have attempted to discredit or bypass metaphysical speculation, deeming it unscientific, meaningless, or impractical. However, such efforts often fail to escape the very metaphysical presuppositions they seek to deny. This project exposes the futility of avoiding metaphysics by demonstrating that even the critique or dismissal of metaphysics itself rests on underlying metaphysical assumptions about knowledge, existence, and meaning. This project argues that metaphysics is inescapable because it constitutes the background framework through which human beings interpret reality, structure knowledge, and define values. Attempts to avoid it inevitably smuggle in hidden metaphysical commitments, whether in science, ethics, or epistemology. Thus, metaphysics cannot be meaningfully abandoned without undermining the very intellectual enterprise that seeks to replace it. By critically engaging with key anti-metaphysical traditions and contrasting them with contemporary defenses of metaphysical inquiry, this study reveals that metaphysics is not a dispensable exercise but a necessary foundation for coherent thought. Ultimately, the project exposes the paradox of avoiding metaphysics: in denying its relevance, one is already engaged in it. The expose affirms that the human quest for understanding cannot do without metaphysical reflection, making its avoidance not only futile but also self-defeating.