Meta-physics

Metaphysics is the study of what everything is made of and how it got here.

Metaphysics asks the BIG questions that can hurt your brain to think about because there are no obvious answers.

Some people love these conversations, known as philosophical conversations, where there are no clear answers—only more questions.

What is important about metaphysics is that it pushes us to think more deeply about the nature of reality, our place in the universe, and the limits of human knowledge. It invites us to consider new possibilities, challenge our assumptions, and explore different ways of understanding the world. In many ways, metaphysics serves as the foundation for much of philosophical inquiry, science, and art.

Even if we can’t definitively “answer” metaphysical questions, the act of asking them can be deeply enriching, leading to new insights, perspectives, and ways of thinking about the world and ourselves.

So, while metaphysics might not provide easy or concrete answers, it remains an essential part of our quest to understand why and how things exist the way they do. Metaphysics pushes the boundaries of human understanding, making it an important feature of education today, where our ability to question is tied to ethical considerations.

There are some types of questions and topics that would be challenging to tackle in a classroom setting and would probably be avoided (such as the afterlife, living in a simulation etc although these examples would be fun). However, the good thing about metaphysical questioning is that it opens up a provocative and open space where different ideas can be expressed and listened to.

To engage metaphysically is to engage in a tradition where there is no right or wrong; it’s just a way of being open to the awe and wonder of the universe.

Some questions that could be interesting in a classroom setting, aligning with metaphysics, might include:

• What does it mean for something to be “possible”?
• Are there other possible worlds that could have existed but didn’t? If so, how do we understand these “possible worlds” in relation to our actual world?

Establishing an opportunity for these types of questions also encourages you, as the educator, to think about them yourself. What are your opinions on these unanswerable questions?

It also provides the basis for a classroom environment that is rich in ideas, and this is the foundation for brainstorming and creative thinking. If students, and you as the teacher, feel safe to explore challenging, open questions, it creates a fertile environment for creative thinking. It also draws on ethical considerations that support democratic understandings.

Here are some additional questions to consider that foster democratic communities include:

• Are our actions determined by prior causes, like our biology and environment, or do we have the ability to choose freely?
• If we are determined, can we still hold people morally responsible for their actions?
• Are moral truths objective and independent of human opinions, or are they subjective and relative to cultural or individual perspectives?
• Do moral values exist in the same way that physical objects do, or are they constructs of human societies?

My favorite metaphysician at the moment is Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947). He has been important for bringing the fields of science and metaphysics back together in this last century. Once upon a time, science and metaphysics worked in union, but then they split apart and went in their own directions. Today, with the understandings of quantum mechanics, we appreciate that things are always changing and the way we understand time is not linear, as we tend to believe. Although this sounds quite deep, if we look to the understandings of modern scientists, we recognise that reintroducing metaphysical questions is important, as this is exactly what modern scientists—armed with their complex knowledge—are doing today. Nothing is really known in the world of science, we are constantly updating our opinions and beliefs and so returning to open questions where there are no answers, only more questions is part of it.

Becoming good at feeling comfortable with unanswerable questions is part of our future, and therefore part of the modern-day classroom.

Until next time,

Mon x