Chapter 1-4 Philosophy, Theology and Metaphysics
As a dedicated researcher, I will attempt to describe the reality of life within a scientific context throughout this book. Since we are about to enter a new realm that cannot be fully explained by conventional education, it is important to clarify Philosophy, Theology, and Metaphysics, as well as their differences and connections, to avoid any misclassification.
The official definitions are as follows:
Philosophy: Philosophy is a discipline that explores questions concerning existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It involves the study of reality, principles of thought, and ethical norms. Philosophy seeks to understand the world and human life through rational reasoning, logical analysis and critical thinking.
Theology: Theology is the study of religious questions, including the nature of God, religious beliefs, biblical interpretation, doctrinal systems and religious practices. Theology is usually conducted within the framework of religious faith, aiming to understand the significance of God, religion, and faith in human life through the study of theological principles and belief systems.
Metaphysics: Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that focuses on the study of entities and phenomena beyond the material world, including existence, being, causality, time and space. It involves an in-depth exploration of the nature of entities and the essence of existence, aiming to understand the fundamental principles and nature behind reality. Metaphysics is also known as ontology and holds an important position within philosophy.
In terms of content understanding, the main difference between philosophy, theology, and metaphysics lies in their objects of study and methods. Philosophy broadly covers all aspects of human thought and reality, theology focuses on the study of religious beliefs and systems, while metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that specifically investigates entities and phenomena beyond the material world.
In these three categories, only philosophy is recognized by the public as part of the "scientific" community. Although metaphysics is defined as a branch of philosophy, more people simply associate it with "mysticism". From the English "Metaphysics", the prefix "meta-" in Greek means "beyond" or "after". "Metaphysics" literally translates to "after physics", referring to the study of entities and phenomena beyond the material world. It is not difficult to see that the English name for metaphysics was given by physicists, acknowledging it as the part of their field that transcends modern physics. This has almost become an objective fact and a common acknowledgment among physicists.
Science views external existence, advocating precision and emphasizing right and wrong. Philosophy, viewing from a human perspective, deals with dialectics, without distinctions of good and bad or right and wrong. In his lecture "Beauty and Physics", Prof. Yang Zhen-ning pointed out: "The end of Physics research is Philosophy." What he actually meant is that when we study objective matters, we initially adhere strictly to physical science. However, as we delve into the vast universe or the microscopic world of particles, modern physics can no longer provide definitive scientific explanations, leading scientists into various doubts, indecisive thoughts, and explorations that seem almost philosophical.
The foundation of Philosophy is logic. Strictly speaking, the underlying principles of modern science, including Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, are all based on logic. Philosophy, however, incorporates the dialectic of human nature, whereas the latter disciplines consider independent existence without factoring in human thought. The foundation of Theology is religion, while the foundation of Metaphysics is Philosophy. The intertwining of atheism in Philosophy and theism in religion produces Metaphysics. Religion ultimately develops into theology, which is easy to understand because almost all religions establish a "God" that transcends natural forces. Thus, Theology includes both concrete gods (like Jesus, Muhammad) and abstract gods (like Laozi's "Tao"). Similarly, Metaphysics arises from Philosophy; when logic can explain things clearly, it falls under "Epistemology" in Philosophy. When philosophical logic is insufficient, yet there is a perceptible truth that cannot be presently proven, it forms another branch of Philosophy known as "Agnosticism" or Metaphysics.
So, what are the differences and connections between Metaphysics and Theology? The commonality between Metaphysics and Theology is the acknowledgment that there is a force beyond current human understanding or supernatural power influencing humanity. The difference is that Theology necessarily involves a god, either concrete or abstract, while Metaphysics involves an abstract force that is formless, shapeless, and limitless. It is "great without external limits, small without internal limits"（其大无外、其小无内）, and may not have a specific name or definition, often represented by a "code" like objective laws or the "Great Tao"（大道）of Heaven and Earth, without being confined by concepts.
Taoism is often referred to as the "Mystical Gate", which later generations interpret as meaning mysterious or enigmatic. However, what Laozi meant by "mystery"（玄）is the fundamental state of existence of things, such as the coexistence of yin and yang or the resonance of all things. The true (Ma-wang-dui manuscript) "Tao Te Qing"（《道德经》）states:
"The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth; the named is the mother of all things. Therefore, always without desires, one can observe its wonders; always with desires, one can observe its manifestations. These two come from the same source but have different names; both are called mysteries. The mystery of mysteries is the gateway to all wonders."
Therefore, Laozi's exploration and explanation of the universal laws through the "Tao Te Qing" show that "mystery" does not imply something mysterious or enigmatic but refers to the fundamental state of things—it is both the essence of all things and the method by which all things are created. It is precisely because "mystery" is formless and boundless that it can generate the tangible, visible, and measurable world. Metaphysics is also a "materialistic" science, with the distinction that it is the study of "formless matter." When observing things, it first looks at the formless and then uses the formless to understand the form. This is similar to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)'s observation of the human body's "Qi" operation in the dimension without form through observation of appearance, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking, diagnosing the patient's visible symptoms without blood tests and X-rays.
Since Metaphysics is a branch of Philosophy, it is evident that Philosophy often has two facets. Materialism and idealism represent these two sides of Philosophy. When philosophers speak, they sometimes seem materialistic and sometimes idealistic. Many people who study Buddhism find that it contains profound life Philosophy, which can be worth reading even without religious belief. Those who understand Philosophy are more likely to comprehend life, realizing that idealism and materialism are complementary, much like the mind and body in life—inseparable and indivisible. Just as the generation of electrical energy requires both positive and negative electrodes, and only through the interaction of yin and yang can electrical devices function, life also manifests through such intertwined forces.
Materialism and idealism are often seen as representing objectivity and subjectivity, respectively. Prof. Zhu Qingshi, former president of Southern University of Science and Technology, said in an interview:
"The entire history of science has been about studying the so-called objective world, where we aim to exclude subjective consciousness and study objective laws that do not change with consciousness. However, how do consciousness and the objective world interact? We use subjective consciousness to observe and describe the laws of the objective world. You might have learned in elementary or middle school that the pupil of the human eye forms an inverted image, which the brain processes through consciousness to make it appear upright to us. The brain is like a computer, and the eyes are like a signal source; any signal input is insufficient to describe the whole. Moreover, for the brain, the information obtained by our eyes is very limited. To outline a complete image with limited information, the brain must continuously supplement and speculate..."
Reflecting on ancient Chinese wisdom, the profound culture of the Chinese nation over thousands of years, and the treasures left by our ancestors, future generations must not forget their roots. From a certain perspective, developing a comprehensive understanding and insight into the cosmos might become the leading direction of human scientific civilization in the next stage. This book merely serves as an introduction, offering some scientifically tested and largely validated content within a scientific context, which aligns with the true spirit of scientific research.
