Metaphysics and the Search for the Truth

In the thought of Aristotle, metaphysics, which our contemporary society has perhaps mistranslated as “beyond physics” was actually made up of the most basic yet seemingly unattainable considerations of philosophy. In scholarly circles it is widely acknowledged that this type of teaching in the written works of Aristotle simply follow what are known as the physics in his writings. Thus, the Greek “meta” really means “after,” as in “after the Physics.”

That is to say, in the thought of Aristotle, metaphysics is concerned with defining Truth and knowledge of Being and, ultimately, the true nature of reality itself. Why has contemporary society fallen into such subjectivism on all levels so as to deny that absolute Truth could, and in fact surely does, exist? This is a critique that I am making on all levels of society from theism, i.e. in religious faiths to atheism.

My teacher, philosopher Paul Edward Guay, perhaps quoting someone else, said that classical atheism used to meet the idea of G-d with a shaking of the fist. Thus, from this perspective, if G-d exists than we must hold Him accountable for the presence of what would seem to be evil in the world. However, modern atheism, as the saying goes, is more of a shrug of the shoulders. We just don’t care. This is troubling, for if one doesn’t struggle to make sense of what sometimes seems a crazy and chaotic world, what is the point of life?

However, my critique here is to extend that same criticism to modern theism, or religion more generally. Organized religion has in many cases become subjective and/or draconian and patriarchal, focused either more on how it makes one feel or what one believes and the laws themselves, respectively, than in the pursuit of Truth. Why is this? Have we as a society as a culture abandoned the belief that there is an absolute reality that can be attained?