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Metaphysics vs Abstract - What's the difference?

metaphysics | abstract |

As nouns the difference between metaphysics and abstract

is that metaphysics is (philosophy|uncountable) the branch of philosophy which studies fundamental principles intended to describe or explain all that is, and which are not themselves explained by anything more fundamental; the study of first principles; the study of being insofar as it is being (ens in quantum ens ) while abstract is abstract.

metaphysics

English

(wikipedia metaphysics)

Noun

  • (philosophy, uncountable) The branch of philosophy which studies fundamental principles intended to describe or explain all that is, and which are not themselves explained by anything more fundamental; the study of first principles; the study of being insofar as it is being (ens in quantum ens ).
    • Philosophers sometimes say that metaphysics is the study of the ultimate nature of the universe.
  • (philosophy, countable) The view or theory of a particular philosopher or school of thinkers concerning the first principles which describe or explain all that is.
    • The metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas holds that all real beings have both essence and existence.
    In Aristotelian metaphysics physical objects have both form and matter.
    In his ''Pensées'', Pascal mentioned some first principles recognized within his metaphysics : space, time, motion, and number.
  • (uncountable, by extension from the philosophical sense) Any fundamental principles or rules.
  • * 1990 Jan. 1, Lance Morrow, " Gorbachev: The Unlikely Patron of Change," Time :
    • The metaphysics of global power has changed. Markets are now more valuable than territory.
  • (uncountable) The study of a supersensual realm or of phenomena which transcend the physical world.
    • I have a collection of books on metaphysics , covering astral projection, reincarnation, and communication with spirits.
  • (uncountable) Displeasingly abstruse, complex material on any subject.
    • This political polemic strikes me as a protracted piece of overwrought, fog shrouded metaphysics !
  • (countable) Plural of countable senses of metaphysic.

    • Meronyms

    * ontology

    Derived terms

    * metaphysical * metaphysician * metaphysicist

    Related terms

    * physics

    abstract

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl), from (etyl) abstractus, perfect passive participle of .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An abridgement or summary.
  • * — An abstract of every treatise he had read.
  • Something that concentrates in itself the qualities of larger item, or multiple items.
  • * — Man, the abstract Of all perfection, which the workmanship Of Heaven hath modeled.
  • # Concentrated essence of a product.
  • # (medicine) A powdered solid extract of a medicinal substance mixed with lactose.
  • An abstraction; an term; that which is abstract.
  • * — The concretes "father" and "son" have, or might have, the abstracts "paternity" and "filiety".
  • The theoretical way of looking at things; something that exists only in idealized form.
  • (arts) An abstract work of art.
  • (real estate) A summary title of the key points detailing a tract of land, for ownership; abstract of title.
    • Usage notes
    * (theoretical way of looking at things) Preceded, typically, by the .
    Synonyms
    * (statement summarizing the important points of a text) abridgment, compendium, epitome, synopsis
    Derived terms
    * abstract of title

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • (obsolete) Derived; extracted.
  • (now, rare) Drawn away; removed from; apart from; separate.
  • * 17th century , , The Oxford Dictionary :
    • The more abstract we are from the body ... the more fit we shall be to behold divine light.
  • Expressing a property or attribute separately of an object that is considered to be inherent to that object.
  • Considered apart from any application to a particular object; not concrete; ideal; non-specific; general, as opposed to specific.
  • * - A concrete name is a name which stands for a thing; an abstract' name which stands for an attribute of a thing. A practice has grown up in more modern times, which, if not introduced by Locke, has gained currency from his example, of applying the expression "' abstract name" to all names which are the result of abstraction and generalization, and consequently to all general names, instead of confining it to the names of attributes.
  • Difficult to understand; abstruse; hard to conceptualize.
  • *
  • (archaic) Absent-minded.
  • * Milton
    • abstract , as in a trance
  • *
  • (arts) Pertaining to the formal aspect of art, such as the lines, colors, shapes, and the relationships among them.
  • # (arts, often, capitalized) Free from representational qualities, in particular the non-representational styles of the 20th century.
  • # (music) Absolute.
  • # (dance) Lacking a story.
  • Insufficiently factual.
  • Apart from practice or reality; vague; theoretical; impersonal; not applied.
  • (grammar) As a noun, denoting an intangible as opposed to an object, place, or person.
  • (computing) Of a class in object-oriented programming, being a partial basis for subclasses rather than a complete template for objects.
    • Synonyms
    * (not applied or practical) conceptual, theoretical * (insufficiently factual) formal * (difficult to understand) abstruse
    Antonyms
    * (not applied or practical) applied, practical * (considered apart from concrete existence) concrete
    Derived terms
    * abstractly * abstractness * abstract idea * abstract noun * abstract numbers * abstract terms
    See also
    * reify

    Etymology 2

    First attested in 1542. Partly from' English abstract (adjective form), ' and from (etyl) abstrat past participle of .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To separate; to disengage.
  • * - He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices.
  • To remove; to take away; withdraw.
  • *
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • He was incapable of forming any opinion or resolution abstracted from his own prejudices.
  • (euphemistic) To steal; to take away; to remove without permission.
  • * - Von Rosen had quietly abstracted the bearing-reins from the harness.
  • To summarize; to abridge; to epitomize.
    • (Franklin)
  • (obsolete) To extract by means of distillation.
  • *
  • To consider abstractly; to contemplate separately or by itself; to consider theoretically; to look at as a general quality.
  • *
  • (intransitive, reflexive, literally, figuratively) To withdraw oneself; to retire.
  • To draw off (interest or attention).
  • * , Blackwood's Magazine - The young stranger had been abstracted and silent.
    • He was wholly abstracted by other objects.
  • (rare) To perform the process of abstraction.
  • * - I own myself able to abstract in one sense.
  • (fine arts) To create abstractions.
  • (computing) To produce an abstraction, usually by refactoring existing code. Generally used with "out".
    • He abstracted out the square root function.
    Usage notes
    * (to separate or disengage) Followed by the word from . * (to withdraw oneself) Followed by the word from . * (to summarize) Pronounced predominately as /?æb?strækt/. * All other senses are pronounced as /æb?strækt/.
    Synonyms
    * remove, separate, take away, withdraw * abridge, epitomize, summarize * filch, purloin, steal
    Derived terms
    * abstractable * abstracted * abstracter * abstractor
    Related terms
    * abstraction * abstractive * abstractum

    References

    * English heteronyms ----