The Science of Metaphysics and Different Naming Conventions Ranging From Prote Philosophia to al-‘ilm al-ilāhī: An Analysis Centered on Abū al-Barakāt al-Baghdādī

Abstract

Aristotle is considered to be the founding father of metaphysics. He specified the subject and scope of this science and used the names “first philosophy (prote philosophia)”, “theology” and wisdom (sophia) for it. However, there have been some changes both in the scope and naming of this science after his time. Alt-hough it is generally accepted that the subject of metaphysics is “being qua being,” there has been a con-fusion about the relationship between metaphysics and theology. Philosophers such as al-Fārābī and Avi-cenna directly studied this issue to eliminate such confusions. Different names such as first philosophy, transphysics, al-‘ilmu’l-ilāhī and al-ilāhiyyāt have always been used to refer to it. This study discusses why the science of metaphysics is named in different ways, mainly based on the evaluations of Abū al-Barakāt al-Baghdādī. It also questions if there is a relationship between different names and the scope of metaphysics and the method of analysis it uses? Do different names for the same scholarly area refer to the same science in terms of the subjects, areas of study and problems addressed, or does each name refer to different content than others? To achieve its intended aims, it also refers to the epistemology of Abū al-Barakāt al-Baghdādī.