Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.5, 2021

On the Knowledge of Knowledge Itself

 (Abstract)

Wang Lu

As the knowledge of knowledge itself, metaphysics is the main thread running through the history of philosophy. Metaphysics and the “adding word philosophy” differ from each other in that the latter being the knowledge related to things expressed by adding a word. The substantive distinction here is that the study of metaphysics is a priori, while the adding word philosophy is empirical. Metaphysical discussion always revolves around sentences, because cognition is expressed through language, and sentences are the basic unit for expressing cognition. Sentences have three related aspects: at the linguistic level, the basic sentence pattern is “S is P;” at the connotative level, it is what language expresses; and at the semantic level, the core concept is “truth.” Metaphysical research has always revolved around the “is” and the “truth,” and touches on these three levels. This is especially so at the third level, which reveals the conditions for the truth of the sentence and helps explain the first two levels. We need to understand the nature and characteristics of metaphysics, strengthen the study of metaphysics, and advance the study of philosophy through the study of metaphysics.