Species, in metaphysics, is a specific genus-differentia defined item that is described first by its genus (genos) and then its differentia (diaphora). Put differently, it is an item, not necessarily biological, that belongs to a group and can be distinguished from other species in that group.
For example, a human being as a species can be defined as an animal (genus) that can reason (differentia).
The term is derived from the Greek word eidos, which means form in Plato's dialogues but should be taken to mean species in Aristotle's corpus.
Greek theorists used two terms interchangeably to describe what we call species: eidos (εἶδος) and skhēma (σχῆμα), defined as "a change in the arrangement of incomposite [intervals] making up a compound magnitude while the number and size of the intervals remains the same" (Aristoxenus 1954, 92.7–8 & 92.9–11 (da Rios), translated in Barbera 1984, 230). Cleonides (the Aristoxenian tradition) described (in the diatonic genus) three species of diatessaron, four of diapente and seven of diapason. Ptolemy in his "Harmonics" called them all generally "species of primary consonances" (εἴδη τῶν πρώτων συμφωνιῶν). Boethius, who inherited Ptolemy's generalization under the term "species primarum consonantiarum" (Inst. mus. IV,14), expanded species theory of Greeks; along with the traditional orderings of three primary species he introduced three further their orderings (Boethius 1989, 149). For epistemology of the Antiquity music theory, the most important of all was the octave species, because "from the species of the consonance of the diapason arise what are called modes" (Boethius 1989, 153).
Species is an older English word meaning 'external form or appearance'. In Christianity, when the wine is turned into blood, it is believed to literally become blood, which then retains only the species of the wine, meaning the appearance, taste, smell and feel of the wine.
Metaphysics is a traditional branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world that encompasses it, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:
Ultimately, what is there?
What is it like?
A person who studies metaphysics is called a metaphysician. The metaphysician attempts to clarify the fundamental notions by which people understand the world, e.g., existence, objects and their properties, space and time, cause and effect, and possibility. A central branch of metaphysics is ontology, the investigation into the basic categories of being and how they relate to each other. Another central branch of metaphysics is cosmology, the study of the origin, fundamental structure, nature, and dynamics of the universe. Some include epistemology as another central focus of metaphysics, but others question this.
Prior to the modern history of science, scientific questions were addressed as a part of metaphysics known as natural philosophy. Originally, the term "science" (Latinscientia) simply meant "knowledge". The scientific method, however, transformed natural philosophy into an empirical activity deriving from experiment unlike the rest of philosophy. By the end of the 18th century, it had begun to be called "science" to distinguish it from philosophy. Thereafter, metaphysics denoted philosophical enquiry of a non-empirical character into the nature of existence. Some philosophers of science, such as the neo-positivists, say that natural science rejects the study of metaphysics, while other philosophers of science strongly disagree.
The supernatural (Medieval Latin: supernātūrālis: supra "above" + naturalis "natural", first used: 1520–1530 AD) is that which is not subject to the laws of physics or, more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature.
Views
The metaphysical considerations of the existence of the supernatural can be difficult to approach as an exercise in philosophy or theology because any dependencies on its antithesis, the natural, will ultimately have to be inverted or rejected.
One complicating factor is that there is disagreement about the definition of "natural" and the limits of naturalism. Concepts in the supernatural domain are closely related to concepts in religiousspirituality and occultism or spiritualism.
The term "supernatural" is often used interchangeably with paranormal or preternatural— the latter typically limited to an adjective for describing abilities which appear to exceed the bounds of possibility.Epistemologically, the relationship between the supernatural and the natural is indistinct in terms of natural phenomena that, ex hypothesi, violate the laws of nature, in so far as such laws are realistically accountable.
“ Darwin on the Origin of Species ,” the first of three essays by the Harvard botanist Asa Gray about Darwin’s 1859 book, instigated a torrent of letters in response, some intrigued, others scandalized.
... principles, and furthering the human species through exploration of space — when the time is right, in divine order. Metaphysically, the greatest journey one could ever take is the journey within.
Unfortunately, that last statement can no longer be counted on ... We know that the of sex crimes are usually male ... But humans are a sexually dimorphic species, and this has medical consequences irrelevant to the metaphysical concept of gender identity.
There is no species-wide agent that could guide new technologies, only shifting multitudes of human beings, all of them with conflicting values and purposes ... AI is an existential challenge in part because it is a metaphysical shock.
... fell, other species on other planets did not ... Catholic metaphysics teaches us that each angel is its own unique species, which means that angels do not participate in the act of creation as man does.
