Lately I've been considering the idea that what many people see as "metaphysics" is a form of artistic expression. This is not meant to apply to all metaphysics, necessarily, especially since "metaphysics" has no clear-cut definition, despite the various protests of various different groups who all think they have the right way of looking at things.

From one perspective, metaphysics can be understood as art when one studies someone else's metaphysics without expecting or believing it to be true. Whether or not the theory is correct is sort of irrelevant - what matters is the passion that goes into the theory.

One could say that metaphysical theories, although on the surface appearing to pursue truth, actually only use truth as a way of directing artistic effort. The goal is not truth per se - the goal is artistic expression by attempting to create a "story" or a "framework" in which a narrative of the broadest form can take place.

Metaphysical theories don't have power in epistemic terms, per se, but rather in motivational terms. Metaphysics guides people's lives, whether they realize it or not. And while some loudmouths may cry out and shun speculation like metaphysics for being unverifiable or useless (and thus apparently worthless...), we can not only dispute those claims but also argue that metaphysics is artistic expression through conceptual manipulation. Personally speaking, I really enjoy reading the metaphysics of the various historical cultures. Neo-Platonism is mysterious and esoteric, yet intriguing. A what if? - what if Neo-Platonism actually is true?! Simply wondering about that possibility is enough.

Art has a tendency to lie to us. It shows us something that is not the case. A statue of a man may be too generous to be accurate. Music fools us into feeling sad or angry without any real reason. And perhaps it could be said that metaphysical theories give us a sort of "fiction" that is internally consistent, even if it's not actually accurate. Thus the "art" of metaphysics comes from the intense rigor and spirit, the illusion that it is pursuing truth. It is an activity, a sport of the mind, a process that generates new and creative conceptual structures - not necessarily out of usefulness or truth-aptness but because it's fun and interesting to do. It's about creating an system that is consistent within itself.

Consider teenagers talking about the mysteries of the universe at the lunch table. Nobody there is "qualified" to (but is anyone, really...?). Yet it's still fun to do. It only gets cringey when they start thinking they actually know anything.

Reading metaphysics, even if one doesn't believe any of it, can be very interesting as it makes you appreciate just how flexible and able the human mind can be. It makes metaphysical theories, at least some of them, beautiful. At other times, however, metaphysical theories can be downright dangerous and scary; when reading them, you have to wonder what was going on in that person's head that made them think this way, and worse, you have to consider the possibility that what they're saying is actually correct.

Art also has a tendency to educate us. Consider a political statement on graffiti. Or religious art. Or hell, even the artwork in science textbooks. Metaphysical theories have the tendency to show us things that we might not have noticed before. One of the qualities, it seems, of a good philosopher is a deep and probing habit of observation. The philosopher studies the everyday, the stuff everyone else fails to notice or care about. Reading Schopenhauer's metaphysics, for example, is educating in that it makes the willing nature of man become apparent, and not necessarily that it's actually educating me into the secrets of the cosmos.

So to end, then, I claim that those who think metaphysics is useless and a waste of time are not only unaware of the epistemic value of metaphysics, but more importantly the aesthetic, artistic aspect of metaphysics, the aspect that is arguably more valuable. Life without metaphysics would be boring and dull. Metaphysics adds some spice to the mix.