Metaphysics

Aristotle's Metaphysics is the foundational text of Western metaphysical inquiry, establishing the study of "being qua being" as the first philosophy. It provided the conceptual framework upon which both medieval Islamic and Christian philosophy were built, making it one of the most consequential intellectual works in human history.

The Metaphysics was transmitted to medieval Europe largely through Arabic translations by the great Islamic philosophers Avicenna and Averroes, who preserved and elaborated upon Aristotle's thought. Thomas Aquinas made it the foundation of his philosophical theology, and Martin Heidegger's critique of Western metaphysics in the twentieth century took Aristotle as its primary point of departure. The work remains a core text in philosophy and was instrumental in shaping both Islamic and Christian theology.