The Relationship between Metaphysics and Cognitive Science: A Critique of the Naturalized Metaphysics of Alvin Goldman

Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary study what is the mind and how it works. By contrast, metaphysics concern is the study and discovery of objective structures of reality. Apart from the "metaphysics of mind", which is the point of reference for these two domains, there is not much connection between them. The "Naturalized Metaphysics" project is a metaphysical approach in which contemporary philosopher, Alvin Goldman, seeks to show that the findings of cognitive science play an essential role in accepting or rejecting a metaphysical theory. In his view, although the study of the mind is only part of the metaphysics, it plays a role in any metaphysical inquiry. He believes that the study of the mind is part of any metaphysical inquiry, even those metaphysical investigations that are not a question of the mind and the mental state of their purpose. Our goal in this paper is to analyze the relationship between metaphysics and cognitive science based on Naturalized Metaphysics of Alvin Goldman. Accordingly, we will show that although cognitive science findings can play a significant role in the metaphysics of mind and conceptual metaphysics, their role in realistic metaphysics is doubtful. In addition, we will show that the findings of cognitive science alone can not play a role in metaphysical judgments without using a metaphysical background