When it comes to “objective” metaphysics, our starting point must be one devoid of assumptions and orientationless. orientationless because the myth of epistemological certainty becomes dispelled when we consider the logical fact that any epistemological certainty requires a set of presuppositions about the nature of verification — presuppositions that are usually based upon the limitations of the tools of inquiry that are available and possible . in this way we start in a metaphorical pitch-black room with no frames of reference.
But, in my opinion, the true kind of metaphysics comes, not from theorizing, but from moving around the black room and observing what happens. Is there resitance here? A pleasant sensation there? Does a certain spot have the same effect on a specific aspect of our perception? No matter how intimate we become with the contents of the black room, we can never verify what there actually exists in the room (or can we? if we take our bias towards the sense of sight away from our notions of confirmation). But we can feel them, and through feeling the objects, we can come to construct tentative interpretations that streamline our interactions with the contents in a functional way. We can label a certain interaction as a “fire” because it is hot and burns when it is touched. We can label another a “dog” because it moves, barks and feels furry. These labels, however, would more accurately be called “metaphors” than “labels”, since the truth of the label can never be verified in a totally objective way. in this way our labels- concepts, ideas, words- are metaphors for different ways of interacting with specific manifestations of the Unknown.
The validity of a label comes down to the usefulness of the way it orients us to engage with the phenomenon.
If an object that was apparently inert and pointy was labeled a river, this metaphor would not be an apt label because it would orient our behavior in a dysfunctional way. “dysfunctional” and “functional” are relative, but within any given context there are appropriate and inappropriate (ie. functional and dysfunctional) applications of a label.
What does the black room image show us? It inspires more conceptual humility in us, asking of us to be more flexible and creative with our interpretations and to no longer take them as static reflectors of reality. It is a categorical error to assume that a word or concept is a reflection of a perception-independent reality… since the very fabric of meaning is a network of associations to perception and convention.