Special Characteristics of Our Idea of Being as Transcendental and Analogous

Before we proceed in our search for the universal laws and principles governing all beings, we must pause for a moment to take stock of our “tools.” Because of the universal reach of this inquiry across all kinds and levels of reality, we have to make use of special conceptual “tools,” i.e., metaphysical concepts that are flexible enough to stretch widely and still retain their meaning. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the special properties of these metaphysical tools that enable them to fulfill their role, which is significantly different from that of the more precise concepts used