Prolegomena to Any Future Physics-Based Metaphysics

Philosophers of religion sometimes appeal to physics to provide support for the hypothesis that God exists. More generally, metaphysicians sometimes appeal to physics to provide support for claims about the fundamental nature of the world. But given the current state of inquiry in physics, where the two most fundamental theories are incompatible, such arguments of physics-based metaphysics are problematic. I support this line of thought by focusing on two sorts of problematic arguments, special-relativity-based arguments against presentism and Big-Bang-based arguments in favor of the existence of God. I am not arguing that physics-based metaphysics can’t be done; I am just arguing that extant examples of physics-based metaphysics are fl awed. I close by considering various ways that future versions of physics-based metaphysics could potentially be successful.