The Metaphysics is one of the most important works of Aristotle as well as of antiquity. The work refers to Aristotle's inquiry into the first principles from which beings derive their existence. It is worth mentioning that it is the first metaphysical treatise in history.

The books M-N critique Plato and the Academy and present the views of Aristotle himself on topics that, in modern terms, we would classify as part of the philosophy of mathematics and logic. We find much-discussed theories such as that numbers are "separate," "non-sensible" entities and that they have "elements" or "principles" that are more fundamental than they are and which somehow explain them.

It is clear that this perspective bears some resemblance to contemporary questions regarding the nature and status of mathematical entities. Do numbers exist? If so, what kind of entities are they? Can number-terms be analyzed solely in terms of logic plus definitions, and if so, in what sense is this a "reduction" of the number to something more absolute?

From M-N we can see that both Plato and Aristotle engaged with this kind of questioning, both in itself and in relation to the theory of ideas.