- "Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality."
The study of the nature of reality.
Ontology: Ontology is the study of what exists. It deals with questions about the nature of reality, including the existence of abstract entities like numbers or laws of nature, and the relationship between these entities and concrete entities like tables and chairs.
Epistemology: Epistemology is the study of knowledge. It concerns questions about what knowledge is, how it is acquired, and how it is justified.
Cosmology: Cosmology is the study of the origin and structure of the universe. It deals with questions about the nature of time, space, and causality.
Substance: Substance theory is the study of what makes an object an object. It concerns questions like what distinguishes one substance from another, and what properties belong to a substance by virtue of its nature.
Modality: Modality is the study of possibility and necessity. It concerns questions about what is possible, what is necessary, and what is contingent.
Causation: Causation is the study of how things are connected in terms of cause and effect. It concerns questions about the nature of causation, what kinds of events can be causes or effects, and how causal relationships are established.
Time: Time is the study of the nature of time and its relationship to other aspects of reality. It concerns questions like whether time is a fundamental aspect of reality or merely an emergent phenomenon, and whether time travel is possible.
Identity: Identity is the study of what makes something the same thing over time. It concerns questions like what makes a person the same over the course of their life, and what makes a chair the same chair even after it has been repaired.
Free will: Free will is the study of whether and how human beings have control over their own actions. It concerns questions like whether human beings are free to choose their own actions, and whether determinism or indeterminism is true.
Mind and body: The mind-body problem is the study of how the mind and the body are connected. It concerns questions like whether the mind is a separate substance from the body or whether it is a product of physical processes in the brain.
Reality of universals: The reality of universals concerns questions like whether properties like "redness" or "squareness" exist independently of the objects that instantiate them.
Metaphysical idealism: Metaphysical idealism is the study of the nature of reality, which holds that reality is fundamentally mental or otherwise dependent on minds.
Metaphysical materialism: Metaphysical materialism is the study of the nature of reality, which holds that reality is fundamentally physical and that mental states and properties are reducible to physical states and properties.
Metaphysical dualism: Metaphysical dualism is the study of the nature of reality, which holds that reality is composed of two fundamentally distinct substances, typically mind and matter.
Metaphysical skepticism: Metaphysical skepticism is the study of the limits of knowledge and the possibility of certainty. It raises questions like whether we can ever have knowledge of things beyond our senses, or whether we are necessarily limited by our own concepts and theories.
Ontology: A branch of metaphysics that studies the nature of existence, including the relationships between different types of things.
Epistemology: The study of knowledge and belief, including questions about the nature of truth, justification, and certainty.
Cosmology: The study of the origin and structure of the universe, including questions about the Big Bang, the nature of dark matter, and the expansion of the universe.
Ethics: The study of moral principles and values, including questions about the nature of good and evil, and the foundations of ethical systems.
Aesthetics: The study of beauty, creativity, and taste, including questions about the nature of art, the criteria for artistic excellence, and the relationship between art and society.
Philosophy of Mind: The study of the nature of consciousness, including questions about the relationship between the mind and the brain, the problem of free will, and the nature of mental states.
Philosophy of Religion: The study of the nature of religious beliefs and practices, including questions about the existence of God, the problem of evil, and the relationship between religion and morality.
- "This includes the first principles of: being or existence, identity, change, space and time, cause and effect, necessity, actuality, and possibility."
- "Metaphysics is considered one of the four main branches of philosophy, along with epistemology, logic, and ethics."
- "It includes questions about the nature of consciousness and the relationship between mind and matter."
- "Metaphysics studies questions related to the relationship between substance and attribute."
- "Metaphysics studies questions related to the relationship between potentiality and actuality."
- "Metaphysics seeks to answer, in an abstract and fully general manner, the questions of: What is it that exists?"
- "Metaphysics seeks to answer... the question of what types of existence there are."
- "Metaphysics seeks to answer... in an abstract and fully general manner."
- "Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality."
- "This includes the first principles of:... identity..."
- "This includes the first principles of:... change..."
- "This includes the first principles of:... space and time..."
- "This includes the first principles of:... cause and effect..."
- "This includes the first principles of:... necessity..."
- "This includes the first principles of:... actuality..."
- "This includes the first principles of:... possibility."
- "Metaphysics seeks to answer... the question of what it is for something to exist."
- "Metaphysics seeks to answer... the question of What it is like."
- "Metaphysics includes questions about the nature of consciousness, the relationship between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between potentiality and actuality."