The view that there is a reality independent of our beliefs, language, and knowledge.
Ontology: The study of existence and reality, including the nature of being and entities that exist.
Epistemology: The study of knowledge, including how we acquire it, what counts as genuine knowledge, and the limitations of knowledge.
Cosmology: The study of the physical universe and its origins, including the nature of time, space, and causality.
Teleology: The study of purpose and design in the universe and its entities, including whether there is an overall purpose or goal for existence.
Ethics: The study of morality, including what actions and behaviors are right or wrong, and what standards or principles should guide our decisions.
Metaphysical theories of mind: The study of consciousness and mental states, including questions about the nature of consciousness and how it relates to physical reality.
Metaphysical theories of language: The study of language and its relation to reality, including how language shapes our understanding of the world.
Metaphysical theories of causation: The study of causality and its relation to reality, including how causal relationships exist and operate in the world.
Metaphysical theories of time: The study of the nature of time and its relation to reality, including questions about whether time is a fundamental aspect of reality or a human construct.
Metaphysical theories of space: The study of the nature of space and its relation to reality, including questions about whether space is a fundamental aspect of reality or a human construct.
Platonic Realism: This is the view that universals or abstract concepts such as numbers, forms, and properties have an independent existence outside of the mind.
Aristotelian Realism: This is the idea that substances exist independently of the mind, but they are not universal and instead exist as particular entities.
Moderate Realism: This view maintains that both universals and particulars exist independently of the mind, but they are ontologically distinct entities.
Objectivism: Objectivism is a branch of realism that asserts that reality exists objectively, independently of human consciousness.
Dualism: This is the belief that there is a distinction between physical matter and non-physical entities like the soul or consciousness.
Naturalism: Naturalism is the belief that everything is ultimately reducible to the laws of nature.
Idealism: Idealism posits that reality is ultimately made up of ideas or mental constructs.
Transcendental Realism: This is the view that objects exist independently of human perception, but are not mind-independent.
Mathematical Realism: This is the belief that mathematical objects and theories exist independently of the mind and are as real as physical objects.
Quantum Realism: This is the idea that the fundamental nature of reality is quantum mechanical, and that particles exist independently of measurement or observation.