Metaphysics

Key people

• Immanuel KantGerman philosopher (1724-1804)
• René DescartesFrench philosopher, mathematician, and scientist (1596–1650)
• PythagorasGreek philosopher and mathematician (c. 570 – c. 495 BC)
• Georg Wilhelm Friedrich HegelGerman philosopher and theologian (1770–1831)

Timeline

• 322 BCEAristotle (384–322 BCE) accepted Plato's idea that there are universal forms but held that they cannot exist on their own but depend on matter.

Read

• La PoeticaAristotle · 1479Book
• Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der SittenImmanuel Kant · 1785Book
• Introduction to metaphysicsMartin Heidegger · 1953Book
• The Metaphysical PoetsHelen Louise Gardner · 1957Book

Watch

• "Branches of Philosophy" #Metaphysics #Epistemology #Axiology #Philosophy #BEdYouTube
• Introduction to MetaphysicsYouTube
• What is Metaphysics? Explained in 4 Minutes w/memesYouTube
• What is Metaphysics? – [Hindi] – Quick SupportYouTube
• Metaphysics, Epistemology and Axiology - Branches of PhilosophyYouTube
• Meaning of Metaphysics: Metaphysics lecture in HindiYouTube
• Metaphysics in Philosophy Explained - Introduction to Metaphysics, What is it?YouTube
• Being and Metaphysics (Aquinas 101)YouTube
• Metaphysics vs. Epistemology Easily Explained - What is Metaphysics & What is Epistemology?YouTube
• Metaphysical Poetry and Poets In Hindi Definition and full analysisYouTube

Listen

• The Skeptic Metaphysicians | A Pragmatic Guide to Spiritual Awakening, Metaphysics & ConsciousnessWill & Karen | Consciousness and Spiritual Awakening GuidesPodcast
• Philosophy for BeginnersOxford UniversityPodcast
• Metaphysics: A View Through The VeilBarb CrowleyPodcast
• Metaphysicsshiaeine blakePodcast

Voices to follow

• Joeri Schrijvers@jschrijversj · XBelgian philosopher and theologian
• Adam Zachary Wasserman@adamzwasserman · XAuthor and independent researcher in philosophy of science and artificial intelligence
• Graham Harman@DrZamalek · XAmerican philosopher (born 1968)
• Ken KammalYouTubeAmerican integrative artist, writer, and filmmaker

Debates

• Do humans truly have free will, or are our choices predetermined?One view: Our subjective experience of making choices, coupled with moral responsibility, suggests we possess genuine free will. · Another: All events, including human actions, are the inevitable result of prior causes, meaning free will is an illusion.Open question
• What is the relationship between the mind and the body?One view: The mind is a distinct, non-physical entity that interacts with the physical body, as proposed by dualism. · Another: The mind is entirely a product of the brain and its physical processes, a view known as physicalism.Open question
• Do abstract concepts like numbers or justice exist independently of human thought?One view: Abstract objects exist independently in a non-physical realm, providing objective truths and universal properties. · Another: Abstract concepts are merely mental constructs or linguistic tools, with no independent existence outside our minds.Open question

Glossary

• MetaphysicsThe branch of philosophy that explores the fundamental nature of reality, including existence, time, and causality.
• OntologyA sub-branch of metaphysics that studies being and existence, asking what entities exist and how they are grouped.
• CausalityThe relationship between cause and effect, where one event or state brings about another.
• SubstanceThe underlying reality of something, distinct from its properties, that persists through change.
• DualismThe belief that reality is composed of two fundamentally different kinds of substances, typically mind and matter.
• DeterminismThe philosophical view that all events, including human actions, are entirely determined by previously existing causes.

Careers

Roles this can lead toward

Threads 8

Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.

• Astronomy & Cosmology Science

  Roughly 95% of the universe is 'dark matter' and 'dark energy,' stuff we've never actually caught or seen, only felt tugging on things. So physics' confident map of reality is mostly a giant blank region labeled 'we don't know.' The science that seems most certain is quietly built on a huge mystery.

• Quantum Physics Science

  Tiny particles have no definite spot until someone measures them; the act of looking seems to lock reality into place. That turns a dreamy philosophy question, 'is anything really there when nobody's watching?', into something you can test in a lab. Physicists call this puzzle the measurement problem, and it drags physics straight into metaphysics.

• Psychometrics Psychology

  An IQ score, or 'g,' is really just a handy summary of how people tend to do across different tests. Treat it like a solid object physically sitting inside your skull and you've made a classic thinking error called reification, mistaking a number for a real thing. A philosophical mistake is hiding inside that single tidy score.

• AI & Technology Regulation Law

  The dusty question 'what counts as a person?' suddenly has teeth, because a court in New Zealand granted a river legal personhood, meaning someone can sue on its behalf. Now the same puzzle hangs over AI. Deciding what's 'really' a person stops being a debate and starts deciding who's allowed into a courtroom.

• Quantum Computing Technology

  A qubit, the building block of a quantum computer, sits in a weird in-between state before you measure it. But is it truly two things at once, or does it have one real answer we just can't see yet? Engineers building these machines can't dodge that question, so a piece of tech spec turns into a live argument about what 'real' even means.

• Mathematical Finance & Markets Mathematics

  To price a stock option, traders use probabilities that literally nobody believes are the real odds. The strange part: those made-up odds give the correct price anyway. It's a 'useful fiction,' a number that works perfectly even though it isn't anyone's actual guess about what will happen, which makes philosophers ask what 'real' even means.

• Cryptocurrency & Digital Money Economics

  A Bitcoin is worth something only because a crowd of people agree it is. That sounds shaky, until you realize the cash in your pocket works the exact same way. Money was never 'real' on its own; it's real because we all believe together.

• Black Holes Science

  Einstein showed there's no single "now" for the whole universe: whether two events happen at the same time depends on who's watching and how fast they're moving. That quietly destroys the idea of one shared present moment. And almost everything we think about time assumes that present exists.