PHI 377 Reality, Truth and Being: Metaphysics

3 hours 

Metaphysics, often called first philosophy, inquires into the nature of truth and reality. We'll ask such questions as: What is a thing? Is a person a kind of thing? Does God exist? Where are non-material objects, like numbers and ideas? What are time and space? What are the metaphysical assumptions of social constructs and identities? Anyone who has ever wondered whether there is a mind-independent reality, or any reality at all, has thought about the subject matter of metaphysics. Attention will be paid to both Western and non-Western philosophical sources.