Philosophy

=== Metaphysics ===
{{Main|Metaphysics}}
[[File:Aristotle, Metaphysics, Incunabulum.jpg|upright=0.9|thumb|left|alt=Incunabulum showing the beginning of Aristotle's ''Metaphysics''|The beginning of [[Metaphysics (Aristotle)|Aristotle's ''Metaphysics'']] in an [[incunabulum]] decorated with hand-painted miniatures.]]

Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of [[reality]], such as existence, [[Object (philosophy)|objects]] and their [[Property (philosophy)|properties]], [[Mereology|wholes and their parts]], [[space]] and [[time]], [[Event (philosophy)|events]], and [[Causality|causation]].<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|van Inwagen|Sullivan|Bernstein|2023}} |2={{harvnb|Craig|1998}} |3={{harvnb|Audi|2006|loc=§ Metaphysics}} }}</ref> There are disagreements about the precise definition of the term and its meaning has changed throughout the ages.{{sfn|van Inwagen|Sullivan|Bernstein|2023|loc=Lead Section}} Metaphysicians attempt to answer basic questions including "[[Why is there something rather than nothing?]]"; "Of what does reality ultimately consist?"; and "Are humans free?"{{sfn|Mulvaney|2009|pp=ix–x}}

Metaphysics is sometimes divided into general metaphysics and specific or special metaphysics. General metaphysics investigates being as such. It examines the features that all entities have in common. Specific metaphysics is interested in different kinds of being, the features they have, and how they differ from one another.<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|van Inwagen|Sullivan|Bernstein|2023}} |2={{harvnb|Craig|1998}} |3={{harvnb|Gracia|1999|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=PrUkAQAAMAAJ& 149]}} }}</ref>

An important area in metaphysics is [[ontology]]. Some theorists identify it with general metaphysics. Ontology investigates concepts like [[being]], [[Becoming (philosophy)|becoming]], and reality. It studies the [[categories of being]] and asks what exists on the most fundamental level.<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Haaparanta|Koskinen|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yz8sko5zVyUC&pg=PA454 454]}} |2={{harvnb|Fiet|2022|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nK1jEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA133 133]}} |3={{harvnb|Audi|2006|loc=§ Metaphysics}} |4={{harvnb|van Inwagen|Sullivan|Bernstein|2023|loc=1. The Word 'Metaphysics' and the Concept of Metaphysics}} }}</ref> Another subfield of metaphysics is [[philosophical cosmology]]. It is interested in the essence of the world as a whole. It asks questions including whether the universe has a beginning and an end and whether it was created by something else.<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Audi|2006|loc=§ Metaphysics}} |2={{harvnb|Coughlin|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QPFoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA15 15]}} }}</ref>

A key topic in metaphysics concerns the question of whether reality only consists of physical things like matter and energy. Alternative suggestions are that mental entities (such as [[soul]]s and [[experience]]s) and [[Abstract and concrete|abstract entities]] (such as numbers) exist apart from physical things. Another topic in metaphysics concerns the problem of [[Identity (philosophy)|identity]]. One question is how much an entity can change while still remaining the same entity.{{sfn|Audi|2006|loc=§ Metaphysics}} According to one view, entities have [[essence|essential]] and [[Accident (philosophy)|accidental features]]. They can change their accidental features but they cease to be the same entity if they lose an essential feature.<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Robertson Ishii|Atkins|2023|loc=[https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/essential-accidental/ Lead Section]}} |2={{harvnb|Espín|Nickoloff|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=k85JKr1OXcQC&pg=PA8 8]}} }}</ref> A central distinction in metaphysics is between [[particular]]s and [[universals]]. Universals, like the color red, can exist at different locations at the same time. This is not the case for particulars including individual persons or specific objects.<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Lowe|2005|p=683}} |2={{harvnb|Kuhlmann|2010|loc=Ontologie: 4.2.1 Einzeldinge und Universalien}} }}</ref> Other metaphysical questions are whether the past [[Determinism|fully determines]] the present and what implications this would have for the existence of [[free will]].<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Kane|2009|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=i7PG-Vk824UC&pg=PA22 22–23]}} |2={{harvnb|Kane|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=LRV-Tzcry8EC&pg=RA3-PT258 258]}} }}</ref>