PHIL 325: Metaphysics & Epistemology

Metaphysics & the History of Philosophy is a class that treats questions about the foundation of reality itself. All other branches of philosophy depend on metaphysics to provide first principles in order to understand the most basic structure of being. Questions of metaphysics include: What does it mean to exist? Why should there be something rather than nothing? What is the nature or essence of a thing, and how do we know? Do we discover or create our own realities? If we cannot see spiritual realities, how can we know they exist? What is the basis and certitude of such knowledge? How do the beings we see around us reflect or communicate the nature of eternal and infinite realities? How do beautiful things in this world point us to Beauty itself? How do good things point us to Goodness itself?