# Metaphysics & Epistemology **URL:** https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/c/metaphysics-epistemology/5.md [Latest](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/tags.md) --- ## [About the Metaphysics & Epistemology category](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/about-the-metaphysics-epistemology-category/8)
**Author:** [@Jamal](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Jamal)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [July 24, 2026, 11:55am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/about-the-metaphysics-epistemology-category/8 "2026-07-24T11:55:00Z")
Truth, reality, and knowledge. What exists? How can we know? What is it to be? --- ## [The Mathematics of Idealism](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-mathematics-of-idealism/3108)
**Author:** [@Wayfarer](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Wayfarer)\ **Replies:** 111\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2026, 8:55am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-mathematics-of-idealism/3108 "2026-10-16T08:55:39Z")
What follows is a synoptic overview of my essay on Charles Pinter’s book ‘Mind and the Cosmic Order’, in which I argue that his work provides a compelling, modern cognitive framework in support of philosophical idealism—… --- ## [How should dialectics be evaluated?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/how-should-dialectics-be-evaluated/3621)
**Author:** [@FlamelNW](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/FlamelNW)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2026, 8:46am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/how-should-dialectics-be-evaluated/3621 "2026-10-16T08:46:01Z")
The classical logical principles—identity, non-contradiction, excluded middle, and sufficient reason—serve as the fundamental rules ensuring certainty, consistency, and validity in human thought. In contrast, the core t… --- ## [What Does Inquiry Presuppose?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-does-inquiry-presuppose/3619)
**Author:** [@j\_j](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/j_j)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2026, 8:25am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-does-inquiry-presuppose/3619 "2026-10-16T08:25:37Z")
What — if anything — do we take for granted in any discussion aimed at knowledge ? Obvious candidates are (1) that we share a world and (2) that communication is possible. Since the aim is knowledge, we seem to assume a… --- ## [Justified True Belief: can anyone tell which beliefs are true?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/justified-true-belief-can-anyone-tell-which-beliefs-are-true/3164)
**Author:** [@BestGuessYet](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/BestGuessYet)\ **Replies:** 447\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/justified-true-belief-can-anyone-tell-which-beliefs-are-true/3164 "2026-10-16T02:15:29Z")
There is an apparent reality outside of me. That is my best guess, which in casual conversation, I call my knowing. I know this apparent reality exists because it has been apparently beating me about the head for many y… --- ## [The eternal universe fad](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-eternal-universe-fad/3284)
**Author:** [@Mijin1](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Mijin1)\ **Replies:** 93\ **Last updated:** [October 16, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-eternal-universe-fad/3284 "2026-10-16T00:32:25Z")
I know it seems weird to call something in metaphysics a “fad” but a very popular position among my fellow atheists at the moment, certainly going by the youtube channels (Dr Blitz, Deconstruction Zone, Apparently Ian et… --- ## [For the idealists, why do we have apparent materialism?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/for-the-idealists-why-do-we-have-apparent-materialism/3325)
**Author:** [@Tom\_Storm](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Tom_Storm)\ **Replies:** 208\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2026, 11:48pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/for-the-idealists-why-do-we-have-apparent-materialism/3325 "2026-10-15T23:48:58Z")
This is not intended as a debate about idealism’s merits, it’s about trying to better understand its ontology. If consciousness is fundamental and the material world is an appearance within consciousness, then why does … --- ## [Limitations of Reason](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/limitations-of-reason/3106)
**Author:** [@Tom\_Storm](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Tom_Storm)\ **Replies:** 506\ **Last updated:** [October 15, 2026, 11:16pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/limitations-of-reason/3106 "2026-10-15T23:16:51Z")
I wonder what members here think about the potential limits of reason. If reason is the tool by which we attempt to distinguish truth from illusion and acquire reliable knowledge, to what extent can it also examine the c… --- ## [Being And/Or Time](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/being-and-or-time/1337)
**Author:** [@j\_j](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/j_j)\ **Replies:** 190\ **Last updated:** [October 14, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/being-and-or-time/1337 "2026-10-14T21:56:40Z")
I see these themes as central to the tradition, and I welcome others to bring in the famous thinkers on this issue. But I want to get things started in a simpler language. How does a thing change ? It must be the same t… --- ## [The Godly Gift of Understanding](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-godly-gift-of-understanding/3109)
**Author:** [@LordKing777](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/LordKing777)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [October 12, 2026, 12:21am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-godly-gift-of-understanding/3109 "2026-10-12T00:21:24Z")
Sometimes when I speak with certain people, I find myself having to explain things that seem as obvious as the blue sky, conclusions I would normally regard as common sense. I have to connect points that should have been… --- ## [The TOE - via Logical Necessity](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-toe-via-logical-necessity/2895)
**Author:** [@PoeticUniverse](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/PoeticUniverse)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [October 9, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-toe-via-logical-necessity/2895 "2026-10-09T22:53:04Z")
The TOE 0. There is Something; It can’t have an opposite; ‘Nothing’ cannot even be meant; The Something is ungenerated and deathless; it is Ever. 1. The Something is causeless since there cannot be an infinite regress. … --- ## [Subject and Object](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/subject-and-object/3360)
**Author:** [@Andy](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Andy)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [October 8, 2026, 2:27pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/subject-and-object/3360 "2026-10-08T14:27:11Z")
I’d like to open up a discussion about a paper I first read almost thirty years ago and that has stayed with me ever since. Mait Edey’s paper first appeared in the Journal of Consciousness Studies, Volume 4, No. 5/6, 199… --- ## [The Coherent Causality Argument](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-coherent-causality-argument/2496)
**Author:** [@WhoKnows](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/WhoKnows)\ **Replies:** 92\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-coherent-causality-argument/2496 "2026-10-06T01:53:32Z")
Hi. This is my first thread created on this Message Board. I have been working on this argument for a while and invite critique which might serve to tidy it up or throw it in the scrap. The argument was initially deve… --- ## [Refining Justified True Belief Through Wittgenstein](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/refining-justified-true-belief-through-wittgenstein/3348)
**Author:** [@Sam26](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Sam26)\ **Replies:** 83\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2026, 3:33am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/refining-justified-true-belief-through-wittgenstein/3348 "2026-10-05T03:33:26Z")
I’m developing my account of epistemology one post at a time. Some questions will be answered as the thread progresses, particularly when I explain more of Wittgenstein’s role. I’ll be writing in numbered posts so reader… --- ## [The Problem With Trusting Unreliable Sources](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-problem-with-trusting-unreliable-sources/3023)
**Author:** [@LordKing777](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/LordKing777)\ **Replies:** 127\ **Last updated:** [October 5, 2026, 1:34am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-problem-with-trusting-unreliable-sources/3023 "2026-10-05T01:34:28Z")
Human beings construct their understanding of reality based on what they accept as true and correct, yet these concepts are remarkably fragile. We anchor our lives to our personal knowledge, assuming it reflects an objec… --- ## [Does completeness signify a lack of life?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/does-completeness-signify-a-lack-of-life/3222)
**Author:** [@Astorre](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Astorre)\ **Replies:** 61\ **Last updated:** [October 4, 2026, 9:56pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/does-completeness-signify-a-lack-of-life/3222 "2026-10-04T21:56:51Z")
Below is a monologue by the protagonist from the film Stalker (1978, directed by Tarkovsky): “Let what was conceived come to pass. Let them believe. And let them laugh at their passions; for what they call passion is n… --- ## [The Problem Of Metaphysics](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-problem-of-metaphysics/3207)
**Author:** [@SmilesFromHere](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/SmilesFromHere)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [October 2, 2026, 2:55am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-problem-of-metaphysics/3207 "2026-10-02T02:55:23Z")
The problem of metaphysics starts definitionally. The implication of a metaphysical component interacting with reality implies it leaves a physical trace. For example many people believe that temperature is an emergent p… --- ## [The definition of "choose"](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-definition-of-choose/3120)
**Author:** [@Syamsu](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Syamsu)\ **Replies:** 101\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-definition-of-choose/3120 "2026-10-01T16:39:54Z")
My experience is, about 90 percent of the content of philosophy revolves around the definition of choosing. The free will arguments, but also the materialism, and God arguments etc. It helps a lot to have a very exacting… --- ## [A Case for Fundamental Intelligence](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-case-for-fundamental-intelligence/3180)
**Author:** [@Sam26](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Sam26)\ **Replies:** 159\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2026, 12:10am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-case-for-fundamental-intelligence/3180 "2026-10-01T00:10:28Z")
This is the 3rd version of the argument I’ve posted. The central claim hasn’t changed, but further considerations have helped me clarify the reason for preferring a rational, mind-like foundation and what the limits of t… --- ## [Is anything actually unnatural?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/is-anything-actually-unnatural/2837)
**Author:** [@Quellcrist](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Quellcrist)\ **Replies:** 220\ **Last updated:** [September 30, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/is-anything-actually-unnatural/2837 "2026-09-30T21:33:58Z")
For most of my life, I thought of humans and human made things as unnatural. And this is a correct definition depending on the source of the definition. However, recently it dawned on me that nature made us, too. We are… --- ## [Fear & Trust: Le systeme c'est l'autre](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/fear-trust-le-systeme-cest-lautre/3306)
**Author:** [@Feather](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Feather)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2026, 11:57am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/fear-trust-le-systeme-cest-lautre/3306 "2026-09-29T11:57:24Z")
We are, so we fear. We are not born fearful. But we are born, so we are a product of the system. Your first cry, your first breath, you are a product. The system made you. Your parents choose to have a child. The system… --- ## [What school of metaphysics am I?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-school-of-metaphysics-am-i/3202)
**Author:** [@Whinfp](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Whinfp)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-school-of-metaphysics-am-i/3202 "2026-09-28T18:06:41Z")
I believe the world is an emanation of God and that God grounds our very being and our purpose is to realize our non-dual union with God. I believe God’s mind as well as our minds contains abstract universals but in the … --- ## [Plato's Cave and Expanded Simulation Theory](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/platos-cave-and-expanded-simulation-theory/3285)
**Author:** [@WhoKnows](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/WhoKnows)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2026, 4:20am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/platos-cave-and-expanded-simulation-theory/3285 "2026-09-28T04:20:53Z")
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave appears in Book VII of The Republic, written around 375 BCE. Its purpose is not merely to illustrate a metaphor. It is the centrepiece of Plato’s epistemology, metaphysics, and politics. Th… --- ## [Is Jennifer Aniston Real?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/is-jennifer-aniston-real/3214)
**Author:** [@Johnnywas](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Johnnywas)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2026, 1:45am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/is-jennifer-aniston-real/3214 "2026-09-26T01:45:06Z")
Of course she is. She is an American actor who played Rachel in Friends. But there is another Jennifer Aniston: the Jennifer Aniston represented in my pattern of neural activity through which I recognize, remember and i… --- ## [A Defense of Free Will for Logical Determinists](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-defense-of-free-will-for-logical-determinists/2704)
**Author:** [@TheUnfallacious](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/TheUnfallacious)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 25, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-defense-of-free-will-for-logical-determinists/2704 "2026-09-25T17:48:28Z")
The goal of this essay is to reduce the opinion that a guaranteed knowable future makes it impossible for free will to exist. The argument runs close ties with Libertarian Free Will (LFW). First, my personal definitions… --- ## [What is a Community?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-is-a-community/3157)
**Author:** [@MadLad](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/MadLad)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [September 22, 2026, 8:56pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-is-a-community/3157 "2026-09-22T20:56:57Z")
Although for the sake of convenience I use the term “community” often enough, I don’t think it would be that difficult to put forward the argument that there is no such thing, and so claims that we are a member or part o… --- ## [Words don’t mean things; only people mean things](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/words-don-t-mean-things-only-people-mean-things/3032)
**Author:** [@BestGuessYet](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/BestGuessYet)\ **Replies:** 126\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/words-don-t-mean-things-only-people-mean-things/3032 "2026-09-19T22:22:42Z")
The title is something I formalized years ago, so often did I find myself saying it at debate. Its opposite—people don’t mean things, only words mean things—is mostly false in my system of thought. Humans are the meaners… --- ## [Is Everything Real Something that Exists?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/is-everything-real-something-that-exists/1895)
**Author:** [@Wayfarer](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Wayfarer)\ **Replies:** 176\ **Last updated:** [September 14, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/is-everything-real-something-that-exists/1895 "2026-09-14T01:15:07Z")
Is everything real something that exists? We are reflexively inclined to answer “of course!” Reality and existence, we will say, are synonyms. What is real, we are used to thinking, must be out there somewhere. But when… --- ## [We see things that don't exist (Radical Construcitivism)](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/we-see-things-that-dont-exist-radical-construcitivism/2990)
**Author:** [@Xebeche](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Xebeche)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [September 13, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/we-see-things-that-dont-exist-radical-construcitivism/2990 "2026-09-13T14:44:36Z")
I am not particularly fond of ontological questions in philosophy, but I would like to clear up a misunderstanding surrounding so-called “radical constructivism,” and in order to do so, I have to refer to an ontological … --- ## [A defence of libertarian (ish) free will](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-defence-of-libertarian-ish-free-will/2617)
**Author:** [@Geoff\_Dann](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Geoff_Dann)\ **Replies:** 398\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2026, 10:57pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-defence-of-libertarian-ish-free-will/2617 "2026-09-11T22:57:42Z")
The debates about free will are among the most confusing and unresolved in the whole of philosophy. This post explains what I believe free will really is, and why there is no good reason for not believing in it. Firstly… [Next page](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/c/metaphysics-epistemology/5.md?page=1)