# Metaphysics & Epistemology **URL:** https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/c/metaphysics-epistemology/5.md?page=2 [Latest](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/tags.md) **Page:** 3 --- ## [Time and Being : On Those Stepping Into Rivers](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/time-and-being-on-those-stepping-into-rivers/1265)
**Author:** [@j\_j](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/j_j)\ **Replies:** 408\ **Last updated:** [June 19, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/time-and-being-on-those-stepping-into-rivers/1265 "2026-06-19T23:19:43Z")
I might have titled this Being and Time, but I don’t want to limit the discussion to a particular famous book, or to Heidegger. My hope is that others will completely surprise me and one another with their answer(s) to … --- ## [Identity, Difference, Ideality](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/identity-difference-ideality/1337)
**Author:** [@j\_j](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/j_j)\ **Replies:** 128\ **Last updated:** [June 18, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/identity-difference-ideality/1337 "2026-06-18T22:21:27Z")
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… --- ## ["Placement" Problems -- A Naturalist Responds](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/placement-problems-a-naturalist-responds/1139)
**Author:** [@Jay](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Jay)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2026, 6:16am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/placement-problems-a-naturalist-responds/1139 "2026-06-16T06:16:58Z")
There’s a familiar issue that underlies many of the most interesting discussions on TPF. Many forum members are committed to a broadly naturalistic view of existence. This view (which I don’t share, but that’s not import… --- ## [What Are Objects ? Harman's Heidegger](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-are-objects-harmans-heidegger/1202)
**Author:** [@j\_j](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/j_j)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-are-objects-harmans-heidegger/1202 "2026-06-15T20:54:24Z")
I don’t always agree with him, but I love Graham Harman for his daring and style. While I’m open to following tangents where they lead, I suggest starting with Harman’s Heidegger. Tool-Being, which you can look at here,… --- ## [How does the past exist ? Does "the" past exist?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/how-does-the-past-exist-does-the-past-exist/1159)
**Author:** [@j\_j](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/j_j)\ **Replies:** 294\ **Last updated:** [June 15, 2026, 9:57am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/how-does-the-past-exist-does-the-past-exist/1159 "2026-06-15T09:57:06Z")
Inspired by physics, many philosophers presuppose that the future and the past are symmetrical. In terms of the number line, the past is (-\\infty,0), the future is (0,\\infty). Of course the punctiform present can then on… --- ## [On argument, the truth, and free will](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/on-argument-the-truth-and-free-will/1322)
**Author:** [@MoK](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/MoK)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [June 14, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/on-argument-the-truth-and-free-will/1322 "2026-06-14T18:36:26Z")
In this thread, I would like to discuss when we need an argument to agree on something, and when we can say we don’t need an argument because the thing is true. But first, I would like to define an argument, the truth, a… --- ## [Text, Dance, and Time](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/text-dance-and-time/1316)
**Author:** [@VerticalOntology](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/VerticalOntology)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2026, 3:32pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/text-dance-and-time/1316 "2026-06-13T15:32:03Z")
The sign is sacred by its very nature. The first human being who managed to depict a mammoth in ochre on the wall of a cave, apparently, experienced a powerful existential shock. This shock was connected with the suspici… --- ## [Naming as Metaphysical Power](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/naming-as-metaphysical-power/1252)
**Author:** [@VerticalOntology](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/VerticalOntology)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [June 13, 2026, 7:25am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/naming-as-metaphysical-power/1252 "2026-06-13T07:25:54Z")
What do you think? Naming is always a symbolic act of power. A name does not merely designate; it fixes a person’s position, role, and mode of presence in the world. When parents give a child a name, they are not only n… --- ## [A puzzle about superorganisms and primitive (and therefore modern) man](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-puzzle-about-superorganisms-and-primitive-and-therefore-modern-man/752)
**Author:** [@Cef420](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Cef420)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [June 12, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-puzzle-about-superorganisms-and-primitive-and-therefore-modern-man/752 "2026-06-12T18:13:17Z")
Superorganisms are what form anytime more than 2 organisms get together to do something. They operate seemingly supernaturally doing things like directing the organisms enough to seem to survive. You know, the party has … --- ## [Song-Ming Hylomorphism and the Dignity of Matter](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/song-ming-hylomorphism-and-the-dignity-of-matter/134)
**Author:** [@Count\_Timothy\_von\_Icarus](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Count_Timothy_von_Icarus)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [June 10, 2026, 3:35pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/song-ming-hylomorphism-and-the-dignity-of-matter/134 "2026-06-10T15:35:49Z")
Hello friends. Sorry to have been gone for a while. Sadly, it has been mostly for unfortunate reasons. I’ll try to get back to my PMs at some point. Anyhow, while I’ve been gone, I’ve been continuing to study Song-Ming … --- ## [We are living in a simulation](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/we-are-living-in-a-simulation/1070)
**Author:** [@MoK](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/MoK)\ **Replies:** 176\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/we-are-living-in-a-simulation/1070 "2026-06-07T19:20:54Z")
In another thread, I discussed that time cannot exist only now and change. I also discussed that the immediate future must exist. I finally argued that now must be constantly annihilated and the immediate future must be … --- ## [Henology and Ontology](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/henology-and-ontology/1244)
**Author:** [@Javi](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Javi)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [June 7, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/henology-and-ontology/1244 "2026-06-07T17:45:45Z")
I have recently read and learned about “henology.” To be honest, I hadn’t heard of this branch of philosophy until Martín (A. Sandwich in the old forum) asked me: Essence or essences?; medium or means?; end or ends? the… --- ## [Experience defines existence?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/experience-defines-existence/1122)
**Author:** [@Esseus11](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Esseus11)\ **Replies:** 279\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/experience-defines-existence/1122 "2026-06-04T16:36:51Z")
Consider the following list of things: unicorns, the planet saturn, cantaloupe, neon gray, the Eiffel tower, the 15th emperor of Antarctica If we remove all experiencing entities from the equation, can we sort this list… --- ## [Pragmatism and truth](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/pragmatism-and-truth/718)
**Author:** [@T\_Clark](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/T_Clark)\ **Replies:** 335\ **Last updated:** [June 4, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/pragmatism-and-truth/718 "2026-06-04T03:53:04Z")
Continuing the discussion from A Theory of Error?: Yes, it is, but a quick comment might be appropriate here. I can agree that most of our uses for “truth” are practical ones. But the reason these uses are so very help… --- ## [The Problem With Mary's Room](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-problem-with-marys-room/1013)
**Author:** [@j\_j](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/j_j)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2026, 7:47am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-problem-with-marys-room/1013 "2026-05-29T07:47:34Z")
First, the background: The thought experiment describes Mary, a scientist who exists in a black-and-white world where she has extensive access to physical descriptions of color, but no actual perceptual experience of c… --- ## [The Grandfather Paradox](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-grandfather-paradox/1081)
**Author:** [@Javi](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Javi)\ **Replies:** 38\ **Last updated:** [May 28, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-grandfather-paradox/1081 "2026-05-28T17:53:08Z")
Introduction. What is The Grandfather paradox? The Grandfather Paradox is a paradox of time travel. Thus, you go back in time and murder your grandfather (or ancestor) before he has any children. Then, one of your pare… --- ## [Back-to-Basics: Making Sense of the Non-Sensible (Forms and their Behaviours)](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/back-to-basics-making-sense-of-the-non-sensible-forms-and-their-behaviours/934)
**Author:** [@TheFriendWearingShorts](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/TheFriendWearingShorts)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [May 27, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/back-to-basics-making-sense-of-the-non-sensible-forms-and-their-behaviours/934 "2026-05-27T23:02:11Z")
Woohoo! My first ever post! Logon I would like to begin by summarising my understanding of the relevant information in the texts that I think the majority of us started philosophizing with: the Euthyphro, Apology, Crit… --- ## [Can “existence” be thought without relations?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/can-existence-be-thought-without-relations/486)
**Author:** [@Jin](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Jin)\ **Replies:** 287\ **Last updated:** [May 26, 2026, 11:55am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/can-existence-be-thought-without-relations/486 "2026-05-26T11:55:36Z")
I’ve been thinking about the question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”, but I find myself getting stuck at a more fundamental level. In approaching this question, I’ve been influenced by Nāgārjuna and Carl… --- ## [Math, matter, monism, and dualism](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/math-matter-monism-and-dualism/1016)
**Author:** [@tabemann](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/tabemann)\ **Replies:** 84\ **Last updated:** [May 25, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/math-matter-monism-and-dualism/1016 "2026-05-25T20:52:44Z")
(I have commented on this in other threads, but I figured that my ponderings on the subject deserved their own thread.) Most views of reality can be divided into monism, as represented by physicalism and idealism, and d… --- ## [We are not blank slates](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/we-are-not-blank-slates/975)
**Author:** [@T\_Clark](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/T_Clark)\ **Replies:** 69\ **Last updated:** [May 24, 2026, 12:43pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/we-are-not-blank-slates/975 "2026-05-24T12:43:50Z")
I posted this previously in a thread about Plato’s forms. Since there were no responses, I thought I’d try again. One of the things that always strikes me when I read philosophy is how often a theme found in one source… --- ## [Clarifying the Concepts of Knowledge Continued](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/clarifying-the-concepts-of-knowledge-continued/1025)
**Author:** [@Sam26](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Sam26)\ **Replies:** 32\ **Last updated:** [May 23, 2026, 3:08pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/clarifying-the-concepts-of-knowledge-continued/1025 "2026-05-23T15:08:59Z")
This is a continuation of my thread Clarifying the Concepts of Knowledge. In my last post I discussed evidence, i.e., evidence for the truth of a claim, but evidence can be present and not understood. You may be able to… --- ## [What is a thing?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-is-a-thing/793)
**Author:** [@FireOlogist](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/FireOlogist)\ **Replies:** 126\ **Last updated:** [May 20, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/what-is-a-thing/793 "2026-05-20T19:50:58Z")
Any six year old uses the word “thing” effectively. Everyone who speaks knows what a thing is, and how to refer to some thing when saying “that thing.” Thing refers to “that X", and is a “this” or a “one”, as in, “a un… --- ## [Do you believe that time is real or an illusion?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/do-you-believe-that-time-is-real-or-an-illusion/667)
**Author:** [@Themasteroflight1](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Themasteroflight1)\ **Replies:** 292\ **Last updated:** [May 18, 2026, 6:32pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/do-you-believe-that-time-is-real-or-an-illusion/667 "2026-05-18T18:32:25Z")
Time has always been one of the most intriguing concepts in both philosophy and science. On the one hand, it feels undeniable—our daily lives are structured around it, we observe it in the ticking of clocks and the chang… --- ## [Nodes in a network](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/nodes-in-a-network/1002)
**Author:** [@bongofury](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/bongofury)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [May 17, 2026, 12:06pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/nodes-in-a-network/1002 "2026-05-17T12:06:00Z")
bongo fury When I made the point (badly) I nearly said “nodes in a network”. Dang! Jamal I feel like I’ve been overusing it lately. Once more can’t hurt? Compare: Quine’s web of belief. The nodes are scientifi… --- ## [A Practical Method of Self-Reflection](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-practical-method-of-self-reflection/987)
**Author:** [@Astorre](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Astorre)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [May 14, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/a-practical-method-of-self-reflection/987 "2026-05-14T16:18:00Z")
I offer everyone a tool that might be useful when writing philosophical texts. The idea arose from studying the cultural characteristics of the Aymara. I was particularly interested in how these people conceptualize time… --- ## [\*\*Clarifying the Concepts of Knowledge\*\*](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/clarifying-the-concepts-of-knowledge/952)
**Author:** [@Sam26](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Sam26)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [May 11, 2026, 11:09am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/clarifying-the-concepts-of-knowledge/952 "2026-05-11T11:09:28Z")
Post 1, Why Conceptual Clarity Matters Before asking whether we know this or that, it’s worth asking what we mean by knowledge in the first place. The word is familiar, but familiar words are often the ones that mislead… --- ## [How did the beginning of time start?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/how-did-the-beginning-of-time-start/671)
**Author:** [@Seemak](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Seemak)\ **Replies:** 111\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/how-did-the-beginning-of-time-start/671 "2026-05-09T21:19:05Z")
\[Content removed by author\] --- ## [Is There Evidence That We Survive Death?](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/is-there-evidence-that-we-survive-death/804)
**Author:** [@Sam26](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/Sam26)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [May 9, 2026, 1:21pm UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/is-there-evidence-that-we-survive-death/804 "2026-05-09T13:21:16Z")
Most of what we know, we know through the testimony of others. We trust historians for events we did not witness, doctors for conditions we cannot diagnose ourselves, scientists for findings we cannot personally verify, … --- ## [How knowledge works](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/how-knowledge-works/838)
**Author:** [@T\_Clark](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/T_Clark)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [May 4, 2026, 8:42am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/how-knowledge-works/838 "2026-05-04T08:42:47Z")
This is a follow up to the “Pragmatism and truth” thread. This way of seeing things is based on work as an environmental engineer and, as always, introspection. As with most engineering, the focus is on pragmatic and con… --- ## [The Life \> Thought Phase Shift: How and why Life necessarily produces the human species](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-life-thought-phase-shift-how-and-why-life-necessarily-produces-the-human-species/467)
**Author:** [@MCogito](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/u/MCogito)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [May 2, 2026, 7:10am UTC](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/t/the-life-thought-phase-shift-how-and-why-life-necessarily-produces-the-human-species/467 "2026-05-02T07:10:15Z")
Abstract: I will now apply the concepts extracted from the Thought \> Data transition exposed here How Reality Self-Constructs Across Categories of Being (The Dynamic Heart of Reality) to demonstrate exactly how and why … [Previous page](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/c/metaphysics-epistemology/5.md?page=1) [Next page](https://www.thephilosophyforum.com/c/metaphysics-epistemology/5.md?page=3)