Metaphysics

At its core, the study of metaphysics is the study of the nature of reality, of what exists in the world, what it is like, and how it is ordered.

In metaphysics philosophers wrestle with such questions as:

• Is there a God?
• What are space and time like?
• Is the world strictly composed of matter?
• Do people have minds? If so, how is the mind related to the body?
• Do people have free wills?

Epistemology

Epistemology is the study of knowledge. It is primarily concerned with what we can know about the world and how we can know it.

Typical questions of concern in epistemology are:

• What is knowledge?
• Do we know anything at all?
• How do we know what we know?
• Can we be justified in claiming to know certain things?