More than 2,000 years ago, a Greek philosopher named Aristotle found himself preoccupied with some profound questions: What is reality? What does it mean to exist? What makes something the thing that it is? The questions weren’t new; many philosophers had asked them before, and many would ask them after. There’s even a good chance you’ve wondered about them yourself. Although much of what Aristotle wrote about the sciences has been supplanted by modern knowledge, the questions he asked in Metaphysics about the nature of reality still drive philosophical thought 2,000 years later.
In the 30 fascinating lectures of Exploring Metaphysics, 2nd Edition, philosopher David Kyle Johnson, PhD, shares classical answers to the questions posed in Metaphysics as well as modern ideas Aristotle would never have imagined. While many of the questions your professor shares are relatively new—for example, questions about time travel, wormholes, and multiple universes—some are the same questions Aristotle himself wrote about. Is there any scenario of reality that could satisfy these ancient questions and remain consistent with modern philosophy and scientific progress? Many modern philosophers believe there is. Not only would their answers have stunned Aristotle, but chances are you’ll be amazed as well. From quantum mechanics to wormholes, from Einstein’s theory of relativity to the possibility of an afterlife, and from artificial intelligence to the simulation hypothesis, your professor takes you on a wild metaphysical journey.
