First Principles

META
PHYSICS

"Physics explains how the world works. Metaphysics asks why there is a world at all."

Identity Theory

Hull

Click parts to replace them

Identity Paradox

The Ship of Theseus

"If the ship of Theseus were kept in a harbor and every part replaced one by one, would it then be a new ship?"— Plutarch

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EXPERIMENT: CONTINUITY OF SELF

The Big Questions

ontology

What is "being"?

Ontology

The study of existence itself. Categories of being and their relations. If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

dualism

Are you your brain?

Mind-Body Dualism

Descartes' theory that the mental and the physical are two distinct substances. How does a non-physical thought cause a physical arm to move?

determinism

Do you have a choice?

Determinism vs Free Will

If the universe follows physical laws of cause and effect, was your reading of this sentence determined at the Big Bang?

simulism

Is this real?

Simulation Theory

The modern update to Plato's Cave. The probability that we are living in a computer simulation run by a post-human civilization.