subfieldsmetaphysics

Subfieldsmetaphysics refers to the set of research domains within the broader field of metaphysics. It encompasses questions about what exists, how entities are related, and which features of reality are most fundamental. The term is largely used to describe the organized landscape of inquiry rather than a single theory.

Major subfields typically include ontology (the study of being, existence, and the most general categories of things), modality (possibility, necessity, and potentialities), identity and persistence (how objects endure through time), causation and laws of nature (reasons why events occur and how regularities are grounded), time and space (the nature of temporal and spatial relations), universals and properties (whether properties exist independently or are instantiations), grounding and fundamentality (what makes facts true at the most basic level), mereology (the parts-to-wholes relation), and cosmology (the origin, structure, and fate of the universe). Topics such as the mind–body problem and free will are often pursued within these subfields or at their intersections.

Methods and debates within subfieldsmetaphysics vary but commonly include formal and conceptual analysis, thought experiments, and, in some traditions, insights from science and mathematics. Debates frequently concern the status of abstract entities, the nature of necessity and possibility, whether grounding is a real relation, and how best to reconcile metaphysical theories with empirical findings.

The field interacts with philosophy of science, cognitive science, theology, and ethics, shaping and being shaped by ongoing discussions about the nature of reality, explanation, and inference.