Welcome to the Philosophy of Being
Aristotle called the philosophy of being "first philosophy" because it does not examine the parts of reality (politics, math, music, history), but reality itself: existence, change, properties, space, time, causality, and possibility. This first philosophy is also called "metaphysics," deriving from the Greek words meta ("beyond") and physica ("physical").
I designed this site for students taking the Philosophy of Being section at the University of Dallas. Whether or not you are taking the course, I hope that you find the articles, outlines, and essays helpful.
Metaphysically,
Taylor Marshall
Plato Archive
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Scholarship on Plato’s Unwritten Dogmas or Doctrines
Cornelia J. de Vogel, H.J. Kramer, and others have focused their attentions on the so-called unwritten doctrines of Plato. This... -
Did Plato Have an Unwritten Doctrine?
Aristotle tells us that Plato had an unwritten doctrine or unwritten dogmas (agrapha dogmata). Commenting on Plato’s Timaeus, Aristotle recorded: “It... -
Understanding the Third Man Argument
Plato’s Parmenides contains an argument against the so-called Platonic theory of forms known as the “Third Man Argument”. Here’s how it... -
Raphael’s School of Athens Explained for Philosophers
The painting above is Scuola di Atene (“School of Athens”) by Raphael. Raphael likely painted it in 1511 in one...