Since early antiquity metaphysics was one of the main areas of philosophical inquiry. In the early days of the 20th century many philosophers considered it to be a useless field of investigation that should be overcome and replaced by other philosophical disciplines. Yet in the last part of the 20th century metaphysics was revived and regained its vital place in the philosophical filed of inquiry. The revival of metaphysics is connected to the past theories, and yet the philosophers that practice it underline the links between the metaphysical issues to questions related to the exact and the empirical sciences. 

This course is an advanced introduction to current metaphysics, to its methodology and to some of the main issues dealt in it. We will examine the controversy regarding the existence of universals, the concept of substance, identity and change, time and becoming and related issues. Throughout this course attention will be given to the relevance of the topics discussed in it to a variety of questions related to philosophy of mind and other branches of philosophy.