Systematic thought about the true nature of things is the very foundation of philosophical reasoning: idealism and materialism…realism, nominalism, and conceptualism…the noumenal and the phenomenal…logical positivism, emergentism, and modal realism. In this program, Rutgers philosophers Brian McLaughlin, Barry Loewer, John Hawthorne, Ted Sider, and Dean Zimmerman discuss the nature of this most ancient branch of philosophy, exploring concepts of causation, time, necessity, and possibility and contemplating the big questions of “Who am I?” and “Where am I?” In the process, they reference the works and theories of Aristotle, Plato, William of Ockham, Hume, Kant, Mill, Leibniz, and others. (43 minutes)