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Editorial

Reality, Time and All That

by Rick Lewis

Welcome to this issue, which has a theme of metaphysics. But what exactly is metaphysics? I was once asked this question during a job interview, and mumbled that it was about trying to discover the underlying nature of the universe as opposed to surface appearances. This, luckily, is broadly correct. One of the central aspects of philosophy since ancient times, metaphysics includes explorations into the nature of reality; the search for some single underlying substance explaining the very diverse world (thanks, Presocratics); the nature of time; the nature of singularity and plurality; the nature of personal identity; the reality (or otherwise) of mathematics; the reality (or otherwise) of moral values; the reality (or otherwise) of a God or gods; whether the world we see is all an illusion, and much more. So, quite a big topic.

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