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Metaphysicsis the branch ofphilosophythat examines the basic structure ofreality.Some philosophers designate it asfirst philosophyto suggest that it is more fundamental than other forms of philosophical inquiry. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of human understanding. Metaphysics investigates the nature ofexistence,the features all entities have in common, and their division intocategories of being.An influential division is betweenparticularsanduniversals.Modal metaphysicsexamines what it means for something to be possible or necessary. Metaphysicians also explore theconcepts of space, time, and change,and their connection tocausalityand thelaws of nature.Other topics include howmind and matter are related,whether everything in the world ispredetermined,and whether there isfree will.Theroots of metaphysicslie inantiquitywith speculations about the nature and origin of the universe. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Li Minghui

... thatLi Minghui(pictured)faced accusations of lewdness at the age of 12 after challenging Chinese stage conventions?
... that theChauburjimight have been the Mughal emperorBabur's original burial place?
... that the magazineScience Fiction Chroniclechanged its name to justChronicletwo decades after its launch, to avoid being confused with theSan Francisco Chronicle?
... thatfootballmanagerDarren MooreledSheffield Wednesdayto promotion even after they lost the first leg of their play-off semi-final4–0?
... that some locals have criticised theflag of Kagoshima Prefecture,which is supposed to depict the prefecture's topography but omits its outlying islands?
... thatRichard Davismade the earliest known continuous land-based weather recordings in New Zealand?
... that the month of July isnamed after the Roman dictator Julius Caesar?
... thatthe first ministerof theHopewell Baptist Churchis presumed to be buried under the building?
... thata 2001 bookshares the history of a small Tudor community through a 54-year-long "running commentary"by"a somewhat unamiable busybody"?

In the news

Ahmed al-Sharaa

Ahmed al-Sharaa(pictured)is appointedpresidentofthe Syrian transitional government.
American EagleFlight 5342collides with a U.S. Army helicopterover thePotomac RiverinWashington, D.C.,United States, killing all 67 people on board both aircraft.
Insumo,Hōshōryū Tomokatsubecomes the 74thyokozuna.
Inan ongoing offensive,the Rwandan-supportedMarch 23 MovementcapturesGoma,the capital ofNorth Kivuprovince in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On this day

February 1:Imbolc / Saint Brigid's Dayin Ireland;Black History Monthbegins in the United States

Lunch counter from the Greensboro sit-ins

1411– TheFirst Peace of Thornwas signed, ending thePolish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War.
1662–Sino-Dutch conflicts:Afterbesieging Fort Zeelandiafor nine months,MingloyalistZheng Chenggongsecured theDutch East India Company's surrender and the end oftheir rule in Taiwan.
1896–Giacomo Puccini's operaLa bohèmepremiered at theTeatro RegioinTurin,Italy, eventually becoming one of the most frequently performed operas internationally.
1960–Civil rights movement:Four African-American students staged the first ofmore than five months of sit-insat anF. W. Woolworthlunch counter(pictured)inGreensboro, North Carolina,to protest the company's policy ofracial segregation.
2021– TheBurmese militarystageda coup d'étatthat deposed the democratically elected government ofAung San Suu Kyi,sparkingnationwide protestsanda civil war.

Madame Sul-Te-Wan(d.1959)
Michelle Akers(b.1966)
Wojdan Shaherkani(b.1996)
Hildegard Knef(d.2002)

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African Americans,also known as Afro-Americans or Black Americans, are anethnic groupconsisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from any of theBlackracial groups of Africa. African Americans constitute the third largest racial or ethnic group in the U.S. afterWhite AmericansandHispanic and Latino Americans.Most African Americans are descendants ofenslaved people,having West African and coastal Central African ancestry, with varying amounts of Western European and Native American ancestry. Thisambrotypedepicts African AmericanUnionsoldier Sgt. Samuel Smith, of the 119thUnited States Colored Troops,with his family inc. 1863–65.

Ambrotype credit: unattributed photographer

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