<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the essence of a thing . This includes questions of being, becoming, existence, and reality . The word "metaphysics" comes from the Greek words that literally mean "beyond nature". "Nature" in this sense refers to the nature of a thing, such as its cause and purpose . Metaphysics then studies questions of a thing beyond or above questions of its nature, in particular its essence or its qualities of being . Metaphysics seeks to answer, in a "suitably abstract and fully general manner", the questions: </P> <Ol> <Li> What is there? </Li> <Li> And what is it like? </Li> </Ol>

Which branch of philosophy is concerned with fundamental questions about the nature of reality