The Humanities and Social Sciences are Dead without Metaphysics
FALL 2026 Lecture Series
Caner Dagli
The Humanities and Social Sciences are Dead without Metaphysics
October 28, 2026 - 12:00PM (EST) - 1 hour
Description
For too long, disciplines in the humanities and social sciences have failed to wrestle with truly ultimate questions, often assuming that metaphysics is either irrelevant or has no place in these fields of study. This lecture argues the opposite: failing to think metaphysically can hinder and eventually distort these disciplines. To “do metaphysics,” in one important sense, is simply to take into account everything that is relevant to the subject we are trying to understand. It does not mean going beyond (“meta”) one’s subject matter, but rather asking what that subject presupposes and what it entails—its being, its nature, and its worth.
A working command of the vocabulary of Islamic metaphysics — wujūd, māhiyya, the gradation of being — used precisely, not loosely.
The capacity to read primary texts of Ibn Sīnā and Mullā Ṣadrā with comprehension rather than reverence alone.
An understanding of why the tradition treats metaphysics as the science of realities — and what that claim asks of the knower.
Direct exchange with Professor Nasr in open Q&A after every session — the part no book can replace.
