In this chapter we will look at the philosophical roots of psychology including some examples of how these basic concepts can be found in modern psychology. Two broad branches of metaphysics — ontology and epistemology — will be the focus. More specifically we will consider:

• The mind‒body problem (including reductionism and holism).
• Appearance versus reality.
• Rationalism versus empiricism.
• Realism versus anti-realism (including relativism, constructionism, skepticism, and phenomenology).

By connecting these to modern psychology you should come to appreciate how these issues were merely repressed in the turn to scientism and have remained implicit throughout.