Materialists have always existed. Weinberg is nothing new. In the ancient world, materialism was in vogue for hundreds of years. We are going to explore ancient versions of materialism to set the stage and then watch the BIRTH OF METAPHYSICS [*]. In the process, we will see how metaphysical thinkers dared to posit a world or reality that cannot be seen or sensed with the five senses, but that, they maintained, really exists. Such reality is not, they said, a mental construct or a cultural construct. It would exist if all the people on earth vanished. Still, it is non-physical, non-material. That was their bold endeavor. We will trace the birth [*] and development of metaphysics, specifically as it pertains to motherhood. How does metaphysical thought from the ancient times through the present validate the reality of maternal values—the value of the person and his/her thriving—as REALITY rather than myth?

[Just a reminder that the [*] asterisks are for all words that in their primary sense refer to something maternal, although we are using them philosophically. Just having a little fun.]