Undergraduate Module Descriptor

PHL2016: Metaphysics

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Aims

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the place of metaphysics in the history of philosophy, to the challenges associated with the practice of metaphysics in contemporary thinking and with the principal problems that are presently addressed under the heading of metaphysics.  You will become well versed in the nature of these problems and how one goes about addressing them from ‘analytic’, ‘naturalistic’ and ‘critical’ points of view.  

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.

On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. articulate an understanding of the meaning of metapyhysics, the place of metaphysics in philosophy, various philosophical challenges to the status of metaphysics, and a familiarity with some range of particular topics in metaphysics and the reasons why they have merited philosophical attention;
2. analyze the metaphysical presuppositions of truth claims;
Discipline-Specific Skills3. expose and explore the metaphysical presuppositions at play in other areas of philosophy;
4. begin to consolidate philosophical concepts from other modules and begin to convey a sense of the unity of philosophy as a discipline;
Personal and Key Skills5. begin to identify the substantive presuppositions of worldly truth claims beyond philosophy; and
6. write coherently and cogently about the conceptual context of real-world beliefs.