Module PHL2016 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL2016: Metaphysics
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
After an initial introductory overview the module will proceed to consider the following basic philosophical topics:
- Causation
- Identity
- Emergence
- Supervenience
- Personal Identity
- Time
- Material and Abstract Objects
- Properties
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 16.5 | Eleven 90 minute lecture/discussions. |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 10 | Weekly 1 hour tutorial |
| Guided Independent Study | 33 | Assigned readings associated with each lecture |
| Guided Independent Study | 10 | Preparation for class discussion |
| Guided Independent Study | 35 | Preparation of Assigned Essay |
| Guided Independent Study | 50 | Exam Revision and Private Study |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Lectures and Powerpoints will be available on ELE
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Core Reading:
The core reading for the course is Kim &Sosa (eds): Metaphysics: An Anthology (1999). This includes almost all of the key readings for the course and I recommend that you purchase a copy. Also, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which is free and online, contains many useful entries whichwill give you an appropriate grounding in each topic, but should not be used as a replacement for key readings. I will recommend additional readings in class.
1 Introduction -what the course is about, structure of teaching and assessment.
2 Existence
Reading:
W.V. Quine (1948): 'On What There Is'; Review of Metaphysics.
(In Kim &Sosa; and here: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_What_There_Is)
3 Realism and Anti-Realism
Reading:
M. Dummett (1982): 'Realism'; Synthese, 52, pp55-112.
(In Kim & Sosa).
4 Supervenience and Emergence
Reading:
J. Kim (1999): 'Making Sense of Emergence'; Philosophical Studies, 95
J. Kim (1990): 'Supervenience as a Philosophical Concept'; Metaphilosophy, 21
(In Kim & Sosa).
5 Identity over time
Reading:
R.Chisholm (1976): 'Identity Through Time'; originally published in his Person & Object.
W.V. Quine (1953): 'Identity, Ostension, and Hypostasis'; originally published in his From a Logical Point of View.
(Both in Kim & Sosa).
6 Persons and persistence
Reading:
D. Parfit (1971): 'Personal Identity'; Philosophical Review, 80
(In Kim &Sosa)
E. Olson (2007): 'What are We?' Journal of consciousness studies.
(and here: http://www.shef.ac.uk/content/1/c6/03/49/16/WAWpaper.pdf)
7 Causation
Reading:
J.L. Mackie (1965): 'Causes and Conditions'; American Philosophical Quarterly, 5
D. Lewis (1973): 'Causation'; Journal of Philosophy, 70
(Both in Kim & Sosa).
8 Mental Causation
Reading:
L. R. Baker (1993): 'Metaphysics and Mental Causation'; in Heil & Mele. (eds), 1993: Mental Causation; Oxford. (other entries in this volume are extremely good, too).
Block, N. (2003) 'Do Causal Powers Drain Away?'; Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
(http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/faculty/block/papers/CausalPowers.pdf)
9 Abstract and Puzzling Entities
Reading:
R. Sorensen (1999): 'Seeing Intersecting Eclipses'; The Journal of Philosophy, 96
R. Sorensen (2008): Seeing Dark Things. The Philosophy of Shadows,Oxford: OUP
G. Bealer (1993): 'Universals'; Journal of Philosophy, 90
10 Modality and Possible Worlds
Reading:
A. Plantinga (1974): 'Modalities: Basic Concepts and Distinctions; in his The Nature of Necessity, Oxford.
D. Lewis (1986): 'Counterparts or Double Lives?'; in his On the Plurality of Worlds, Oxford.
(Both in Kim & Sosa).
