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2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-June 
    
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2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-June [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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PHL 3204 - Metaphysics

3 lecture hours 0 lab hours 3 credits

Course Description

This course introduces students to some of the central themes and topics in metaphysics, which is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, including fundamental questions about the nature of human beings. Students will examine a variety of difficult and controversial metaphysical questions, including but not limited to: “Are we identical to our bodies?,” ”Do we have free will?,” ”Is time an illusion?,” ”Why is there something rather than nothing?” Major elements of this course include close and critical reading of challenging philosophical texts, reconstruction and evaluation of philosophical arguments, and independent reflection and reasoning on topics and positions of metaphysical significance.


Prereq: None
Note: None
This course meets the following Raider Core CLO Requirement: Exhibit Curiosity
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge of some of the key themes and questions in metaphysics
  • Exhibit familiarity with key theories and positions in metaphysics (e.g., mind-body dualism, free will compatibilism, four-dimensionalism about time and space, etc.)
  • Articulate philosophical questions and positions within metaphysics clearly and precisely, explaining their significance, context, and further implications
  • Reconstruct and analyze philosophical arguments within metaphysics in a way that displays evidence of clear, critical, and precise thinking
  • Engage in comparative analysis and evaluation of different philosophical perspectives on key topics in metaphysics
  • Engage in independent philosophical inquiry, dialogue, and argument through both discussion and written work
  • Recognize the bearing of metaphysical inquiry on real-world problems (e.g., the relationship between free will skepticism and questions about criminal responsibility)
Prerequisites by Topic
  • None
Course Topics
  • Mind-body dualism
  • Mind-body materialism
  • Personal identity
  • Human nature
  • The free will problem
  • The nature of time and space
  • The nature of causation
  • The nature of modality (e.g., possibility and necessity)
  • Metaphysics and science (e.g., scientific realism and anti-realism, laws of nature)
  • Ontology
Coordinator
Dr. Andrew McAninch


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