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Course outline 2011

Faculty of PhilosophyCourse Outline 2011-2012

Part IA Metaphysics and Philosophy of Mind: Paper 1

Syllabus

See Guide to Courses

Prerequisites

None

Description

This course examines a wide range of metaphysical topics of perennial interest.Because metaphysics is at the foundation of virtually the whole of philosophy, it iscompulsory for all students taking Philosophy IA.

The first part of the syllabus asks general metaphysical questions about God andcausation. Many students will have encountered arguments for and against the

existence of God. These arguments will be discussed in detail and also the problem ofreconciling the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient benevolent God with theapparent existence of evil in the world. The primary question about causation is simplywhat it is for one thing to cause another. Your alarm clock may go off every morning justbefore sunrise; but it doesnt cause the sun to rise. What is missing? Other questions arewhether causes must make their effects necessary, and likewise whether past eventsmake the future inevitable.

The next two headings on the syllabus concern the mind, or more properly mindedbeings. Questions about free will include these: Is anything we do ever up to us? Couldwe have any choice at all if everything we do is the inevitable result of things beyond ourcontrol, such as facts about the distant past and laws of nature? What is it to have freewill? The phrase mind and matter refers to the traditional mind-body problem: What is

the relation between mental and physical phenomena? What is it to have a mind? Thequestion of personal identity asks about the metaphysical nature of minded beings, inparticular ourselves. What are we, metaphysically speaking? Are we material orimmaterial? What does it take for us to persist through time?

The remaining topics are epistemological: What is the difference between knowledgeand mere true belief? What justifies our inferences from past cases to future onesforinstance our belief the sun will rise tomorrow? Come to that, are any of our beliefs

justified? Can we know anything at all?

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Objectives

Students will be expected to:

1. Acquire knowledge of some of the main metaphysical claims and arguments.

2. Acquire knowledge of some of the main claims and arguments in the philosophy ofmind.

3. Acquire an understanding of how these claims and arguments relate to one another.4. Engage in close criticism with the claims and arguments studied.

5. Develop their own powers of philosophical analysis and argument through study ofmetaphysics and the philosophy of mind.

Teaching

For teaching please consult the lecture list for lecture courses.

Assessment

See Guide to Courses

Preliminary Reading

Descartes, R. Mediations

Hume, D. Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

Russell, B. The Problems of Philosophy

van Inwagen, P. Metaphysics (OUP, 1993)

Fraser MacBride