Course for international guest/part time students
- Faculty
- Faculty of Humanities
- Organization
- BTK Institute of Philosophy
- Code
- BMI-LOTD17-105E.02
- Title
- Contemporary metaphysics: Metaphysics
- Usual semester
- Autumn
- ECTS
- 3
- Language
- Learning outcomes
- For the latest version of the syllabus, please visit the Philosophy course catalogue: http://lps.elte.hu/courselist/ Metaphysics studies extremely general concepts that the sciences (as well as ordinary people) often use but rarely if ever define. These concepts include time, causation, identity, part and whole, abstract and concrete, and many other fundamental notions. The seminar introduces some of the basic problems and approaches in contemporary metaphysics. We will talk about colours, parts and wholes, the existence of biological organisms, the idea of fundamental reality, possibility and necessity, the nature of abstract objects, the reality of social categories like gender, and some links between metaphysics and modern physics.
- Course content
- For the latest version of the syllabus, please visit the Philosophy course catalogue: http://lps.elte.hu/courselist/ Content of the course: Metaphysics studies very general phenomena that we often talk about but rarely define. They include time, causation, identity, properties, the relationship between parts and wholes, the difference between abstract and concrete (see the schedule for more examples). These things cannot be investigated through scientific experiments, because interpreting scientific experiments requires a prior understanding of such phenomena. (Try describing a scientific experiment without referring to the properties of objects.) Nor can they be investigated with mathematics, because mathematics is purely formal. (In fact, the nature of mathematical entities like numbers is a deep metaphysical issue.) The course provides an introduction the main topics of contemporary (analytic) metaphysics, where such questions are intensely debated. Topics 1 Introduction 2 Existence 3 Causation 4 Time 5 Universals 6 Substance 7 Persistence 8 Dualism and physicalism 9 Personal Identity 10 Free will 11 Modality 12 God
- Assessment method
- Grading Assessment is based on a written exam. Planned exam dates: 16 Dec, 13 Jan, 27 Jan. The exam will consist of (a) 10 multiple-choice questions about some readings (see the course homepage: elte.dkodaj.net) (50 points), and (b) an essay question (70 points). There will be 12 possible essay topics. These will be published before the exam on the course homepage. Grading: 60–69 points D (2), 70–79 points C (3), 80–89 points B (4), 90–99 points A (5), 100–109 points A+, 110–120 points A++.
- Bibliography
- Garrett, Brian (2011): What is This Thing Called Metaphysics? Routledge Grayling, A.C. (ed.) (1995): Philosophy. Oxford University Press. Huemer, Michael (2021): Knowledge Reality, and Value. van Inwagen, Peter (2009): Metaphysics. Westview Press.