Philosophy 3370: Metaphysics, Fall 2011

§16899 MWF 12:00-12:50; 131 Harrin Hall

 

Instructor: Ron Novy

Email: rnovy@uca.edu

Telephone: 852-2341

 

Course Page: http://faculty.uca.edu/rnovy

Office: 16 Main Hall

Office Hrs: MW 1:00-3:00; TTh 1:30-3:00; by appt.

Texts:

Metaphysics (4th ed) by Richard Taylor

Additional required materials will be available via the course webpage. 

 

Course Description: Metaphysics can be thought of as an inquiry into the most basic features of existence. Aristotle called this inquiry "first philosophy” – the investigation of the philosophically most fundamental of matters. William James, on the other hand, tells us that metaphysics is “nothing but an unusually obstinate effort to think clearly.” Taken together, metaphysics is a field of study that attempts to clearly and systematically address a wide-range of philosophical questions whose answers underlie our basic understanding of reality. In this course we will explore a number of such questions of historical and modern interest.

 

Structure & Expectations: For the most part, this class will follow a seminar format. As such, all members of the class are expected to attend all class meetings, to be familiar with the day’s assigned reading, and to actively participate in classroom discussions.

 

Grading: Your final grade for this course will be determined as follows: précis & presentation (10%), two evaluative critiques (10%), a paper portfolio (40%) and two exams (20% each). See notes at the course web page for further information on each component.

 

·        Exams: There will be both a mid-term and a non-cumulative final exam in this course.

 

·        Evaluative Critiques: Through the course of the semester, each student is required to submit two critical, one-page essays on an assigned text.

 

·        Paper Portfolio: Each student is expected to produce an eight-ten page conference-quality paper during the course of the semester.

 

·        Précis & Presentation: Each student is expected to draw up and present a précis on an assigned article.

 

·        Attendance: Roll will be taken regularly and will act as a ceiling on the student’s grade for the course. Regardless of grades received on the various assignments, a student’s course grade will not exceed the percentage of classes attended.

 

Additional Notes:

·        Classroom use of all electronic information devices (cell phones, laptops, etc.) is prohibited.

 

·        The academic community regards academic dishonesty as an extremely serious matter with serious consequences – up to and including expulsion from the University. When in doubt regarding plagiarism, quotation, collaboration, etc. consult with the instructor. For further information regarding UCA’s academic misconduct policy, see the UCA Student Handbook.

 

·        Sexual harassment by any faculty member, staff member, or student is a violation of both federal law and university policy and will not be tolerated at UCA. For further information regarding the university’s sexual harassment policy, see the UCA Student Handbook.

 

·        UCA adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you require accommodation under this act, please contact the Office of Disability Support Services at 450-3135.


PHIL3370 Metaphysics Reading, Portfolio, & Exam Schedule – Fall 2011

 

 

08/26

INTRODUCTORY BITS

Plutarch: The Ship of Theseus

08/29

Taylor 12: Polarity

Borges: The Library of Babel

 08/31

No Class Meeting

09/02

Taylor 1: The Need for Metaphysics

Aristotle: Metaphysics

09/05

Labor Day Holiday

09/07

Beauvoir: “Woman as Other” from The Second Sex

 

09/09

MINDS & BODIES

Taylor 2: Persons and Bodies

Taylor 3: Interactionism

09/12

Plato: Phaedo

 

09/14

Aristotle: De Anima

 

09/16

Descartes: Second Meditation

Bisson: They’re Made out of Meat

Portfolio: Topic Due

09/19

Taylor 4: The Mind as a Function of the Body

Borges: Borges and I

09/21

Locke: Of Identity & Diversity

09/23

Nagel: What is it like to be a bat?

 

09/26

Putnam: Brains in a Vat

Portfolio: Abstract and Bibliography Due

09/28

Dennett: Where am I?

 

09/30

Hauser: Why isn’t my Pocket Calculator a Thinking Thing?

10/03

Novy: Iron Man in a Chinese Room

10/05

Haraway: A Cyborg Manifesto

Kunzru: You are Cyborg

Clynes: Cyborgs in Space

10/07

FATE

Taylor 5: Freedom & Determinism

Taylor 6: Fate

10/10

Study Day

10/12

Aristotle: On Fatalism

Aquinas: On Voluntary Action

 

10/14

Dennett: I Could Not Have Done Otherwise, So What?

Portfolio: Review of Sources Due

10/17

Slater: Kafka’s Boys: A Story of Sex and Serotonin

10/19

 

EXAM #1

10/21

 Fall Break

 

10/24

TIME & SPACE

Thompson: “The Statue and the Clay”

10/26

Verzi: Doughnuts

 

10/28

Dick: How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later

Portfolio: Initial Draft Due

10/31

Taylor 7: Space and Time

Taylor 8: The Relativity of Time and Space

11/02

Augustine: On Time

Newton: Space, Time & Motion

Aristotle: Time is the Measure of Change

11/04

McTaggart: The Unreality of Time

11/07

Taylor 9: Temporal Passage

11/09

Williams: The Myth of Passage

11/11

Lewis: Paradoxes of Time Travel

11/14

GOD

Taylor 11: God

Asimov: The Last Question

11/16

Anselm: Ontological Argument

Gaunilo: In Behalf of the Fool

 

11/18

Rowe: Cosmological Argument

Portfolio: Revised Draft Due

11/21

Catch-up Day

 

11/23

Thanksgiving Holiday

11/25

Thanksgiving Holiday

11/28

Mackie: Evil and Omnipotence

 

11/30

Feuerbach: The Essence of Religion in General

12/02

Swinburne: The Justification of Theism

 

12/05

SUMMING UP

Foucault: The Order of Things

12/07

Taylor Ch.13:Metaphysics & Meaning

Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus

Completed Portfolio Due

12/09

Reading Day

12/12

EXAM #2 (11:00-1:00)

 

 

All Readings may be found in either Taylor ‘s Metaphysics or via the course webpage