Metaphysics

Catalog description

The topical agenda of this course will vary. Typical topics include the problem of personal identity, the nature of human freedom, the nature of the self, the nature of reality and being, the nature of causality, and the question of whether solutions to such problems can be given. Classical as well as contemporary philosophic texts will be studied. For Spring 2011: Issues we will consider, in no particular order, include: Do properties exist? Why should you think there is an external world? What is a number? Why should you think other people have mental states? What are natural kinds? What constitutes the identity of things through time? What constitutes the identity of persons through time? What does determinism mean? Is there freedom of the will? What is possibility? What is necessity? Are there other possible worlds? When does one event cause another, and what does that mean? What could a deity be, and should you think there is one?