Metaphysics

Catalog description

This course considers key concepts, problems, and figures in metaphysics, the investigation into the nature of reality. We will ask the deepest questions about what exists and how things relate to one another on a fundamental level. For example: Does everything ultimately reduce to simple substances, or is reality organized into types? Does time exist objectively, or is it dependent on the mind? Does effect follow cause as a matter of universal law or only as a statistical probability? What factors determine whether a thing is the same over time or differs at every instance? We will also query the most basic assumptions about reality, that a pencil will not fall through a desktop, the sun will rise tomorrow, and the world was not created a minute ago. Students will develop skills in reading difficult texts, evaluating arguments, and formulating their own philosophical views through discussion and in writing.