Postgraduate Course: The Structure of Being MSc (PHIL11145)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | There is a flourishing debate in current ontology between Neo-Aristotelian and Quinean metaphysics. This debate will be the topic of the course, starting with its origins in Logical Atomism and surveying representative competing ontologies all the way to current Hylomorphism. The coursework involves close and critical analysis of various historical and current views on central issues in the ontology of substances. |
| Course description |
The course will examine such metaphysical themes as the following: Abstract Objects, Universals and Particulars; Russell¿s Logical Atomism; Wittgenstein¿s Logical Atomism; Logical Positivism; various Nominalist systems, including Trope Ontologies; Pragmatism; the Bundle Theory of Substances; and Hylomorphic Substances in Armstrong and current Neo- Aristotelian Ontologies. Such topics will be discussed as properties; relations; states of affairs; parts and wholes; subjects and essences; matter and form.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 8 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One 2500 word essay.
Word limit: 2500 words maximum (excluding references)
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| Feedback |
The students are constantly encouraged to engage with the lecturer on the issues of the course and also to discuss questions with the lecturer on the topics of the course.
Students have the opportunity to submit a formative essay by week 6 deadline on Turnitin via Learn. The essay cannot be draft of summative essay but it can be on the same topic.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- read, critically assess and discuss some of the most important texts on central issues in the ontology of substances.
- develop their skills in individual research through the writing of essays, and to develop their critical, analytic and communication skills normally achieved through informal discussion and oral presentations
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Reading List
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/metaphysics/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/logical-atomism/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wittgenstein-atomism/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/logical-empiricism/
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quine/#QuiEpi
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quine/#QuiEpi
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Malet_Armstrong
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/functionalism/#EarAnt
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/functionalism/#EarAnt
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/279305/hylomorphism
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/metaphysical-kit/
https://www.ualberta.ca/~koslicki/research_interests.html
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/states-of-affairs/
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Additional Information
| Course URL |
Please see Learn page |
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The critical thinking expected from the graduate students is of a higher level than of the undergraduates, as is their understanding of the problems at hand. |
| Keywords | subjects & essences; parts & wholes; properties; matter & form hylomorphism; realism; nominalism |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Theodore Scaltsas
Tel: (0131 6)50 3649
Email: Scaltsas@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Becky Verdon
Tel: (0131 6)51 5002
Email: Rebecca.Verdon@ed.ac.uk |
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