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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences : Philosophy

Undergraduate Course: Metaphysics (PHIL10155)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis module will offer students critical engagement with selected central topics in Metaphysics through the careful study and discussion of seminal articles in the area. Students will be expected to engage critically with the main arguments of the selected texts, and articulate their own views of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the arguments presented.
Course description This course will examine some central issues in metaphysics, each relating - in some way or other - to time and the temporal. We will examine topics in three main areas:
1. The nature of time and its apparent passing;
2. Thinking of change and persistence through time, by thinking about personal identity and persistence over time; and
3. Thinking about the ontology of processes, events, and states, as ways of existing in and through time.
Throughout the course, we will also be paying close attention to methodological issues in metaphysics and how promising - or not - we might take such approaches to these topics.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Mind, Matter and Language (PHIL08014) AND Knowledge and Reality (PHIL08017)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Students studying on MA Cognitive Science (Humanities) are permitted to take this course without having met the pre-requisites of Mind, Matter and Language and Knowledge and Reality. However, it is advisable that students discuss the suitability of the course with their PT and the course organiser before enrolling.
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students should have completed at least 3 Philosophy courses at grade B. or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. **Please note that 3rd year Philosophy courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.** These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  0
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 32, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 164 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Mid-Term Essay 40% (1,500 words)
Final Essay 60% (2,500 words)
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate core skills in philosophy, including the ability to interpret and engage with philosophical texts, to evaluate arguments, and to develop one's own critical ideas in response.
  2. Acquire an understanding of some of the central problems in metaphysics and of leading approaches to resolving them.
  3. Analyse these problems and the strengths and weakness of various approaches made to resolving them.
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Jack Shardlow
Tel:
Email: jshardlo@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Catriona Keay
Tel:
Email: ckeay4@ed.ac.uk
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