metaphysics
Honors / CORE 283
Fall
2001
INSTRUCTOR: WILLIAM IRWIN, Ph.D. EXT.
5493. wtirwin@kings.edu
Webpage: http://www.kings.edu/wtirwin
OFFICE HOURS: HAFEY-MARIAN 503 MWF 2-3,
TuTh 2-3, and by appointment.
Prerequisite: Core 280: Fundamentals of Philosophy.
Students who have not taken Fundamentals of Philosophy will not be permitted to
take this course.
Satisfies Requirements: Core 283 is a required course for
philosophy majors, fulfills a topical requirement for minors, and fulfills the
requirement for a second course in philosophy for others.
Course Description: This course will be a discussion-driven
survey of some major questions, problems, and issues in Metaphysics. The
philosophical topics we shall directly address include: Mind and Body, Freedom,
Persistence through Time, the Nature of Time and Space, Cause and Effect,
Appearance and Reality, and Being and God.
Objectives: Students will develop and refine the
ability to offer criticism of philosophical positions, and will develop the
ability to form their own educated positions on philosophical issues. Students
will gain new insight into the issues and questions surveyed, and will pursue
an independent project on a topic not covered in class.
Required
Texts:
Metaphysics: The Big Questions, edited by Peter van Inwagen and Dean W.
Zimmerman. (abbrev. M)
Handouts.
(abbrev. H)
GRADES TO BE DETERMINED AS FOLLOWS:
MIDTERM EXAM 30% (ESSAY)
FINAL EXAM 30% (ESSAY)
TERM PAPER 30%
Midterm and Final
exams. Essay questions exactly as they will appear on the exam will be given 2
classes in advance of the exam. 4 questions will be given in advance; 3 will
appear on the exam; of the 3 students will pick 2. Essays will ask for
exposition of a topic, criticism of views discussed, and your argument for your
position on the topic in question. The final exam is not cumulative.
The term paper
asks for exposition of a topic in metaphysics, criticism of views offered in
print, and your argument for your position on the topic in question.
Possible topics
include: Occam’s Razor, Vagueness, the Feminist Critique of Metaphysics,
Postmodern Critique of Metaphysics, Nothing and Nothingness, the Metaphysics of
Race and Ethnicity, the Metaphysics of Gender/Sex, the Metaphysics of
Cyberspace, the Metaphysics of the Soul, and the Metaphysics of Angels. Other
topics are possible, but students should discuss alternative ideas with the
instructor before proceeding.
A Paper proposal,
giving your topic and three sources from Philosopher’s
Index is due in class Tuesday October 2. The paper, 8-10 pages in length,
is due in class Tuesday December 4. The instructor will provide a handout
indicating the precise format and expectations for the paper.
Reading
(subject to revision):
1. “The Matrix, Simulation, and the
Postmodern Age.” (H)
2. “The
Metaphysics of The Matrix.” (H)
WHAT IS THE
RELATION BEWTEEN MIND AND BODY?
1. “The Machine-Made Ghost: or, The
Philosophy of Mind, Matrix Style.” (H)
2. “Neo-Materialism and the Death of the
Subject” (H)
3. “The Circular Ruins.” B 45-50.
4. “Funes the
Memorius.” B 59-66.
5. “The Shape of
the Sword.” B 67-71.
6. “Which
Physical Thing Am I?” M 291-295.
7. “Personal
Identity: A Materialist Account.” M 296-309.
8. “Divided Minds
and the Nature of Persons.” M 310-317.
9. “Personal
Identity: The Dualist Theory.” M 317-331.
10. “The Puzzle
of Conscious Experience.” M 333-341
IS IT POSSIBLE FO
US TO ACT FREELY?
1. “Fate, Free
Will, and The Matrix.” (H)
2. “The Lottery
in Babylon.” B 30-35.
3. “The Mystery
of Metaphysical Freedom.” M 365-374.
4. “The Agent as
Cause.” M 374-380.
5. “Human Freedom
and the Self.” M 356-364,
WHY IS THERE A
WORLD?
1. “The Problem
of Being.” M 415-418.
2. “The Myth of
Sisyphus.” (H)
3. “Tlön, Uqbar,
Orbis Tertius.” B 3-18.
4. “The Puzzle of
Reality: Why Does the Universe Exist?” M 418-427.
5. “Response to
Parfit.” “M 427-429.
DOES THE
EXISTENCE OF GOD EXPLAIN THE EXISTENCE OF THE UNIVERSE?
1. “The
Cosmological Argument and the Principle of Sufficient Reason.” M 431-439.
2. “The
Ontological Argument.” M 441-443.
3. Malcolm,
“Anselm’s Ontological Arguments.” M 443-452.
HOW DO CAUSES
BRING ABOUT THEIR EFFECTS?
1. “Cause and
Effect” (H)
2. “Constant Conjunction.” M 221-225.
3. “Efficient
Cause and Active Power.” M 226-227.
4. “Psychological
and Physical Causal Laws.” M 227-229.
5. “Causality.” M
229-243.
6. “Causality and
Determination.” M 244-257.
HOW DO THINGS
PERSIST THROUGH CHANGES OF PARTS AND PROPERTIES?
1. “Of Confused
Subjects which are Equivalent to Two Subjects.” M 171-173.
2. “Identity
through Time.” M 173-184.
3. “Identity,
Ostension, and Hypostasis.” M 186-88.
4. “Identity.” M
188-190.
WHAT IS TIME?
1. “The Garden of
Forking Paths.” B 19-29.
2. “Theme of the
Traitor and the Hero.” B 72-75.
3. “Death and the
Compass.” B 76-87.
4. “The
Non-Fixity of the Historical Past.” (H)
5. “The Notion of
the Present.” M 80-82.
6. “The General
Problem of Time and Change.” M 82-93.
7. “The
Space-Time World.” M 94-101.
8. “Topis, Soris,
Noris.” M 101-103.
9. “Some Free
Thinking about Time.” M 104-107.
WHAT IS SPACE?
1. “Avatars of
the Tortoise.” B 202-208.
2. “Achilles and
the Tortoise.” M 120-129.
3. “A
Contemporary Look at Zeno’s Paradoxes.” M (start at)139-147.
4. “The Library
of Babel.” B 51-58.
5. “The Fourth
Dimension.” M 108-111.
6. “Incongruent
Counterparts and Higher Dimensions.” M 111-120.
WHAT IS THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AN INDIVIDUAL AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS?
1. “Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote.” B
36-44.
2. “Universals
and Resemblances.” M 23-39.
3. “The Theory of
Sensa.” M 267-271.
DISCUSSION OF STUDENT TERM PAPERS.
WHY
study or MAJOR IN PHILSOPHY?
The best reason
to major in philosophy is that you find the subject interesting and exciting. Philosophy
IS the road less traveled, and it can make all the difference.
WHAT
CAN I DO WITH A PHILOSOPHY DEGREE?
Is
Philosophy practical?
· The ability to think logically.
· The ability to analyze and solve problems.
· The ability to assess the pros and cons of proposed solutions.
· The ability to write and speak clearly.
· The ability to persuade.
· The ability to conduct thorough research.
· The ability to ask the right questions.
· The ability to think creatively and imaginatively.
What
careers do philosophy majors typically pursue?
Most majors offer only a
few career possibilities, but with philosophy the possibilities are endless.
The list of careers and career areas typically pursued by philosophy majors
includes, but is not limited to: law, education, government, publishing,
writing, research, consulting, social and community services, business,
computer programming, and medicine.
How do philosophy majors score on standardized
tests?
In short, philosophy
majors score among the very best.
·
If you want to go to Law School, you should know that nationally the mean score on
the LSAT(Law School Admissions Test) for philosophy majors is higher than that
for both political science and pre-law majors.
·
If you want to go to graduate school in any field, you should know that nationally philosophy majors go
on to advanced degrees in philosophy as well as nearly every other area of
study. On the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) philosophy majors have the highest
mean verbal score of all majors, the second highest mean analytic score of all
majors, and the highest mean quantitative score of all humanities and social
science majors.
·
If you want to pursue an MBA, you should know that nationally philosophy majors
have a higher mean GMAT score than business majors (accounting, finance,
management, etc.).
·
If you want to pursue a career in medicine, you should know that you can major in philosophy and
still go to medical school. In fact, many medical schools look very favorably
on a major in the humanities as long as the requisite science courses are taken
as well. Philosophy majors actually have a significantly higher medical school
acceptance rate than biology or chemistry majors. No statistics concerning the
scores of philosophy majors on the MCAT are available, but we can tell you that
one recent King’s philosophy major is now an M.D.
What if I’m interested in philosophy but want to
major in something else?
You should know that in
order to double major or minor in philosophy you do not have to take more
courses or earn more credits than is required for graduation. You should
also know that philosophy works very well as a double major or minor with any
other area of study. The study of philosophy can provide you with highly
valuable insight into the nature of literature and the humanities, psychology
and the social sciences, chemistry and the natural sciences, and economics and
business.
I’ve
never heard of anyone majoring in philosophy.
Yes you have! Here are
just a few of the philosophy majors you may certainly have heard of:
Government,
Politics, and Law: Thomas Jefferson (U.S. President), David Souter (Supreme
Court Justice), Robert MacNamara (Secretary of Defense and Head of the World
Bank), William Bennett (Secretary of Education and best-selling author),
Patrick Buchanan (presidential candidate and political columnist), Jerry Brown
(former governor of California and presidential candidate), Raisa Gorbachev.
Business: J. Paul
Getty, Carl Icahn (CEO, TWA Airlines), Gerald Levin (CEO, Time Warner, Inc.),
George Soros (financier), Lachlan Murdoch (son of Rupert Murdoch, media
magnate).
Religion: Pope
John Paul II, Martin Luther King, Jr., Madelyn Murray O’Hair (famous atheist).
Contemporary
Writers: T. S. Eliot, James Michener, Iris Murdoch, Alexander Solzhenitsin,
Umberto Eco, M. Scott Peck, Ken Follett, Susan Sontag, David Foster Wallace,
Elie Wiesel.
Performers and
Broadcasters: Harrison Ford, Susan Sarandon, Woody Allen, Steve Martin, George
Carlin, Jay Leno, Dennis Miller, Kim Thayill (Soundgarden), Stone Phillips,
John Chancellor, Alex Trebek, Gene Siskel.
Sports: Bruce Lee, Phil Jackson, Michael McKaskey (Owner, Chicago Bears), Aaron Talylor (OT, Notre Dame and the Green Bay Packers).