Metaphysics (PHIL 401/531)
Metaphysics (PHIL 401/531)
- Contact details
-
sandy.berkovski@gmail.com
- Office hours
- H147, Fri 1030-1230, and by appointment
Readings
Readings for this course consist of articles and book selections. There is only one source: an electronic collection provided by the lecturer.
- [Ber25]
-
Y. S. Berkovski.
Metaphysics: Course reader.
The link to the .pdf file forwarded at the beginning of the semester. Note that only hard copies will be allowed to use in class.
Preliminary term schedule
Abbreviations: `Author[i]' designates item #i in [
Ber25]. Starred items demand especially close scrutiny, either because of the significance of their arguments, or because of their sophistication, or both. Items with a dagger will be discussed only in passing (but remember that every item on the list is a required reading).
- God etc.
-
- Week 1
- Introduction; Design argument: †Paley[1], Atkins[2], *White[3]
- Week 2
- Fine-tuning: †Collins[4], *White[5]
- Week 3
- Debunking naturalism: *Plantinga[6], Collins[7]
- Week 4
- Fatalism: van Inwagen[8]; Foreknowledge and fatalism: *Merricks[9]
- Week 5
- Foreknowledge: †Fischer and Todd[10]; Asymmetries of knowledge: Albert[11]
- Week 5
- Midterm essay I (PHIL 401)
- Scepticism etc.
-
- Week 6
- BIV: Putnam[12], †Fales[13], Lewis[14]
- Week 7
- Externalism: Stalnaker[15]; Elusive knowledge: Lewis[16]
- Week 8
- Moore's gambit: Moore[17], †Moore[18], *Wright[19], †Wright[20]
- Week 9
- Dogmatism: †Pryor[21], *White[22]
- Week 10
- Realism and common sense: *Dummett[23]
- Counterfactuals etc.
-
- Week 11
- Counterfactuals: Goodman[24]
- Week 12
- Conditionals: *Stalnaker[25], †Stalnaker[26]
- Week 13
- Counterpart theory: †Lewis[27]; Counterfactuals: *Lewis[28]
- Week 14
- Counterfactuals and reduction: †Stalnaker[29]; Counterfactuals and time: Lewis[30]
- Week 14
- Midterm essay II (PHIL 401)
- Week 15
- Final exam (PHIL 401)
- Backup plan
-
- Week XX
- The reality of time: *McTaggart[31], Dummett[32], †Dummett[33]
- Week XX
- Cosmological Argument, PSR: †Rowe[34], Della Rocca[35]
Requirements
PHIL 401
- Midterm essays
- There will be two (take-home) essays.
- Final exam
- There will be an in-class closed-book final exam.
- Participation
- Reading, discussing, and writing about the assigned readings will be the central activities of the course.
There is a reading assignment for each lecture. The readings are often short but tend to require close study. It is essential that you complete at least parts of the assigned readings before each lecture, as many lectures will presuppose some familiarity with the material in the texts. Occasionally, lectures will contain material not in the readings (or handouts), so attendance at each and every lecture is crucial if you want to do well in the course.
- Etiquette
- Please note that latecomers will not be allowed into class, including those that are late from the break. This rule will be strictly enforced throughout the semester. No electronic devices (=laptops, tablets, mobile phones) are allowed in class without an explicit leave by the lecturer. The failure to respect the rules of etiquette is liable to interrupt the normal flow of the class and result in unpleasant scenes.
PHIL 531
- Essay
- Students will submit an essay of about 3500 words by 22:00 on 6 January.
- Discussion pieces
- Every Monday by 20:00 students will be required to submit a short fragment (ca. 700 words) on one or two issues in the text we are expected to cover that week. Students will be required to submit twelve such fragments. Please save the files in PDF format and rename them as follows (for the discussion piece #1): "HW1.Surname.pdf" The files should be sent to:
sandy.berkovski+meta@gmail.com
- Participation
- Same as for PHIL 401.
- Etiquette
- Same as for PHIL 401.
Academic integrity
Discussion and exchange of ideas are essential to academic work. For assignments in this course, you are encouraged to consult with your classmates on the choice of paper topics and to share sources. You may find it useful to discuss your essays with me (YSB), other faculty members, or your peers, certainly if you are working on the same topic as your interlocutor. But you must ensure that any written work you submit for evaluation is the result of
your own research and writing. I specifically forbid the use of AI tools (including Grammarly) at
all stages of the work process. Violations of this policy will be considered academic
misconduct.
Note for PHIL 531 students: if in the course of the semester I will
suspect any violations of academic integrity, then the final essay will be replaced, for the given individual, with the in-class final exam to be taken together with the PHIL 401 students.
Grading
PHIL401
| Midterm essay I | | 30% |
| Midterm essay II | | 30% |
| Final exam | | 30% |
| Participation | | 10% |
PHIL 531
| Essay | | 40% |
| Discussion pieces | | 48% |
| Participation | | 12% |
All your grades will take the following values: 100, 99, 90, 84, 70, 59, 10, 0. These values roughly correspond to the Bilkent percentage scale:
| Numerical scale (%) | | Letter scale |
| 95 - 100 | | A |
| 90 - 94 | | A- |
| 86 - 89 | | B+ |
| 82 - 85 | | B |
| 78 - 81 | | B- |
| 74 - 77 | | C+ |
| 70 - 73 | | C |
| 67 - 69 | | C- |
| 63 - 66 | | D+ |
| 59 - 62 | | D |
| 00 - 58 | | F |
File translated from
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version 4.16.