Please note: there may be some adjustments to the teaching arrangements published in the course catalogue for 2020-21. Given current circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic it is anticipated that some usual arrangements for teaching on campus will be modified to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and staff on campus; further adjustments may also be necessary, or beneficial, during the course of the academic year as national requirements relating to management of the pandemic are revised.

Metaphysics A PHIL5002

  • Academic Session: 2022-23
  • School: School of Humanities
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Available to Erasmus Students: Yes

Short Description

A Masters level course in Metaphysics which develops undergraduate level understanding of the field towards a foundation for postgraduate research in Philosophy.

Timetable

The course may not run every year. Options running this year are available on MyCampus.

Requirements of Entry

Standard entry to Masters at College level

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

One essay of 4000-5000 words.

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ Develop students' undergraduate level understanding of Metaphysics to a level which allow them to engage with contemporary positions and arguments in the field

■ Enable students to articulate and critically evaluate their own position within these contemporary issues

■ Provide a foundation in this field for future engagement in original research in Philosophy 

■ Provide the opportunity to achieve a foundation that equips the student for research leading to a Ph.D. in the following areas: Laws of nature, natural kinds, universals and tropes, causation, events, facts, supervenience, reduction, modality and essence.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of this course students will be able:

■ To explain the leading contemporary positions and arguments in Metaphysics

■ To articulate arguments for and against these theories, and compare them fruitfully and critically

■ To recognise and incorporate contemporary positions and arguments in Metaphysics into their own developing research fields where relevant

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's

summative assessment.