This class will be an introduction to metaphysics. But instead of surveying many different topics we will go into depth on a few topics in order to get a feel for how genuine philosophical debate on these topics go.
We will start by focusing on the nature of time – whether non-present times exist; whether one time, the present, is special; whether time travel is possible etc.. Then we will move on to related questions about the nature of objects for example, how do objects persist through time? and do they have temporal parts in same way that they have spatial parts? And we will extend this to consider how we, as humans persist through time – what makes you the same person as you were 10 years ago.
By the end of this course you should have gained understanding of how we can develop different metaphysical pictures of the world, and the types of arguments we can give for and against them. Further, you should improve your ability to analyze complex philosophical arguments, and to develop and express arguments of your own.
Instructor Harjit Bhogal Class Room KEY 0126 Class Time Tue/Thu 12:30-1:45pm
Office Skinner 1110B Office Hours Tuesday 3-5pm, in person, or by appointment Zoom ID 663 599 6109 (for appointments held over Zoom) Email bhogal@umd.edu
There is one required text, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality by John Perry. The other readings with be posted on ELMS/linked to from here.
The two required writing assignments will be on 10/15 and 11/12. The optional third assignment will be on 12/3. We will have one practice writing assignment (which does not count towards your grade) on 9/17 followed by a review session about that practice assignment on 9/22.
Each of the assignments, and the final exam, will be done via lockdown browser or will be handwritten.
The third writing assignment is optional. If you take it, your grade on it will replace your lower grade on the first two assignments — but only if that improves your overall grade. So taking it can only help you: if you do worse on the optional assignment than on both of the first two, the grade is simply discarded.
If you don't take the optional assignment, your grade is calculated from the first two assignments in the normal way. Either way, the two counted assignments are worth 20% each.
You do not need to tell me in advance whether you plan to take it.
Class participation is designed to measure evidence that you have done, and thought about, the reading and the topic more generally. Coming to class ready to engage with the material is most relevant for the participation grade. I will generally ask you to come into class with at least one question about the reading. Doing that will count towards your participation too.
To be clear, this grade is for participation, not merely attendance. I will be fairly lenient with attendance -- I won't take away points for missing a few classes. But, in order to score well on class participation you need to be engaged and prepared in the class and contribute to class discussion. (Other forms of contributions, like in office hours, can count towards the participation grade. But, because of AI, it's in-person engagement that matters, not emails and so on.)
The final exam is Friday, December 18 4pm-6pm. It will be a short answer exam. There are 10 questions but you'll only have to answer 5. You should write around 2 medium paras for each question.
Here are the grade ranges: A+: 100-96.67, A: 96.66-93.34, A-: 93.33-90
B+: 90-86.67, B: 86.66-83.34, B-: 83.33-80
C+: 80-76.67, C: 76.66-73.34, C-: 73.33-70
D+: 70-66.67, D: 66.66-63.34, D-: 63.33-60
Written assignments/the final exam will be graded along 4 dimensions
Clarity This is clarity both in the small-scale -- It's clear what your sentences mean and how they fit together -- and on the large-scale, it's clear what the point of your paper is how you argue for that point.
Accuracy The paper should be accurate in its discussion of the relevant philosophical topics, the terminology, the relevant literature, etc.
Reasoning The paper should provide plausible reasons for its conclusion, avoiding logical errors and avoiding mere rhetoric.
Originality This doesn't mean that you have to develop a view that no one else has ever thought of -- in fact, it will probably be a bad idea to do that. Rather, it's to do with there being some evidence that you've developed ideas about the issues independently. Giving a new, improved version of an objection we considered counts as originality, as does setting up and presenting the issues in a new way. Of course, though, originality doesn't count for much if you don't also do well on the earlier dimensions -- an original, but inaccurate paper is not good. You can get an A with very little originality, as long as you do very well on the previous dimensions.
Policies relevant to Undergraduate Courses are found here. Topics that are addressed in these various policies include academic integrity, student and instructor conduct, accessibility and accommodations, attendance and excused absences, grades and appeals, copyright and intellectual property.
Late assignments will be penalized a third of a letter grade, that's 3.33 points, for each day late, starting as soon as the deadline passes. Weekend days count.
The use of AI writing tools like ChatGPT is not allowed.
9/1 No Reading
9/3 Introduction to Time – Emery, Markosian and Sullivan, Time (in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (sections 5-10) Handout: Introduction to the Metaphysics of Time
9/8 Presentism vs Eternalism – Zimmerman, The Privileged Present Handout: Zimmerman on Presentism
9/10 Arguments for A-theory – Zimmerman, continued
9/15 A-theory and Experience – Paul, Temporal Experience Handout: A-Theory and Temporal Experience
9/17 Practice in-class written assignment
9/22 Writing assignment review session
9/24 NO CLASS
9/29 Time Travel – Lewis, The Paradoxes of Time Travel
10/1 Time Travel – Lewis, The Paradoxes of Time Travel, continued
10/6 Time Travel 2 – Vihvelin, What Time Travellers Cannot Do
10/8 Time Travel 2 – Vihvelin, continued
10/13 FALL BREAK
10/15 In-class written assignment 1
10/20 Endurance – Sider, Temporal Parts
10/22 Temporal Parts and Perduranism – Fine, In Defense of Three Dimensionalism
10/27 Paradoxes of Coincidence – Paul, The Puzzles of Material Constitution
10/29 Identity of Persons, Machines, Objects – Locke, Enquiry, Chapter XXVII, On Identity and Diversity
11/3 Souls – Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality, Night 1
11/5 Memory – Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality, Night 2
11/10 Bodily vs Psychological Continuity – Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality, Night 2
11/12 In-class written assignment 2
11/17 Psychological Criterion – Parfit, Personal Identity
11/19 NO CLASS
11/24 Psychological Criterion – Parfit, continued
11/26 THANKSGIVING
12/1 Bodily Criterion – Thomson, People and their Bodies
12/3 Optional in-class written assignment 3
12/8 Review for Final Exam
12/10 Review for Final Exam
12/18 4pm-6pm Final Exam