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PHIL41770

Academic Year 2024/2025

Metaphysics (TCD) (PHIL41770)

Subject:
Philosophy
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Philosophy
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Professor Rowland Stout
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The metaphysical concern with being, at its most general, naturally includes questions of what there is and how things are. But what of the modal questions? What things could there have been? How might things have been? Are there some matters that must be so? Modal realists hold that modality is real: a full account of the world includes modal facts. Modal antirealists reject that view: whatever our modal thought is doing it is not representing modal features of reality.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

• Understand the main positions of modal realism and modal anti-realism
• Construct arguments for metaphysical views they wish to defend and criticize arguments for metaphysical views they wish to reject.
• Take an informed view of where they stand on the question of modal realism

Indicative Module Content:

Against some historical background, we investigate the debate between modal realists and their opponents as it has developed over the last 100 years, from the time of logical positivism to the present day. The central narrative will be built around the modal antirealist, Quine, and responses to his work.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Autonomous Student Learning

178
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
To be supplied by the TCD Lecturer

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): 1 Essay (end of module) 50% Week 14 Graded No

50

 Yes
Exam (In-person): 1 Examination (end of module) 50% Week 15 Graded No

50

 Yes

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback individually to students, post-assessment This can be through different approaches such as oral, audio, video and/or written/annotated feedback, either in-class, out of class, in meetings, through the VLE, by email, using rubrics, etc.

An extensive and detailed reading list will be made available at the start of the module. But among the essential readings for the early weeks of the course will be

Quine, W.V.O (1948). On What There Is. Review of Metaphysics 2, pp.21-38. Reprinted in From a Logical Point of View. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1–19.

Quine, W.V.O (1951). Two Dogmas of Empiricism, Philosophical Review 60. Reprinted in From a Logical point of View, Cambridge MA, Harvard University Press (1953, 20-46)

These articles (in pdf format) are easily sourced online.

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