(in Polish) Ontology A

obligatory courses

The course is an introduction to selected issues of modern analytical ontology (also known as metaphysics). Problems discussed in class include the following questions: notions of existence, being and identity, a dispute between realism and nominalism, reductive theories of particularities, elements of metaphysics of modality, the nature of time and space, ontology of events. Discussions will be based on texts written by modern analytical philosophers such as Quine, van Inwagen, Kripke, Lewis, Stalnaker, Smart, et al.

The course will cover the following core topics in modern analytic metaphysics (ontology):

- What is existence? Two conceptions of existence: property view and quantifier view. Ontological commitments. Numerical identity and qualitative identity (indiscernibility). The Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles and the Leibniz law.

- Universals and particulars. Realism vs. nominalism. Variants of realism (radical realism, moderate realism) and their connections with semantics (in particular the problem of abstract reference). Russell’s paradox and Bradley’s regress. Variants of nominalism (austere nominalism, metalinguistic nominalism, resemblance nominalism). Trope theory.

- Abstract objects and their definitional characteristics (non-spatiotemporality, mind-dependence, causal inertness). Mereological sets vs. distributive sets. Mathematical objects and their existence.

- Particular objects. The bundle theory of particulars and its problems. Bare substrata. The nuclear theory and the essential vs. accidental properties.

- Modal notions: necessity and possibility. Possible worlds and their interpretations. Modal realism vs. actualism. The necessity of identity. Identification of objects across possible worlds. Rigid designators.

- The nature of time. A-series and B-series. McTaggart’s argument for the unreality of time. The problem of the passage of time. Eternalism and presentism.

- Reductive conceptions of events. Events as property attributions. The ontology of eventism.

Textbooks:

M.J. Loux, “Metaphysics: a contemporary introduction”, Routledge 2002,

T. Bigaj, “Metaphysics: a guided tour for beginners”, U. of Warsaw 2012

Readings:

W. van O. Quine, “On what there is”;

P. van Inwagen, “McGinn on Existence”;

M. Loux, “Beyond Substrata”;

G. Rosen, “Abstract objects”;

D. Armstrong, “Can a Naturalist believe in Universals?”

S. Kripke, “Identity and necessity”;

D. Lewis, “Possible worlds”;

M. Loux, “The necessary and the possible”;

F. Berto, “Impossible Worlds and Propositions: Against the Parity Thesis”;

K. Fine, “Essence and Modality”;

M.J. Clark & D. Liggins, “The Recent Work on Grounding”;

J.R. Searle, “What is an Institution”;

D.C. Williams, “The myth of passage”;

J. Kim, “Events as property exemplifications”

Students:

- have a basic knowledge of the place and role of ontology in relation to other philosophical disciplines and branches of learning, and of the subject and methodological specificity of ontology

- know basic ontological terminology in English

- know and understand major concepts and trends in contemporary ontology

- know ideas and arguments of the most prominent, twentieth- and twenty-first century philosophers working in the field of ontology

- know fundamental research methods and argumentative strategies proper to metaphysics

- know interpretation methods appropriate for ontological texts

Students:

- seek, analyze, evaluate, select, and use information from traditional and electronic sources

- read and interpret ontological texts

- understand oral presentations of ontological ideas and arguments

- correctly use ontological terminology

- adequately define ontologically important concepts

- analyze ontological arguments, identify their crucial assumptions and premises

- uncover relations between different ontological claims

- select argumentative strategies, formulate – on a basic level – critical arguments, reply to criticism

Students:

- know the scope of their knowledge and skills, acknowledge the need for constant education and professional development

- are open to new ideas and ready to change their minds in light of available data and arguments

- organize their work effectively and critically assess their progress

The final grade will be calculated as follows:

Written assignment (essay): 15%

Mid-term exam (written): 35%

Final exam (written): 50%

Maximal number of absences allowed in the semester: 2.