Metaphysics
Code: 100303 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2500246 Philosophy | OB | 3 |
Contact
- Name:
- Jaume Mensa Valls
- Email:
- jaume.mensa@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
No prerequisite.
Objectives and Contextualisation
Metaphysics is a compulsory subject in the third year of the philosophy degree. The general objective of the subject Metaphysics is to study the problem of being and its relationship with the problem of language and truth.
The specific objectives of this subject are:
a) Achieve a global understanding of the metaphysical problem and its historical development;
b) Understand the main concepts related to metaphysics;
c) Read key metaphysical texts;
d) Present hermeneutics as a current alternative (that is, "postmetaphysical") of classical metaphysics.
Competences
- Act within one's own area of knowledge, evaluating sex/gender-based inequalities.
- Analysing and summarising the main arguments of fundamental texts of philosophy in its various disciplines.
- Placing the most representative philosophical ideas and arguments of a period in their historical background and relating the most important authors of each period of any philosophical discipline.
- Recognising and interpreting topics and problems of philosophy in its various disciplines.
- Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
- Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Thinking in a critical and independent manner on the basis of the specific topics, debates and problems of philosophy, both historically and conceptually.
Learning Outcomes
- Accurately using the specific lexicon of the history of philosophy.
- Applying philosophical rigour in a written text following the international quality standards.
- Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
- Communicate by making non-sexist, non-discriminatory use of language.
- Communicating in the studied language in oral and written form, properly using vocabulary and grammar.
- Demonstrating a personal stance over a problem or controversy of philosophical nature, or a work of philosophical research.
- Discriminating the features that define the writer's place in the context of a problem and reorganising them in a consistent diagram.
- Distinguishing and outlining the fundamental content of a philosophical text.
- Distinguishing the topics of philosophical relevance in current debates.
- Establishing relationships between science, philosophy, art, religion, politics, etc.
- Explaining the specific notions of the History of Philosophy.
- Expressing both orally and in written form, the issues and basic problems of the philosophical tradition.
- Identifying the main ideas of a related text and drawing a diagram.
- Indicating and discussing the main characteristics of the distinctive thought of a period and contextualizing them.
- Organizing their own time and work resources: designing plans with priorities of objectives, calendars and action commitments.
- Producing an individual work that specifies the work plan and timing of activities.
- Recognising, with a critical eye, philosophical referents of the past and present and assessing its importance.
- Relating elements and factors involved in the development of scientific processes.
- Relating several ideas of the current philosophical debates.
- Relating the various orders of the philosophical ideas of different authors and historical moments.
- Solving problems autonomously.
- Using suitable terminology when drawing up an academic text.
Content
I. Introduction
Concept of metaphysics, current panorama.
II. The question of being
Plato and the metaphysics of the One. History and current interpretations.
Aristotle and being as being. History and current interpretations.
III. Language and truth
Ancient (Cratylus) and medieval (De magistro) concept of language
Gadamer: language and hermeneutical experience
IV. The anthropological, linguistic and hermeneutical turn in metaphysics
V. Balance: Metaphysics, yet?
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Master class | 45 | 1.8 | 7, 10, 11, 22, 14, 17, 19, 20, 1 |
| Study and commenting on especially significant texts | 15 | 0.6 | 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 8, 10, 11, 12, 5, 22, 15, 20, 1 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Presentations | 10 | 0.4 | 4, 8, 11, 12, 5, 22, 13, 15 |
| Tutorials | 5 | 0.2 | 3, 8, 5, 15, 1 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Preparation of topics and texts. Bibliographic expansion | 20 | 0.8 | 4, 7, 8, 13, 15, 20 |
| Reading. Aristotle, Metaphysics, 12. | 12 | 0.48 | 7, 8, 13, 20 |
| Reading. Grondin, "Introducción a la Metafísica", cc. VI-XI, pp. 181-380. | 22 | 0.88 | 6, 9, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, 19 |
| Reading. Plato: "Parmenides" | 15.5 | 0.62 | 7, 8, 13, 20 |
In classes the lecturer will present the topics and comment on some especially significant texts. It is very important to attend and participate in class.
In addition, the student will have to do three personal mandatory readings:
1. Plato's Parmenides;
2. The book Lambda (12) of Aristotle's Metaphysics;
3. Jean Grondin, Introduction to Metaphysics (available online through the library. https://elibro.net/es/lc/uab/titulos/45768), cc. VI-XI, pp. 181-380.
The student, individually or in a small group, must make a presentation of these readings and they will be the subject of an exam.
We will use the Virtual Campus basically to share the materials and deliver the activities. On the other hand, if the student would like to contact the lecturer, it is necessary to do so by email.
So that the student can schedule the course well, on the first day of class the teacher will post a calendar on the Virtual Campus with the most important dates of the course (exams, assignment submission, etc.).
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First exam | 35% | 1.5 | 0.06 | 2, 4, 6, 9, 8, 10, 11, 12, 5, 22, 14, 17, 19, 20, 18, 21, 1 |
| Oral presentation (and written report) | 20 % | 0.5 | 0.02 | 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 8, 16, 10, 12, 5, 22, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 18, 21, 1 |
| Participation and class activities | 10 % | 2 | 0.08 | 3, 11, 5, 22, 13, 15, 18, 1 |
| Second exam | 35% | 1.5 | 0.06 | 2, 4, 6, 9, 8, 10, 11, 12, 5, 22, 14, 17, 19, 20, 18, 21, 1 |
SINGLE ASSESSMENT
The single assessment will be a written exam consisting of three parts:
a) Questions of a theoretical nature about the contents (35%);
b) Commentary on texts (35%);
c) Questions (contents) and activities, comments and arguments about the compulsory readings (30%).
To pass the exam it is necessary that the overall mark of the exam is at least 50% of the possible mark and the mark of each part is at least 40% of the possible mark.
Recovery exam
The recovery exam can only be taken if the student has obtained at least a 3.5 in the single assessment exam.
The characteristics of the recovery exam will be the same as those of the single assessment exam. Even if the student has passed one or two parts of the single assessment exam, he/she must take the entire exam.
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT
Continuous assessment presupposes class attendance, active participation and constant work.
To pass the course it is necessary: a) that the mark of each one of the two exams is, at least, 4; b) that the average of the various activities add up to at least 5. If a student does not meet these two conditions, it will be necessary for them to take the reassessment of the exam or exams that prevent them from achieving a pass. The student will only be able to appear for the reevaluation if at the time they have taken the partial exams.
The presentation is not subject to reevaluation, even if it is suspended.
The student who has only carried out evaluation activities for a value less than or equal to 30% will be qualified as Not Evaluable.
There is no second call.
The teacher will assign a day, time and place for the exam revision once she has evaluated the course activities and has given the overall qualification mark. Students who must take the reassessment will have a specific revision day once they have completed theaforementioned reassessment activity.
Observations on evaluation activities
Exams. The exam can consist of two parts: theory questions and commentary on a fragment. In the theory questions it will be necessary to give a reason for the content of the topics, the basic bibliography on that topic and the compulsory readings.
Presentation. The student, individually or in a small group, will give a presentation of between 20 and 30 minutes on an aspect or section of the required readings and will prepare a short work that they will share with their classmates on the Virtual Campus.
Class participation. The lecturer will value that students actively participate in class. Carrying out the proposed activities, preparing the classes in advance, expanding content, making contributions and sharing it in class is essential to take advantage of the course.
Recovery exam
The recovery exam will consist of a test that will combine theory questions and a text commentary.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary processthat may take place. In the eventof several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Bibliography
Compulsory readings
PLATÓ, Parmènides (Textos Filosòfics, 55), Barcelona, Edicions 62; i Diàlegs, XIV (Fundació Bernat Metge, 144), Barcelona, 1995.
ARISTÒTIL, Metafísica, vol. 2 (Fundació Bernat Metge, 426), Barcelona, 2019. [Llibre XII].
Jean GRONDIN, Introducción a la Metafísica, Barcelona, Herder, 2006. Disponible en línia: https://elibro.net/es/ereader/uab/45768
Basic bibliography
DILTHEY, El naixement de l'hermenèutica (Textos Filosòfics, 76), Barcelona, 1997;
R. GABÁS, Filosofía del siglo XX, dins J. Hirschberger, Historia de la filosofía, III, Barcelona, Herder, 2011.
F. NEF, Qu'est-ce que la metaphysique?, París, 2004.
Teresa OÑATE, Para leer la "Metafísica" de Aristóteles en el siglo XXI, Madrid, Dykinson, 2001.
RECAS BAYON, J, Hacia una hermenéutica crítica. Gadamer, Habermas, Apel, Vattimo, Rorty, Derrida y Ricoeur, Madrid, Biblioteca Nueva, 2006.
VATTIMO, G, Más allá de la intepretación, Barcelona, Paidós, 1995.
Software
The essay will be presented in a .doc and/or .pdf file.
If an online session had to be done, Teams or Meet would be used
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 2 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 2 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |