Metaphysics and Epistemology (AP2223C)

Undergraduate, 18.0 points

Content

This unit examines excerpts from major philosophical texts in order to discuss significant issues in metaphysics and epistemology. It engages with philosophical questions such as: What is existence? What is real and what is appearance? How do being and becoming relate to one another? What is change? What is knowledge? Does knowledge come from the senses or from reason? What is the status of scientific and historical knowledge? What is the relationship of thought, language, and reality?

Unit code: AP2223C

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 2

Unit discipline: Philosophy

Proposing College: Catholic Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Outline the main epistemological issues in the Western philosophical tradition.
2.

Critically present accounts of the strengths and weaknesses of the major arguments of some of the thinkers presented in the unit.
3.

Critically summarise the fundamental ideas, positions, and arguments of some of the thinkers studied in the unit.
4.

Analyse a sustained critique of a philosophical position.
5.

Critically assess important arguments in the history of metaphysics and their implications.

Unit sequence

Prerequisite: One unit in philosophy.

Pedagogy

Lectures and guided discussion of readings, e.g. via worksheets.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Abraham, William J., and Frederick D. Aquino, eds. The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology. 1st ed. Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
  • Fine, Gail, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Plato. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019.
  • Grondin, Jean. Introduction to Metaphysics: From Parmenides to Levinas. Translated by Lukas Soderstrom. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012.
  • Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time: A Translation of Sein und Zeit. Translated by Joan Stambaugh. New York: State University of New York Press, 2010.
  • Kant, Immanuel, and Allen W. Wood. Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals: With an Updated Translation, Introduction, and Notes. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018.
  • Kerr, Gaven. Aquinas and the Metaphysics of Creation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019.
  • O'Brien, Dan. An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2017.
  • Sosa, Ernest. Epistemology. Princeton Foundations of Contemporary Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017.
  • Wallenfang, Donald. Metaphysics : A Basic Introduction in a Christian Key. Cascade Companions. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2019.
  • Wippel, John F. The Metaphysical Thought of Thomas Aquinas: From Finite Being to Uncreated Being. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2000.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)

Variant 1

Essay 2000 50.0
Written Examination 2000 50.0

Variant 2

Essay 2000 50.0
Report 2000 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 27 Jun, 2024

Unit record last updated: 2024-06-27 10:44:58 +1000