Metaphysics
Philosophy 412/512
Fall 2009, TuTh 2:45PM - 4:05PM, SS-255
http://www.fecundity.com/courses
Professor: P.D. Magnus
Campus phone: 2-4251
Office: HU-258
Office hours: M 11:00-12:00, W noon-1:00, and by appt.
Requirements
Three take-home exams @ 25%
1st exam: Due Tuesday, October 6
2nd exam: Due Tuesday, November 10
3rd exam: Due Thursday, December 10
One paper 25%
Undergraduates (registered for 412) will write 5-8 pages on an assigned topic.
Graduate students (registered for 512) will write 10 pages on a topic of their choosing.
Due at the final meeting of class:
Thursday, December 3
Participation: Participation in class discussion is required. Exemplary participation in class discussion will add to your grade, up to two-thirds of a letter grade.
Late papers: Assignments will be considered late if they are not ready to hand in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Each day late will result in a loss of one letter grade.
Academic honesty: Students are encouraged to discuss issues from the course with each other and with others outside of class, but they are responsible for their own ideas. Cheating on exams will not be tolerated. Papers should include citations to any works cited or consulted, as well as acknowledgments of helpful interactions.
Absences: Students who will need to miss deadlines for religious observance, away games, or for other scheduled reasons should discuss these issues with the professor at the beginning of the term. If an emergency arises, the student should contact the professor as soon as possible. Make-up exams will be given only for documented, excused absences.
Topics
The course text will be The Oxford Handbook of Metaphysics, edited by Michael J. Loux and Dean W. Zimmerman.
ISBN 978-0-19-928422-1
We will proceed through the chapters in order. We will certainly not have time to cover all of the topics, however, so we will skip some chapters.