Phil 484- Special Topics in Metaphysics: Being. Bogazici University Summer 2005 Instructor: Christopher Colvin

In Being and Time, Heidegger, quoting Plato, claims to "once again raise the question of Being." The course will take its departure from Heidegger's and Plato's and focus on a few select topics in metaphysics such as the unity of substance, the paradox of analysis, internal and external relations, the limits of analysis, and the metaphysics of presence. Readings will be from a variety of philosophers and a full packet of the readings will be available at Durak Copy. In addition, students are encouraged to explore the website, "Formal Ontology."

The class meets:
Monday 13-15, Wednesday 11-13, Friday 11-13.

Grading: There will be a midterm exam (30%), a paper (30%) and a final exam (40%). Details of test format and questions, as well as paper topics and due dates will be provided in class.

A preliminary outline of the course (by week):

#2 Metaphysics
Platonic Ideas (One and What)
Aristotelian Substances (What and That)

#3 Unity of a Thing: A One/Many Problem
Plato and Bradley
Paradox of Analysis

#4 Relations
Bradley (Hegel) and Russell
Universal and Particular

#5 Limits of Analysis
Bergmann, Butchvarov, Rosen
Individual and Content

#6 Being and Beings
Heidegger
Truth, Presence, Dasein

#7 Three Attitudes to Objectivity
Summary overview