The course schedule is subject to change, and it is the student's responsibility to keep abreast of any amendments.

Course Schedule

Week 1: Course Introduction and Philosophical Method

Week 2: Quine and the Question of Existence

• Reading: Quine, W. V. O. (1948). 'On What There Is'.

Week 3: Introduction to Metaphysical Grounding

• Reading: Fine, K. (2012). 'Guide to Ground';
• Schaffer, J. (2009). 'On What Grounds What'.

Week 4: Natural Kinds and Scientific Explanation

• Reading: Ellis, B. (2001). 'Scientific Essentialism';
• Khalidi, M. A. (2023). 'Natural Kinds'.

Week 5: Project Presentation I

First presentation of the final project. Students will present the theoretical framework and foundational arguments for their chosen research topic, demonstrating how their topic can be analysed through the lens of grounding.

Week 6: Grounding Natural Kinds

• Reading: Correia, F. (2021). 'A Kind Route from Grounding to Fundamentality'; paper on 'Grounding Natural Kinds'.

Week 7-8: Phenomenal Kind of Consciousness

• Reading: Bayne, T. et al. (2024). 'Tests for consciousness in humans and beyond'; Phillips, I. (2018). 'The methodological puzzle of phenomenal consciousness'.

Week 9: Case Study: TBA

Week 10: Case Study: TBA

Week 11: The Disordered World of Kinds

• Reading: Dupré, J. (1993). The Disorder of Things: Metaphysical Foundations of the Disunity of Science.

Week 12: Physicalism and Hierarchical Constraints

• Reading: Brown, R. G. & Ladyman, J. (2019). 'Materialism'; Ney, A. (2008). 'Defining Physicalism'.

Week 13: From Consciousness to Selfhood

Week 14: Project Presentation II

Second presentation of the final project. Students will present a more developed version of their argument, including their final thesis and supporting evidence.

Assessment

• Weekly Reading Responses (20%): Short critical analyses of the assigned readings.
• Project Presentations (40%):
  • Presentation I (Week 5): A presentation on the project's theoretical foundation and literature review.
  • Presentation II (Week 14): A presentation on the final, developed argument of the paper.
• Final Research Paper (40%): A final paper applying the course's framework to a specific topic in ontology or the philosophy of mind.