PHI307: Metaphysics
Key details
| Accredited towards | Bachelor of Arts in the Liberal Arts |
| Unit type | Elective unit |
| Credit points | 6 |
| Indicative contact hours | 3 hours per week |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Offered in | Semester 2 |
| Tuition fee | Learn more |
*Not offered in 2025
Overview
Metaphysics is the philosophical study of ultimate reality. It explores the nature of our world and the arguments which attempt to explain why reality has the features it has. A central strand within Western philosophy has traditionally explored these questions with reference to God and the role God plays in explaining how the world came to exist and why it is as it is. This subject will provide students with a broad grounding in the responses of philosophers to these questions, with some sustained reference to the work of Aquinas. Particular questions addressed include: What is it for something to exist? What is it that makes something the same entity over time? Are you something that can exist even if your body is destroyed? What is it for a person to act freely? If determinism were true, would that rule out human freedom?
Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit of study, students will be able to:
- Explain the distinctive nature of metaphysics as a sub-discipline of philosophy
- Explore, analyse and engage in the debates between the major Metaphysical schools of thought
- Explore and analyse at an advanced level key concepts, including the nature of personal identity, universals, modality, existence, accidents and substance
- Explain and debate cosmological and ontological arguments for the existence of God, determinism, and freedom
- Produce clear, nuanced arguments in written and oral forms
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