Metaphysics

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ST.

VINCENT SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY


Adamson University

Syllabus

Course Number PH 321

Course Title Metaphysics

School year and 2019-2020, Second Semester


Semester
Number of Credit 3 units
Units
Number of 18 sessions
Sessions
Contact Hours 54 hours

Faculty Mr. Wilzel A. Adriatico

Course
Prerequisites

Course Description This course deals with the foundational question of


‘being’ as ultimate reality, its existence/ non-existence, our
experience of it and the conditions of
its possibility. It seeks to study and understand the meaning,
characteristics and attributes, and structures of being. It also
touches the debates on the possibility and necessity of
metaphysics, but eventually put forward the importance of
the metaphysical enterprise as a whole in studying and doing
philosophy.

Course Objectives: 1.) Differentiate metaphysical inquiry from other modes


of philosophical inquiry and articulate the value of
At the end of the metaphysical thinking.
semester, the
students shall have 2.) Demonstrate the capacity to read and explain
been able to: philosophical texts and ideas.

3.) Develop synthetic, creative, and reflective thinking


skills to generate new insights and ideas; to deepen,
and to express personal realizations about one’s self,
others, and the world in the light of metaphysical
thinking.

4.) Articulate the various metaphysical perspectives,


ideas, and values through speaking and writing.

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Course Format
I. Introduction
(Course Outline)
Reading: Excerpt from Josef Pieper, “The
Philosophical Act”

II. Part 1: The Science and Meaning of Being


Reading: “What is Metaphysics and Why do it?” (5-
23); “The Discovery of the Meaning of Being” (25-
31), in Norris Clarke, The One and The Many

Suggested Reading: Emerich Coreth, “The History


of the Concept of Metaphysics” in Metaphysics

III. Part 2: The Attributes of Being


Reading: “Unity as the Transcendental Property of
Being” (60-71); “Being as Good” (261-274); “Evil
and Being” (275-289); and “The Transcendental
Properties of Being” (290-302), in Norris Clarke,
The One and The Many

IV. Part 3: The Structures of Being


Reading: “The World of Change” (109-121); “Self-
Identity and Change” (123-137); “Essential and
Substantial Change” (139-149); and “Being and
Time” (161-176), in Norris Clarke, The One and The
Many

V. Part 4: The Summit of Being


Reading: “The Final Unification of All Being” (212-
243), in Norris Clarke, The One and The Many

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VI. Conclusion
Reading: Josef Pieper, “The Negative Element in
the Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas” in The
Silence of St. Thomas Aquinas: Three Essays

Suggested Reading: Jean-Luc Marion,


“Metaphysics and Phenomenology: A Relief for
Theology”

Course Requirements

1. Quizzes (15%)

This will be done at the beginning of the class. Quizzes are to assess the
students' understanding of the assigned text/reading to be discussed.

Target Learning Outcomes: 2

2. Group Report (10%)

Students will be assigned to a group and each group will be asked to report an
assigned chapter of the required reading with critical analysis and evaluation
and concrete application of the assigned chapter.

Target Learning Outcomes: 2, 4

3. Preliminary Examination (20%)

The preliminary examination will be a written examination that will take place
inside the classroom. Students will be given the entire period to answer the
questions, hand-written on a size one (1) paper. The questions will be provided
on the day of the examination. Absent students on the day of the exam will
automatically get a grade of F (0) unless there is a valid reason for being
absent. If that is the case, immediately write me an e-mail to re-schedule a new
exam indicating the valid reason for missing the scheduled exam. However,
expect that a different set of questions will be asked from those who took the
exam on the scheduled day.

Target Learning Outcomes: 2, 4

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4. Midterm Examination (25%)

The midterm examination will be oral. The oral examination tests the capacity
of the students to explain in a coherent, logical, reflective, creative, and
synthetic manner the key philosophical concepts and ideas discussed in class.
It will be done by group. The students will be asked to explain a thesis
statement coming come from the assigned chapter in their group report, and
defend their answer on the thesis statement. Each group will be given 20
minutes to answer the thesis statement and defend their answer. Failure to
show up in the oral exam will automatically merit a grade of F (0) unless the
student/s have a valid reason for being absent.

Target Learning Outcomes: All Learning Outcomes

5. Final Examination (30%)

The final examination will be oral. The students will be asked to explain a
thesis statement and defend their answer on the thesis statement. It will be
done individually. The oral examination tests the capacity of the students to
explain in a coherent, logical, reflective, creative, and synthetic manner the
key philosophical concepts and ideas discussed in class. A student will be given
12 minutes to answer the thesis statement and defend his answer. Failure to
show up in the oral exam will automatically merit a grade of F (0) unless the
student/s have a valid reason for being absent.

Target Learning Outcomes: All Learning Outcomes

Evaluation
Methods A (1) Excellent. A critical and comprehensive grasp of the
& subject matter, and showing original, profound, personal
Grading system insight that contributes to the philosophical discussion at
hand.

B+ (1.50) Commendable. A clear and comprehensive grasp of


subject matter and showing further personal insight that
recognizes the lesson's relevance.

B (1.75) Good. Important issues are recognized and have


been thought through; specific subject matter is understood
with a grasp of the whole.

C+ (2.25) Satisfactory. A rudimentary understanding of


subject matter, presented in an orderly way.

C (2.50) Sufficient. A rudimentary understanding of subject


matter, but presentation tends to be vague and disordered;
errors in the details and flaws in reasoning are evident.

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D (3) Unsatisfactory. Little evidence of study; vague and
disordered; errors in the details and flaws in reasoning are
very evident.

Final Course Grades:

A 100-96
B+ 95-91
B 90-86
C+ 85-81
C 80-76
D 75-71
F 70 and below

Consultation time Thursdays


(face to face) 11-15pm – 12:00pm

Contact details for wadriatico@ateneo.edu


e-consultation

Selected Required Readings:


Bibliography
Clarke, W. Norris, SJ. The One and The Many. Illinois: Notre
Dame University Press, 1994.

———. Central Problems of Metaphysics. Edited by Nemesio S.


Que. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press,
2001.

Pieper, Josef. The Silence of St. Thomas Three Essays.


Translated by John Murray, SJ and Daniel O’Connor.
New York: Pantheon Books Inc., 1957.

———. “The Philosophical Act.” In Leisure: The Basis of Culture.


San Francisco: Random House, 2009.

Suggested Readings:

Coreth, Emerich. Metaphysics. New York: Herder and Herder,


1968.

Feser, Edward. Scholastic Metaphysics: A Contemporary


Introduction. Editiones Scholasticae, 2014.

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Marion, Jean-Luc. “Metaphysics and Phenomenology: A
Relief for Theology.” In in Critical Inquiry, vol. 20, no. 4,
Symposium on “God.”Summer, 1994: pp. 572-591.

Wippel, John. The Metaphysical Thought of Thomas Aquinas.


Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America
Press, 2000.

Prepared by:

Mr. Wilzel A. Adriatico

Signed by:

Fr. Daniel Franklin Pilario, CM


Dean

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