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Reality Bites: Introduction to metaphysics
  • Level Professional
  • Duration 9 hours
  • Course by Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • Offered by

About

Speculative metaphysics is challenging, but this course will whet your appetite for it, because it explains fundamental metaphysical problems and views in terms of what you can find in your kitchen and what happens in it when you cook and enjoy food. Here are the 8 bites on the menu. - The first module 1 explains that metaphysics is about the ingredients and recipes of the world, i.e., which kinds of entities exist and how they relate to one another. - Modules 2 and 3 invite you to reflect on whether the properties of ingredients -such as their shape and weight- are separate from and if so, how they come together in the ingredients. - Modules 4 to 7 are about cooking: its most important ingredient is time and most cooking consists in causing changes to the ingredients over time. Yet some ingredients persist: although they undergo changes, they remain the same. Moreover, cooking minimally involves putting two or more ingredients together, so that they compose a whole. Hence modules 4 to 7 deal with time, causation, persistence and composition respectively. - Finally, the last module touch on the smells, tastes and other qualitative aspects of our experiences when enjoying food. Bon appétit!

Modules

Metaphysics

    • 4 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Quiz 1

1 Discussions

  • Discussion 1

4 Videos

  • Teaser 1
  • 1.1 On our menu
  • 1.2 Ontological commitments
  • 1.3 On holes

1 Readings

  • Glossary 1

Universals

    • 4 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Quiz 2

1 Discussions

  • Discussion 2

4 Videos

  • Teaser 2
  • 2.1 One over many
  • 2.2 Realism about universals
  • 2.3 Nominalism

1 Readings

  • Glossary 2

Substance

    • 4 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Quiz 3

1 Discussions

  • Discussion 3

4 Videos

  • Teaser 3
  • 3.1 Naked substrata
  • 3.2 Bundle theories
  • 3.3 Thin particulars

1 Readings

  • Glossary 3

Time

    • 3 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Quiz 4

1 Discussions

  • Discussion 4

3 Videos

  • Teaser 4
  • 4.1 Four ontologies of time
  • 4.2 The unreality of time

1 Readings

  • Glossary 4

Causality

    • 4 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Quiz 5

1 Discussions

  • Discussion 5

4 Videos

  • Teaser 5
  • 5.1 Causal relata
  • 5.2 Two reductive theories
  • 5.3 Four alternatives to Humeanism

1 Readings

  • Glossary 5

Persistance

    • 3 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Quiz 6

1 Discussions

  • Discussion 6

3 Videos

  • Teaser 6
  • 6.1 Ship of Theseus
  • 6.2 Four views about persistance

1 Readings

  • Glossary 6

Composition

    • 4 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 1 Assignment
Show info about module content

1 Assignment

  • Quiz 7

1 Discussions

  • Discussion 7

4 Videos

  • Teaser 7
  • 7.1 The special composition question
  • 7.2 Moderate answers
  • 7.3 Extreme answers

1 Readings

  • Glossary 7

Response-dependence

    • 4 Videos
    • 1 Readings
    • 1 Discussion
    • 2 Assignment
Show info about module content

2 Assignment

  • Quiz 8
  • Exam

1 Discussions

  • Discussion 8

4 Videos

  • Teaser 8
  • 8.1 Colors as secondary qualities
  • 8.2 Values as response-dependent
  • 8.3 The third way

1 Readings

  • Glossary 8

Auto Summary

"Reality Bites: Introduction to Metaphysics" is a professional-level course in Health & Fitness, instructed by Coursera. It delves into fundamental metaphysical problems using culinary metaphors. Over 540 minutes, explore the existence and relationships of entities, ingredient properties, and the dynamics of cooking, including time, causation, persistence, and composition. The final module enhances understanding of sensory experiences. Available via a Starter subscription, this course is perfect for those curious about metaphysics through the lens of everyday kitchen activities. Bon appétit!

Tim De Mey
Instructor

Tim De Mey