PHIL361: Metaphysics and Social Ontology

Meeting time: MWF, 11:30am-12:20pm, YMCA 115

Office: YMCA 423

Office Hours: MWF 11:10-11:30am; 12:20-12:40pm

Email: joliphint@tamu.edu

This course will introduce you to some of the main topics within metaphysics and social ontology. We will look at topics like personal identity, fatalism, time, God, free will and determinism, properties, modality, metametaphysics, the metaphysics and identity of social groups, and social mereology, among other topics. Through readings and discussion of these topics, you will gain familiarity with the literature from metaphysics and social ontology, while learning to read with a philosophical eye and write with philosophical structure and rigor.

Course Requirements and Grading

• Attendance and Participation: (17%)

• Midterm (13%)

• Partner Research Presentation (25%)

  • Partner Selection (2%)

  • Journal Article Approval (3%)

  • Class Presentation (20%)

• Final Paper Process: (45%)

  • Paper Topic Approval and Annotated Bibliography: (3%)

  • Mumford Paper Abstract/Outline (7%)

  • Peer Draft (10%)

  • Peer Comments: (5%)

  • Final Paper (2,000-2,500 words): (20%)

Required Readings

1. Conee, Earl and Theodore Sider. Riddles of Existence: a Guided Tour of Metaphysics. (e-book available through TAMU Library)

2. Epstein, Brian. 2019. “What Are Social Groups? Their Metaphysics and How to Classify Them.” Synthese 196 (12): 4899–4932. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-017-1387-y.

3. Fine, Kit. 2020. “The Identity of Social Groups.” Metaphysics 3 (1): 81–91. https://doi.org/10.5334/met.45.

4. Hawley, Katherine. 2017. “Social Mereology.” Journal of the American Philosophical Association 3 (4): 395–411. https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2017.33.

5. Mason, Rebecca. 2020. “Against Social Kind Anti-Realism.” Metaphysics 3 (1): 55–67. https://doi.org/10.5334/met.30.

6. Passinsky, Asya. 2020. “Social Objects, Response-Dependence, and Realism.” Journal of the American Philosophical Association 6 (4): 431–43. https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2019.51.

Learning Objectives

1. Through the assigned readings in metaphysics and social ontology, you will gain familiarity with the main topics in each field.

2. You will gain familiarity and a measure of competence with the tools used in philosophical methodology to analyze academic texts. You will be able to identify the main thesis, terminology, lines of argument, examples and evidence, and potential counterexamples within a given text, and evaluate the overall effectiveness of those elements for making a case.

3. Through writing and discussion, you will cultivate habits of insightful, precise, and respectful dialogue in both written and oral form.

Attendance and Participation

Your attendance and participation will be crucial for your success in the course. Each student is allowed to miss one class without penalty. Though I dislike metricizing participation, you will be expected to make qualitative contributions to class discussion to earn participation credit. It is as much your responsibility to track your level of participation as it is mine. Feel free to contact me if there are any questions as to what your level of participation has been at any point in the semester.

Your engagement with the readings will focus on 1) exposition of the text and 2) critical analysis of the text, and we will devote one class period to each facet. On days when the topic is first introduced, each cohort will write a half-page to page-length summary of a particular aspect of the reading assignment for that day. For example:

• • Cohort 1 will define any technical terms the reading introduced.

  • Cohort 2 will state the thesis of the reading.

  • Cohort 3 will tell us what examples illustrated and supported the argument in the reading.

  • Cohort 4 will tell us the supporting reasons used in the argument, and how these reasons support the argument.

  • Cohort 5 will tell us the objections to the argument that the author addressed, and will explain why the author believed the objections did not undermine the argument.

For each summary, there will be a lead author from the cohort, and the rest of the members will be co-authors. Each cohort will rotate from class meeting to class meeting who will be lead author. The summaries will be submitted to Canvas before the start of the next class and will be graded as complete or incomplete as part of your engagement grade. We will then discuss in turn those features of the reading assignment in class. For the next class period, a representative from each cohort will submit to Canvas two questions for critical analysis of the assigned reading that we will discuss as a class. Before discussion, the rest of the class and I will evaluate the quality of the questions and whether the questions are stated clearly.

Partner Research Presentations

You and a partner of your choosing will present an expository and evaluative 15-minute presentation summary of a pre-approved journal article on any topic within metaphysics and social ontology. You have the option to do this either live in class or to make a video and present it to the class using The Studio in the library annex. The presentation will first give an overview of the article and what it is generally about. You will then walk us through the main argument, defining terms when necessary, and pointing out helpful examples, anticipated objections, as well as counterexamples and counterpoints to objections. The latter five minutes of the presentation will be critical and evaluative: what could the author have done better? Was it clear? Does the conclusion fall out naturally from the premises? And so forth. You will send me the journal article for approval two weeks before you are scheduled to present. You will choose your partner by October 4th, at which point we will schedule the presentations.

Final Paper

Your final paper will be 2,000-2,500 words (double-spaced, 10pt font, Times New Roman or similar), and you will shift from expositing and analyzing arguments to constructing your own argument on one of the topics we have looked at in class. It will follow this general structure:

• An opening paragraph that motivates and makes a pitch for the paper: what problem are you addressing? Why is this important? What is the puzzle you intend to highlight and perhaps solve?

• A map of the structure of your paper, i.e. a section that states the structure of the paper and what you are about to argue.

• The argument itself. For each main section, you will begin with an introductory paragraph describing what you are about to do in each section. You do not have to have a separate section for each of these elements below; in fact, that would make for an awkwardly written paper. But all elements should be interwoven into the prose of your argument.

  • You will define any technical terms you introduce.

  • You will state your thesis clearly, toward the beginning of the paper.

  • You will give helpful examples that illustrate and support your argument.

  • You will make it clear when you are giving supporting reasons for your argument, and it will be clear how these reasons support your argument.

  • You will anticipate and note objections to your argument, and will explain why the objections do not undermine your argument.

• A Conclusion section that summarizes your argument, findings, and results, as well as 1) further questions that need to be answered, and 2) an idea for anyone wanting to continue your research and findings.

By October 15th you will submit the (two or more) sources from a philosophical journal or book you have chosen to interact with in your paper in annotated bibliography form, and why you have chosen them in particular. (philpapers.org is a good place to start)

On October 29th you will have a Mumford abstract of your paper drafted and sent to me. The Mumford Method is an effective way to begin composing a paper. You will write an outline for your paper no longer than one page. It will contain the main points and spine of your argument.

On November 15th you will send a first draft of your paper to a classmate, who will send their paper to you in return. The paper shall be at least 2,000 words and will contain all structural elements of a paper: introduction, defining terms, maps of the paper and each section, etc. By November 22nd you both will receive the other's comments on the paper, which will strengthen the paper for its final submission.

The paper is due on or before December 15th by 11:59pm.

Grading Scale

F: 0-59, Has not been turned in or has been turned in extremely late; plagiarized work; incomplete work.

D: 60-69, Does not meet the minimum requirements indicated in the assignment instructions.

C: 70-79, Only meets the minimum requirements but does not meet the majority of the assignment objectives indicated in the instructions.

B: 80-89, Meets all of the minimum requirements but only meets some of the assignments objectives indicated in the instructions.

A: 90-100, Meets all of the minimum requirements and all of the objectives indicated in the instructions.

I reserve the right to curve grades appropriate to class achievement.

Guidelines

Preparing for Class

This is an upper-level course. Each day I and your cohort will expect you to have not just read but absorbed the material and to be ready to talk about it in a competent manner. That requires active engagement with the text as you read, and you may wish to take notes on the text, write down questions, or find another mentally active process that helps the material and content stay with you throughout our class discussion. Most of your engagement grade depends on doing this well.

Class Sessions

Much of what you get out of the course will be from class discussion, so attendance is assumed and mandatory, and active engagement is expected. I will introduce and frame the material in the beginning, and will clarify terms, concepts, and ideas from the reading as we go, and will guide discussion to meet the desired objectives and outcomes. The University policy for absences can be found here: https://student-rules.tamu.edu/rule07/.

Civility

We may discuss controversial topics about ideas we believe in strongly and value highly. For this reason, an extra measure of civility and charity will be required during discussion. We will be focusing on the arguments and the content without making personal comments. I reserve the right to penalize comments I deem to be personal or uncharitable. At no point will class be recorded in any way, by any student or by me.

Late Assignments

Late assignments will be marked down one letter grade from its final grade for every late day, and on the third late day the assignment will be marked as a zero.

Institutional Policies

Disability, statement of accommodation, and Title IX

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Disability Services, in Cain Hall, Room B118, or call 845-1637. NB: You must register with disability services and provide medical documentation to support your request for consideration at least two weeks prior to the time the requested services are needed, in particular, prior to an exam. Students requiring accommodation must submit the relevant paperwork in the first week of class. University resources are available at https://disability.tamu.edu.

Texas A&M University and the College of Liberal Arts are committed to fostering a learning environment that is safe and productive for all. University policies and federal and state laws provide guidance for achieving such an environment. Although class materials are generally considered confidential pursuant to student record policies and laws, University employees — including instructors — cannot maintain confidentiality when it conflicts with their responsibility to report certain issues that jeopardize the health and safety of our community. As the instructor, I must report (per Texas A&M System Regulation 08.01.01) the following information to other University offices if you share it with me, even if you do not want the disclosed information to be shared:

• Allegations of sexual assault, sexual discrimination, or sexual harassment when they involve TAMU students, faculty, or staff, or third parties visiting campus.

These reports may trigger contact from a campus official who will want to talk with you about the incident that you have shared. In many cases, it will be your decision whether or not you wish to speak with that individual. If you would like to talk about these events in a more confidential setting, you are encouraged to make an appointment with the Student Counseling Service (https://scs.tamu.edu).

Students and faculty can report non-emergency behavior that causes them to be concerned at http://tellsomebody.tamu.edu.

Academic integrity

Students should be familiar with Texas A&M’s definitions and policies regarding cheating and plagiarism, found here. The assignments given in this class require independent thought in a way that is very difficult to plagiarize effectively. Academic dishonesty includes cheating in all its forms and is utterly inconsistent with the Aggie Honor Code: “An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.”. Under Texas A&M’s policies, students guilty of academic dishonesty may receive lowered grades and other more severe penalties. For further details, consult the website for the Aggie Honor System Office. Note that academic dishonesty includes not only getting someone else to do your work (with or without their knowledge) but also knowingly doing someone else’s work for them. Please note that I take the Aggie Honor Code very seriously and expect strict adherence to it. Plagiarism is easy to detect. Don’t plagiarize.

Withdrawal

It is the student’s responsibility to withdraw from classes; professors have no obligation to withdraw students who do not attend courses. For further details on withdrawal, see https://registrar.tamu.edu/Catalogs,-Policies-Procedures/ Academic-Calendar.

Equity and diversity

In addition to meeting its obligations of nondiscrimination under federal and state law, Texas A&M University is committed to creating a community in which a diverse population can live, learn, and work in an atmosphere of tolerance, civility, and respect for the rights and sensibilities of each individual, without regard to economic status, ethnic background, political views, or other personal characteristics or beliefs. The classroom is a place of conversation and debate. Disagreement is to be expected, especially when considering ideas that relate to people’s philosophical and religious beliefs. As alluded to above, this does not give anyone the right to demean or ridicule the ideas and opinions of others. Please be courteous and open to learning from your classmates.

COVID

To help protect Aggieland and stop the spread of COVID-19, Texas A&M University urges students to be vaccinated and to wear masks in classrooms and all other academic facilities on campus, including labs. Doing so exemplifies the Aggie Core Values of respect, leadership, integrity, and selfless service by putting community concerns above individual preferences. COVID-19 vaccines and masking — regardless of vaccination status — have been shown to be safe and effective at reducing spread to others, infection, hospitalization, and death.

Texas A&M University recognizes that mental health and wellness are critical factors that influence a student’s academic success and overall wellbeing. Students are encouraged to engage in proper self-care by utilizing the resources and services available from Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS). Students who need someone to talk to can call the Texas A&M Helpline (979-845-2700) from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. weekdays and 24 hours on weekends. 24-hour emergency help is also available through the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800-273-8255) or at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.