Ontology II

Code:

FILO031

Acronym:

ONT2

Instance: 2014/2015 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Web Page:	http://https://moodle.up.pt/course/view.php?id=1289
Responsible unit:	Department of Philosophy
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Philosophy

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
FILO	25	FILO - Study Plan	3	-	6	4

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

1. To consolidate the expertise on the main ontological paradigms of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, acquired in Ontology I.

2. To further examine the theoretical paths from the statement of Metaphysics as a science to Kant’s criticism of the limits of understanding and his statements on the impossibility of metaphysics as a science.

3. To point out the main theoretical elements of the statement of Metaphysics as a science of «ens qua ens» to the Ontology of «ens as intelligible qua intelligible»

4. To show the consequences of Kant’s criticism to the contemporary developments of ontology and originates the idea of a deconstruction and death of Metaphysics, and contributes to the idea of a post metaphysical era.

5. To identify the contemporary ways to return to ontology: phenomenology, analytic philosophy, German and French existentialisms and other contemporary schools in ontology

Learning outcomes and competences

1. To learn and to consolidate the basic conceptual tools for the study of ontology.
2. To develop theoretical and critical skills regarding the philosophical issues concerning Ontology.
3. To understand the development of metaphysical science in modern and contemporary philosophy.
4. To identify the main schools and doctrines in contemporary ontology.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

prerequirements : research tools and philosophical knowledge grasped in previous years of the 1st circle of the course of Philosophy

simultaneous knowledge - to read and analyse requiered bibliography (primary sources and studies)

Program

I - Introduction:
1. From Metaphysics to Ontology: paradigm shift ?
2. The rebirth of Metaphysics: Francisco Suárez .
b ) Object of Metaphysics. The suarezian definition of 'existing' as ' aptitude for existence".
c ) formal concept and objective concept of being
d ) the relationship between essence and existence in metaphysical suareziana

II . Christian . Wolff : the creation of ontology as a science of beings possible.
1. The first principles of knowledge, and knowledge of «things in general».
a)    Non-contradiction
b)    Possibility and impossibility
c)    Definition of 'existence'
d)    Identity and Difference
2. What is ' a thing '
3. Wolff’s essentialism

III - Kant and the impossibility of Metaphysics as Science
1. Kant 's critique of empiricism and dogmatic rationalism of Wolff
2. The proposal of a transcendental philosophy .
3. Critical examination of the possibility and limits of understanding :
4. The structure of human knowledge (Transcendental Analytics)
5. The dialectic of reason (Transcendental Dialectics)
6. The place of ontology in the Critique of Pure Reason by Kant

IV Ontology and Metaphysics in post - Kantian era.
1. The return to things: its limits and possibilities
a. Brentano , Bolzano , Husserl : phenomenology of perception
2. M. Heidegger :
a) Critique of Western metaphysics : the deconstruction of metaphysics ;
b) the aim of a phenomenological ontology ;
c) the impossibility of the foundation of a fundamental ontology

V - Contemporary Ontology. State of the art.
a) State of the Art: ontology contemporary paradigms. Main schools: phenomenological, analytical, continental, Austro – Polish
b) The multiplicity of ontological paradigms. Its meaning and consequences in the formation of contemporary rationality

Mandatory literature

F. Suárez; Disputações Metafísicas I e II, Herder, 1976
Christian Wolff; Pensamientos racionales acerca de Dios, el Mundo y el alma del hombre. Sí como de todas las cosas en general (Metafísica Alemana), Akal, 2000
E. Kant; Crítica da Razão Pura, F.C.G, 2001
M. Heidegger:; Introdução à Metafísica, Instituto Piaget
M. Heidegger; Ser e Tiempo
M. Heidegger; ¿Qué es Metafísica?
M. Heidegger; Superação da Metafísica
Jürgen Habermas; Pensamento Pós Metafísico, Almedina, 2004

Complementary Bibliography

M. GRIER; Kant’s Critique of Metaphysics
P. GUYER (ed.); The Cambridge Companion to the Critique of Pure Reason, Cambridge University Press, 2010
W. H. WALSH; Kant's Criticisms of Metaphysics, Edinburgh University Press, 1975
R. BRENT; K. ISO; M. EDUARD (eds.); An Introduction to Husserlian Phenomenology, Northwestern University Press, 1993
Dale JACQUETTE (ed.); The Cambridge Companion to Brentano, Cambridge University Press, 2004
R. SORABJI; From Aristotle to Brentano: the Development of the Concept of Intentionality”, Oxford Studies in Philosophy (Supplementary Volume), 227-259, 1991
M. Heidegger; Lógica. A pergunta pela essência da linguagem, FCG, 2008
M. Heideggar; O Conceito de Tempo, Fim de Século, 2008
W. Huemer; Franz Brentanto, Stanford Encyclopedia of Phylosophy
Werner MARX (trad. T. Kisiel, M. Greene); Heidegger and the Tradition, Northwestern University Press, 1970
Volpi, F. (Ed.); Heidegger et l’idée de la phenomenologie, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998
Compilação por Ana Falcato; Bibliografia de e sobre Heidegger, Projeto Heidegger em Português (dir. Irene Borges Duarte)
Michael LOUX; Metaphysics. A contemporary Introduction, Routledge, 2006
Fréderic Nef; Qu'est-ce que la Metaphysique?, Gallimard, 2004
Mauricio Ferraris (ed.); Storia dell'Ontologia, Bompiani, 2008
E. J. LOWE; A Survey of Metaphysics, OUP, 2008
Th. SIDER; J. HAWTHORNE (eds.); Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics, Wiley-Blackwell, 2007
Dale JACQUETTE; Ontology, Acumen, 2002
Costantino Esposito; Il fenomeno dell'essere. FEnomenologia e Ontologia in Heidegger, Dedalo, 1984
Jean-François Courtine; Suarez et le système de la métaphysique, PUF, 1990
E. Garcia, F. Nef; Métaphysique contemporaine. Propriétés, mondes possibiles et personnes, Vrin, 2007
J. Meirinhos; P. Oliveira e Silva; As Disputações Metafísicas de F. Suárez. Estudos e antologia de textos

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical-practical lessons, based on the explanation of doctrines and the analysis of philosophical texts, and on the discussion of its arguments with students

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	50,00
Participação presencial	20,00
Trabalho escrito	30,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	80,00
Frequência das aulas	52,00
Trabalho de investigação	30,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

According to the evaluation standards in force

Calculation formula of final grade

Attendance = 20%
Attendance and active participation in classroom

Research work = 30%
Written research work, with about 10 pages: theme and tools discussed and agreed with the teacher; presentation of the work in class. work's criteria and calendar available in Moodle, work sent through Moodle

Final Exame = 50%

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not available

Internship work/project

Not available

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Not available

Classification improvement

According to the evaluation standards in force

Observations