Course Profile Philosophy: Questions and Theories (HZT4U), Grade 12, University Preparation, Public
Unit 1: Metaphysics
Time: 35.5 hours
Activity
1 | Activity 2 | Activity
3 | Activity 4 | Activity
5 | Activity 6 | Activity
7
Unit Description
In this unit,
students explore the main questions, concepts, and theories of metaphysics.
Metaphysics is generally concerned with defining the ultimate constituents of
reality and how we perceive them. The world appears to be structured by space
and time. It is proliferated by matter and minds, things and their properties.
We understand ourselves and our relationships to others and things by means of
abstract concepts, such as causation, necessity, creation, and destruction.
However, the age-old metaphysical dilemma remains when we investigate reality:
are we discovering the underlying structures of existence or merely reflecting
on how we represent the world within our minds? Beyond an examination of the
basic concepts of metaphysics, an investigation into historical approaches to
metaphysical questions is essential. How did science offer an alternative to
mythological explanations of reality? How did Plato and Aristotle explain the
meaning of life? How did perceptions of reality change from the Medieval to the
Modern period? Are there fundamental differences between Eastern and Western
approaches to metaphysics? How do virtual reality and hyper-reality affect the
post-Modern experience? Throughout this unit, students evaluate classic texts,
philosophers, and schools of philosophy to formulate their own opinions and to
demonstrate the applicability of metaphysical thought to everyday life.
|
Activity/ Time |
Learning Expectations |
Assessment Categories |
Focus |
|
1 |
MEV.01, MEV.03,
MEV.04, ME1.01, ME1.03, ME 1.05, ISV.01, ISV.03, IS3.01 |
Knowledge/
Understanding Thinking/Inquiry Application |
Introduction to
Philosophy and Metaphysics – defining metaphysics and evaluating its
relevance to everyday life |
|
2 |
MEV.01, MEV.02,
ISV.02, ME1.03, ME1.04, IS1.03, IS2.03 |
Knowledge/
Understanding Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
Ancient Concepts
of Reality – from supernaturalism to hylomorphism |
|
3 |
ISV.02, ME1.02,
ME1.04, IS2.01, IS2.02 |
Knowledge/
Understanding Thinking/Inquiry Application |
A Socio-cultural
View of Reality – from medieval faith to enlightenment reason |
|
4 |
MEV.02, ISV.02,
ME1.01, IS1.03, IS2.01, IS2.03, IS3.01 |
Knowledge/
Understanding Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
The Search for
Ultimate Answers – from the romantic transcendental to the post-modern
hyper-real |
|
5 |
MEV.01, ISV.02,
ME1.01, ME1.02, IS2.01, IS2.02 |
Knowledge/
Understanding Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
Eastern Approaches
to a Unified Reality |
|
6 |
MEV.02, ISV.02,
ME1.02, ME1.03, IS1.03, IS2.02, IS3.01 |
Knowledge/
Understanding Thinking/Inquiry Communication |
The Spiritual
Dimensions of Reality – the question of God and free will |
|
7 |
MEV.01, MEV.02, MEV.03, ISV.01, ISV.03, ISV.04, ISV.05, ME1.01,
ME1.02, ME1.03, ME1.04, IS1.02, IS1.03, IS2.01, IS2.02, IS2.03, IS3.01,
IS3.02 |
Knowledge/ Understanding Thinking/Inquiry Communication Application |
Unit Culminating Activity – A Metaphysical Web Quest |
Unit 1 has been
designed to introduce Grade 12 students to the study of philosophy, facilitated
by an introductory activity in which students are introduced to philosophy and
its modes of thought. The unit combines this cursory overview of philosophy
with a more detailed investigation of major metaphysical concepts, issues, and
questions, with the goal of providing students with opportunities to apply
their burgeoning philosophical mindsets to a founding branch of philosophy.
Students complete a number of pieces of work, ranging from written reflections
to oral presentations. Each activity targets one or more areas of the
Achievement Chart for evaluation purposes; the teacher chooses the area to
receive emphasis. Students must complete each task; they are provided with
formative assessment on each piece once it is completed. After completion,
students place their work in a portfolio. At the unit’s close, students select
their best four pieces of work (at the teacher’s discretion), ensuring that all
four categories of the Achievement Chart are represented. The four pieces
demonstrate students’ most consistent work. The teacher may allow a brief
period at the end of the unit for students to revise work before it is
resubmitted.
Time: 5 hours
Philosophy is unique
among academic disciplines in terms of the range and scope of critical and
investigative thinking it asks students to engage in. The first activity
accomplishes several interrelated purposes. First, it provides a brief
introduction to some of the central aspects of philosophy and its requisite
skills. Second, it promotes student/student and student/teacher dialogue and a
dialectical process, encouraging students to see philosophy as a communal
activity. Third, students connect larger philosophical questions and concepts
to their personal lives. Fourth, it provides students with a preliminary
opportunity to inquire into the nature of metaphysics. Fifth, students are
introduced to the unit culminating activity. By the end of this activity,
students have been exposed to some of the key figures and concepts of
philosophy and the areas of inquiry they will engage in throughout the course,
and they have delineated some of the rudimentary aspects of metaphysics and its
relevance to everyday life.
Strand(s): Metaphysics, Research and Inquiry Skills
Overall
Expectations
MEV.01 - summarize
the main questions, concepts, and theories of metaphysics;
MEV.03 - demonstrate
the relevance of metaphysical questions and theories to everyday life;
MEV.04 - illustrate
how metaphysical theories are presupposed in other subjects;
ISV.01 - correctly
use the terminology of philosophy;
ISV.03 - demonstrate
an understanding of the unique character of philosophical questions.
Specific
Expectations
ME1.01 - demonstrate
an understanding of some of the main questions in metaphysics (e.g., What are
the ultimate constituents of reality? Does God exist? What is Being? What is
the relation of mind to matter? What is the self? What is personal identity?
Are human actions free? What is the meaning of life?);
ME1.03 - formulate
their own clear and cogent responses to some of the fundamental questions of
metaphysics (e.g., What is the meaning of life?), and defend their responses in
philosophical exchanges with others;
ME1.05 - demonstrate
an understanding of the influence that some metaphysical ideas about topics
such as causality, space and time, and the infinite have on other disciplines,
such as physics and astronomy;
IS3.01 - clearly
explain their own views in philosophical discussions in class and in other
types of exchanges (e.g., electronic, intra- and interschool) with peers.
Students have
completed the required prerequisite course and fully understand the
expectations of a University Preparation course.
·
Create a
diagnostic questionnaire for students to outline their preconceptions of a
philosophy course. Questions include a definition of philosophy, ideas about
the central questions/concerns of philosophy, names and ideas of philosophers
students are familiar with, the ways in which students believe philosophy is
connected to their everyday lives, and the view of philosophy held by those who
have been traditionally considered anti-philosophy, e.g., business people,
people in the sciences, etc.
·
Prepare a variety
of definitions of philosophy from different sources on a handout or overhead.
·
Prepare
handouts/overhead of different areas or schools of philosophy and a question or
issue for each as an example for student discussion.
·
Obtain a copy of
a worldview, such as Robert Solomon’s Eight
Big Questions.
·
Prepare a handout
that outlines the basic rules of formal and informal debate and logical
argumentation. Students should be briefly introduced to fundamental logical
rules, such as Aristotle’s Three Laws of
Thought, and they should be made aware of Formal and Informal Fallacies.
The outline should include the ground rules for class discussion, especially
about sensitive topics and issues.
·
Prepare a rubric
for the culminating activity.
·
Allot time to
work on the culminating activity throughout the unit.
·
Schedule time to
research using computers with Internet access.
1. Students complete the diagnostic
questionnaire and then share and discuss their responses with other students in
a small-group setting. They focus their discussion on commonalities and
differences. Ask them to see how much of a consensus they can arrive at
concerning a definition, core questions/ concerns, connections to everyday
existence, and the anti-philosophical view. Students from each group list their
answers on chart paper or the board and present/discuss their findings with the
class.
2. The first discussion centres on the
definition of philosophy. Compare student definitions with a variety of
definitions from philosophy resources. Eventually, have students consider the
literal Greek definition (“love of wisdom”). Pose the following questions: Is
it possible for one to be wise without love, or to love without wisdom? What is
wisdom and how does it differ from knowledge, belief, or ideology? What roles
do the senses, reason, and intuition play in our knowledge of what is real?
3. Refer
to the areas or schools of philosophy. Discuss student responses to the
concerns of philosophy and introduce them to the basic areas of philosophical
inquiry that are studied in this course: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Logic and
the Philosophy of Science, Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics, and
Aesthetics.
4. In small groups, students brainstorm how
these areas of inquiry can relate to the everyday problems and issues they
listed. Students list the relevance of each area on the board and discuss it as
a class.
5. Introduce students to the concept of
worldview (“Weltanschauung”) through Robert Solomon’s Eight Big Questions or another method. Responding to Solomon’s or
teacher-generated questions allows students to see the relationship between
personal beliefs and worldview.
6. Introduce students to the history of the
study of metaphysics by connecting it to the responses in Strategy 5. Students
look at the etymology of the actual word and briefly examine the basic nature
of metaphysical questions.
7. To wrap up this introductory activity and as
a precursor to the unit culminating activity (see Appendix A – Metaphysics Web
Quest), students use computers to complete web searches on some or all of the
areas of philosophy and related philosophers. After completing this task,
students write short personal essays on the area of philosophy and the
philosopher whom they find most relevant to their personal lives.
Internet
Episteme
Links: Philosophy Resources on the Internet – www.epistemelinks.com
Erratic
Impact: Philosophy Research Base – www.erraticimpact.com/default.htm
Guide to
Philosophy on the Internet – www.earlham.edu/~peters/philinks.htm
Meta-Encyclopedia
of Philosophy – www.ditext.com/encyc/frame.html
The Oxford
Companion to Philosophy – www.xrefer.com
Philosophy Class:
Metaphysics – www.philosophyclass.com/metaphysics.htm
Print
Mautner,
Thomas, ed. The Penguin Dictionary of
Philosophy. London: Penguin, 1997.
Rée,
Jonathan, and J.O. Urmson, eds. The
Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy and Philosophers. New ed.,
completely rev. London; Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1989.
Solomon,
Robert C. The Big Questions: A Short
Introduction to Philosophy, 5th
ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1998.
Taylor, Richard. Metaphysics, 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1992.
Time: 5 hours
Students examine
four fundamental, ancient approaches to understanding reality; in doing so,
they begin to gain an understanding of the ancient Greek worldview while
familiarizing themselves with some of the key philosophers of the classical
Greek tradition. By doing research and brief, informal presentations, students
share ideas and materials. The information is later synthesized in a short
written report.
Strand(s): Metaphysics, Research and Inquiry Skills
Overall
Expectations
MEV.01 - summarize
the main questions, concepts, and theories of metaphysics;
MEV.02 - evaluate
the strengths and weaknesses of responses to some of the main questions of
metaphysics defended by some major philosophers and schools of philosophy, and
defend their own responses;
ISV.02 - identify
the main areas of philosophy, and analyse philosophical arguments within them.
Specific
Expectations
ME1.02 - evaluate
the positions of some of the major philosophers (e.g., Plato, Avicenna, Buddha,
Descartes) and schools of philosophy (e.g., monism, idealism, Buddhism,
materialism) on some of the main metaphysical questions;
ME1.03 - formulate
their own clear and cogent responses to some of the fundamental questions of
metaphysics (e.g., What is the meaning of life?), and defend their responses in
philosophical exchanges with others;
ME1.04 - explain,
with reference to some classic texts (e.g., Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature), how different metaphysical theories
about such questions as “Do persons remain the same over time?” make
differences in people’s attitudes to such practical issues as making promises,
memory, and responsibility for past events;
IS1.03 - apply
logical and critical thinking skills to evaluate or defend positions in
philosophical writings;
IS2.02 - compare the
problems, principles, methods, and conclusions of different philosophers (e.g.,
how Aristotle made use of Plato’s theory of forms, how Kant replied to Hume’s
scepticism);
IS2.03 - describe
the ways in which the ideas of philosophers have influenced subsequent
philosophers.
IS3.01 - clearly
explain their own views in philosophical discussions in class and in other
types of exchanges (e.g., electronic, intra- and interschool) with peers.
Students review the
information gathered in the previous activity.
·
Research and
create a set of point-form outlines of the four ancient concepts of reality (supernaturalism,
naturalism, idealism, hylomorphism). As a starting point for supernaturalism,
refer to creation myths or reference books on mythology or Sophie’s World (pp. 21-27). For naturalism, refer to Sophie’s World (pp. 30-40). For
idealism, refer to Plato’s theory of forms as discussed in “The Allegory of the
Cave” (The Republic), the Phaedo, or Sophie’s World (pp. 82-92). For hylomorphism, refer to Aristotle’s Physics or Sophie’s World (pp. 105-114). Alternate references are listed in
Resources.
·
Prepare
photocopied sets of the point-form notes and place them in the four corners of
your classroom. Because you will not know at the beginning of the lesson how
many copies of each set you will need, be prepared with extra copies. You may
also want to have a plan for rearranging the desks in the classroom for this
four-corner activity.
·
Prepare a rubric
for the evaluation of the presentation.
·
Schedule time in
the library/resource centre.
1. Review the various metaphysical questions
discussed in the previous lesson and explain to the class that they will now be
examining four major ancient theories of reality.
2. Introduce students to James Christian’s four
steps of philosophical analysis or a similar model.
3. Ask students whether they believe the
ultimate constituents of reality to be primarily spiritual, physical, ideas, or
a combination of ideas and matter. Then ask students to move to the stations
that correspond to their choice: spiritual goes with supernaturalism; physical with naturalism;
ideas with idealism; and a
combination with hylomorphism.
Students examine the materials at their station for a few minutes. Each student
should take a copy of the handout to place in his/her notebook.
4. Briefly explain each theory to the class.
5. Give students at each station a brief period
to create a defence of their view, and then have them collectively defend their
beliefs to the rest of the class.
6. Students conduct research for one period at a
library/resource centre on their topic.
7. Students present, either individually or in
small groups, their theory of reality to the class in a creative manner that
engages at least three learning intelligences. For example, students may choose
to dramatize Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, or conduct a science experiment to
illustrate an atomistic theory, or create a children’s picture book to explain
a creation myth.
8. Students complete short written reflections
on the merits of their theory of reality.
Students are
assessed formatively on their contributions to the group presentation and
through their written reflections. Assess students’ notes to ensure they
understand the key points.
Encourage students
to make notes on other theories throughout this activity. The teacher should
reinforce these concepts with an outline on the board or overhead. If
necessary, provide a note-taking chart or some form of organizer to students
who have difficulty taking notes during the research phase.
Internet
Catholic
Encyclopedia – www.newadvent.org/cathen
Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy – www.utm.edu/research/iep
Metaphysics
Course Resource Page – www.transy.edu/homepages/philosophy/metaphysics.html
The Oxford
Companion to Philosophy – www.xrefer.com
Varieties of
Philosophical Analysis – www.rbjones.com/rbjpub/philos/history/his003.htm
Print
Bedau, Hugo
Adam. Thinking and Writing about
Philosophy. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1996.
Christian,
James L. Philosophy: An Introduction to
the Art of Wondering, 2nd ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.
Gaarder,
Jostein. Sophie’s World. Trans.
Paulette Moller. Toronto: Penguin, 1996.
Parkinson, G.H.R.,
ed. The Handbook of Western Philosophy.
New York: Macmillan, 1988.
Time: 5 hours
Students examine the
way in which social and cultural beliefs influence perceptions of what is real
during four historical periods: the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Early
Modern Age, and the Enlightenment. After a comparative analysis of these
epochs, students debate whether monism or dualism provides a more coherent
explanation of ultimate reality.
Strand(s): Metaphysics, Research and Inquiry Skills
Overall
Expectations
MEV.02 - evaluate
the strengths and weaknesses of responses to some of the main questions of
metaphysics defended by some major philosophers and schools of philosophy, and
defend their own responses;
ISV.02 - identify
the main areas of philosophy, and analyse philosophical arguments within them.
Specific
Expectations
ME1.01 - demonstrate
an understanding of some of the main questions in metaphysics (e.g., What are
the ultimate constituents of reality? Does God exist? What is Being? What is
the relation of mind to matter? What is the self? What is personal identity?
Are human actions free? What is the meaning of life?);
ME1.02 - evaluate
the positions of some of the major philosophers (e.g., Plato, Avicenna, Buddha,
Descartes) and schools of philosophy (e.g., monism, idealism, Buddhism,
materialism) on some of the main metaphysical questions;
ME1.03 - formulate
their own clear and cogent responses to some of the fundamental questions of
metaphysics (e.g., What is the meaning of life?), and defend their responses in
philosophical exchanges with others;
ME1.04 - explain,
with reference to some classic texts (e.g., Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature), how different metaphysical theories
about such questions as “Do persons remain the same over time?” make
differences in people’s attitudes to such practical issues as making promises,
memory, and responsibility for past events;
IS1.03 - apply
logical and critical thinking skills to evaluate or defend positions in
philosophical writings;
IS2.01 - summarize
main philosophical concepts and theories from information gathered from
encyclopedias or surveys (e.g., by using the Internet to access appropriate
electronically recorded philosophy resource material, such as surveys, journal
articles, bibliographies, and listserves);
IS2.02 - compare the
problems, principles, methods, and conclusions of different philosophers (e.g.,
how Aristotle made use of Plato’s theory of forms, how Kant replied to Hume’s
scepticism).
Students review the
information gathered in the previous activity.
·
Prepare rubrics
for the evaluation of students’ individual research and for the class debate.
·
Obtain the video,
The Day the Universe Changed, and
select a suitable clip.
·
Prepare for
Strategy 4 by creating an overhead with suitable topics and suggestions.
·
Schedule time in
the library/resource centre.
1. Review the ancient theories of reality
discussed in the last activity.
2. Ask students whether they believe that
society and culture influence one’s perception of reality. Why? Why not? Have
them do a think/pair/share on examples of socio-cultural influence. List
examples on the board.
3. Show a clip from the James Burke video, The Day the Universe Changed (Episode 1),
which illustrates socio-cultural influences on perceptions of reality.
4. Divide students up into smaller groups and
have them do research on the relationship between socio-cultural beliefs and
the philosophy of reality from the Medieval period to the Enlightenment.
Suggested groupings of philosophers are:
|
Medieval |
Renaissance |
Renaissance |
Early Modern |
Early Modern |
Enlightenment |
|
St. Augustine |
Bacon |
Copernicus |
Descartes |
Locke |
Kant |
|
St. Anselm |
Montaigne |
Kepler |
Spinoza |
Berkeley |
Rousseau |
|
St. Thomas Aquinas |
Hobbes |
Galileo |
Leibniz |
Hume |
Voltaire |
5. Students spend one period in the
library/resource centre doing research.
6. Students present their findings to the class.
7. Ask students if they personally believe in monism
or dualism. Can reality be reduced to one element (idea or material) or does it
have a dual nature (both material and immaterial)?
8. The class debates the ultimate nature of
reality (monism vs. dualism).
Students are
assessed formatively on their research notes and on their participation in the
group presentations and debate.
Print
McGreal, Ian P., ed.
Great Thinkers of the Western World.
New York: Harper Collins, 1992.