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  4. Issues in Philosophical Anthropology

Issues in Philosophical Anthropology

Objectives

a) Acquire a high level of knowledge in the field of Philosophical Anthropology and in particular a detailed knowledge of the fundamental concepts and of the history of Philosophical Anthropology, of its methodological and doctrinal controversies and of its interlinking with other branches of philosophy and science.
b) Acquire detailed knowledge of the fundamental texts in the field of Philosophical Anthropology, with a mastering of past interpretations and of the current state of research.
c) Acquire a high ability to analyse, compare, criticise and use anthropological concepts, and also to independently discuss problems and doctrinal views in the field of Philosophical Anthropology.
d) Acquire the ability to carry out research work under supervision in this field that meets high scientific quality standards.
e) Acquire the ability to carry out independent research in this area.

General characterization

Code

722031032

Credits

10.0

Responsible teacher

Marta Maria Anjos Galego de Mendonça

Hours

Weekly - 3

Total - 280

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

Not applicable

Bibliography

Fischer, J., Kane, R., Pereboom, D., Vargas, M. (2007). Four views on free will. Blackwell
Kane, R. (ed.) (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Free Will, 2nd edition, New York: Oxford University Press.
O’Connor, T. (2000). Persons and Causes: The Metaphysics of Free Will. Oxford University Press.
Plantinga, A. (1974). The Nature of Necessity, Oxford University Press.
Sorabji, R. (1980). Necessity, Cause and Blame. Cornell University Press.
Steward, Helen (2012). A Metaphysics for Freedom. Oxford University Press.
Van Inwagen, P. (1983). An Essay on Free Will. Clarendon Press.
Van Inwagen, P. (2017). Thinking about Free Will. Cambridge University Press.

Teaching method

The course has a mixed approach, theoretical and practical, combining a theoretical examination of the topics of the program with the analysis of relevant texts.

Evaluation method

Active participation in the seminar (30%).
Writing a small research paper (between 18000 and 25000 characters with spaces). The topic for the paper will be chosen by the student in consultation with the teacher (70%).

Subject matter

Views on free will


The seminar will focus on the issue of freedom in its articulation with the deterministic approach to understanding natural reality. The so-called “compatibilist”, “incompatibilist” and “libertarian” conceptions will be compared, and the reasons invoked in the defense of each of these conceptions will be analyzed. The course will focus on two classic versions of this problem (Aristotle and Leibniz) and some aspects of contemporary debate, based on Van Inwagen's An Essay on Free Will (1983) and the corrections introduced to this text in Thinking about Free Will (2017).