Unit 1 – Area of Study 1: Metaphysics

Outcome 1:

Analyse metaphysical problems and evaluate viewpoints and arguments arising from these, and identify metaphysical problems in relevant contemporary debates.

Examples of learning activities

• Using prompt cards of metaphysical concepts, brainstorm metaphysical questions and post them on a question wall. For example: 'What exists?' 'What different ideas on existence are there?' 'What has been the role of philosophy in determining what exists?' 'How do we know what exists?' This activity can be completed with post-it notes on a physical wall or online using programs like Google Docs or Padlet.
• Use visual and perceptual illusions from a variety of sources to stimulate discussion on sense perception and reality. For example, see 'Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena' by Michael Bach.
• 
  Visit the Mind and Body Gallery at the Melbourne Museum.
  
  
• Create a poster that clearly defines various perspectives on the nature of the mind; for example: dualism, materialism, epiphenomenalism, occasionalism, parallelism, functionalism, behaviourism, idealism. Compare the similarities and differences of each perspective.
• 
  Select a newspaper or magazine article that explores a contemporary debate associated with a selected metaphysical problem. For example, artificial intelligence, the nature of consciousness, free will, the nature of existence and so on. Present the analysis to the class as a PowerPoint presentation.
• Write a written reflection on a metaphysical problem, outlining and discussing the challenges for areas such as science, democracy, feminism or law that arise from the chosen metaphysical problem.
• Examine the 'Turing Test' and its role in the philosophy of artificial intelligence. Draw comparisons between this argument and whether we can know if other human beings have minds.
• Explore the philosophical argument of 'solipsism' and discuss whether this is a reasonable conclusion about reality and the presence of other minds.
• Collaborate to research and provide feedback on arguments related to a chosen metaphysical problem; for example, the existence and nature of God.
• Read a science fiction story (for example, one that refers to artificial intelligence) and discuss as a class the philosophical implications. Suitable artificial intelligence stories include 'The four best stories about artificial intelligence you need to read' by Cassandra Khaw; or the book Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence (ed. Susan Schneider) contains a range of short texts and philosophical replies.
• Listen to a guest speaker (or seek an alternative such as a podcast) who can talk authoritatively and philosophically about a religious faith, religious beliefs and the existence and nature of God. Include a question and answer component at the end of the talk and study one aspect of the interview in depth, presenting findings as an essay or audio program.
• Conduct a question and answer forum for younger students, or students from another class, on one of the questions associated with a chosen metaphysical problem.
• Bring an article to class which discusses a contemporary debate within the study of metaphysics. Develop questions to go with the article and swap with peers, answering each other's questions and discussing responses. Articles might be found in magazines like Popular Science or online at The Conversation
• Using hypertext, identify and annotate the philosophical terms and concepts used in a text. For example, a magazine article or essay that discusses a contemporary debate associated with a chosen metaphysical problem.
• 
  Set out initial responses to a metaphysical question and then study a related primary text, drawing out the essential arguments of the text and then revisiting the initial responses.
• Construct a concept map that identifies the variety of definitions of a key term or concept associated with a chosen metaphysical topic or problem, such as idealism. Discuss the arguments related to these definitions from various philosophers. Draw comparisons and offer an evaluation of the varying strengths and weaknesses of these positions.
• Using a software program such as Rationale or an online argument mapping site such as 'MindMap Free' outline and examine the arguments proposed in a selected philosophy text which explores the questions and concepts associated with a chosen metaphysical problem.
• Hold a line debate in class which offers students a range of questions to respond to on the nature of existence. This can be further complicated by insisting that students must construct an argument that has at least two premises and a conclusion (a syllogism). For example: 'Are material objects all that exist?'
• Hold a class debate on whether free will exists based on a stimulus such as 'The Story of Osmo'.
• Explore the history and development of pre-Socratic thought and its contribution to metaphysics. Some philosophers to explore are: Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Empedocles, Heraclitus, Parmenides and Democritus.
• Design a web page on a contemporary debate that identifies and discusses terms and concepts as they relate to the chosen metaphysical problem, and which includes links that explore the debate from a variety of perspectives.
• Research a thinker on the philosophy of time. Each student researches a different thinker and presents their findings to the class. Following the presentations, develop a list of features and qualities of time shared by the thinkers.
• Read a time-travel story and consider the logical consistency of the story. In pairs or individually, write a time-travel story that is as logically consistent as possible.
• View films that draw on metaphysical concepts and ideas to stimulate discussion. For example: The Matrix (1999), Blade Runner (1982), The Truman Show (1998), Waking Life (2001), Looper (2012), 12 Monkeys (1995), Inception (2010), Memento (2000), Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) (2001), About Time (2013), Pi (1998), Groundhog Day (1993), Back to the Future (1985), Ex Machina (2015), Chappie (2015), Interstellar (2014), Bicentennial Man (1999) or Her (2013). Check each film's rating and seek permission from school and parents if required before showing the film. See the following link for discussion questions and film synopsis for philosophical relevance: 'Philosophical Films'

 

Detailed example 1

Excursion and the philosophy of the mind

Students visit the Mind/Body Gallery at the Melbourne Museum. This excursion will allow students to explore the nature of the mind and its relationship with the body (Theme 1). Create some objectives for the visit that will focus students on the essential knowledge to be achieved. Also discuss the skills required when deriving information from a range of resources (displays, exhibited objects, visual sources and interviews all available in the Mind and Body Gallery) and how philosophical questions can be drawn from the museum exhibits. Prior to the excursion, ask students to develop responses, without prior research, to each of the following questions: What is your mind? What is its relationship to your body or brain? What is its relationship to your soul, if there is such thing as a soul? If your mind is distinct from the body, how does it interact with the body? As a class, students can make objectives for their visit; for example, asking three separate questions.

After the excursion, discuss the issues raised and how the excursion contributed answers to the above and what is still left unanswered. Ask students to identify further philosophical questions that the Mind/Body Gallery raised for them. Students can further evaluate their initial reflections after completing their study of the theme.

 

Detailed example 2

Research in metaphysics: challenges and debates

Select a newspaper or magazine article that explores a contemporary debate associated with the chosen metaphysical problem. Students formulate a series of questions that link the issues raised in the article to the metaphysical problem selected and investigate one of these within the context of a research project. Working individually or in small groups, students can use the Question Protocol below to determine the question they will investigate. They present their research to the rest of the class as a PowerPoint presentation.

Students could be provided with prompts to stimulate their formulation of a series of questions. For example, on the topic of artificial intelligence:

• What is intelligence?
• How can we tell if something possesses intelligence?
• What is thinking?
• Does thinking require a mind?
• Does a mind require a biological body?
• Could a machine have a mind?
• If a machine could have a mind, what implications may this have for the way in which we understand ourselves?

Question Protocol

Developed by Project Zero, Harvard University (Evidence Project, 2000), this protocol was originally designed to structure and facilitate educational research in teacher practice. Here, it is adapted for students to identify their research questions, either individually or as a group.

This protocol helps clarify the process for choosing a question to focus on in Evidence Process work. As students identify questions that feel important to them, they are asked to consider the three questions below:

1. Why is this question important to you?
2. How is it relevant to the metaphysical topic in question?
3. What direct connections to contemporary debates can we identify?

If the individual or group feels there are satisfactory answers to all three questions, the question is considered appropriate for investigation. If a question does not meet these criteria, the group modifies the question or identifies another question for study and investigation.

 

Detailed example 3

Exploring a primary text: Plato's Republic

Students complete a series of learning activities based on Plato and the Forms.

Activity 1: Is everything as real as it seems?

1. Show students a broom, a picture of the same broom and a dictionary definition of a broom. Students may like to explore the artwork which inspires this part of the lesson at Wikipedia's 'One and Three Chairs'.
2. Ask students to rank and order the 'most real' to the 'least real' broom.
3. Individually or in small groups, students construct reasons for their decisions.

Activity 2: One over the many

1. Students read an extract of Plato's Republic (try 569a–e as a start, but more can be set) and then consider an overview and summary of Plato's argument in the Republic.
2. Students summarise Plato's argument in their own words.

Activity 3: The Allegory of the Cave

1. Students view an extract from an award-winning animation of Plato's allegory from Youtube: 'The Cave: An Adaption of Plato's Allegory in Clay'​​.​
2. After viewing the clip students read the 'Allegory of the Cave' in Plato's Republic (514a–520a) and the summary and overview of the meaning of the allegory in the Republic .​
3. Students then discuss the connections between the broom activity (Activity 1), the 'one over the many' argument (Activity 2) and the 'Allegory of the Cave' (Activity 3). They refine their initial responses and reasoning for Activity 1 and present their ideas to the class.