Metaphysics

There are two versions of this course.

The introductory level course focuses on three main topics: (1) time, (2) identity, and (3) freedom.

The content of the upper-level course changes by semester. It typically focuses on puzzles associated with material coincidence, properties, and time.

Handouts

• An Introduction to Metaphysics: Identity, Free Will, and Time (Spring 2026).
• Metaphysics: Time, Persons, and Identity (Fall 2025).
• Metaphysics Seminar: Composition and Time (Spring 2025).
• Metaphysics Seminar: Ontology, Time, and Persistence (Fall 2022).

Videos

• Death, Well-being, and the Difference-Making Principle
• Four Dimensionalism, A Puzzle of Material Coincidence, and the Humanistic Consequences of 4D
• Experience and Non-Present Objects
• Four Theories of Time - An Introduction
• Letting the Child Drown - Moral Indifference in a World of Possible Worlds
• Ontological Commitment and Paraphrase
• The triviality of ontology partially considered: Permissivism about abstracta