Making Metaphysics Functional

Amie L. Thomasson

Every chapter in the course, with links to the moment it begins in the video and in the transcript. For topics across all courses, see the Topic Index.

Intro Metaphysics Has Stopped Working

Time to Rethink Metaphysics

▶︎ 0:00 transcript ↗︎

How Metaphysics Became Dysfunctional

▶︎ 0:18 transcript ↗︎

Where Metaphysics Goes Wrong

▶︎ 0:51 transcript ↗︎

The Problem of Functional Monism

▶︎ 1:33 transcript ↗︎

Metaphysics as Conceptual Engineering

▶︎ 1:52 transcript ↗︎

Why Conceptual Engineering Must Be Functional

▶︎ 2:26 transcript ↗︎

Identifying the Functions of Language

▶︎ 3:07 transcript ↗︎

New Light on Morality and Truth

▶︎ 3:48 transcript ↗︎

Functional Analysis of Moral Discourse

▶︎ 4:09 transcript ↗︎

Truth Talk in a Post-Truth Era

▶︎ 4:41 transcript ↗︎

What Philosophy Can Still Do for Us

▶︎ 5:39 transcript ↗︎

Lecture 1 Why Metaphysical Debates Never End

Origins and Etymology of Metaphysics

▶︎ 0:01 transcript ↗︎

Metaphysics as the Study of Ultimate Reality

▶︎ 1:09 transcript ↗︎

When Philosophy and Science Were One

▶︎ 2:42 transcript ↗︎

Science Breaks Away and Philosophy's Crisis

▶︎ 5:15 transcript ↗︎

Early 20th Century Rejection of Metaphysics

▶︎ 8:23 transcript ↗︎

Quine's Influence and the Revival of Metaphysics

▶︎ 12:07 transcript ↗︎

Is Metaphysics More General Than Science?

▶︎ 14:09 transcript ↗︎

Symptoms of Dysfunction in Metaphysics

▶︎ 15:18 transcript ↗︎

Functional Monism as the Core Error

▶︎ 20:05 transcript ↗︎

Critique of the Neo-Quinean Approach

▶︎ 21:15 transcript ↗︎

Critique of the Structural Conception

▶︎ 32:23 transcript ↗︎

Critique of the Truthmaker Approach

▶︎ 35:20 transcript ↗︎

Critique of the Grounding Approach

▶︎ 40:53 transcript ↗︎

The Metaphysical Malady Summarized

▶︎ 44:30 transcript ↗︎

Functional Pluralism and Conceptual Engineering

▶︎ 46:41 transcript ↗︎

Lecture 2 Philosophers as Conceptual Engineers

Why Traditional Metaphysics Is Broken

▶︎ 0:00 transcript ↗︎

Metaphysics as Conceptual Engineering

▶︎ 2:07 transcript ↗︎

From Nietzsche to Pragmatists: A Hidden History

▶︎ 4:09 transcript ↗︎

Carnap's Explication: The Classical Source

▶︎ 8:50 transcript ↗︎

Why 'Fish' Isn't What You Think It Is

▶︎ 12:25 transcript ↗︎

Carnap vs. Wittgenstein: Two Approaches

▶︎ 15:20 transcript ↗︎

Philosophy as Language Revision

▶︎ 18:08 transcript ↗︎

The Engineering Analogy Explained

▶︎ 20:27 transcript ↗︎

Connecting to Kant, Hume, and Locke

▶︎ 23:02 transcript ↗︎

Assessing and Rebuilding Our Concepts

▶︎ 24:30 transcript ↗︎

When Concepts Break Down

▶︎ 26:31 transcript ↗︎

How to Do Conceptual Engineering Well

▶︎ 31:10 transcript ↗︎

Solving the Problems of Old Metaphysics

▶︎ 35:13 transcript ↗︎

Hidden Debates in the History of Philosophy

▶︎ 38:58 transcript ↗︎

Engineering Concepts or Language?

▶︎ 45:08 transcript ↗︎

Lecture 3 Understanding Linguistic Functions

Introduction and Lecture Overview

▶︎ 0:00 transcript ↗︎

Can We Identify Linguistic Functions?

▶︎ 2:09 transcript ↗︎

Uses vs. Functions: The Penny Analogy

▶︎ 3:28 transcript ↗︎

Proper Function: An Evolutionary Account

▶︎ 5:33 transcript ↗︎

System Functions and Current Functions

▶︎ 8:16 transcript ↗︎

What Does Language Do in Human Life?

▶︎ 10:38 transcript ↗︎

Mood, Modality, and Nominalization

▶︎ 11:59 transcript ↗︎

Evidence for Determining Linguistic Functions

▶︎ 13:28 transcript ↗︎

Systemic Functional Linguistics: Origins

▶︎ 17:46 transcript ↗︎

Stages of Language Development

▶︎ 19:24 transcript ↗︎

The Mood System and Politeness

▶︎ 22:45 transcript ↗︎

What Are Grammatical Metaphors?

▶︎ 24:53 transcript ↗︎

Nominalizations as Philosophical Problems

▶︎ 26:41 transcript ↗︎

How Nominalizations Enter Language

▶︎ 27:31 transcript ↗︎

Why Nominalizations Matter for Science

▶︎ 30:24 transcript ↗︎

Debates About Abstract Entities

▶︎ 34:11 transcript ↗︎

Easy Inferences and Ontology Made Easy

▶︎ 36:49 transcript ↗︎

Dissolving Traditional Metaphysical Worries

▶︎ 41:09 transcript ↗︎

Summary and What Comes Next

▶︎ 45:36 transcript ↗︎

Lecture 4 How 'Must' and 'May' Built Morality

Lecture Overview and Prior Recap

▶︎ 0:01 transcript ↗︎

Why Study Moral Discourse?

▶︎ 0:50 transcript ↗︎

What Is Metaethics?

▶︎ 1:17 transcript ↗︎

A Functional Approach to Moral Language

▶︎ 3:22 transcript ↗︎

Prescriptivism, Expressivism, Descriptivism

▶︎ 5:18 transcript ↗︎

Many Grammatical Forms of Moral Language

▶︎ 8:09 transcript ↗︎

Normative vs. Moral Discourse

▶︎ 10:36 transcript ↗︎

Nominalizations in Metaphysical Questions

▶︎ 11:48 transcript ↗︎

Imperatives as Basic Behavior Regulation

▶︎ 13:13 transcript ↗︎

Modal Verbs and What They Add

▶︎ 14:23 transcript ↗︎

Nominalizations Enable Moral Theorizing

▶︎ 17:55 transcript ↗︎

From Rule of Man to Rule of Law

▶︎ 21:41 transcript ↗︎

What Makes Moral Discourse Special?

▶︎ 24:32 transcript ↗︎

Reconciling Competing Metaethical Views

▶︎ 29:27 transcript ↗︎

Simple Realism About Moral Facts

▶︎ 33:29 transcript ↗︎

Dissolving Classic Metaethical Problems

▶︎ 35:12 transcript ↗︎

What Remains for Metaethics?

▶︎ 41:28 transcript ↗︎

Why Deflating Moral Metaphysics Matters

▶︎ 44:17 transcript ↗︎

Lecture 5 What Does 'True' Do for Us?

Series Recap and Setting the Stage

▶︎ 0:00 transcript ↗︎

Why Truth Deserves Its Own Lecture

▶︎ 1:16 transcript ↗︎

Living in a Post-Truth Era

▶︎ 3:09 transcript ↗︎

Traditional Metaphysical Problems About Truth

▶︎ 5:08 transcript ↗︎

Truth as a Device of Generalization

▶︎ 6:41 transcript ↗︎

Pragmatist Expansion on Truth's Functions

▶︎ 9:23 transcript ↗︎

Truth as a Norm of Assertion

▶︎ 11:00 transcript ↗︎

From Yeah and Nah to Truth Talk

▶︎ 13:06 transcript ↗︎

Historical Views: True as Endorsement

▶︎ 16:43 transcript ↗︎

What the Predicate 'Is True' Adds

▶︎ 18:39 transcript ↗︎

The Noun 'Truth' and Its Power

▶︎ 22:51 transcript ↗︎

Dissolving Old Metaphysical Puzzles

▶︎ 24:47 transcript ↗︎

Why Correspondence to Facts Falls Short

▶︎ 28:42 transcript ↗︎

Different Discourses, Different Standards

▶︎ 30:58 transcript ↗︎

Standards for Necessity and Possibility

▶︎ 35:07 transcript ↗︎

Pragmatist Truth Without Relativism

▶︎ 38:19 transcript ↗︎

Why Caring About Truth Really Matters

▶︎ 40:41 transcript ↗︎

Lecture 6 Redefining Death, Marriage, and Race

Recap: Metaphysics as Conceptual Engineering

▶︎ 0:00 transcript ↗︎

How to Do Constructive Conceptual Engineering

▶︎ 2:26 transcript ↗︎

Race Terms: A Case Study in Conceptual Revision

▶︎ 6:10 transcript ↗︎

Three Grounds for Revising Our Concepts

▶︎ 15:39 transcript ↗︎

Redefining Death in the Age of Ventilators

▶︎ 16:41 transcript ↗︎

Marriage: Social Change Demands New Concepts

▶︎ 19:45 transcript ↗︎

Pragmatic Revision Is Not Arbitrary

▶︎ 22:41 transcript ↗︎

Is Philosophy Dead? The Missing Questions

▶︎ 23:26 transcript ↗︎

Should Questions Across Philosophy

▶︎ 25:09 transcript ↗︎

Metaphysics and Beyond as Should Questions

▶︎ 27:27 transcript ↗︎

Why Concepts Change the World

▶︎ 29:20 transcript ↗︎

A Never-Ending, Non-Optional Project

▶︎ 34:48 transcript ↗︎

Rethinking Concepts in the Age of AI

▶︎ 37:50 transcript ↗︎

Philosophy's Enduring Mission

▶︎ 39:17 transcript ↗︎