Introduction to Philosophy from an Ontological Perspective

Special Topics (PHI 598)

Registration number:23030

Instructor: Barry Smith

Office hours: By appointment via email to [1]

The Course

This course is a 1 credit-hour asynchronous online course for masters-level students and advanced undergraduates. No background in philosophy or ontology is presupposed.

It provides an introduction to central themes in the history of philosophy viewed from an ontological perspective. The course is designed to be of interest to both philosophers and those with a background in computer and information science. Topics treated will include:

- brief history of ontology from Aristotle to the Human Genome Project.

- the meaning of life

- the ontology of social reality

- ontology leaving the mother ship of philosophy

- why computer science needs philosophy

- the Semantic Web

- towards a standard top-level ontology

- ontology and the Federal Government Data Integration Initiative (anno 2009)

Course content can be found here.

Grading Grading for the course will take the following form. For each of the 8 lectures the student is required to prepare a single question relating to the content of that lecture. The question should be such that an answer to the question is not provided in the lecture. It should also be of general interest to the other students taking the course. After digesting the content of all lectures the student should send a list of all 8 questions to phismith@buffalo.edu with the subject heading "8 Questions". After receiving emails of this form from all students enrolled in the class, and not later than November 15, a zoom meeting will be organized at which Dr Smith will attempt to provide answers to a subset of these questions. Participation in this zoom meeting is required by all class participants. Grade will be calculated on the basis of:

1. quality of questions, measured in terms of interestingness, clarity, and relevance to the course

2. completeness of the list of questions received

A video recording of Dr Smith's answers to representative questions is available here.

For further information please contact Dr Smith at phismith@buffalo.edu

Grade Quality Percentage

A	4.0	90.0% -100.00%
A-	3.67	87.0% - 89.9%
B+	3.33	84.0% - 86.9%
B	3.00	80.0% - 83.9%
B-	2.67	77.0% - 79.9%
C+	2.33	74.0% - 76.9%
C	2.00	71.0% - 73.9%
C-	1.67	68.0% - 70.9%
D+	1.33	65.0% - 67.9%
D	1.00	62.0% - 64.9%
F	0	61.9% or below

An interim grade of Incomplete (I) may be assigned if the student has completed some but not all requirements for the course. The default grade accompanying an interim grade of 'I' shall be 'U' and will be displayed on the UB record as 'IU.' The default Unsatisfactory (U) grade shall become the permanent course grade of record if the 'IU' is not changed through formal notice by the instructor upon the student's completion of the course.

Assignment of an interim 'IU' is at the discretion of the instructor. A grade of 'IU' can be assigned only if successful completion of unfulfilled course requirements can result in a final grade better than the default 'U' grade. The student should have a passing average in the requirements already completed. The instructor shall provide the student specification, in writing, of the requirements to be fulfilled.

Related Policies and Services Academic integrity is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of academic work, students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university's imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and innovative ideas. See http://grad.buffalo.edu/Academics/Policies-Procedures/Academic-Integrity.html.

Accessibility resources: If you have any disability which requires reasonable accommodations to enable you to participate in this course, please contact the Office of Accessibility Resources in 60 Capen Hall, 645-2608 and also the instructor of this course during the first week of class. The office will provide you with information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations, which can be found on the web here.

University suppert services: Students are often unaware of university support services. For example, the Center for Excellence in Writing provides support for written work, and several tutoring centers on campus provide academic success support and resources.

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Counseling Services: 120 Richmond Quad (North Campus), phone 716-645-2720

Health Services: Michael Hall (South Campus), phone: 716-829-3316

Health Promotion: 114 Student Union (North Campus), phone: 716- 645-2837

Recommended reading

Marjorie Grene, A Portrait of Aristotle

R. Arp, B. Smith, A. D. Spear, Building Ontologies with Basic Formal Ontology

John R. Searle, Making the Social World

E. J. Lowe, The Four Category Ontology

Roman Ingarden, The Literary Work of Art. An Investigation on the Borderlines of Ontology, Logic, and Theory of Language