180045 VO Bolzano's metaphysics (2021S)

Bernard Bolzano isn't one of the famous players in the history of philosophy. This fact does not warrant the conclusion, however, that Bolzano doesn't deserve a prominent place in our accounts of the history of philosophy. He was in fact a highly original and deep thinker with a number of groundbreaking ideas, and his writings are exemplary works of clarity and rigour.

This lecture will examine but a part of Bolzano's philosophy: his metaphysics. A focus will be laid on Bolzano's ontological position. Another focus will lay on his theory of ground and consequence (which in many aspects anticipates a hot debate in contemporary metaphysics, namely the debate about metaphysical grounding).

Due to the topics discussed the lecture can also serve as a more general introdution to metaphysics and ontology, though with a focus on the works of a single author.

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The format of the lecture will be weekly videos. In addition there will be a forum for questions and discussions.