Philosophy 350RM - Topics in Philosophy: 'Radical Metaphysical Hypotheses'

Scientists are increasingly willing to take seriously hypotheses that say that the world is radically different than the way the world appears to be. They suggest that time does not exist, that we are part of a simulation, and that the world has 10^80 dimensions. In this class we will examine whether there is any difference between these hypotheses and more traditional radical philosophical hypotheses, like the hypothesis that the external world does not exist. We will ask whether we should we take any of these hypotheses -- scientific or philosophical -- seriously, and if not, why not.

Prereq: 8 credits in philosophy.