A critical discussion of some characteristic "contemporary" positions on "what there is", the problem of universals and properties, the individuation of concrete particulars, modality and possible worlds, causation, and time. Students will be required to dowload and read articles from the web (e.g. philpapers) and from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on the web, and various journals. Each student will make several classroom reports on the readings (which will be graded), submit 5 one page assignments and a final term paper about 10 pages. The class requires active and constant participation, regular attendance, and is primarily for philosophy majors, with others admitted with permission. Class maximum is 17.