100-Level Courses (2023-24)

PHL103H5 F – Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Reality
Instructor:  TBD     M W  5-6 PM 
This course is an introduction to some of the central questions of philosophy, focusing on issues concerning the nature of reality (what sorts of things exist in the universe?) and knowledge (what can we know about the things that exist?). The course explores answers that have been given to these questions in a selection of classical and contemporary texts. Tutorials will involve active discussion of the philosophical ideas covered in the lectures.
Exclusions:  PHL105Y5, PHL101, PHL102

PHL103H5 S – Introduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Reality
Instructor: J. Nagel    M W  12-1 PM
This course is an introduction to some of the central questions of philosophy, focusing on issues concerning the nature of reality (what sorts of things exist in the universe?) and knowledge (what can we know about the things that exist?).  The course explores answers that have been given to these questions in a selection of classical and contemporary texts. Tutorials will involve active discussion of the philosophical ideas covered in the lectures.
Exclusions:  PHL105Y5, PHL101, PHL102

PHL113H5 F – Introduction to Philosophy: Persons and Value
Instructor:  P. Clark    T R 12-1 PM 
This course is an introduction to philosophy, focused on questions about human nature and the nature of values. We’ll discuss the following: Are there objectively right answers to moral questions, or is morality a realm of illusion or mere opinion? Do we have free will? — and does the answer to this question have any practical implications? What is a good life? One that affords pleasure? One in which you get what you want? Can a morally bad person live a good life? Is it rational to fear death? Is there such thing as a “self”? And what would it take for such a thing to persist through time? We’ll learn from and argue with such philosophers as Plato, Aristotle, Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Montaigne, Locke, Hume, Nietzsche, Thomas Nagel, and Derek Parfit.
Exclusions: PHL105Y5, PHL101, PHL102

PHL113H5 S – Introduction to Philosophy: Persons and Value
Instructor:  L. Dunford    M W 6-7 PM 
This course is an introduction to some of the central questions of philosophy, focusing on
ethical, political, and social issues concerning (for example) justice, the good life, freedom, and responsibility. The course explores answers that have been given to these questions in a selection of classical and contemporary texts. Tutorials will involve active discussion of the philosophical ideas covered in the lectures.
Exclusions:  PHL105Y5, PHL101, PHL102