300-Level Courses (24-25)

2024-25 Fall/Winter 300-level courses

Note about Prerequisites:
All 300-series courses have a a general prerequisite of 7.5 courses (in any field) and a prerequisite of three half courses (or equivalent) in philosophy. The courses PHL345H1 to 349H1, PHL354H1, PHL356H1, and PHL357H1 are exempt from the latter rule (the philosophy prerequisite). See a list of specific course prerequisites in the academic calendar of the Faculty of Arts & Science. Students who do not meet the prerequisite for a particular course but believe that they have adequate preparation must obtain the permission of the instructor to gain entry to the course.

PHL301H1F — EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHY

Instructor: TBD
Fridays 09:00-12:00

A study of selected Greek philosophers before Plato. Topics may include the Pre-Socratic natural philosophers, Parmenides and the Eleatics, and the so-called sophistic movement.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA0

PHL303H1S — PLATO

Prof. Rachel Barney
Thursday 12:00-15:00

Selected metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical themes in Plato’s dialogues.

Reading: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL304H1S — ARISTOTLE

Instructor: TBD
Monday 11:00-12:00; Wednesdays 11:00-13:00

Selected anthropological, ethical and metaphysical themes in the works of Aristotle.

Reading: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL305H1S – CLASSICAL ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Deborah Black
Tuesdays and Thursdays 13:30-15:00

Prof. Peter King
Monday 12:00-15:00

Central themes in St. Augustine’s Christian philosophy, such as the problem of evil, the interior way to God, the goal of human life and the meaning of history.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

Prof. Peter King
Monday 12:00-15:00

Philosophical innovations that St. Thomas Aquinas made in the course of constructing a systematic theology: essence and existence, the Five Ways, separate intelligences, the human soul and ethics.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL310H1F — THE RATIONALISTS

Instructor TBD
Mondays 12:00-15:00

Central philosophical problems in philosophers such as Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and their contemporaries.

Evaluation: TBD

Reading: TBD

PHL311H1S — THE EMPIRICISTS

Instructor TBD
Thursdays 18:00-21:00

Central philosophical problems in philosophers such as Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and their contemporaries.

Evaluation: TBD

Reading: TBD

PHL314H1F — KANT

Prof. Michael Blezy
Thursdays 18:00-21:00

This course will provide an in-depth study of Immanuel Kant’s seminal work, Critique of Pure Reason (1781/87). Its overall aim will be to familiarize students with Kant’s “Copernican” revolution and the way in which it grounds the possibility of genuine metaphysical knowledge on the subject and its activities. Topics and concepts covered include: the role of criticism or “critique,” transcendental idealism, space and time, the sources of cognition and knowledge, self-consciousness, the relationship between the mind and nature and the scope and limits of human reason.

Text: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL316H1S — HEGEL

Prof. Nick Stang
Tuesdays 15:00-18:00

This course will be an introduction to the philosophy of G.W.F. Hegel (1770–1831). Rather than concentrate on a single work, we will read selections from the various writings that constitute Hegel’s ‘system’ of philosophy: the ‘introduction’ to that system (Phenomenology of Spirit) and then the system proper (Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences) and its three parts: logic/metaphysics, philosophy of nature, and philosophy of spirit (mind). Time permitting, we will also look at selections from various works by Hegel that expand upon themes in the Encyclopedia, e.g., the Science of Logic, Philosophy of Right, lectures on the philosophy of religion, lectures on aesthetics, etc. The focus throughout will be on understanding Hegel’s concept of a system, why philosophy (according to him) must take the form of a system, and why this system has not only the shape of a circle, but a ‘circle of circles’ (each of the parts of the system is itself a circle). Note: while the only formal prerequisite for the course is 210 (concurrent enrollment is sufficient), students are encouraged to complete 314 (Kant) before they take this course.

Text: The Hegel Reader, ed. Stephen Houlgate. Routledge.

Evaluation (tentative): participation (10%); two term papers (5–7 pages, 25% each); and a final exam (40%).

PHL317H1S — MARX AND MARXISM

Prof. Jordan Thomson
Wednesdays 18:00-21:00

An examination of some of the leading themes in the philosophy of Karl Marx. Developments of Marxist philosophy by later thinkers, and critics of Marxism, may also be considered.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL320H1F — PHENOMENOLOGY

Prof. Robert Gibbs
Mondays and Wednesdays 15:00-16:30

Phenomenology is a method used in the analysis of human awareness and subjectivity. It has been applied in the social sciences, in the humanities, and in philosophy. Texts studied are from Husserl and later practitioners, e.g., Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Gurwitsch, and Ricoeur.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL321H1F — HEIDEGGER

Prof. Tarek Dika
Thursdays 12:00-15:00

This course is an advanced introduction to Heidegger’s Being and Time (1927) and related texts.  Being and Time is arguably the most important philosophical treatise in European philosophy in the twentieth century. Its influence on the subsequent development of philosophy in Europe is difficult to overestimate. Topics include Heidegger’s overall concept of ontology and its basic problems; his preferred method in ontology (phenomenology); the role he assigns to the human being (or, more accurately, Dasein) in ontology; and his thesis that temporality is the “horizon for any understanding whatsoever of being.”

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL323H1S — SOCIAL AND CULTURAL THEORY

Instructor TBD
Fridays 15:00-18:00

Online-Synchronous

A study of philosophical approaches to understanding various aspects of contemporary culture and/or society. Topics may include theories of modernity, capitalism and consumerism, architecture and design, cultural pluralism, globalization, media and internet.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL325H1F — EARLY ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Imogen Dickie
Tuesday and Thursday 18:00-19:300

We will work through Frege’s *Foundations of Arithmetic*; Wittgenstein’s *Tractatus*; Russell’s *Lectures on Logical Atomism*; and a few other primary texts by these philosophers.

Assessment: three short papers; mid-term test; final exam; participation grade.

PHL327H1F — ETHICS AND RELIGION IN SANSKRIT PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Alessandro Graheli
Thursday 15:00-18:00

The Ineffability of Moral Laws

The Veda is the sacred scripture of the Hindus and its main teaching is purportedly dharma (“moral duty”), which is by definition an intangible concept that cannot be learned without a spiritual authority. Natural languages are typically learned through the observation and imitation of the linguistic exchanges of competent speakers. This process of linguistic acquisition, however, can work only when the denotation of words and sentences concerns objects of real experience. Sacred scriptures, by contrast, present the problem that their content is typically spiritual and ineffable. Therefore the morality of the Veda cannot be learned.

This powerful argument, meant to undermine the very foundation of the Veda, was raised by Buddhists authors against the proponents of the traditional Sanskrit sciences of Linguistics, Hermeneutics, Epistemology and Logic, who in turn developed their own counterarguments. The course will assess the rational merits of the respective standpoints in their historical framework.

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL328H1F — METAPHYSICS AND EPISTEMOLOGY IN SANSKRIT PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Jonardon Ganeri
Tuesday and Thursdays 10:00-11:30

This course will examine the key philosophical issues, questions, topics, and thinkers from the first 1000 years of the history of philosophy in India, roughly the period from 500BCE to 500CE. The emphasis will be on the nature of indigenous styles of reasoning in the South Asian subcontinent, and particular attention will be given to the idea that philosophy in Ancient India took place in a cosmopolitan intellectual world in which an astonishing plurality of different ideas were able to flourish.

Readings: All readings will be in Querus. Background reading: Jonardon Ganeri, Philosophy in Classical India (Routledge).

Evaluation: Essays, short assignments, and a final exam. Weekly assigned readings are an essential part of this course and completion of reading assignments is required for a passing grade in the course.

PHL329H1F — TOPICS IN 20th CENTURY CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Dave Suarez
Tuesdays 15:00-18:00

This course will focus on Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness. Published in 1943, Being and Nothingness is a central text of the French ‘existentialist’ movement. In a key passage, Sartre states, paradoxically, that the human being “is what it is not and is not what it is.” In saying this, Sartre means to characterize the human condition as a dynamic, and ultimately irresolvable, tension between the ‘positivity’ of existence and the ‘negativity’ of human freedom. We become what we are through our actions, but our freedom means that we never stop becoming, and can never rest in simply being what we have become. Sartre uses this understanding of the human condition, and its role in enabling the interplay between being and nothingness, to criticize traditional metaphysics, developing what he calls a ‘phenomenological ontology’, and providing novel insights into subjectivity, temporality, embodiment, and our social relationships.

Readings We will read selections from: Sartre, Jean-Paul. 2021. Being and Nothingness. Translated by Sarah Richmond. New York, NY: Washington Square Press. ISBN: 9781982105457. Sarah Richmond’s recent English translation of Being and Nothingness is a significant improvement over older translations, so you should make sure to get this specific edition.

Evaluation Discussion questions for class, submitted to Quercus 15%; 2 assignments (4 pages) consisting of short answer questions 45% (i.e., 22.5% each); Final paper (6-8 pages) 40%

PHL330H1F — Contemporary Continental Philosophy

Prof. Natalie Helberg
Thursdays 09:00-12:00

A discussion of selected problems and debates in recent Continental philosophy. Authors and texts will vary, but may include such authors as: Giorgio Agamben, Alain Badiou, Étienne Balibar, Judith Butler, Jacques Derrida, Catherine Malabou, Achille Mbembe, Quentin Meillassoux, Jean-Luc Nancy, Jacques Rancière, Gayatri Spivak, Slavoj Žižek, Sylvia Wynter.

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL331H1F — METAPHYSICS

Instructor
Mondays and Tuesdays 11:00-12:30

Historical and systematic approaches to topics in metaphysics, such as the nature of reality, substance and existence, necessity and possibility, causality, universals and particulars.

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL332H1S — EPISTEMOLOGY

Prof. David Barnett
Monday and Wednesdays 16:30-18:00

Can you know something even if you have no evidence that it is true? Is it rational to hold political or religious beliefs that you would have rejected if you were raised in a different family or culture? In this introductory course in epistemology, we will examine these and other questions about what you really know and what you can rationally believe. In addition to these sorts of questions, we will step back and consider the general question of what it is to know something, and when and why it is rational to believe. We will even consider skepticism, the philosophical view that you do not know anything at all.

Evaluation: 30% final paper, 20% midterm exam, 25% final exam, 25% written and oral discussion participation

Reading: TBA

PHL333H1S — PUZZLES AND PARADOXES

Prof. Michael Caie
Mondays and Wednesdays 12:00-13:30

Time travel, truth, infinity, rational decision making: each of these topics gives rise to philosophical puzzles and paradoxes. In this class we’ll consider a variety of such paradoxes. Using logic and other philosophical tools, we’ll show how these paradoxes can lead to deep and important philosophical conclusions.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL334H1S — MIND AND LANGUAGE IN CHINESE THOUGHT

Instructor: TBD
Wednesdays 18:00-21:00

Issues in the philosophy of mind and language played a crucial role in the philosophical discourse of classical China. This course will guide students in reconstructing this role and exploring its philosophical significance by interpreting and critically evaluating selected early Chinese philosophical texts that treat mind, language, and interrelated aspects of psychology. Topics to be discussed include the nature and functions of names and speech; the role of “correcting names”; semantic theory and argumentation; perception and knowledge; the role of language in knowledge and action; and the ontological grounds of linguistic distinctions. Texts to be discussed include the Analects, Guǎnzǐ, Mòzǐ, Mèngzǐ, Dàodéjīng, Xúnzǐ, Zhuāngzǐ, and Annals of Mr. Lǚ.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL335H1S — ISSUES IN PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

Prof. Elisa Freschi
Mondays 15:00-18:00

This course will discuss topics, schools and figures in philosophy of religion through a specific focus on three connected topics, namely divine omnipresence, heavenly life and the role of rituals and the philosophy thereof. We will read texts (in their English translation) spanning from Medieval Christianity and pre-colonial Sanskrit philosophy, to contemporary analytic philosophy, and I will introduce you to the main topics thinkers particularly dealt with while discussing divine omnipresence etc. Besides the reading assignments, we will also discuss philosophy of religion through movies and short stories, as well as analyse primary texts in class.

Evaluation: 24% (at least 9 out of 12 reading assignments); 24% (in-class participation); 6% in-class presentation of a reading assignment; 4% (summary of a talk); 6% (draft of the final paper); 2% (peer-review of a colleague’s draft); 12% (final paper); 2% (peer-review of a colleague’s final paper); 20% (final exam).

Authors to be read: Richard Swinburne, Udayana, Hud Hudson, Richard LaCroix, Thomas Aquinas, Eleanord Stump, Itay Shani, Veṅkaṭanātha, Martin Buber, Georges Bataille, Frits Staal, Hagop Sarkissian, Bernard Williams, Eric J, Silverman, Christopher M. Brown, Terence Cuneo.

Prof. Michael Rosenthal
Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00-13:30

The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of some of the central questions and themes in Jewish thought and philosophy. After having discussed the problem of the relation between reason and revelation, we shall proceed topically, examining such central issues as proofs for the existence of God, the nature of miracles, the problems of free will and evil, the nature of Jewish identity, the role of Israel in Jewish life, and questions of Jewish ethics and politics. We will discuss many canonical texts and modern critiques of these views. We will ask whether catastrophic modern events, such as the Holocaust, might force us to re-evaluate the answers to central philosophical questions of religious belief formulated in earlier times. We will focus on the role of reason in Jewish life but also consider skeptical perspectives such as mysticism and gender critiques.

Evaluation: TBD

Reading: TBD

Prof. Dave Suarez
Friday 12:00-15:00

Di Paolo, Cuffari, and De Jaegher’s Linguistic Bodies (2018) develops an enactivist theory of human language-use which is based in the living, active body, and the dynamics of social life. We will begin with an introduction to enactivism: a non-representational theory of cognition and consciousness that is committed to the interconnection between action and perception, and the continuity between the phenomena of life and mind. Moving forward, we will examine Di Paolo et al.’s development of the concept of linguistic bodies as living, active, perceiving, and intersubjective, and discuss its possible applications.

Readings: Di Paolo, Ezequiel A., Elena Clare Cuffari, and Hanne De Jaegher. 2018. Linguistic Bodies: The Continuity Between Life and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN: 9780262547864 (Paperback)

Evaluation: Discussion questions for class, submitted to Quercus 15%; 2 assignments (4 pages) consisting of short answer questions 45% (i.e., 22.5% each); Final paper (6-8 pages) 40%

PHL341H1F — FREEDOM, RESPONSIBILITY AND HUMAN ACTION

Prof. Simona Vucu
Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:30-15:00

Most of us would agree that we have free will, but it is not clear what this amounts to. This course focuses on three issues that are central to contemporary discussions about how we are free. In the first part of the course, we will inquire into views about freedom that focus on the human ability to choose and whether this ability is compatible or incompatible with determinism. That is, how can we be free when everything is caused and thus determined or necessitated? In the second part, we will inquire into views about freedom that focus on our capacity to identify with the choices we make and our capacity for self-determination. We will look into how we should understand this notion of identification: for example, to what extent can we think that a person raised in a very messed up environment genuinely identifies with her choices? This scenario also raises a question about the role of other people in how we are free: we think usually that being free is something about myself alone–I am the one who identifies with her choice, I am the person who can make choices in agreement with my values, but is it possible that my relations with other people can enlarge my freedom or do these relations restrict it? The core notion that these views analyze is that of autonomy. In the last part of the course, we will look closer into discussions about the conditions for being morally responsible. We will consider how responsibility is related to other people’s expectations of us and to the contexts in which we live. Especially in the second and third parts of the course, we will touch upon issues of autonomy and responsibility in conditions of oppression.

Evaluations: 2 essays, quizzes, class participation, final in-person exam.

PHL341H1S — FREEDOM, RESPONSIBILITY AND HUMAN ACTION

Prof. Matthew Scarfone
Mondays 15:00-18:00

Most of us believe the following things: that we can choose our own actions; that because we can choose our actions, we can be responsible for them; and that because we can be responsible for them, it makes sense to praise and blame each other. The free will debate in philosophy challenges these ideas. The traditional debate is about whether we have free will or whether our actions are determined. More recent developments have shifted to what we need to know to be responsible and thus praise- or blameworthy. In the first half of the course will look at the so-called ‘control condition’: when, if ever, does someone have adequate freedom or control in performing an action? and is freedom necessary for responsibility? The second half of the course is concerned with the ‘epistemic condition’: when does someone have the appropriate epistemic or cognitive state to be responsible for their actions? and what does someone need to be aware of to be praise- or blameworthy?

Evaluation: Attendance & Participation (20%), 700-word Summary/Criticism (2 x 20%), 350-word Final Essay Prospectus (10%), 1750-word Final Essay (30%).

PHL342H1S — MINDS AND MACHINES

Prof. Sara Aronowitz
Tuesdays 13:00-15:00

This course will ask: what do computers and minds/brains have in common and how are they different?  We’ll cover contemporary readings from philosophy, computer science, and other cognitive science fields. No programming experience is assumed but assignments will include introductory programming in MatLab, and more traditional philosophical writing.

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL344H1F — PHILOSOPHY OF EMOTIONS

Instructor: TBA
Mondays 09:00-12:00

A survey of philosophical topics related to the emotions, from a range of philosophical perspectives. Questions to be considered may include the following: What exactly is an emotion? Are emotions feelings? What emotions are there, and how are they shaped by culture and society? How are emotions related to reason, the brain and the body? What role do — and should — the emotions play in decision-making? Can an emotion be morally right or wrong, and what makes it so?

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL345H1F — INTERMEDIATE LOGIC

Prof. Franz Huber
Mondays 18:00-21:00

Intermediate Logic is a first introduction to some of the philosophically significant results of metalogic. It presupposes that you have taken a course in elementary logic such as PHL245, but nothing else besides – except for a willingness to acquire the skill of proving. We will work with the first two parts of the following textbook by Richard Zach: Intermediate Logic: An Open Introduction (openlogicproject.org)

In the first month we will get familiar with the basic mathematics that is needed for the study of logic. This includes a discussion of sets, relations, and functions, as well as a bit about arithmetic and the size of sets.

In the second month we will be occupied with the syntax and semantics of first order logic with identity, as well as its model theory and proof theory (the latter in the form of so-called “natural deduction”). Chief among the proof techniques we will study is mathematical induction.

In the third month we will work through a proof of the soundness and completeness of first order logic with identity, as well as closely related results such as the compactness and Löwenheim-Skolem theorems. We will not cover incompleteness, which is the focus of PHL445.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: The course is entirely problem focused. There will be two exams consisting of select problems from a longer list of problems that you will be given at the beginning of the course.

PHL347H1S — MODAL LOGIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL APPLICATIONS OF LOGIC

Instructor: TBA
Fridays 12:00-15:00

Formal study of the concepts of necessity and possibility, modal, propositional and quantificational logic, possible-worlds semantics, and the metaphysics of modality. Other topics may include counterfactuals, truth, vagueness, epistemic logic, temporal logic, or non-classical logic.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL354H1F — PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS

Prof. Eamon Darnell
Friday 09:00-12:00

Platonism versus nominalism, the relation between logic and mathematics, implications of Gödel’s theorem, formalism and intuitionism.

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL355H1S — PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL SCIENCE

Prof. Franz Huber
Mondays 18:00-21:00

The structure and methods of science: explanation, methodology, realism and instrumentalism.

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL356H1F — PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS

Instructor: TBD
Wednesdays 09:00-12:00

Introduction to philosophical issues which arise in modern physics, especially in relativity and quantum mechanics. This course will be accessible to students without a significant background in physics, but with an interest in the philosophical challenges that modern physics poses.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL357H1F — PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY

Instructor: TBD
Thursdays 15:00-18:00

Philosophical issues in the foundations of biology, e.g., the nature of life, evolutionary theory; controversies about natural selection; competing mechanisms, units of selection; the place of teleology in biology; biological puzzles about sex and sexual reproduction; the problem of species; genetics and reductionism; sociobiology; natural and artificial life.

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL366H1F — TOPICS IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Andrea Lanza
Tuesdays 09:00-12:00

Democracy, unity, and division

In 1952, J.L. Talmon pointed an accusing finger at a totalitarian conception of democracy and traced its origins. Building on the stimulating but problematic category of “totalitarian democracy,” this course invites reflection on the delicate balance between unity and conflict. We will approach this question from different perspectives by examining modern Western thinkers such as Rousseau, Marx, Tocqueville, and Arendt. Exploring their ways of conceiving social divisions will prompt a critical reappraisal of ideas such as society, unanimity, divided unity, and civil disobedience.

Readings: selected texts by Rousseau, Marx, Tocqueville, and Arendt will be available on Quercus.

Tentative marking scheme: two in-class check-in (25%); final test (25%); essay (35%); attendance and participation (15%).

PHL366H1S — TOPICS IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Shruta Swarup
Tuesdays 18:00-21:00

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL367H1F — PHILOSOPHY OF FEMINISM

Prof. Simona Vucu
Tuesday and Thursday 13:30-15:00

In this course, we will examine some key issues in contemporary feminist philosophy. We will start with a discussion of some central concepts of feminist philosophy such as identity, oppression, and intersectionality. The rest of the course will be spent on two issues: relational autonomy and epistemic injustice. What unites these two topics is the idea that our social location determines not only what we want and can do, but also what we know, transmit to others and learn from others. Autonomy has to do with acting based on one’s own values and views: I am an autonomous being to the extent that my choices and actions reflect my own values and ideas. Feminist philosophers have questioned this understanding of autonomy because it seems to be an ideal that overlooks the situations of people under oppression. They reconceptualized autonomy in relational terms, drawing attention to how our values are constituted through our relations with other people. Epistemic injustice refers to harms done to people insofar as they are knowers. Feminist philosophy has argued that epistemic injustice is a result of systemic identity prejudice.

Evaluations: 2 essays, quizzes, class participation, final in-person exam.

PHL370H1S — ISSUES IN PHILOSOPHY OF LAW

Prof. Steven Coyne
Mondays 18:00-21:00

Major issues in philosophy of law, such as legal positivism and its critics, law and liberalism, feminist critiques of law, punishment and responsibility.

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL373H1F — ISSUES IN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

Instructor: TBD
Fridays 15:00-18:00

An intermediate-level examination of key issues in environmental philosophy, such as the ethics of animal welfare, duties to future generations, deep ecology, ecofeminism, sustainable development and international justice.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBD

PHL375H1S LEC 0101 ETHICS

Prof. Jordan Thomson
Mondays 12:00-15:00

We live our lives against a background of global poverty, much of which can be addressed or prevented by effective charities and aid organizations. Many argue that this fact implies demanding duties of beneficence on the part of the relatively well-off: instead of spending our money on stylish clothing, hobbies, and travel, we are morally obligated to give that money to charities. We will spend most of this class examining the most compelling arguments for this conclusion and the ways in which philosophers have attempted to respond to those arguments, both directly and indirectly.

Evaluation: TBD

Reading: TBD

PHL375H1S LEC 0201 ETHICS

Instructor: TBD
Mondays 12:00-15:00

An intermediate-level study of selected issues in moral philosophy, or of influential contemporary or historical works in ethical theory.

Evaluation: TBD

Reading: TBD

PHL375H1S LEC 5101 ETHICS

Prof. Reza Hadisi
Mondays 12:00-15:00

In this course, we will critically examine contemporary iterations of Aristotelian virtue ethics. We will begin with preparatory sessions on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, followed by an exploration of contemporary Aristotelianism.

Reading: We will read a few sections of the Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, then we will read On Virtue Ethics by Rosalind Hursthouse, and Natural Goodness by Philipa Foot. We will supplement these readings with some recent criticisms of virtue ethics.

Evaluation: Argument maps, paper, short quizzes, final exam.

PHL376H1S — TOPICS IN MORAL PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Matthew Scarfone
Thursdays 18:00-21:00

We will look at some of the ethical issues arising out of friendships, dating, marriages, and parent/child relationships. Some of the questions we will look at include: what makes someone a friend? is it problematic to have certain dating preferences? are married couples owed any unique privileges? is it wrong to have kids? do children owe anything to their parents? As we will see, relationships are full of philosophical complexity, but these issues also significantly impact everyday life. For this reason, our course will be heavy on discussion, in the hope of sparking insights that go beyond the classroom.

Evaluation:  Attendance & Participation (20%), Midterm Essay Prospectus (10%), 1400-word Midterm Essay (25%), Final Essay Prospectus (10%), 1750-word Final Essay (30%).

PHL377H1F — ETHICAL ISSUES IN BIG DATA

Instructor: TBD
Tuesdays 15:00-18:00

An introduction to the ethical dimensions arising in the practice of statistics and data science, including moral puzzles, problems and dilemmas that arise in the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to every day decision making in politics, business, and ordinary life.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL382H1F — DEATH AND DYING

Prof. Jennifer Gibson
Thursday 3:00-6:00

An intermediate-level study of moral and legal problems, including the philosophical significance of death, the high-tech prolongation of life, the definition and determination of death, suicide, active and passive euthanasia, the withholding of treatment, palliative care and the control of pain, living wills, recent judicial decisions.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL383H1F — ETHICS AND MENTAL HEALTH

Prof. C. Dalrymple-Fraser
Fridays 12:00-15:00

An intermediate-level study of moral and legal problems, including the concepts of mental health and illness, mental competence, dangerousness and psychiatric confidentiality, mental institutionalization, involuntary treatment and behaviour control, controversial therapies; legal issues: the Mental Health Act, involuntary commitment, the insanity defence.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL384H1S — ETHICS, GENETICS AND REPRODUCTION

Prof. Jennifer Gibson
Thursday 3:00-6:00

An intermediate-level study of moral and legal problems, including the ontological and moral status of the human embryo and fetus; human newborn, carrier and prenatal genetic screening for genetic defect, genetic therapy; reproductive technologies (e.g., artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization); recent legislative proposals and judicial decisions.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL385H1S — AESTHETICS

Prof. Peter King
Wednesdays  12:00-15:00

The aim of this course is to consider the unique challenge of encountering Self and Other under the doubled sign of ‘familiar strangeness’, using cinema as a mechanism of investigation. Key tropes to be investigated include the nature of observation, the leakiness and vulnerability of the human body, the ontology of film, and the epistemological predicament of the detective or investigator within fictional frames.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL394H1F — MARKETS AND MORALS

Prof. Jordan Thomson
Mondays 18:00-21:00

Markets in commodities and labour significantly shape our lives in obvious and non-obvious ways. This fact raises several ethical questions that we will pursue in this class: Does respecting property rights require free markets, or should the effects of markets be controlled to mitigate the poverty of those who do not “compete” as well as others for jobs or profits? Is socialism preferable to capitalism? Does the fact that sweatshop work is better than the alternatives in places where sweatshops operate mean that sweatshop operators aren’t doing anything wrong? Are pregnancy surrogates baby sellers? Would it be wrong to sell your vote? In this class, we’ll examine these questions and related issues.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA