2023-24 Fall/Winter 100-level Courses
Note: PHL100Y1 and PHL101Y1 are exclusive of each other and have the same learning outcomes.
PHL100Y1Y – Introduction to Philosophy
Prof. Donald Ainslie
Tuesday and Thursday 11:00-12:00
Delivery Method: In-Person
An introduction to the central branches of philosophy, such as logic, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. Writings from the central figures in the history of Western and non-Western philosophy, as well as contemporary philosophers, may be considered.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL101Y1Y – Introduction to Philosophy
Prof. Jim John
Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00-11:00
Delivery Method: In-Person
This course will introduce you to philosophy. Its main purpose is to acquaint you with the kinds of questions philosophers ask and to impart an understanding of why those questions matter. A secondary purpose is to improve your skills as a critical reader, thinker, and writer. We will consider some of the perennial philosophical problems: problems to do with God, free will, personal identity, knowledge, human well-being, death, mind and body, science, morality, justice and political authority, and the meaning of life. The readings for the course will feature a mix of classic and contemporary writings by global philosophers.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL196H1F – Multiculturalism, Philosophy and Film
Prof. Francesco Gagliardi
Mondays and Wednesdays 13:00-15:00
Delivery Method: In-person
This course will critically examine the role of cinema in the construction and exploration of the figure of the racial, ethnic, cultural, and social “other.” Our topics will include (1) racial, ethnic, and cultural identity and its reciprocal relationship with cinema, (2) the notion of realism in relation to the representation of race and ethnicity in film, (3) the cinematic representation of inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic conflict, (4) the position of cinema in the debate between assimilation and multiculturalism, and (5) the ways in which cinema can help illuminate a cluster of relevant notions in political philosophy including citizenship, communitarianism, cosmopolitanism, and the relation between individual rights and group rights. Films will be screened in class and discussed against the background of focused critical readings.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL197H1F – Introduction to Philosophical Anthropology
Prof. Joseph Heath
Wednesdays 13:00-15:00
Delivery Method: In-person
The Puzzle of Human Cooperation
Humans are a unique species in the extent to which we rely upon social learning in order to acquire the knowledge and skills required to survive and prosper. This is what makes us cultural beings. And yet culture is itself a biological adaptation, one that does not replace, but rather supplements, our more archaic cognitive systems. The question of how these two forces, the biological and the cultural, interact in order to determine our behaviour is one of the most pressing questions in the human sciences. In this course, we will explore this issue, focusing on what is known as the puzzle of human cooperation. We will begin by considering how evolution through natural selection imposes limits on cooperative behaviour. We will then consider what culture is, how it arises, and how the development of cultural transmission creates certain exemptions from the biologically imposed limits on the scope of cooperativeness. We will end by examining the psychological underpinnings of these social systems, using a framework known as “dual-process” psychology. These readings will serve as a basis for reflection upon philosophical topics such as the extent of human freedom, the status of morality, the nature of progress, as well as the meaning of life.
Readings: Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene; Joseph Henrich, The Secret of our Success; Keith Stanovich, The Robot’s Rebellion
Evaluation: TBS
PHL198H1S – Philosophy of Time
Prof. Michael Miller
Mondays 16:00-18:00
Delivery Method: In-person
The passage of time is a fundamental aspect of human experience: we are born, we grow older, and eventually we pass away. During our lives our experience of the past, present, and future are distinct. We can influence the world in the present and the future, but it does not seem that we can influence the past. We have hopes about the future, memories of the past, and experiences of the present. In this seminar we will explore insights from contemporary philosophy and physics concerning the nature of the passage of time. Questions to be considered may include the following: What does it mean to say that time passes? Does time really pass at all? How do we experience time? Why can we influence the future but not the past? Is it possible to travel backward in time? Is time even real? What is time?
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL199H1S – Ethics and Fiction
Prof. Mark Kingwell
Tuesdays 13:00-15:00
Delivery Method: In-person
The goal of this seminar is to investigate ethical questions by considering works of prose fiction, mostly novels, and how literature functions as an ethical medium. We will reflect on what narrative writing can teach us about the pressing challenges of choice and responsibility, and how it can help expand our understanding of human consciousness. The special theme of this iteration of the seminar is friendship: what does it mean, what is its value, what are its limitations?
This is a seminar course, which means it is focused on discussion and group analysis. Please attend meetings prepared to engage with the course reading and your fellow students. There is a lot of reading in the course, basically a novel a week. Try to schedule your time accordingly – I know you will be very busy! If possible, read ahead.
Reading: final list TBA, but will include Austen, Emma; Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front; Waugh, Brideshead Revisited; Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Ackerley, My Dog Tulip; Jaffe, The Best of Everything; Chandler, The Long Goodbye; Atwood Cat’s Eye; and Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend
Evaluation: TBA