2023-24 Fall/Winter 200-level courses
Note about prerequisites/co-requisites for 200-level courses:
Only PHL201H1 has a prerequisite: it requires the completion of four Arts and Science full-course equivalents (FCEs).
PHL233H1 has a co-requisite: it requires one FCE in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, or Computer Science.
PHL200Y1Y — ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Jessica Gelber
Tuesdays 15:00-17:00
This course is an introduction to some of the main figures and problems in Ancient Greek Philosophy. We will read texts spanning from Thales to Sextus Empiricus, though most of our attention will be given to Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Our goal will be to understand not only what the views these thinkers held were, but also why they held them and how they argued for them. When we engage in this activity, we are doing philosophy. So, this course is also an introduction to philosophy itself. There are no pre-requisites.
Readings: TBD, will include selections from Plato’s Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Protagoras, Phaedo, Republic; Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Categories, Posterior Analytics, Physics, Metaphysics, On the Soul; we will use collections of ancient sources for pre-Socratic and Hellenistic philosophical views. PDFs of most texts will be made available, otherwise links to online versions (though the U of T library website) will be provided.
Evaluation: Essays, short assignments, quizzes, in-class midterm and final exams, and (mandatory) tutorial preparation and participation. Your weekly tutorial session (in-person) is an essential part of this course and attendance is required for a passing grade in the course.
PHL201H1F — INTRODUCTORY PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Brian Bitar
Fridays 12:00-15:00
An introduction to philosophy focusing on the connections among its main branches: logic, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, and ethics. This course is intended for those with little or no philosophy background but who have completed Year 1 in any area of study.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL205H1F — EARLY MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Peter King
Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00-13:00
In this course we’ll read philosophers from the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions covering the period from the 4th to the 12th centuries CE possibly including Augustine, Boethius, Anselm, and Abelard among Christian authors, and Avicenna, Maimonides, and Averroes among Islamic and Jewish authors. We’ll focus on the issues of central concern to these philosophers, including freedom and determinism, the place of humans in the world, the nature of virtue.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: Term work (details TBA, but will include at least one essay): 50%; Final examination (possibly take-home format) 35%; Tutorial participation: 15%.
PHL206H1S — LATER MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Simona Vucu
Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:00-13:00
In this course, we will cover philosophers from the late medieval period, who worked in very different traditions, Christian, Islamic and Judaic. The course will deal with how some of these philosophers understood Aristotle’s views about the nature of the soul, human capacities, and our morality, and how they used these insights to answer questions stemming from their religious commitments as well as historical events. For example, we will investigate how they interpreted episodes from the Bible about the creation of women (about whom Aristotle says that they are “misbegotten males”) or the puzzling case of the hardening of the Pharaoh’s heart (in an episode in which God seems to remove the free will of a person), or how they thought about the role of virtues in attaining union with God. We will also inquire into how they used Aristotelian insights to address political questions about the equality between women and men, the role of good manners in society or the enslavement of Indigenous people.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: Term work (details TBA, but will include at least one essay): 50%; Final examination (possibly take-home format) 35%; Tutorial participation: 15%.
PHL210Y1Y — 17TH AND 18TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Jonathan Cottrell
Thursdays 15:00-17:00
Central texts of such philosophers as Hobbes, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL217H1S — INTRODUCTION TO CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Natalie Helberg
Mondays and Wednesdays 09:00-10:00
An introduction to some of the post-Hegelian thinkers who inspired the various philosophical movements broadly referred to as continental, such as phenomenology, existentialism, deconstruction, and post-modernism. Questions include the will, faith, death, existence, history and politics, rationality and its limits, encountering an other. Authors studied may include: Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Marx, Freud, Heidegger, Sartre.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL232H1F — KNOWLEDGE AND REALITY
Prof. Michael Caie
Mondays and Wednesdays 14:00-15:00
An introduction to issues in the fundamental branches of philosophy: metaphysics, which considers the overall framework of reality; epistemology, or the theory of knowledge; and related problems in the philosophy of science. Topics in metaphysics may include: mind and body, causality, space and time, God, freedom and determinism; topics in epistemology may include perception, evidence, belief, truth, skepticism.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL232H1S — KNOWLEDGE AND REALITY
Prof. Trevor Teitel
Mondays and Tuesdays 12:00-13:00
This course will be an introductory survey of some central topics in epistemology and metaphysics, presupposing no prior familiarity with either area. In the epistemology half, we’ll start by looking at various responses to skeptical challenges. These challenges purport to show that you don’t know much of what you ordinarily take yourself to know (for instance, that you have hands, that the sun will rise tomorrow, etc.). We’ll also touch on other questions in epistemology, including the rational response to widespread disagreement among experts on many topics, and the rational response to the fact that many of our most cherished beliefs seem heavily influenced by non-evidential factors (such as the communities in which we grew up). Turning to the metaphysics half, here are some of the questions that we might consider. Does God exist? Is consciousness explicable in wholly physical terms? What are you (a material object?, an immaterial soul?), and what kinds of changes can you undergo without ceasing to exist? Is the existence of free will compatible with the results of our best scientific theories (which purport to show that our world is governed by deterministic laws of nature)? Why is there something rather than nothing?
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL233H1S — PHILOSOPHY FOR SCIENTISTS
Prof. Imogen Dickie
Tuesday and Thursday 12:00-13:00
An introduction to philosophy tailored for students with backgrounds in mathematics and science. Topics include causation, explanation, the relation between scientific and mathematical theories and reality, the role of mathematics in scientific theories, the relevance of scientific and mathematical discoveries to ‘big’ traditional philosophical questions such as the nature of consciousness, whether we have free will, and the meaning of life.
Readings: TBA
Evaluations: TBA
PHL235H1F — PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
Prof. Simona Vucu
Tuesdays 9:00-11:00 (In-person); Fridays 10:00 (Online-Synchronous)
Delivery Method: Hybrid
One might think that religion is primarily about people’s belief in a supreme god. But religion is more complex than this. In this course, we will focus on some philosophical issues that arise from conceptualizing religion as a set of beliefs (e.g., the belief in the existence of a god, or a certain kind of god) and as a set of practices (e.g., prayer, ritual observances). Some of these issues concern the question of the rationality of religious beliefs, the definition of faith, and the right framework for understanding the concept of practice as applied to religion. In the last part of the course, we will examine whether ethics depend on religion and to what extent religion can provide an appropriate understanding of our relationship with animals and the environment.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: Weekly quizzes: 10%; Two essays: 50%; Final examination (possibly take-home format) 30%; Class participation: 10%.
PHL236H1F — BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Elisa Freschi
Mondays and Wednesdays 17:00-18:30
This course is an introduction to topics, schools and figures in Buddhist philosophy. We will read texts (in their English translation) spanning from the Pāli Canon attributed directly to the Buddha) via its commentaries and reaching until contemporary Buddhist reflections. We will also discuss the main topics most Buddhist thinkers dealt with, from emptiness to impermanence and non-selfhood, and analyse their philosophical consequences in logic (we will, e.g., analyse the theory of inference elaborated by Dignāga and Dharmakīrti), epistemology (what are the sources of knowledge? How can the Buddha be trustworthy?), philosophy of action (can there be karman without a subject?). Besides, we will find time to explore in depth specific topics, e.g. epistemology of perception (according to some Buddhist authors the only reliable form of perception is non-conceptual perception), epistemology of absence, philosophy of language.
Evaluation: 24% (23 reading assignments); 24% (in-class participation); 18% (three short papers); 6% (three peer reviews); 4% (summary of a talk); 24% (final test).
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL237H1F — HISTORY OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
Instructor: TBA
Wednesdays 18:00-21:00
A historical introduction to Chinese philosophy, covering selected figures and texts from the Warring States period through the Qīng dynasty. Schools of thought covered include Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, Legalism, “Profound Learning,” Neo-Confucianism, and “Evidential Learning.” Texts and thinkers include the Confucian Analects, Mòzǐ, Mèngzǐ, Xúnzǐ, Dàodéjīng, Zhuāngzǐ, Hán Fēi, Guō Xiàng, Zhū Xī, Wáng Yángmíng, and Dài Zhèn.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL239H1F — Introduction to South Asian Philosophy
Prof. Jack Beaulieu
Thursdays 15:00-18:00
How do I acquire knowledge, and how do I know when I’ve acquired knowledge? Are the ordinary things that we take to exist simply useful fictions? Can perception accurately involve concepts, or are all forms of conceptualization erroneous? This course is an introduction to what thinkers of the Sanskrit tradition had to say about these questions. The Sanskrit tradition, however, remained continuously productive for two millennia, from the time of the Buddha—a contemporary of Socrates and Confucius—through to a thriving intellectual culture in early modern Varanasi. Rather than take a chronological approach, we will be introduced to the views and arguments of two major traditions, Nyāya and Buddhism, as students traditionally were: through introductory texts written in Sanskrit. Translations will be provided by the instructor and no knowledge Sanskrit will be required.
Readings: Mokṣākaragupta’s Language of Reasoning; Keśava’s Language of Reasoning; an excerpt from Śālikanātha’s Study of the Instruments of Knowledge; an excerpt from the Nyāyasūtra with commentaries.
Assignments: Weekly quizzes (online); textual analysis; argumentative paper; final exam.
PHL240H1S — PERSONS, MINDS AND BODIES
Prof. David Barnett
Mondays and Fridays 11:00-12:00
Consciousness and its relation to the body; personal identity and survival; knowledge of other minds; psychological events and behaviour.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL243H1S — PHILOSOPHY OF SEXUALITY
Prof. Natalie Helberg
Wednesdays 6:00-9:00
Delivery Method: In-person
Philosophical issues about sex and sexual identity in the light of biological, psychological and ethical theories of sex and gender; the concept of gender; male and female sex roles; perverse sex; sexual liberation; love and sexuality.
Readings: TBA
Evaluations: TBA
PHL244H1S — HUMAN NATURE
Prof. Brendan de Kenessey
Wednesday and Thursday 09:00-10:30
In this course, we will investigate three central questions about our nature as human beings. First, what are we? Are we immaterial souls, collections of memories and other psychological states, physical bodies, or something else? Second, are we good or evil? Are human beings innately selfish, or are we capable of genuine moral virtue? Third, do we have free will? Can we be held responsible for our actions if they are the inevitable result of the laws of nature?
Readings: TBA
Evaluations: TBA
PHL245H1F — MODERN SYMBOLIC LOGIC
Prof. Alex Koo
LEC0101 – Tuesdays 13:00-15:00; Fridays 13:00-14:00 (In-person)
Logic is a central pillar of philosophy that has its roots in ancient civilizations. Aristotle was one of the first to formalize the discipline into a highly applicable system for analyzing arguments. Logic was modernized by Frege at the end of the 19th century and by Russell and Whitehead at the start of the 20th century. Since then, logical tools have become essential in many areas of analytic philosophy such as philosophy of science, philosophy of language, and epistemology.
Modern Symbolic Logic is a technical course in first-order logic. Students will learn the meaning of logical symbols and develop the skills for performing derivations in both sentential and predicate logic. The course will begin with truth tables of basic logical operators and end with polyadic predicates, identity, and operations. Learning these tools will foster critical thinking skills, lead to a precise understanding of natural language, and result in better reading and writing skills. All of these are essential to the practice of philosophy and other academic disciplines, critical for excelling on standardized tests such as the LSAT, and are useful in every day life.
This is a hybrid and flipped course. Lectures will be posted online for asynchronous viewing and in-class time will be dedicated to practicing and improving skills. Term tests will be done in-person during the 1-hour timeslot.
Readings: Text provided online
Evaluations: 4 term tests, 11 weekly quizzes, final exam
PHL245H1F — MODERN SYMBOLIC LOGIC
Prof. Eamon Darnell
LEC0201 – Mondays 15:00-17:00; Wednesdays 15:00-16:00 (In-person)
LEC5101 – Mondays 18:00-20:00; Thursdays 18:00-19:00 (Online with In-person tests)
An introduction to formal deductive logic. Semantics, symbolization, and techniques of natural deduction in sentential logic. Symbolization, natural deduction, and models in monadic predicate logic. Symbolization and natural deduction with polyadic predicates. Introduction to advanced concepts in first-order logic, such as operations, identity, and models.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL245H1S — MODERN SYMBOLIC LOGIC
Prof. Michael Caie
LEC0101 – Mondays 15:00-17:00; Wednesdays 15:00-16:00
Prof. Eamon Darnell
LEC0201 – Tuesdays 13:00-15:00; Fridays 13:00-14:00
An introduction to formal deductive logic. Semantics, symbolization, and techniques of natural deduction in sentential logic. Symbolization, natural deduction, and models in monadic predicate logic. Symbolization and natural deduction with polyadic predicates. Introduction to advanced concepts in first-order logic, such as operations, identity, and models.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL246H1F — PROBABILITY AND INDUCTIVE LOGIC
Prof. Franz Huber
Thursdays 18:00-20:00
Probability and Inductive Logic is an introduction to the mathematical theory of probability and its applications in philosophy. On the philosophical side we will mainly be concerned with the so-called problem of induction and its reception in the philosophy of science, where it is normally discussed under the heading of “confirmation theory.” On the mathematical side we will study propositional and predicate logic, as well as elementary set theory, to be able to formulate the theory of probability.
The first two weeks will provide us with the relevant background in logic and set theory. During the next three to four weeks, we will cover Hume’s argument for the thesis that we cannot justify induction; Hempel’s work on the logic of confirmation and the ravens’ paradox; Popper’s falsificationism and hypothetico-deductive confirmation; as well as Kolmogorov’s axiomatization of the probability calculus. During the following three to four weeks, we will cover Carnap’s inductive logic and philosophy of induction; Goodman’s philosophy of induction and the new riddle of induction; Haack’s comparison between deduction and induction; as well as the Dutch Book argument for subjective, or Bayesian, probabilities. The last three weeks will be devoted to Bayesian confirmation theory and the distinction between absolute versus incremental confirmation; Lewis’ principal principle relating subjective credences and objective chances; as well as Reichenbach’s “straight(-forward) rule” and the strong law of large numbers.
Along the way we will come across probability puzzles such as Bertrand’s paradox and von Mises’ wine/water paradox, as well as paradoxes from logic and set theory such as the liar paradox and Russell’s paradox.
We will work with my textbook “A Logical Introduction to Probability and Induction” (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018), as well as a few other texts. All of these materials will be made available on Quercus. I will upload the relevant chapters on a weekly basis, together with the lecture notes/slides. This means that you do not have to buy the textbook or any other text. In return I expect you to attend class: I want you to do well, and just studying the texts and solving homework assignments will not be enough! Also, while the course is structured along philosophical problems, please be prepared to use mathematical symbols and logical formulas, as well as to calculate and solve equations and to prove and derive theorems.
Reading: We will work with my textbook A Logical Introduction to Probability and Induction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2018).
Evaluation: TBD
PHL255H1S – PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Prof. Mike Miller
Tuesdays 15:00-17:00
This course is an introduction to contemporary topics in the philosophy of science which serves as preparation for more advanced study in general philosophy of science and philosophy of the particular sciences. Topics may include the rise and fall of logical positivism, the problem of demarcation, falsificationism, confirmation, the connection between theory and observation, the value free ideal, and the epistemic authority of scientists.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL256SH1S – PHILOSOPHY OF THE INTERNET
Prof. Simona Vucu
Fridays 12:00-15:00
Delivery Method: Online-Synchronous
The internet and digital technology have had a transformative impact on the economy, society and politics, art and culture, and everyday life. This course explores the fascinating, often urgent, new philosophical questions raised by these changes as well as the way they invite a rethinking of many older philosophical questions. Topics to be addressed may include ethical problems relating to artificial intelligence and algorithms; identity through social media; digital ownership and privacy; and collective/distributed knowledge in its relation to information, among others.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL265H1F — INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Andrew Franklin-Hall
Mondays and Wednesdays 13:00-14:00
This course will provide an introduction to political philosophy through a study of key authors who have shaped the Western tradition, including Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, Mill, Marx, and Du Bois. Toward the end of the course, we will also look at important questions in contemporary thought in the work of John Rawls and Iris Marion Young. At the heart of the class are questions about the meaning and value of freedom and equality, the justification of political authority and its proper aims, as well as the relationship between the individual and the community.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL269H1F – PHILOSOPHY OF RACE
Prof. William Paris
Mondays 13:00-15:00
What is the meaning of race? How does it affect political philosophy? Is there an ethics of race? These are some of the questions that will be covered in this course on the critical philosophy of race. Students will be introduced to problems concerning the metaphysics of race, race and political injustice, ethics and recognition, or race and aesthetic critique.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL271H1F — LAW AND MORALITY
Prof. Steven Coyne
Mondays 18:00-20:00
In this course, we will consider the ways in which law can be illuminated by philosophical analysis. In particular, we will consider the nature of legal systems (and whether they are connected to morality), how judges should decide cases (and whether they should take morality into account in their decisions), as well as various issues in constitutional and criminal law.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL273H1S — ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Instructor: TBA
Fridays 12:00-15:00
A study of environmental issues raising questions of concern to moral and political philosophers, such as property rights, responsibility for future generations, and the interaction of human beings with the rest of nature. Typical issues: sustainable development, alternative energy, the preservation of wilderness areas, animal rights.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL275H1F — INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Prof. Matthew Scarfone
Mondays and Wednesdays 12:00-13:00
An introduction to central issues in ethics or moral philosophy, such as the objectivity of values, the nature of moral judgements, rights and duties, the virtues, and consequentialism. Readings may be drawn from a variety of contemporary and historical sources.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL275H1S — INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS
Prof. Matthew Scarfone
Tuesdays and Thursdays 09:00-10:00
An introduction to central issues in ethics or moral philosophy, such as the objectivity of values, the nature of moral judgements, rights and duties, the virtues, and consequentialism. Readings may be drawn from a variety of contemporary and historical sources.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL276H1S — PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT
Instructor: TBA
Tuesdays 15:00-17:00
Sports play a complex role in contemporary society. They offer recreational participants a source of meaning in life and professional participants a livelihood. They inspire intense devotion from fans. They are a crucible for debates about fair play, medical enhancement, sex, gender, race, and sexuality. This course will explore the nature and ethics of sports.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL281H1S — BIOETHICS
Prof. Andrew Franklin-Hall
Mondays and Wednesdays 12:00-13:00
This course will examine ethical and political issues relating to health care and medical research from a philosophical point of view. Some of the questions examined include: Should doctors ever act contrary to the will of the patient? How should decisions be made for patients without decision-making capacity? Under what circumstances is it legitimate to perform experiments on human subjects? How should we balance individual liberty and public health, particularly amidst a pandemic? What is the just way to distribute health care resources? Is abortion morally defensible? Under what circumstances, if any, should doctors assist patients in dying? Should genetic enhancement of human beings be permitted?
These are all urgent moral issues. Many of them are directly relevant to everyday medical practice, and some are of particular importance during a time of a pandemic. But they also raise profound theoretical questions about the nature of life and death, the contours and limits of our right to autonomy, our responsibilities for the well-being of others, the relationship between health care and knowledge production, and what it is to be human. Thus, the course is addressed to both future health-care workers and students of philosophy.
Readings: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL285H1S — AESTHETICS
Prof. Peter King
Tuesday and Thursday 12:00-13:30
An historical and systematic introduction to the main questions in the philosophy of art and beauty from Plato to the present. These include the relation between art and beauty, the nature of aesthetic experience, definitions and theories of art, the criteria of excellence in the arts, and the function of art criticism.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL295H1F — BUSINESS ETHICS
Prof. Joseph Heath
Tuesdays 18:00-21:00
What does it mean to act morally in the context of market economy? Is it even possible? Many people are of the opinion that capitalism as a whole is an unethical economic system, which is then taken to imply that one cannot act morally in business. So before one can answer the moral question, of how one should act in a market economy, one must consider the political economy question, why we choose to organize production in this way. The first half of this course focuses on this question. The goal is to explain why the moral compromises involved in the competitive organization of economic exchange are seen as worth making. The second half of the course then focuses on business ethics proper, considering the obligations of economic actors. This analysis considers two central cases, the first involving those who are directly engaged in economic exchange, the second involving those who are cooperating with others as employees of a corporation.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: Two writing assignments and a 2-hour final examination