300-Level Courses (26-27)

2026-27 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.

HPS300H1S — TOPICS IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Prof. Stephen Menn
Tuesdays 13:00-15:00; Thursdays 14:00-15:00

A pilot for a course “History and Philosophy of Ancient Science,” each year studying some one ancient science, working through primary scientific texts in translation. This year’s topic is Greek optics and its Arabic and Latin developments, looking first at Greek philosophical texts on light and vision, then Euclid’s and Ptolemy’s mathematical treatises on optics, then developments of Greek mathematical optics by Muslim and Christian writers down to Kepler and Descartes. Ancient optics is not primarily about light. It starts as a mathematical theory of apparent sizes and shapes (supplementing geometry’s theory of real sizes and shapes); becomes a theory of the opsis, the “visual ray” from the eye proceeding to visible objects; develops into a psychophysiological theory of vision, explaining how appearances are transmitted from visible things to the eye, brain, and cognitive faculties; and in the 17th century becomes a theory of light. To understand this development, we must unthink the modern theory that we see when light is reflected off opaque objects into our eyes and focused on the retina. While some ancient philosophers had “intromissionist” theories (we see by something outside coming into our eyes), for a millennium only “extramissionist” theories gave mathematically correct accounts of apparent sizes and shapes, although these theories seem physically unrealizable. Crucial insights by Ibn al-Haitham around 1000 and by Kepler around 1600 make a mathematically correct intromissionist theory possible. With Kepler optics becomes part of physics rather than of mathematics, opening the way to Descartes’ and Newton’s physics of light.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL301H1F — EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHY

Instructor: TBD
Wednesdays 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: TBA

PHL302H1F— PHILOSOPHY AFTER ARISTOTLE

Prof. Stephen Menn
Wednesdays 13:00-16:00

We will study the main philosophical schools from the time when Greek philosophy divides into schools, in the Hellenistic period (the last three centuries BC) and then selected authors through about 200 AD. We will be especially interested in these philosophers on the possibility of science: on what the physical world must be like for a science of it to be possible, what our cognitive powers must be like for us to achieve scientific knowledge, and how we should use these cognitive powers. Typically, our authors begin with a logic guiding the use of our cognitive powers (what might later be called epistemology), proceed to construct a physics, a theory of the natural world including humans’ place within it, and conclude to an ethics describing how the wise person with knowledge of the world will live, and how it is possible to make the transition from foolishness to wisdom. Our philosophers are usually not much influenced by Aristotle, but can be seen as responding to challenges in Plato, and we will start by reviewing some Platonic texts to see later philosophers’ alternatives. The Epicureans offer the most radical alternative to Plato, with contrasting views on all the central questions of epistemology, physics and ethics. But we will concentrate on the Stoics, who pick up the arguments of the Platonic Socrates that happiness requires virtue and that virtue requires a special kind of knowledge. They want to show that such a knowledge or wisdom can exist and that we can make the transition from our present state to such a wisdom, but they reject the claim that it is a knowledge of Platonic Forms, and try to show, against Plato, that scientific knowledge of the natural world is possible and that it is sufficient for wisdom. Much of Stoic philosophy is working out what we and the world would have to be like for such a path to wisdom to be possible. In working this out and responding to challenges the Stoics are led to strong and counterintuitive claims which are stoutly resisted by the other schools, and we will study some of the back and forth especially between the Stoics and the Academics. We will also study the relation between philosophy and the sciences, concentrating on medicine: medicine was (with geometry and astronomy) one of the paradigmatic successful sciences that Greek philosophers take as their model, and often ethics is conceived as a medicine of the soul, and more surprisingly physics as a medicine of the cosmos. But medicine also has its own epistemological problems: how do we infer from a disease’s symptoms to its nature and cause and therapy, how do we know the proper functions of different parts of the body? Medicine seems to depend on logic and physics (and the doctor needs an ethics), and different medical schools commit themselves to different philosophical claims. We will try to pursue this joint history of philosophy and medicine, and the philosophical conflicts among the medical schools, culminating in the opposed philosophical programs of Galen and Sextus Empiricus.

Classes will be lecture-discussion sessions essentially depending on the assigned reading: you must have done the reading on time and have it with you in class (in printed form, no electronic devices allowed) in order to answer questions about it. Besides the background texts in Plato (which will be supplied electronically for those who don’t have a complete Plato), the main assigned texts will probably be from Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things, volume 1 of Long and Sedley’s The Hellenistic Philosophers, Sextus Empiricus’ Outlines of Pyrrhonism, the Galen Three Treatises on the Nature of Science and the Oxford World Classics Galen. Grades will depend on class participation, handouts to be prepared for class discussion, probably a long and a short paper and possibly an oral exam. A full course description will be made available at the beginning of the semester.

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL303H1F — PLATO

Prof. Rachel Barney
Tuesdays 13:00-15:00; Thursdays 13:00-14:00

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

Reading: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL304H1S — ARISTOTLE

Prof. Jessica Gelber
Tuesdays 10:00-13:00

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

Reading: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL305H1S – CLASSICAL ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Jon McGinnis
Tuesdays 10:00-13:00

Prof. Simona Vucu
Thursdays 10:00-13:00

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

PHL310H1F — THE RATIONALISTS

Prof. Alison Laywine
Wednesday 17:00-20:00

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to early modern philosophy, with a focus this coming term on the rationalists. To that end, we will be working our way through a programme of representative readings by Michel de Montaigne (1533—1592), René Descartes (1596—1650), Marin Mersenne (1588—1648) and Blaise Pascal (1623—1662). Montaigne was a sixteenth century philosopher and some kind of sceptic. He belongs on our reading list nevertheless because his writings had a significant impact on later philosophers – notably Descartes and Pascal. Though we will have occasion to discuss Spinoza and Hobbes on the side, they will not be at the focus of our discussion: not because they are insignificant (on the contrary), but only because we will not have enough time to discuss them in full. If possible, we will try to find time for Leibniz

As a way of focussing our readings and discussions, the over-arching theme of the course will be: very big numbers and the infinite. Our seventeenth-century philosophers – Descartes, Mersenne, and Pascal (Leibniz too, for that matter) – thought long and hard about these things and developed philosophically stimulating reflections on them, their implications for our capacities for knowledge and our chances of using them (these capacities of ours) fruitfully so that we may learn the truth about the world and ourselves.

Evaluation: TBD

Reading: TBD

PHL311H1S — THE EMPIRICISTS

Prof. Alison Laywine
Wednesday 17:00-20:00

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

Evaluation: TBD

Reading: TBD

PHL313H1S — TOPICS IN 17TH AND 18TH CENTURY PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Nick Stang
Thursday 10:00-13:00

Kant’s Moral Philosophy

This class will be a survey of the main texts and issues in Kant’s moral philosophy. We will start with the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, continue with the Critique of Practical Reason, and, time permitting, read parts of the Metaphysics of Morals. Issues to be discussed include: the concept of unconditional value, and Kant’s argument that only the good will has unconditional value; the idea of an unconditional moral law, and why it would take the form of a categorical imperative in relation to us; different formulations of the categorical imperative, and why they are supposed to be equivalent; whether the moral law can be non-circularly ‘grounded’ or justified, or whether we must be immediately conscious of it; the relation of morality to freedom, and why morality requires, according to Kant, transcendental idealism; the relation of happiness to moral virtue, the idea of the Highest Good, and why it requires us to postulate the immortality of the soul, and the existence of God; etc. Note: no previous familiarity with Kant will be presupposed, but at certain points 314 will be helpful; students are encouraged to take 314 prior to, or simultaneous with, this course.

Readings: Kant, Practical Philosophy. Cambridge University Press.

Evaluation (tentative): Participation (15%), Mid-term essay (35%), Final exam (50%).

PHL314H1F — KANT

Prof. Arthur Ripstein
Tuesdays 13:00-16:00

The Critique of Pure Reason is one of the seminal works of Western philosophy. Kant undertakes what he describes as a “Copernican Revolution,” providing an alternative to what he sees as the “dogmatism” of traditional rationalist metaphysics, and the “skepticism” of empiricism. His critical alternative claims to reconcile scientific knowledge with the possibility of morality and freedom. The Critique does all of this through an engagement with fundamental topics ranging from the philosophy of mathematics through questions in the philosophy of science, the philosophy of religion, and the metaphysics of freedom.

Readings: Immanuel Kant, Critique of Pure Reason translated by Paul Guyer and Allen Wood (Cambridge, 1998).  You must get the Guyer/Wood translation. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BRING YOUR BOOK TO CLASS

Evaluation: Will include two short writing assignments, one essay, and a final exam.

PHL316H1F — HEGEL

Prof. Nick Stang
Mondays 14:00-17:00

Phenomenology of Spirit: Consciousness, Self-Consciousness, Reason

This course will be an introduction to G.W.F. Hegel’s early masterpiece, the Phenomenology of Spirit (1807). Philosophy, over the course of its history, and at any given time in that history, is expressed in a wide variety of systems, views, theories, etc., each of which claims to know (a) what knowledge is, (b) what can and cannot be known. But if we simply assume one of them, and use it to criticize others’, we are begging the question against the others. How are then to move beyond opinion, to knowledge? This situation can easily lead to skepticism about philosophy and, indeed, about knowledge itself (if you cannot vindicate your claim to know without begging the question, then, arguably, you do not know). The Phenomenology is Hegel’s attempt at a comprehensive refutation of such scepticism and proof of his own conception of knowledge (so-called absolute knowing).  As such, the Phenomenology is simultaneously one of the Western philosophical tradition’s most challenging works, and one of its most stimulating. No prior experience with Hegel or German philosophy is required, although PHL 314 and/or 315 will be helpful at points. Note: my plan is that we will read the first half of the Phenomenology (Consciousness, Self-Consciousness, Reason), but we will emphasize comprehension over coverage. Whatever isn’t covered this semester, will be covered the following semester in PHL 403.

Readings: Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit. Trans. Terry Pinkard. Cambridge University Press

Evaluation (tentative): Participation (15%), Mid-term essay (35%), Final exam (50%).

PHL317H1S — MARX AND MARXISM

Prof. Jordan Thomson
Thursday 17:00-20:00

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

PHL320H1S — PHENOMENOLOGY

Prof. Tarek Dika
Tuesdays 14:00-17:00

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
Tuesdays 14:00-17:00

Some work from the 1920s (either Being and Time or contemporary lectures) and selections from Heidegger’s later work on poetry, technology, and history are studied. Heidegger’s position within phenomenology and within the broader history of thought is charted.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL323H1S — SOCIAL AND CULTURAL THEORY

Prof. Nick Stang
Tuesdays 14:00-17:00

Hegel, Marx, and Critical Theory

This class will be a survey of Hegel, Marx, and the Critical Theory tradition, focusing on their views on the state and other institutions of modern life, political economy, and the philosophy of history. The starting-off point will be Hegel’s claim that history is a rational process, which has culminated in the modern state (including equality before the law, representative government, etc.) and the institutions of bourgeois life (e.g., family, civil society). We will then turn to Marx’s materialist critique of Hegel: the driver of history is class struggle; the modern state is the expression of the dominance of one class (the bourgeoisie, the owners of capital) over another (the proletariat) under capitalism; the contradictions of capitalism will eventually lead  to a revolution which will empower the proletariat and, at some future time, cause the withering away of the state altogether. Finally, we will examine thinkers in the Critical theory tradition (e.g., Kojève, Lukacs, Marcuse, Horkheimer) who use the Hegelian and Marxist traditions to understand later developments: the apparent failure of the proletariat to throw off capitalism, at least in Western Europe; the transformation of capitalism into new forms unpredicted by earlier theorists (e.g., consumer capitalism); and the descent of capitalist democracies into fascism.

Readings (tentative): Hegel, Outline of the Philosophy of Right; Lectures on Philosophy of World History; Marx, Marx-Engels Reader; selections from Kojève, Lukacs, Marcuse, and Horkheimer.

Evaluation (tentative): Participation (15%), Mid-term exam (35%), Final exam (50%).

PHL325H1F — EARLY ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Imogen Dickie
Tuesdays and Thursdays 17:00-18:30

An examination of some of the classic texts of early analytic philosophy, concentrating on the work of Frege, Russell, and Wittgenstein.

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL328H1F — METAPHYSICS AND EPISTEMOLOGY IN SANSKRIT PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Jonardon Ganeri
Tuesdays 10:00-13:00

This course covers topics in Sanskrit philosophy, with a special focus on metaphysics and epistemology (and related issues in philosophy of language and logic). Students will investigate specific primary texts (in translation) and will learn how to recognize and analyze the philosophical arguments they contain. Example texts and ideas include: the Upaniṣads, the Mahābhārata, the Buddhist dialogues, the Nyāya- and Vaiśeṣika-sūtra, the works of Dignāga, and others.

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL329H1S — TOPICS IN 20TH CENTURY CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Dave Suarez
Fridays 10:00-13:00

This course will be an introduction to the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961). We will begin by reading selections from his most famous work, Phenomenology of Perception, focusing on his accounts of embodiment, spatiality, and temporality, before turning to a few of his later essays on art, language, ontology, and history.

Readings

Selections from:

• Maurice Merleau-Ponty. 2012. Phenomenology of Perception. Translated by Donald A. Landes. Routledge.
• Maurice Merleau-Ponty. 2007. The Merleau-Ponty Reader. Edited by Ted Toadvine and Leonard Lawlor. Northwestern University Press.

Evaluation

TBD, but will likely include a number of short answer assignments and/or essays.

PHL330H1F — CONTEMPORARY CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Dave Suarez
Fridays 10:00-13:00

Critical phenomenology aims to address and clarify issues of ethical and sociopolitical significance using the methods of phenomenology. In this course, we will explore the methods, motivations, key concepts, and arguments of a variety of approaches which fall under the banner of critical phenomenology in order to see what phenomenology can contribute to ameliorative political projects, assessing whether we need to leave behind the assumptions and methodologies of ‘classical’ phenomenology in order to achieve these reparative goals.

Readings

Our main course text will be:

• Elisa Magrì and Paddy McQueen. 2022. Critical Phenomenology: An Introduction. Polity.

This will be supplemented with a few readings from key texts in the history of phenomenology, as well as a few contemporary essays, including selections from:

• Gail Weiss, Ann V. Murphy, and Gayle Salamon, eds. 2019. 50 Concepts for a Critical Phenomenology. Northwestern University Press.

Evaluation

TBD, but will likely include a number of short answer assignments and a final essay.

PHL331H1S — METAPHYSICS

Prof. Yonathan Fiat
Mondays 10:00-13:00

Imagine that you build a model out of Lego blocks. Do you create something new, or do you simply reorganize things that were already there? Similarly, suppose that you carve a figurine out of a piece of wood. Do you merely expose something that was always there, or do you create a new object? In this class, we’ll discuss those and related questions regarding the metaphysics of ordinary objects. We’ll ask when, if ever, objects have parts; how, if at all, objects persist through time; and whether in addition to the ordinary objects around us, such as pens, cups, and computers, there’s a plentitude of other objects that happen to share their location. We’ll also turn those questions towards ourselves; we’ll ask if we have parts, if and how we persist through, and what, if anything, it tells us about how we ought to live our lives.

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL332H1S — EPISTEMOLOGY

Prof. Jim John
Tuesdays 13:00-16:00

Historical and systematic approaches to topics in the theory of knowledge, such as truth, belief, justification, perception, a priori knowledge, certitude, skepticism, other minds.

Evaluation: TBD

Reading: TBD

PHL333H1S — PUZZLES AND PARADOXES

Prof. Michael Caie
Mondays 13:00-15:00; Wednesdays 13:00-14:00

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
Wednesday 17:00-20:00

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

Prof. Michael Rosenthal
Thursdays 10:00-13:00

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. Allison Balin
Wednesdays 17:00-20:00

In this class, we will closely examine five key areas within philosophy of mind: functionalism, the nature of mental content, consciousness, perception, and self-knowledge. Along the way, we will consider questions such as: Could an alien with very different “brain hardware” experience pain, and if so, what does this tell us about the nature of mental states? How do mental states – things (seemingly) in your head – get to be about anything in the external world? How can we explain consciousness, and is there any convincing reason to think that inanimate objects, like particles, are conscious? Do we visually perceive a friend’s happiness, or do we merely infer that a friend is happy by way of visually perceiving lower-level properties like color and shape? How good is our access to our own mental states, and is that access different in kind than the access we have to the mental states of others?

Readings: Various (no textbook)

Evaluation (tentative): Written and oral discussion participation, midterm exam, in-class essay, and final exam.

PHL341H1F — FREEDOM, RESPONSIBILITY AND HUMAN ACTION

Prof. Simona Vucu
Tuesdays 14:00-17:00

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 enhance 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.

Reading: TBD

Possible grading scheme: Participation and Attendance 20%; Essay 25 %;  Midterm 25%; Final exam 30%

PHL341H1S — FREEDOM, RESPONSIBILITY AND HUMAN ACTION

Prof. Andrew Franklin-Hall
Wednesdays 09:00-12:00

Human action, and the nature of freedom and responsibility in the light of contemporary knowledge concerning the causation of behaviour.

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL342H1S — MINDS AND MACHINES

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

An investigation of philosophical questions raised by contemporary cognitive science and artificial intelligence (AI). Possible topics to be addressed: whether machines could think and be conscious; the computational theory of mind; embodied cognition and the extended mind hypothesis; the “singularity”; and moral and political implications of machine learning research.

Readings: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL344H1S — PHILOSOPHY OF EMOTIONS

Prof. Matthew Scarfone
Mondays 10:00-13:00

Emotions shape how we see the world, relate to others, and understand ourselves. But what are emotions, philosophically speaking? Are they bodily feelings, evaluative judgments, perceptual states, or something else entirely? And why does the answer matter? This course offers a sustained philosophical exploration of the nature and significance of emotions, drawing on both classic and contemporary debates. We begin by examining major theories of emotion, including views that understand emotions as feelings, judgments, or perceptions, and we assess what each account reveals and obscures about our emotional lives. We then turn to particular emotions such as anger, anxiety, envy, and grief, asking how they function in personal relationships, social life, and moral reasoning. Along the way, we investigate whether emotions can be rational or irrational, justified or distorted, and how they contribute to understanding, agency, and responsibility.

Readings: contemporary primary texts posted to Quercus

Evaluation: Attendance & Participation, including 250-word Weekly Notes (20%), In-person Midterm Exam (35%), In-person Final Exam (45%)

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:

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 theorems of first order logic with identity, as well as the closely related compactness and Löwenheim-Skolem theorems. We will not cover incompleteness, which is the focus of PHL445.

Reading: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL347H1S — MODAL LOGIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL APPLICATIONS OF LOGIC

Prof. Mihai Ganea
Fridays 09:00-12:00

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

PHL354H1S — PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS

Instructor: TBD
Thursdays 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

Instructor: TBD
Wednesdays 09:o0-12:00

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

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL356H1F — PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS

Prof. Mike Miller
Tuesdays 14:00-17:00

In this course, we will discuss a selection of philosophical problems that arise in quantum physics. After introducing the basic framework of quantum theory, we will explore the image of the world as it is represented by quantum theory and examine some of its perplexing features. Specifically, we will discuss the following topics: quantum indeterminacy, the apparent incompleteness of quantum theory, no-go theorems for hidden variable theories, quantum non-locality, the interpretation of the quantum state, the measurement problem, and the available realist solutions to the measurement problem.

Texts: Lewis, Peter. Quantum Ontology: A Guide to the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics, Oxford University Press;  Maudlin, Tim. Philosophy of Physics: Quantum Theory, Princeton University Press

Assessment: You will be assessed on the basis of participation, homework, a writing assignment, and a final exam.

PHL357H1F — PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY

Prof. Denis Walsh
Fridays 09:00-12:00

The project of any comparative biology is to explain the fit and diversity of organisms. We discuss the ways in which current evolutionary biology addresses these questions. Topics include philosophical issues generated from within evolutionary biology, such as the nature of natural selection, the concept of the gene, the concept of the organism, challenges to current evolutionary thinkings. We also investigate questions in general philosophy of science from the perspective of evolutionary biology such as laws of nature, causation, natural kinds, and the interpretation of models in science.

Readings: (not text books). We will work largely from the primary literature in Philosophy of Biology (all sources provided)

Evaluation: To be decided in class

PHL362H1S – PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

Prof. Sara Aronowitz
Thursdays 10:00-13:00

Typical questions include: Has history any meaning? Can there be general theories of history? How are the findings of historians related to the theories of metaphysics and of science? Is history deterministic? Must the historian make value judgements? Is history science or an art? Are there historical forces or spirits of an epoch?

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL366H1F — TOPICS IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

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

Obedience, disobedience; dependence, independence

What does it mean to obey, and what does it mean to disobey? Does living in a society entail a condition of obedience and dependence? What might acts of disobedience reveal about our relationship to social norms and legal authority?

This course explores these questions through the work of Western thinkers such as Étienne de La Boétie, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Hannah Arendt, each of whom offers a distinct perspective on the dynamics of power, freedom, and civic responsibility.

Weekly readings: selected texts by La Boétie, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and Arendt will be available on Quercus.

Tentative marking scheme: TBD

PHL366H1S — TOPICS IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Jason Stanley
Thursdays 10:00-13:00

A focused examination of a selected issue in political philosophy.

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL367H1S — PHILOSOPHY OF FEMINISM

Prof. Simona Vucu
Tuesdays 14:00-17:00

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 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.

 Possible grading scheme: Participation and Attendance 20%; Essay 25 %;  Midterm 25%; Final exam 30%

PHL370H1F — 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.

Evaluation: TBD

Readings: TBD

PHL373H1F — ISSUES IN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS

Prof. Joseph Heath
Tuesday 14:00-17:00

Responding to Climate Change

This course will introduce students to some of the more difficult normative issues that arise in our attempts to develop an effective policy response to the problem of anthropogenic climate change. We will begin with an introduction to the basic institutional dimensions of the problem, along with the major policy options available. This will include the analysis of collective action problems, the rationale for carbon pricing, and the primary institutional mechanisms available for achieving emissions reductions. We will then focus on the two major normative issues that arise, namely, how much mitigation should be undertaken, and how the benefits and burdens of this should be distributed. Difficult questions to be addressed include: determining how we should balance the interests of present and future generations and deciding what, if any, role “historical emissions” or current economic inequality should play in determining future emission entitlements.

Reading: Eric A. Posner and David Weisbach, Climate Change Justice.

Evaluation: Midterm exam, worth 30% of grade; Final paper, worth 30% of grade; Final examination worth 40% of grade

PHL375H1F&S – ETHICS

Prof. Allison Balin
Mondays 10:00-13:00

Is ethics objective? We will approach this question by critically examining arguments that have been given for and against a variety of different metaethical views. We will begin by considering some influential arguments against the position that our ethical judgments track mind-independent ethical facts. We will then go on to examine some main contenders for what the relationship is between our ethical beliefs and the moral facts. Along the way, we will consider the following sorts of questions: Does the existence of widespread moral disagreement mean that there are no objective moral facts and it’s all just a matter of opinion? How should we think about the ontological status of moral truths, and how does this compare to the status of something like scientific truths? How do we get moral knowledge, and should we be more skeptical of our moral beliefs than of other sorts of beliefs? To understand the various metaethical views, we will need to do a bit of epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of language.

Readings: Various (no textbook)

Evaluation (tentative): Written and oral discussion participation, midterm exam, in-class essay, and final exam.

PHL376H1S LEC0101 — TOPICS IN MORAL PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Reza Hadisi
Wednesdays 13:00-16:00

This course is an in-depth introduction to contemporary versions of Aristotelian ethics. The course will be divided into three parts. (1) In metaethics, we will explore questions about virtue ethics and naturalism. (2) In normative ethics, we will consider whether virtue ethics can offer principles to guide decision making and action. (3) In applied ethics, we will hold a student poll mid-semester to choose the topic you would most like to see discussed!

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL376H1S LEC5101 — TOPICS IN MORAL PHILOSOPHY

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

Ethics of Consent

A focused examination of a selected issue in moral philosophy.

Readings: TBD

Evaluation: TBD

PHL382H1F — DEATH AND DYING

Instructor: TBD
Thursday 14:00-17:00

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

PHL383H1S — ETHICS AND MENTAL HEALTH

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

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

Instructor: TBD
Thursday 14:00-17:00

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. Mark Kingwell
Mondays 10:00-13:00

Selected topics in the philosophy of art. Such issues as the following are discussed: whether different arts require different aesthetic principles; relations between art and language; the adequacy of traditional aesthetics to recent developments in the arts; art as an institution.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL388H1F — LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY

Prof. Rebecca Comay
Tuesdays 13:00-15:00; Thursdays 14:oo-15:00

An examination of the interplays and tensions between literature and philosophy. Possible themes include: the ‘literary’ expression of philosophical ideas; the ancient ‘quarrel of the poets and philosophers’; the relation of form to content in philosophical writing, and the immense variety of philosophical genres (e.g. aphorism, essai, confession, treatise, dialogue, manifesto, meditation, etc.); the philosophical content and significance of certain ‘literary’ works and forms; and philosophical problems regarding translation, adaptation, and interpretation. Topics and texts will vary according to instructor.

Reading: TBA

Evaluation: TBA

PHL394H1F — MARKETS AND MORALS

Prof. Jordan Thomson
Wednesdays 17:00-20:00

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