2026-27 Fall/Winter 400-level courses
Note about Prerequisites:
All 400-series courses have a prerequisite of at least 4.0 full credit equivalents in Philosophy. Please consult the academic calendar for information about prerequisites.
Instructions for Enrolling in 400-level seminars:
1. PHL400H1 to PHL451H1 are undergraduate-level courses. Students may sign up for these courses on ACORN.
2. Students who have not completed the prerequisite for any 400-level seminar must obtain the permission of the course instructor before enrolling in the course. Failure to do so may result in removal from the course without prior consultation.
3. To ensure sufficient spaces in 400-level seminars for students completing Philosophy specialist and major programs, only third- and fourth-year Philosophy specialists (including Bioethics and combined specialists) and fourth-year majors are permitted to register in these courses during the first round of enrolment. Once restrictions are lifted in the second round of enrolment, any students who have completed the general prerequisite of eight half-courses in Philosophy and the recommended preparation may enrol in 400-level seminars.
4. During the priority period in the first round of enrolment, students who enrol in more than the required number of 400-level courses for program completion (specialist, two; major or combined specialist, one) may be removed, without consultation, from the additional 400-level course(s).
5. Students in 400-level courses must attend the first class or contact the instructor to explain their absence. Failure to do so may result in removal from the course.
PHL400H1F — SEMINAR IN MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Jon McGinnis
Mondays 10:00-13:00
During the medieval period, three issues were considered the litmus test of orthodoxy among the Abrahamic religions. These were 1) the age of the universe, 2) the status of the human person and/or soul in the afterlife and 3) God’s knowledge of particulars. All of these topics and their philosophical articulations can be traced back in various ways to the ancient Greeks, whose views themselves strongly influenced the scientific and religious worldviews of medieval Jews, Christians and Muslims. In this course, we consider in depth two of these issues (probably 1 and 2), but I could be convinced to swap out one of these for 3). We begin with the ancient philosophical and scientific arguments surrounding the issue, which usually is drawn from Aristotle and his later Greek commentators. We then look at how two of the medieval world’s most influential thinkers, Ibn Sīnā (that is, the Latinized Avicenna) in the Islamic East and Thomas Aquinas in the Christian West, understood and responded to their classical Greek sources and earlier medieval predecessors on these issues. In the end, the course should not only give you an appreciation of two of the most charged scientific and religious issues in the ancient and medieval world as well as expose you to culturally diverse ways of thinking about our own nature and that of the world around us, but also should provide you with an opportunity to develop your critical thinking, research and writing skills.
Texts: TBD
Evaluation: TBD
PHL400H1S — SEMINAR IN ANCIENT/MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Jessica Gelber
Thursdays 10:00-13:00
The Search for Definitions: Plato and Aristotle on Knowledge and Explanation
This course examines the role of definition and essence in ancient philosophy. Beginning with Socratic attempts to answer “What is it?”, we trace the development of methods for discovering and defining the natures of things in Plato and Aristotle. Topics may include collection and division, scientific explanation, demonstration, causation, biological classification, and Aristotle’s criticisms of rival explanatory approaches. Throughout, we ask what distinguishes a genuine explanation from a merely descriptive account (or a failed attempt at something more) and how definitions contribute to scientific knowledge.
Texts: TBD
Evaluation: TBD
PHL403H1S — SEMINAR IN 19th CENTURY PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Nick Stang
Mondays 14:00-17:00
Phenomenology of Spirit: Spirit, Religion, and Absolute Knowing
In this seminar we will pursue Hegel’s project of a refutation of skepticism and a deduction of absolute philosophical knowing through the second half of the Phenomenology of Spirit: Spirt, Religion, and Absolute Knowing. Note: while 316 is not a formal prerequisite, students who have not taken 316 should be prepared to do extra background work.
Readings: Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit. Trans. Terry Pinkard. Cambridge University Press.
Evaluation (tentative): Participation (15%), Mid-term essay (35%), Final exam (50%).
PHL404H1S— SEMINAR IN EPISTEMOLOGY
Prof. Yonathan Fiat
Wednesdays 10:00-13:00
Typical problems include the nature of knowledge and belief; perception; theories of truth and necessity; skepticism.
Evaluation: TBD
Reading: TBD
PHL405H1S — SEMINAR IN PHILOSOPHY OF MIND
Prof. David Barnett
Tuesdays 14:00-17:00
Advanced study of a problem in the philosophy of mind.
Readings: TBD
Evaluation: TBD
PHL406H1S — SEMINAR IN METAPHYSICS
Prof. Mike Miller
Tuesdays 14:00-17:00
The metaphysics of quantities
In this seminar, we will investigate the nature of quantitative properties. These properties are distinctive in that their possible values are numerically representable: an object can have 12.7 kg of mass, a population can have a genetic mutation rate of $1.67 \times 10^{-8}$ mutations per nucleotide per generation, and a company can have a liquidity ratio of 2.3. This feature of quantities raises one of the central questions we will engage with throughout the course. In particular, we will ask whether such numerical representations give us access to mind-independent features of reality, or whether they are merely conventionally chosen structures that reflect the pragmatics of scientific practice. We will be especially concerned with how different answers to this question attempt to ground the objectivity of scientific measurement.
Text: Wolff, J. E. The Metaphysics of Quantities. Oxford University Press.
Assessment: TBD
PHL407H1F — SEMINAR IN ETHICS
Prof. Matthew Scarfone
Thursdays 09:00-12:00
Metaethics & Moral Scepticism
This course serves as an advanced introduction to metaethics, with a particular focus on moral scepticism. Metaethics is the study of (first-order) ethics itself, and moral scepticism is a host of views that raise doubts about morality. In coming to understand more precisely what moral scepticism is, and what objections there are to it, we will explore foundational metaethical questions such as: is there such a thing as objective morality? if moral facts are (or purport to be) objective, are they natural, nonnatural, or supernatural? is a moral judgment a belief, a desire, or both? if morality is (or purports to be) objective, why is there so much moral disagreement? does acknowledging our evolutionary history help support or undermine objective morality? how do moral facts actually motivate us?
Reading: Answering Moral Skepticism by Shelly Kagan
Evaluation: Attendance & Participation, including 250-word Weekly Notes (20%), Discussion Leader (2 x 5%), 350-word Midterm Essay Prospectus (5%), 1750-word Midterm Essay (25%), 350-word Final Essay Prospectus (5%), 2800-word Final Essay (35%)
PHL407H1S LEC0101 — SEMINAR IN ETHICS
Prof. Allison Balin
Thursdays 10:00-13:00
Moral philosophers often focus on ethical questions of an impartial nature: What do we owe to other people? This approach seems to leave something out when it comes to our personal relationships, such as family relationships, friendships, and romantic relationships. In this class, we will investigate ethical questions that arise from considering personal relationships: Do we love people for reasons? If so, what are those reasons? What is friendship? Why (and to what extent) is it morally acceptable to prioritize our loved ones over complete strangers? Can the obligations of particular relationships conflict with morality? We will also examine the moral nuances of various relationships types, with a focus on friendships, parent-child relationships, and romantic and sexual relationships.
Readings: Various (no textbook)
Evaluation (tentative): Written and oral discussion participation, weekly discussion posts, in-class essay, and final project (topic proposal and outline, final paper, in-class oral defense).
PHL407H1S LEC0201 — SEMINAR IN ETHICS
Prof. Reza Hadisi
Fridays 10:00-13:00
This is a seminar on moral epistemology, with an emphasis on theories of moral perception and moral imagination. We will examine philosophers who challenge the idea that moral knowledge is primarily a matter of analyzing abstract concepts and applying them to cases. Instead, they argue that we come to understand moral reality through practices such as attending to art, engaging the imagination to explore moral possibilities, and cultivating cognitive habits that attune us to morally salient features of a situation. We will focus especially on how these approaches reshape our understanding of moral action, deliberation, and the kinds of facts morality involves.
Readings: TBD
Evaluation: TBD
PHL408H1S— SEMINAR IN PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Robert Gibbs
Thursdays 10:00-13:00
This seminar will explore the contested space that lies between politics and art, using sources (mostly) from the Continental tradition of philosophy. Topics will include: activist art, propaganda, cultural hegemony, the culture industry, representation, the ontology of film, feminist and indigenous aesthetics, and the ‘emancipated spectator’. The first half of the course offers a series of theoretical explorations that address core philosophical issues in this region of political aesthetics. The second half will then consist of a linked series of ‘case studies’ through which specific aspects of the general question are addressed.
Reading: TBD
Evaluation: TBD
PHL409H1F — NEW BOOKS SEMINAR
Prof. Jonardon Ganeri
Mondays 14:00-17:00
Advanced study of key philosophical works published within the last five years.
Reading: TBD
Evaluation: TBD
PHL410H1F — SEMINAR IN CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Willi Goetschel
Wednesdays 14:00-17:00
Continental philosophy is eminently a working through of past philosophical experience. This seminar explores how contemporary approaches to rethink the theory and practice of critique rely and build on early modern, 18th and 19th century philosophical projects to anchor their own projects by working through past thought. We will examine how philosophers such as Adorno, Derrida, Balibar, Macherey, Jacquet, Morfino, and others offer readings of Montaigne, Spinoza, Kant, and Marx that critically intervene in rethinking the theory and practice of critique.
Readings: TBD
Evaluation: TBD
PHL410H1S — SEMINAR IN CONTINENTAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Tarek Dika
Wednesdays 14:00-17:00
Advanced study of recent philosophical discussions within the continental tradition.
Readings: TBD
Evaluation: TBD
PHL412H1F — SEMINAR IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. Shruta Swarup
Tuesdays 18:00-21:00
Advanced study of some topic in social or political philosophy.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL412H1S — SEMINAR IN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
Prof. William Paris
Wednesdays 13:o0-16:00
Advanced study of some topic in social or political philosophy.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL413H1F LEC0101— SEMINAR IN APPLIED ETHICS
Prof. Andrew Franklin-Hall
Wednesdays 09:00-12:00
Advanced study of some topic in an area of applied ethics, including bioethics, environmental ethics, and so on.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL413H1F LEC5101— SEMINAR IN APPLIED ETHICS
Prof. Jordan Thomson
Thursdays 18:00-21:00
This course is called “Ethics and Artificial Intelligence” not “The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence”. This reflects the fact that this is a course in both applied ethics and moral theory. It is an opportunity to familiarize yourself with contemporary debates in AI ethics while becoming acquainted with the significant background moral theorizing in which such debates are situated, coming to see how the ethics of AI is both informed by moral theory and how it might contribute to such theorizing in future. For example, when we discuss concerns about bias in algorithmic decision-making systems that are used to determine prison sentences and college admissions, we will also discuss philosophical theories of bias and punishment. Similarly, when we discuss the question as to whether AI poses an “existential threat” to humanity, we will discuss whether and why human extinction would be a bad thing.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL416H1F — SEMINAR IN PHILOSOPHY OF LAW
Instructor: TBD
Wednesdays 14:00-17:00
Advanced discussion of issues in the philosophy of law.
Evaluation: TBD
Reading: TBD
PHL440H1S — CLINICAL BIOETHICS
Instructor: TBD
Fridays 14:00-17:00
An advanced study of topics in bioethics, taught in conjunction with clinical bioethicists associated with the health-care organization partners of the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics.
Reading: TBD
Evaluation: TBD
PHL446H1F — SEMINAR IN DECISION THEORY
Prof. Franz Huber
Thursday 18:00-21:00
The Seminar in Decision Theory is an introduction to decision and game theory based on Peterson, Martin (2017), An Introduction to Decision Theory, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Decision theory studies what one ought to do when some more or less desirable outcomes of one’s actions depend on some external facts about which one is uncertain. Game theory studies what one ought to do when some more or less desirable outcomes of one’s actions depend on the choices made by others one is interacting with. Uncertainty is characterized in terms of probabilities, desires are characterized in terms of utilities, and together they determine the expected utility of one’s actions. This course introduces these notions and their mathematical representations, as well as critically reflects on philosophical questions such as whether one should always take the action that maximize one’s expected utility, whether uncertainty is subjective or objective, and why uncertainty does, or ought to, obey the laws of probability.
It will be helpful to have taken PHL246 prior to this course. If this is not an option for you, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with a textbook on probability and inductive logic such as Huber, Franz (2018), A Logical Introduction to Probability and Induction. New York: Oxford University Press.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL451H1s — SEMINAR IN PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE
Prof. Imogen Dickie
Wednesdays 13:00-16:00
Advanced study of some topic in the philosophy of language.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA
PHL455H1S — SEMINAR IN PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Prof. Sara Aronowitz
Fridays 09:00-12:00
Advanced study of some area or problem in the philosophy of science.
Reading: TBA
Evaluation: TBA