PHL400H5 F: Seminar in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
Instructor: James Allen T 3-6 PM
Two Platonic dialogues: the Theaetetus and the Sophist.
This seminar will be dedicated to a close reading of two of Plato’s most important and influential works, the Theaetetus and the Sophist. Unlike any of his predecessors and all but a tiny handful of imitators after him, Plato wrote dialogues, i.e., prose depictions of characters engaged in philosophical conversation, most notably his teacher and inspiration, Socrates. These two dialogues form a pair, sharing a cast of characters and a setting; the conversation depicted in the Sophist is set on the day after that depicted in the Theaetetus. On the first day, in the Theaetetus Socrates leads the conversation, which tackles the question: what is knowledge? A wide-ranging discussion, conducted with the aid of promising young mathematician, Theaetetus after whom the dialogue is named, touching on perception, belief, and the nature of thought considers three candidate answers without reaching a definite conclusion. In the Sophist, a visitor to Athens takes the lead, guiding the other characters and the reader through an intricate series of puzzles about truth and falsehood, eventually reaching positive results that illuminate the nature of being and the power of language and thought to capture reality.
PHL420H5 F: Seminar in 19th and 20th Century Philosophy
Instructor: Michael Blezy W 3-6 PM
Advanced discussion of principal figures and themes in 19th and 20th century philosophy.
Prerequisites: 3.5 credits of PHL or by permission of the Instructor or Department.
PHL432H5 S: Seminar in Metaphysics
Instructor: TBD R 11 AM -2 PM
Advanced topics in metaphysics.
Prerequisites: 3.5 credits of PHL or by permission of the Instructor or Department.
Exclusions: PHL430H5
PHL433H5 S: Seminar in Epistemology
Instructor: Nilanjan Das M 2-5 PM
Advanced topics in epistemology.
Prerequisites: 3.5 credits of PHL or by permission of the Instructor or Department.
Exclusions: PHL430H5
PHL475H5 S: Seminar in Moral and Political Philosophy
Instructor: Andrew Sepielli T 12-3 PM
Seminar in Moral and Political Philosophy
This class will explore the bearing of empirical work in psychology, neuroscience, and the social sciences on matters of fundamental moral philosophy. The basic idea is: If we want to know whether the output of a process is likely to be sound, it is crucial to know how the process works; well, moral judgments are the outputs of evolutionary, developmental, discursive, and other processes, and it’s via the aforementioned fields of inquiry that we might discover how these processes work. Readings will include some empirical work, some work in traditional normative ethics and meta-ethics, and some work that attempts to bridge the gap. Class will be mostly discussion-based and will culminate in a final seminar paper, but we will also dip our toes into experimental design and agent-based computer modelling. No previous experience in these empirical fields is required.
Prerequisites: 3.5 credits of PHL or by permission of the Instructor or Department.
PHL489Y5 Y: Socrates Project
Instructor: Kristen Beard F 1-3 PM
The Socrates Project (PHL489Y) is a full-year course with 3 components.
1. Throughout the academic year, all Socrates Project students will attend a seminar led by a faculty member. This seminar will meet once a week for two hours during the Fall Term, and once every other week for two hours in the Winter Term. Roughly 25% of the seminar focuses on the methods and challenges of teaching philosophy. Roughly 75% of the seminar focuses on a study of the philosophical topics chosen by students as their research targets. Each student will choose a topic, assign several readings for one seminar meeting, and then lead the seminar discussion of that topic. Guest faculty who work on these topics may visit the seminar from time to time.
2. During the Winter Term, each Socrates Project student will write a research paper on their chosen topic under the supervision of a faculty member with expertise in the relevant area. Students are expected to meet with their faculty supervisor regularly. Late in April, all students will present their papers at an undergraduate research conference.
3. Socrates Project students will serve as Teaching Assistants for either PHL103H5S or PHL113H5S during the Winter session (January –April). This role requires attending all of the PHL103H5S or PHL113H5S lectures and teaching one weekly 50-minute tutorial section of 20-25 students, grading, holding office hours, and meeting with the professors and other TAs as needed. This work is paid at the current TA hourly rate.
Instructions and the application form are available on the web at: http://philosophy.utoronto.ca/employment/cupe-3902-unit-1
Prerequisites: Preparation: PHL245H5 and 4.5 PHL credits preferred.
