PHL420H5S – Special Seminar: 19th and 20th Century Philosophy
Instructor: O. Ware T 3-6
Advanced discussion of principal figures and themes in 19th and 20th century philosophy.
Exclusion: PHL416H5 or PHL402H1
Prerequisites: 3.5 credits of PHL or by permission of the Instructor or Department.
PHL475H5S – Seminar in Moral and Political Philosophy “Moral Reality”
Instructor: P. Clark W 12-3
Nearly all of the philosophical work on moral knowledge is about one of two topics. Some is about what it means to say something is right or wrong, and some is about what it is to think something is right or wrong. Until recently, there has been almost no discussion of what it is to consider, or ask yourself, whether something is right or wrong. We will explore this neglected issue, in part by reading recent work on moral inquiry, and in part by asking what the leading accounts of moral language and moral thoughts, such as subjectivism, relativism, expressivism, and realism, imply about the nature of moral inquiry.Exclusion: PHL416H5 or PHL402H1
Prerequisites: 3.5 credits of PHL or by permission of the Instructor or Department.
PHL489Y The Socrates Project (by application only)
Instructor: D. Raffman W 3-5
The Socrates Project, offered every year, is a full year course with two components. First, you will serve as a TA for either PHL103H5 Knowledge and Reality or PHL113H5 Persons and Value during winter semester. You will attend the two course lectures each week and teach one tutorial section of 20-25 students, meeting with them for 1 hour each week on Friday. You will grade their papers, hold office hours, and meet with the professor and head TA (a graduate student) as needed. You will be paid for at least 80 hours of work at the regular unit 1 TA hourly wage.
The second component of the course is a seminar led by a member of the Philosophy faculty during fall semester, together with the writing of a research paper for an Independent Study course in winter semester. Your supervisor for the Independent Study will be a faculty member of your choosing who is an expert in the area of your research paper. The seminar will meet once a week for 3 hours during fall term. Roughly 25% of the seminar will focus on the methods and challenges of teaching philosophy, in preparation for your winter TA work. The remaining 75% of the seminar will focus on the topics that members of the seminar will write about in their research papers. Each student will choose a paper topic, assign several readings for the seminar, and then lead the seminar discussion of the topic. Guest faculty who work on these topics may visit the seminar from time to time. [36S] See here for further information and application form.
Preparation: PHL245H5 and 4.5 PHL credits preferred.
PHL495H5F – Special Seminar: Philosophical Problems “Quietism in Metaethics”
Instructor: A. Sepielli F 10-1
This course will focus on recent work on so-called “quietism” or “non-foundationalism” in metaethics.
Exclusion: PHL416H5 or PHL402H1
Prerequisites: 3.5 credits of PHL or by permission of the Instructor or Department.
PHL 496F, 497S Individual Studies
Individual studies courses (PHL 496H5F, PHL 497H5S) must be arranged well in advance of registration with the individual faculty advisor, and the plan of study must be approved by the departmental chair (please fill out and submit the Independent Study Form – PDF). Anyone wishing to take an individual studies course must contact a potential faculty supervisor with a plan of study (a topic, a course of readings). Spaces are very limited, and faculty will agree to supervise only students who show evidence of excellent self-motivation.