Course Descriptions

An introduction to both ethical theory and applied ethics. The emphasis of the course varies among instructors, with all focusing to some extent on improving moral reasoning. The course covers the following issues: (a) What makes right actions right and wrong actions wrong? Utilitarianism, Kantianism, and virtue ethics are usually considered. (b) Why should I be moral, rather than merely self-interested? (c) In what sense, if any, are moral values objective? (d) If any of the following are wrong, what makes them wrong: private wealth, deception, capital punishment, euthanasia, assisted-suicide, meat-eating, abortion, cloning, polygamy, etc? (e) What are our moral obligations to children, the frail and elderly, future generations, and other species?

An introduction to the part of philosophy concerned with questions about the ultimate nature of the world we live in and our knowledge of it (traditionally called Metaphysics and Epistemology). The issues discussed include: the existence and nature of God, the place of human beings in the universe, the nature of reality, human nature, human knowledge and skepticism, freedom and determinism, and the relationship between mind and body. The emphasis of the course varies from instructor to instructor.

This course is an introduction to critical reasoning. Students acquire the tools and concepts needed to analyze and evaluate arguments encountered in everyday life, and in the more technical contexts of their further academic studies. They learn how to recognize arguments by type, and to reconstruct them clearly and fairly in order to assess their rational strength. The sorts of topics covered include the analysis of common fallacies, the resolution of ambiguities, deductive validity and varieties of inductive support, probabilistic reasoning, decision theory, inductive generalization, causal reasoning, and hypothesis confirmation. The course will be of benefit to all students who want to develop their logical skills.

What is “religion”? Is spirituality distinct from religion, and is either important for human flourishing or morality? Are there any good reasons for believing in God? Is there a conflict between faith and reason, or between religion and science? This course examines these and many other philosophical issues concerning religion and spirituality, including the nature of religious language, of religious experience, and the problem of religious pluralism. While this course considers central arguments for and against theism – a central tenet of Abrahamic religions – it addresses religion in all its variety and is relevant and open to all, with or without religious faith.

This course focuses attention on the analysis and evaluation of inductive arguments. We begin by exploring the basic principles of inductive reasoning and then utilize these principles to explore such topics as rational decision making, the nature and testing of scientific theories in both the natural and social sciences and the difference between causal relations and correlations. Attention will also be given to the fallacies involved in the appeal to polls and statistics.

Through this course, students will be introduced to the most influential Western philosophers of the Ancient and Medieval eras. The focus will be the metaphysics and epistemology of Plato and Aristotle but with significant attention paid to those who came before and after, especially the pre-Socratic philosophers, Socrates, Augustine, and Aquinas. Coverage may vary from instructor to instructor and may include the writing of others who either influenced or were influenced by these philosophers.

Through this course, students will be introduced to the most influential Western philosophers of the Modern era. The focus will be the metaphysics and epistemology of philosophers in both the Rationalist and Empiricist traditions - philosophers like Rene Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, John Locke, George Berkeley, Gottfried Leibniz, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant. Coverage may vary from instructor to instructor and may include the writing of philosophers bookending this core group.

This course surveys major political theories in the Western tradition. It introduces students to the principal issues in political philosophy by looking at the writings of some of history's most important philosophers, possibly including Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, and Marx. The general question addressed is: How should society be organized? In considering answers to this question we investigate the grounds for political and social structures like the state, government, laws, property, and principles of justice.

This course adopts a problems and issues approach to political philosophy. Rather than focusing on particular philosophers in the history of political thought (as in PHIL 200), we consider answers to some of the most pressing questions facing political theorists. Topics addressed might include: the justification of authority; the value and limits of rights; liberty and equality; the advantages and disadvantages of democracy; the nature and scope of justice; and nationalism and globalization. A contemporary perspective will be emphasized.

Formal logic is concerned with the fundamental nature of thought and reasoning. Its focus is not the meanings of sentences and arguments, but their underlying structure. In this introductory course students will learn how to symbolize and evaluate deductive arguments using the artificial and precise languages of sentential and predicate logic. The course will be of interest to anyone who wants to sharpen their logical skills and who enjoys analysis and problem-solving. The symbolization and techniques learned in the course have a valuable application beyond philosophy, to any kind of formal and systematic enquiry. No mathematical background is required to do well in this course.

This course is an introduction to contemporary philosophical thinking on ethical issues in the professions and other related work contexts. Among the topics to be addresses are the nature of the professions, general professional responsibilities, truth-telling and deception, privacy and confidentiality, professional integrity and loyalty, whistle-blowing, conflicts of interest, social responsibility, and self- and government regulation.

This course is an introduction to contemporary philosophical thinking on ethical issues in business. It covers such topics as the power of multinational corporations, bribery and extortion in international business, the ethics of hiring practices, advertising and behaviour control, the conflict between employee loyalty and moral independence, and the responsibilities of corporations and business professionals. The course will also introduce students to a number of classical ethical theories and theories of economic justice.

This course deals with ethical and political issues arising from the relationship between humans and their natural surroundings. Typical questions that will be addressed are: Do animals have rights? Is using animals for food and clothing morally wrong? Do we have an obligation to the natural environment such as an obligation to preserve species? What are our obligations to future generations? What is sustainable development? Are environmental problems fundamentally personal or are they fundamentally political and social?

This course will focus on ethical issues that arise in the health sciences, especially in medicine, but also in biology, psychology and other professions. Among the topics to be considered are abortion and reproductive technology, euthanasia, paternalism and autonomy, resource allocation, involuntary hospitalization and behaviour control. All moral problems will be examined from both an applied and theoretical point of view. Open to anyone in first or second year.

An examination of the lively relationship between philosophy and literature. Philosophical theories will be approached and discussed via literary work which either embodies the theories or grounds them in human experience. Textual sources will range from the classical Greek plays to last month's best seller. Open to anyone in first or second year.

This course is, in spirit, a continuation of PHIL 220, but it is centred on the Philosophy of Existentialism in literature. There will be an introductory set of lectures on Existentialism as a philosophy. Textual sources will range from Dostoyevsky's 'Notes from the Underground' to Sartre's 'Nausea'. Open to anyone in first or second year.

This course is an introduction to contemporary philosophy of mind. We will investigate the major philosophical theories of mind, but consider also if or how recent developments in neuroscience, biology, psychology, and the study of artificial intelligence influence the philosophical evaluation of these theories. Philosophy of mind is not psychology (although obviously there are connections). Rather, it is the attempt to understand what mental phenomena are and how they might relate to the physical (or material) realm. In the course, we will address questions like the following. What is the nature of mental states? What is the relationship between the mind and the body? Will a physical explanation of consciousness explain consciousness? Are 'zombies' possible? Is the brain just a computer? Is genuine artificial intelligence possible?

Founded on a wide range of philosophical readings, this course will focus on questions such as: What is the good life and its relation to intimacy and family? What is the good person? Are there different models for different genders? What constitutes a good relationship? How important are mutuality, respect, affection, sex, and interdependence to such a relationship? What counts as equality/equity? How should the answers to such questions influence our views on such social issues as affirmative action, prostitution and pornography?

This course tackles a broad spectrum of questions and approaches the issue of human nature. Among the questions to be considered are: Are we, by nature, morally good or evil? Are we purely egocentric beings-biological machines of some sort - or are we spiritual, immaterial beings? Is there some enduring entity that defines the self? Are we free to do as we choose? Or are we essentially passionate creatures who act strictly on the basis of our feelings? Ultimately, our goal will be to learn to think critically and independently about these issues.

In this age of divisiveness, conflict and tension that increasingly pervades everyday life, it is difficult to engage in genuine dialogue across difference with an open mind and a charitable attitude. This course is designed to nurture the courage and the skills to do just that. This course will use Philosophy for Children (P4C) – a UNESCO recognized dialogical, inquiry-based way of teaching and learning that encourages students to think together critically, creatively, and cooperatively – as the background framework. Students will also have the opportunity to engage in traditional Indigenous circles and so have the opportunity to reflect on what these traditional ways have to teach.

What makes life meaningful? In this course traditional views are discussed as well as recent philosophical literature that defines meaning as subjective attraction to objective value. Reasons for regarding certain values as objectively worthwhile are assessed. The belief is explored that across the globe a common core of ethical values constitutes an important and fundamental source of meaning. The course also asks if deterministic causal explanations of human choices undermine any responsibility human beings might have to achieve a meaningful life. The emphasis of the course varies from instructor to instructor.

This course deals with a core area of philosophy - the theory of knowledge: epistemology. Epistemology deals with knowledge in its most general terms - its nature, scope, and limits. Central questions addressed include: What is knowledge? What does it take for a belief to be justified? Does justification depend on providing some reason supporting the belief, or can we know something without know that (or how) we know it? This course will examine these and related questions through a selection of papers and articles from many of the key figures in epistemology, focusing primarily on the arguments of epistemologists in contemporary debate.

This course examines and evaluates central philosophical themes and problems by means of the visual medium of film. Philosophical topics examined through the medium of film are as broad and varied as philosophy itself, but themes that have been more extensively explored include the nature of personal identity, what it is to be human, the existence and limits of free will, the existence of God, the meaning of life, as well as a wide array of issues in ethics and political philosophy. Philosophical texts and essays will be integrated with the viewing of the films in order to bring additional focus and depth to the philosophical examination of the films. Specific films and readings assigned will vary from instructor to instructor.

Founded on a wide range of philosophical readings, this course will focus on a range of questions within the field of family ethics such as monogamy, divorce, adultery, and sexual orientation and how they related to what might be considered optimal family structure; the ethics of bearing children, the obligations and rights involved in parenting in juxtaposition to the rights of the child; and the duties of grown children to their parents.

This course will cover a wide range of topics in the field of neuroethics with the view to assisting students to develop the ability to identify and critically analyze moral problems in that field, and to clarify their own values in relation to specific ethical issues, such as bettering the brain, risks to authenticity, neuroimaging of emotion and intelligence, neuroscience and the law, neurobiology and addiction, responsibility and personhood.

This course introduces students to central questions in climate ethics and climate justice and potential solutions. We will explore questions such as the following: How big of a problem is climate change? What explains the lack of action on the part of states to address this problem? What would a just climate treaty look like? Do we have individual obligations to reduce our personal emissions? And how should we understand our obligations to future generations? Students will consider these questions from a variety of philosophical perspectives and worldviews, including Indigenous perspectives.

This course provides a comprehensive survey of the philosophical study of Just War Theory – that is, the concepts and moral principles associated with determining under what conditions a war, and our conduct in and after a war, can be ethically justified? The course will cover both traditional issues as well as contemporary and emerging issues.

This course is a general but comprehensive survey of the philosophical study of science and social implications of scientific understanding. It has the principle aim of addressing how we developed our scientific understanding of the world, what the understanding amounts to, what impacts it has on our understanding of ourselves and our place in the surrounding place, and what judgments might follow from this understanding.

This course will cover a wide range of topics in the field of Morality and Global Justice with the view to assisting students to develop the ability to identify and critically analyze moral problems in that field, and to clarify their own values in relation to specific ethical issues, such as poverty and the global economy, global health, religion, war, justice for women and duties to children.

This course surveys some of the key issues in contemporary philosophy of mind. Philosophy if mind is the attempt to understand what mental phenomena are, and how they relate to the physical (or material) realm. More generally, it is the attempt to understand what we are - that is, are we merely physical things, or are we both physical and mental (or spiritual)? Specific area covered will vary from instructor to instructor.

Students will work with a Philosophy faculty member to guide them in the development of a research-based project. Specific course details will be arranged between individual students and faculty members. See the Department of Philosophy website for complete details on the application process.