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PHIL
PHILOSOPHY
Note: See beginning of Section H for abbreviations, course numbers and coding.
Introductory and Intermediate Level Courses
These 1000 and 2000 level courses have no prerequisites, and except where otherwise noted,
each may be taken as a first course in Philosophy.
PHIL 1101 Critical Thinking
3 ch (3C) [W]
Improves the ability to analyse and evaluate arguments and assertions met with in
everyday life, and hence sharpens skills of reasoning to sound conclusions from
available evidence. Does this by studying the classic fallacies that people often
commit and using elementary formal logic to explore differences between deductive
and inductive reasoning.
PHIL 1201 Ethics of Life and Death
3 ch (3C) [W]
Introduces various ethical theories and examines moral problems including abortion,
euthanasia and capital punishment.
PHIL 1301 Introduction to the History of Philosophy I
3 ch (3C) [W]
This course offers a general survey of philosophy from the Pre-Socratics to
Scholasticism. It will concentrate upon issues central to ancient and medieval
philosophy through a look at such figures as Parmenides, Plato, Augustine and
Aquinas.
PHIL 1302 Introduction to the History of Philosophy II
3 ch (3C) [W]
This course offers a general survey of philosophy from Rationalism to German
Idealism. It will concentrate upon the concerns of modern philosophy by looking at
the philosophies of such figures as Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel and Marx. Designed
to bridge the gap for upper year students.
PHIL 1401 God, Mind and Freedom
3 ch (3C) [W]
This course provides an introduction to three important, interconnected issues in
metaphysics. Questions concerning the defintion and existence of free will, the nature
of the mind and its relation to the brain, as well as whether or not there are good
reasons to belive in God, will be explored.
PHIL 1501 Monsters and Philosophy
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3 ch [C][O]
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As a category, Monsters challenge our understanding of the normal, the natural, the
intelligible and the ethical. In so doing, the study of monsters provides an opportunity
to explore the perennial questions of philosophy in a new and interesting way. This
course will use monsters as a tool to explore aspects of the three main branches of
philosophy: metaphysics, ethics and epistemology. Some of the topics to be discussed
will include human nature, the conditions of knowledge, the mind-body problem,
artificial intelligence, ethical dilemmas and theories, the metaphysics of identity, and
good and evil.
Autonomy, Value and Well being: An Introduction to
3 ch [W]
Ethical Theory
This course investigates core problems and key authors in ethical theory. The main
focus of the course is to treat the rival theories of eudaimonism, deontology and
utilitarianism as they are expressed both in contemporary ethical literature and in
their historical context by Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill. We also give
some attention to those figures that have influenced their development, such as
Plato, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, Jeremy Bentham and Jean-Jacques
Rousseau. In the last part of the course, we turn to another alternative--the work of
Friedrich Nietzsche and his influential critique of much of the Western ethical
tradition that preceded him.
PHIL 2201
PHIL 2203 Ethical Issues in Business
3 ch (3C) [W]
An introduction to moral problems arising in business. The course is designed to
introduce the student to ethical theory and its relevance for business decision making.
Prerequisite: Students enrolled in the Faculty of Business Administration must have
completed 30ch, including ECON 1013 and ECON 1023 .
PHIL 2501 Philosophy and Film
3 ch [C] [O] [W]
Film is an incredible medium. Many issues in Philosophy can be explored and
explained through the medium of film. This course will examine some philosophical
problems occasioned by great films. Some of the topics to be discussed might include
free will and determinism, the mind-body problem, just war theory, human nature,
and/or ethical theories.
Advanced Level Courses
PHIL 3101 Introduction to Symbolic Logic
3 ch (3C)
The techniques of natural deduction, including conditional proof, indirect proof and separation
of cases. Emphasizes applications in sentence logic and in the logic of quantification up to the
logic of relations. Prerequisite: PHIL 1101 or an equivalent with permission of the instructor.
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3 ch (3C)
[W]
Examines technology and its social impact. Topics include: Does living in a technological society
impact the way that we look at ourselves and at the world around us? What are the positive and
negative effects of the continuing incorporation of computers into our lives? Does biotechnology
offer the promise of better and healthier lives for human beings and other organisms, or is it an
ethically suspect means of interfering with natural development? Prerequisite: A course in
Philosophy or permission of the instructor. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3201
Philosophy of Technology
3 ch (3C)
[W]
An examination of the ethical issues raised by problems in Bioethics, such as experimentation
with human subjects, euthanasia, assisted suicide and cessation of medical treatment, patients'
rights, informed consent, and tissue transplantation. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3203
Health Care Ethics
PHIL 3205 Contemporary Ethical Theory
O 3ch (3C) [W]
This course provides a select treatment of some methodological and substantive problems in
twentieth-century and more recent ethical theory. The topics range from the challenge of
normativity (Moore, Gewirth, Searle, and Koorsgaard), intuitionism (Strawson, McMahon), and
egoism (Sidgewick, Parfit) to recent versions of the consequentialist and non-consequentialist
debate (Fry, Hooker, Narveson; Thomas Hill, Francis Kamm). We then situate contemporary
virtue ethics (especially Nussbaum, Foot, Hursthouse) within the latter debate and consider
related discussions of moral luck and situationism as well as their implications for some of these
theories. We conclude by surveying some of the emerging literature in experimental philosophy
and its contribution to ethical theory. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3206 Environmental Ethics
3ch (3C) [W]
This course covers a range of thinking on a variety of issues concerning the environment.
Specific issues addressed are: Do species other than human beings have value in themselves, or
only because humans value them? Do non-organic entities possess value? What problems beset
attempts to formulate an environmental ethic? Students cannot receive credit for both PHIL
2206 and PHIL 3206.
3 ch (3C)
[W]
The course strives to address two key questions: "What responsibilities do decision makers in
organizations have to others?" and "Why do they have such responsibilities?" Analytical tools
presented in the course to help answer these questions will include such approaches as Rawls’
distributive justice, Harsanyi's utilitarianism, and Gauthier’s morals by agreement, among many
others. Students will be expected to understand the justification for each of these tools, apply
PHIL 3251
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Advanced Business Ethics
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them to cases discussed in class, and ultimately be able to recommend and defend what actions
managers ought to take according to each method of analysis. In conjunction with the above
analytical tools, the course will also introduce a variety of “thinking methods,” such as formal
logic, thought experiments, and game theory, which underlie the tools. Open to 2nd year
students and above.
PHIL 3301 Early Greek Philosophy (A)
3 ch (3C)
The period of philosophy beginning with Thales and culminating with Plato. Stresses the
development of certain key themes and problems in this period and their influence on later
philosophical thought. Half the course is devoted to examining philosophical thought prior to
Plato; the other half focuses on Plato's thought. Prerequisite: A course in Philosophy or
permission of the instructor. Open to 2nd year students and above.
3 ch (3C)
[W]
Focuses on Aristotle and subsequent developments in Greek philosophy. Half the course
examines different aspects of Aristotle's thought, the other half considers post-Aristotelian
schools of thought. Prerequisite: A course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. Open to
2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3302
Later Greek Philosophy (A)
PHIL 3303
Modern Philosophy I (A)
3 ch (3C)
[W]
Introduction to some of the philosophical issues of 17th-century philosophy, such as:
philosophical method; the nature, scope and limits of knowledge; the nature of reality; the
question of the nature and existence of God. Reference is made to selections from some of the
important philosophers of the era--e.g., Descartes, Locke. Prerequisite: A course in Philosophy or
permission of the instructor. Open to 2nd year students and above.
3 ch (3C)
[W]
Introduction to some of the philosophical issues of 17th- and 18th-century philosophy, such as:
philosophical method; the nature, scope and limits of knowledge; the nature of reality; the
question of the nature and existence of God. Reference is made to selections from some of the
important philosophers of the era--e.g., Leibniz, Hume. Prerequisite: A course in Philosophy or
permission of the instructor. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3304
Modern Philosophy II (A)
PHIL 3305 Capitalism Vs. Communism
This course focuses primarily on the philosophical works of Adam Smith, a founder of capitalism,
and Karl Marx, a founder of communism. The socio-political-economic structures they
envisioned for society are defined, and the justificatory arguments they provide for their
structures are examined. The philosophical foundations of anarchism, feudalism, Leninism,
libertarianism, mercantilism, and socialism may also be studied for comparison purposes, time
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permitting. Open to 2nd year students and above.
3 ch (3C)
[W]
Examines the major themes of existential philosophy developed in the nineteenth and twentieth
Centuries such as the self, existence, freedom, relationships with others, etc.. References are
made to selections from some of the important existential thinkers -- e.g. Kierkegaard,
Nietzsche, Sartre, Simon Weil, Camus, Arendt, Heidegger. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3306
PHIL 3308
Introduction to 19th and 20th Century Existential Philosophy
Plato’s Republic (O)
3ch [W]
This course provides an in-depth study of Plato’s most important and influential dialogue--his
masterpiece on justice, the Republic. We shall cover all of its major philosophical problems
through a close reading of the whole dialogue, also taking account the role of the dramatic
element of the dialogue for understanding those problems. Open to 2 nd year students and
above.
PHIL 3311 Nietzsche on Socrates’ Death-Wish
3 ch [W]
Friedrich Nietzsche saw the beginning of western philosophy as the birth of a cultural deathwish glorified in the suicide of Socrates. This course looks at Nietzsche’s portrait of Socrates in
order to access his perception of ancient Greek philosophy, tragic poetry and culture. In so
doing, the course will clarify Nietzsche’s attacks on Christianity and Modernity as sources of the
nihilism he believed would promote the death-wish of “Socratism.” The course will also give
some consideration to Nietzsche’s confrontation with nihilism in terms of his conceptions of the
Will to Power, the Ubermensche, the Revaluation of all Values, the Master Race, and Eternal
Recurrence. Open to 2nd year students and above
PHIL 3312 Infinity: Emmanuel Levinas' Encounter with the Other
3 ch [W]
This course will concentrate on the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995). Initially
influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, Levinas’ philosophical path diverged in the
direction of Ethics as a radical critique of the traditional view of human beings as “knowing” or
“rational” subjects. This course will look at Levinas’ ethics both as a critique of traditional and
contemporary theories of knowledge and existence, as well as a post-modern critique of
western philosophy. These concerns are developed through Levinas’ descriptions of our
encounter with the “Other” in terms of his investigations into the human face, desire, gift,
language, the concern for justice, and God. Open to 2nd year students and above.
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PHIL 3313 Reason Vs. Faith: The Philosophy of Kierkegaard
3 ch [W]
This course approaches Kierkegaard’s philosophy through his text Philosophical Fragments.
Written by one of the foremost of continental philosophers, this text explores the possibility of
something we rarely hear spoken of these days–namely, the possibility of a relationship with
absolute, eternal truth. This text will serve as a means to clarifying some of the central features
of Kierkegaard’s thinking such as: the relationship between reason and faith, the status of the
self as a rational identity, the significance of human life within history, the aesthetic, ethical and
religious modes of existence, and indirect communication. Open to 2nd year students and
above.
PHIL 3314 Nietzsche's Faith and Critique of Christianity
3 ch [W]
Considered one of the founding thinkers of what would eventually be called “existential
philosophy,” Friedrich Nietzsche’s attempt to destroy the tradition of philosophy anticipates not
only many themes in post - WW II Continental thought, but also those now flourishing in
postmodern philosophy. This course will concentrate on one of the better known and central
features of his philosophy, namely, his critique of Christianity. This approach allows us access to
his criticism of Western Philosophy; the basis for his attack on modernity. Some of the central
concerns will be Nietzsche’s portrait of Jesus of Nazareth, view of Plato’s philosophy as
symptomatic of a cultural illness that would become manifest in Christianity, and how ancient
Greek philosophy and Christianity constitute the basis of cultural Nihilism. Open to 2nd year
students and above.
PHIL 3315 20th Century Women Philosophers
3 ch [W]
This course concentrates primarily on the philosophical and religious works of post-World War II
women in the area of Continental philosophy. The philosophical texts of Simone de Beauvoir,
Hanna Arendt, Simone Weil and Edith Stein will be explored to illustrate how the brutality,
turbulence and genocide marking the Second World War led them to speak about violence and
evil through their respective existential, political, and religious philosophies. Some of the themes
that will be discussed are the objectification of “the Other” within the philosophical and literary
works of Simone de Beauvoir; Nazism and the responding political philosophy of Hanna Arendt;
and the possibility of a religious life in the midst of strife and war in the work of Simone Weil and
Edith Stein. Prerequisites: Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3316 Michel Foucault on Sexuality and the Self
3 ch [W]
Among the most influential of contemporary philosophers, Foucault stood directly opposed to
the thinking of the “existentialist.” Critical of the humanism of post-WW II French philosophy,
Foucault, largely influenced by Nietzsche, pursued what would in his early work become known
as an “archeology” of knowledge and later as “genealogy.” The course will follow a close reading
of The History of Sexuality in order to concentrate on his investigation into the construction of
“human sexuality” as an object of “knowledge.” This investigation will be used to clarify
Foucault’s recognition of the conditions of power that function in “discourse,” and how his
philosophy serves as a critique of the origins and methods of the social sciences. Open to 2nd
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year students and above.
PHIL 3317 Jean-Paul Sartre's Philosophy of Freedom
3 ch [W]
The popular view of the “existentialist” owes much to Jean-Paul Sartre–the most well known
philosopher of post WW II Europe. Having studied with Edmund Husserl, who exposed him to
the method of “pure phenomenology,” Sartre would apply this method in his descriptions of
human freedom as “dread,” “bad-faith,” “the look,” and “desire,” to mention just a few of the
themes found in his philosophical texts, plays, and novels. The course will concentrate primarily
on his Being and Nothingness, to explore how Sartre recognizes the intentional structure of
human consciousness in relation to ourselves, our bodies, human relationships, atheism, and the
world. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3318 Martin Heidegger's Destruction of Philosophy
3ch [W]
This course introduces students to the philosophy of one of the foremost thinkers of the 20th
Century, Martin Heidegger. Through an investigation into the seminal themes of his text, Being
and Time, we will look at Heidegger’s descriptions of ourselves as “Dasein,” (Being There”) in
terms of his analyses of “possibility,” “facticity,” “authenticity,” “dread,”, “fallenness,” and
“Being-Toward-Death.” Lectures will initially concentrate on three introductory concerns: 1) the
early influences upon Heidegger’s thinking (Nietzsche, Kierkegaard); 2) Husserl’s method of pure
phenomenology; and 3) how 1 and 2 provide the foundations for what would emerge as
“existential philosophy” after WW II. Open to 2nd year students and above
PHIL 3331 Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. (O)
3 ch [W]
This course concentrates on two central themes: the first is Foucault’s perception of the
genealogy of the social sciences in relation to the practices of incarceration and punishment in
mid-eighteenth century Europe. The second follows his perception of contemporary
interpretations of self-identity as they have been generated by: the continued growth of penal
institutions, the social sciences as disciplines of “subjectivity”, the distinction between torture
and punishment, and subjective vs. objective surveillance. Open to 2nd year students and above.
3 ch
PHIL 3404 Aquinas
[C][O][W
]
Beginning with Aquinas's reflections on the nature of God this course will trace Aquinas's
thought as it progresses in the Summa theologiae and the Summa contra Gentiles in order to
examine the philosophical problems that perplexed Aquinas and his solutions to these problems.
Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3421 Philosophy of Mind
3 ch [W]
What is a human being? Are human beings simply material objects? Are they a combination of
matter and soul? What is consciousness and how can it be explained? In this class students will
be introduced to these questions and will explore various answers to these questions from the
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history of philosophy and from contemporary discussions. Students will engage the answers
provided in class as a means of formulating their own understanding of the connection between
mind and brain and mind and body. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3422 Philosophy of Science
3 ch [W]
Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions challenged traditional conceptions of science and
scientific progress and precipitated much of contemporary discussions in philosophy of science.
Focusing on the history of science, Kuhn argued that logical reconstructions of science were
inadequate. His argument encouraged philosophers of science to construct relativistic accounts
of science and scientific progress. Beginning with the Logical Positivists, this course will trace
different accounts of science, with special attention to the debate between realist and antirealist conceptions of science. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3423 Knowledge and Reality
3 ch [W]
One of your main objectives as a student, is to learn–that is, to acquire knowledge. This is true
whether you pursue knowledge for its own sake or for its “value” in terms of earning a university
degree. But do you ever wonder whether knowledge is really worth pursuing? And if it is, what
makes it valuable? And do you ever wonder whether it is even possible to know anything with
certainty? In this course, we will explore these questions by focusing on three problems: the
Gettier Problem, the Value Problem, and the Problem of Skepticism. Some readings will be
drawn from classical sources (Plato and Descartes), but most will come from contemporary
texts. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3424 Language and the World
3 ch [W]
What is meaning? How does language relate to speakers, their thoughts, and the world? How do
we understand one another? Are the truth and falsehood of our statements determined by the
world or by our linguistic conventions? Attempts at answering these fundamental questions
about language have given rise to a number of important issues within contemporary
philosophy. This course will be an overview of these issues as well as their bearing on broader
debates within metaphysics, such as realism and anti-realism. Readings will come from authors
of the 20th century analytic tradition, such as Frege, Russell, Ayer, Quine, Kripke, Putnam, Grice,
and others. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 3431 Philosophy of Religion
3 ch (3C)
Explores some of the traditional issues associated with belief in God, including: the arguments
for God's existence, the problem of evil, the meaningfulness of religious language, and how the
divine attributes are to be understood. Prerequisite: A course in Philosophy or permission of the
instructor. Open to 2nd year students and above.
PHIL 4436 Models of Divine Agency (O)
3ch [W]
Various models of how God might be conceived to act in the physical universe are explored and
evaluated. These include Nancey Murphy’s quantum indeterminacy model, John Polkinghorne’s
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chaos theory model, and Arthur Peacocke’s top down causality model. Prerequisites: A previous
course in philosophy or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 3601
Liberalism and Its Critics (O)
3ch [W]
This course provides a contemporary treatment of key themes in liberal political theory,
especially the work of John Rawls. We will pay special attention to his conception of freedom
(both its worth and extent) and equality, as well as their compatibility and role in justice. The
second half of the course considers some important communitarian critics of liberal political
theory, including Alisdair MacIntyre, Michael Sandel and Charles Taylor. Open to 2 nd year
students and above.
PHIL 3602
3ch [W]
The Philosophy of Richard Rorty (O)
This course examines the philosophy of Richard Rorty. Topics covered include Rorty's
relationship to the analytic tradition, his debt to Nietzsche, and his appropriation of Hegel and
Dewey. The course allows wider exploration of Rorty's contributions to the philosophy of
science, ethical theory, the American pragmatic tradition, his reformulation of philosophy, and
his dialogue with the political left in the United States. Open to 2 nd year students and above.
PHIL 4301 Introduction to the Philosophy of Kant (O)
3 ch (3S) [W]
Examines the argument of the Transcendental Analytic in Kant's pivotal work, The Critique of Pure
Reason. Introduces Kant's philosophical method and his transcendental philosophy. Considers their
implications for an understanding of the problems of metaphysics and the theory of knowledge.
Prerequisite: 6 ch in Philosophy or permission of the instructor.
PHIL 4311 Nietzsche's Zarathustra
3 ch (S) [W]
Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra was the favourite of his own books, about which he nevertheless
said, “For everyone else, it is obscure, mysterious, and ridiculous.” This course will investigate
Nietzsche’s Zarathustra as a means to excavating exactly what Nietzsche said is expressed by this
book; namely, the central themes of his philosophy. The course will look into why Nietzsche wrote
this book in the style of the Old Testament, and how it articulates his perception of the “Will to
Power,” “The Overman,” “The Master Race,” and the “Revaluation of all Values.” Prerequisite:
Permission of the instructor.
PHIL 4432 Science vs God?
3 ch [W]
This course examines the relationship between science and religious belief. Questions of whether
design is a legitimate scientific concept, whether methodological naturalism is a prerequisite of
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scientific inquiry, and whether ‘God of the gaps’ arguments are ever legitimate will be examined, as
will be various models of how God is conceived as working within nature. Prerequisite: Permission of
the instructor.
PHIL 4433 The Concept of Miracle
3 ch [W]
The course provides an in-depth discussion of philosophical questions associated with the concept of
miracle. Questions of whether the concept of a miracle is logically coherent, whether miracles
should be defined as violating the laws of nature, whether testimonial evidence could ever be
sufficient to justify belief in a miracle, and whether the occurrence of miracles would intensify the
problem of evil are examined. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
PHIL 4434 Husserl's Pure Phenomenology
3 ch (S) [W]
This course introduces students to the philosophical method of phenomenology. Developed by the
German philosopher Edmund Husserl, the method of what he called “pure phenomenology” has
determined the character of Continental Philosophy throughout the 20th century. Emerging as a
radical break with the philosophical tradition, Husserl’s thought provided the method that would
determine the course of 20th century existential philosophy and serve as the point of departure for
postmodernism. The course will be concerned with the main features of Husserl’s thought,
particularly his theory of the intentional structure of consciousness, his critique of traditional
epistemology, and the foundations and crises of the sciences, as well as his views on the “natural
attitude,” the “irreality” of “the world,” and the “life-world..” Prerequisite: Permission of the
instructor.
PHIL 4601-9 Individual Studies in Philosophy (O)
3 ch (T) [W]
Courses of independent study of specified texts or topics in Philosophy under the supervision of a
member of the Department. These courses will normally be given only between May and August
inclusive and with the agreement of the supervisor. They require the approval of the Chair of the
Department and the Dean of the student's Faculty, and are subject to the regulations for individual
Studies published in the Intersession/Summer Session Calendar. Prerequisite: 30 ch, including at
least 6 in Philosophy.
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