An introduction to five main areas of philosophy. Topics are logical thinking; the criteria and limits of human knowledge; and three of: God, right and wrong, free will and the nature of consciousness, scientific inquiry, and social justice. Students may not hold credit for PHIL 1200 and any of: PHIL 1511 or the former PHIL 1510 or the former PHIL 1261.

Equiv To: PHIL 1261, PHIL 1510, PHIL 1511

Attributes: Humanities, Recommended Intro Courses

A course which helps students to think clearly and critically, and to present, defend, and evaluate arguments. The instructor will discuss good and bad reasoning, everyday fallacies, some specific argument forms such as the categorical syllogism, and ways and means of defining words. Students may not hold credit for PHIL 1290 and any of: PHIL 1291 or the former PHIL 1320 or PHIL 1321.

Equiv To: PHIL 1291

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 1320, PHIL 1321

Attributes: Humanities, Recommended Intro Courses

A course which helps students to think clearly and critically, and to present, defend and evaluate arguments. The course deals with definition, fallacy, modern symbolic logic and scientific method. May not be held with the former PHIL 1320 or PHIL 1321.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 1320, PHIL 1321, PHIL 1330

Attributes: Humanities, Mathematics Requirement, Recommended Intro Courses

This course explores various texts and traditions that offer visions of the good life and focuses on connecting philosophical arguments with contemporary issues and day-to-day decision making. The goal is to think deeply and rigorously about foundational questions like how should we live, does life have a meaning, what justifies our beliefs, what obligations do we have to each other, and how to make rational decisions.

Attributes: Humanities, Recommended Intro Courses

This course challenges and investigates our view of knowledge and rationality. Problems dealt with normally include: the nature of knowledge, sense experience, truth and necessary truth, the analytic-synthetic distinction, memory, induction, etc. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2140 and the former PHIL 2760.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2760

Attributes: Humanities

An introduction to theories of the mind and body, including dualism, identity theory and functionalism. The course deals with topics such as consciousness, thought, and desire.

Attributes: Humanities

An introduction to theories of language, including those of Gottlob Frege and Bertrand Russell. The course deals with a variety of linguistic phenomena pertaining to names, definite descriptions, demonstratives, identity sentences, and belief reports.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [six credit hours of 1000-level philosophy] or [successful completion of 30 hours of university credit].

Attributes: Humanities

Topics and content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

Attributes: Humanities

This course examines various moral and legal issues related to sexuality. Topics may include: casual sex, monogamy, love, and commitment; the definition of marriage; the meaning of gender; the nature of consent; the moral and legal status of prostitution and pornography; the scope of sexual privacy and other moral challenges presented by new technology. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2190 and PHIL 2170 when titled "Sexuality."

Attributes: Humanities

A systematic investigation of the theory and techniques of modern symbolic logic, with an examination of contributions made by contemporary philosophers in dealing with philosophical problems closely connected with logic. May not be held the former PHIL 2430.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: PHIL 1300 or the former PHIL 1320 or PHIL 1321 or written consent of instructor.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2430

Attributes: Humanities, Mathematics Requirement

A philosophical examination of the view and methods of European political philosophers of the modern period, such as Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and Karl Marx. Topics will include their conceptions of human nature, political justification, freedom, equality, and justice. May not be held with the former PHIL 2300 or the former PHIL 2301.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2300, PHIL 2301

Attributes: Humanities

An introduction to ethical issues that arise in our use of AI, robot, and cyborg technologies. Topics covered include the use of automation in warfare, the use of automation in caregiving, and whether we should enhance our cognition or moral capabilities. May not be held with PHIL 2170 when titled "Robot, AI and Cyborg Ethics."

Attributes: Humanities

A study of some fundamental problems relating to the nature of reality, e.g., mind and body, cause and effect, human freedom, and the problem of universals. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2580 and the former PHIL 2450.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: six credit hours of Philosophy at the 1000 level.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2450

Attributes: Humanities

A philosophical study of the evolution of science and scientific methodology from the ancient Greeks to the present. A background in science is not required. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2612 and the former PHIL 2610.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2610

Attributes: Humanities, Written English Requirement

A critical study of the nature of scientific knowledge. A background in science is not required. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2614 and the former PHIL 2610.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2610

Attributes: Humanities, Written English Requirement

A study of the great Continental philosophers, Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, who viewed reason, rather than experience, as the key to knowledge of the universe. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2630 and PHIL 2631.

Equiv To: PHIL 2631

Attributes: Humanities

The course surveys and analyzes the theories of the great British empiricists, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume, on the nature and foundations of human knowledge and its relation to experience. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2640 and PHIL 2641.

Equiv To: PHIL 2641

Attributes: Humanities

An examination of Plato's views on knowledge, reality, human nature, politics, and morals through a study of his most significant dialogues. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2650 and the former PHIL 2651.

Equiv To: PHIL 2651

Attributes: Humanities

A study of Aristotle's most important views on reality, knowledge, human nature, morals, and politics. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2660 and PHIL 2661.

Equiv To: PHIL 2661

Attributes: Humanities

This course will be devoted to a study of existentialist themes as they appear in the philosophical writings of some of the following: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Buber, Hadot, Foucault, R.D. Laing, and others. Students may not hold credit for PHIL 2710 and any of: the former PHIL 2820 or the former PHIL 2821.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2820, PHIL 2821

Attributes: Humanities

A critical study of some fundamental problems in the philosophy of religion, such as the existence and nature of God, the justification of religious beliefs, the status of mystical and other religious experiences, and the significance of religious discourse. Students may not hold credit for PHIL 2730 and any of: PHIL 2701 or the former PHIL 2700.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2700, PHIL 2701

Attributes: Humanities

An examination of some contemporary ethical theories and their application to a few important ethical issues in contemporary medicine and biology. Examples of topics to be covered include: euthanasia and medically assisted suicide, human reproductive cloning, and human enhancement. Students may not hold credit for PHIL 2740 and any of: PHIL 2741 or PHIL 2290 or PHIL 2531.

Equiv To: PHIL 2741

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2290, PHIL 2531

Attributes: Humanities

An examination of some important ethical issues connected with environmental pollution and resource depletion. Examples to be covered include: the ideal of liberty and environmental limits; scarcity and the ideal of justice; growth vs. steady-state economics; animal rights, and survival ethics vs. welfare ethics. Students may not hold credit for PHIL 2750 and any of: PHIL 2751 or PHIL 2290 or the former PHIL 2531.

Equiv To: PHIL 2751

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 2290, PHIL 2531

Attributes: Humanities

An introductory analysis of some contemporary aesthetic theories and an examination of such problems as the relation between art and morality, meaning and expression in art, the nature and functioning of criticism, and the justification of standards of aesthetic evaluation.

Attributes: Humanities

An introduction to moral philosophy and influential moral philosophers of the past and present. The main emphasis will be on the nature and justification of moral judgement. Philosophers such as Sidgwick, Kant, Rawls, Scanlon, and Ross will be discussed.

Attributes: Humanities, Written English Requirement

An examination of recent theories about whether there should be political authority, who should wield it, what is its proper scope and what are the duties and rights of citizens. The course will deal with representatives of such positions as anarchism, communism, conservatism, liberalism. May not be held with the former PHIL 3710.

Attributes: Humanities

The course will explore the application of ethical theory to business. Topics to be discussed will normally include: theories of justice, corporate responsibility, the ethics of advertising, consumer and environmental protection, and preferential hiring. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2830 and PHIL 2831.

Attributes: Humanities

A study of the ethical issues connected with war and the securing of peace, as articulated in the writings of major philosophers and selected political and military thinkers. Relevant moral theories, such as non-violence, holy war, the just war, the ethical reasoning underlying policies of deterrence, will be critically examined in historical and contemporary context. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2840 and PHIL 2841.

Attributes: Humanities

An introduction to the philosophy of law and to rule systems generally. Sample topics include the concept of law (law and religion; natural law; and the "laws of the books"); the connection, if any, between law and morality; and the politics of law in Canada and elsewhere. Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2860 and PHIL 2861.

Attributes: Humanities

An inquiry into the philosophy of law, on issues not covered in PHIL 2860. Students will examine such topics as: guilt and responsibility; theories of punishment; the right to dissent; legal reasoning; and, "professional ethics." Students may not hold credit for both PHIL 2870 and PHIL 2871.

Equiv To: PHIL 2871

Attributes: Humanities

An examination of philosophical issues of special interest to students of feminism and women's issues. Topics typically include: feminist epistemology, metaphysical implications of feminism, and feminist ethics.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [six credit hours in Philosophy] or written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities, Written English Requirement

This course examines contemporary expressions of spiritual exercises by tracing their traditions across an array of western religious and philosophical schools. The course explores themes of death, asceticism, aestheticism, everydayness and community. In particular, it explores how dialogue, reading, and writing have constituted tools for the cultivation of mental, physical and emotional states leading to self-transformation. Also offered as RLGN 3290. May not be held with RLGN 3290.

Equiv To: RLGN 3290

Attributes: Humanities

A treatment of some problems arising in the philosophy of law including responsibility and the doctrine of mens rea, theories of punishment, law and morality, and the concept of law.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

A treatment of selected problems arising in social and political philosophy, e.g., the philosophy of the state, distributive justice, and the ethics of revolution.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

A study of the 18th-century German thinker, Immanuel Kant, focusing on the revolutionary theories about reality and human knowledge contained in his major metaphysical work, The Critique of Pure Reason.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [PHIL 2630 or PHIL 2631 or PHIL 2640 or PHIL 2641] or written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

A critical examination of contemporary issues in the theory of knowledge including recent empiricist attempts to resolve the problem of justifying belief. Typical topics include foundations of knowledge, the concept of "truth", radical scepticism, the new riddle of induction, normative epistemology, the psychology and sociology of knowledge. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [PHIL 2140 or the former PHIL 2760] or written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

A course in contemporary metaphysics. Possible topics include the metaphysics of causation, time and persistence, laws and modality, essence, and fundamentality. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [PHIL 2580] or written permission of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

A critical examination of issues in moral theory, such as consequentialism and deontology. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: [PHIL 2790] or written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

The course covers philosophical research on specialized topics. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 4450

Attributes: Humanities

A philosophical examination of key issues and authors in 20th century philosophy. Possible topics include phenomenology and its influence (Husserl, Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Sara Ahmed, Frantz Fanon), the continental-analytic distinction, and existentialism. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different;

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

An analysis of theories of global and international justice. We will consider a number of theoretical approaches to global justice. We will examine how these theories bear on questions of international relations and global policy, such as immigration, trade, war, climate change, international aid, or global public health. May not be held with PHIL 3780 when titled "Global Justice".

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Mutually Exclusive: PHIL 3780

Attributes: Humanities

An intensive study of specially selected topics in contemporary philosophy. The subject matter of the course will vary from year to year. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

A seminar concentrating on the analysis of consciousness. Topics include: mind and brain, the explanation of human behaviour, and whether or not machines and animals can think.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

A critical examination of issues in philosophy of art. Possible topics include the ontology of art, philosophy of music, and artistic creativity. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

An examination of problems such as the nature of meaning, grammar, semantics, reference, truth, and methodology in the study of language.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

Selected topics in the history of philosophy. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

A seminar course with subject matter varying from year to year, designed to meet special needs of Honours Philosophy students.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

Subject matter will vary from year to year. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities

Selected topics in mathematical logic, including propositional and quantificational logic, number theory, and the major metatheoretical results. The course content may vary. Students can earn multiple credits for this course only when the topic subtitle is different.

PR/CR: A minimum grade of C is required unless otherwise indicated.
Prerequisite: written consent of department head.

Attributes: Humanities