Philosophy
NOTE: See the beginning of Section F for abbreviations, course numbers and coding.
PHIL1001 | Introduction to Philosophy I | 3 ch (3C) |
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A survey of Western Philosophy from the Ancient Greeks and Middle Ages to the Early Modern period. |
PHIL1002 | Introduction to Philosophy II | 3 ch (3C) |
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Survey of Western Philosophy from the Early Modern period to Contemporary Philosophy. |
PHIL1053 | Introduction to Logic, Reasoning and Critical Thinking | 3 ch (3C/WEB) |
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An introduction to informal logic - the logic of ordinary language. Topics covered include inductive, deductive, moral and ethical arguments and fallacies in reasoning. Special emphasis is given to showing the importance of logic and critical reasoning as it relates to our personal and professional lives, the public forum of business, politics and ethical debates, and popular culture and media. |
PHIL2003 | Introduction to Moral, Social and Political Philosophy | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A historical investigation into such moral and socio-political concepts as goodness, virtue, happiness, justice, choice, duty, custom, natural and civil law, the state, freedom and the individual. |
PHIL2034 | Religion and Ethics | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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An examination of such notions as good and evil, compassion and social justice, divine and natural authority, community and society, from the perspectives of religious affirmation and moral reasoning. |
PHIL3012 | Symbolic Logic | 3 ch (3C) |
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Prerequisites: PHIL 1053, or one upper-level course in Mathematics, or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3014 | Metaphysics and Epistemology | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A study of issues in the branches of philosophy concerning reality and knowledge: metaphysics (the overall framework of reality) and epistemology (the theory of knowledge). Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3033 | Pre-Socratics and Plato | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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An examination of early forms of Greek thought from the pre-Socratics and Plato. The Platonic tradition will also be surveyed and assessed. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3034 | Aristotle and Hellenistic Philosophies | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A study of Aristotelian thought and of the diverse philosophies of the Hellenistic period. Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3063 | Philosophy of Language | 3 ch (3C) |
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A study of some of the basic concepts of argument and reasoning, such as truth and falsity, analyticity, validity, agreement, stating and questioning. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3075 | Philosophy of Art | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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This course examines the principles and concepts of art, as developed by philosophers and artists themselves, from ancient aesthetic theory, through essays on taste, to more recent views of aesthetic perception and the function of art in society. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3085 | Philosophy & Film (O) | 3 ch (3C) |
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An exploration of the philosophical themes and issues in selected films. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3115 | Contemporary Continental Philosophy (O) | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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An in-depth study of the origins of and subsequent developments in Contemporary Continental Philosophy: the European philosophical tradition in Western philosophy. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3116 | Wittgenstein and Early Analytic Philosophy (O) | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A study of the early period of Analytic Philosophy with emphasis on the achievement and influence of Ludwig Wittgenstein's early work, Tractatus-Logico Philosophicus, and its relations to the thought of Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Frank Ramsey, and the Logical Positivist movement. |
PHIL3117 | Contemporary Political Philosophy (O) | 3 ch (3C) |
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An exploration of the most influential approaches to contemporary political philosophy and the central issues that are addressed therein. Topics include: liberalism and communitarianism; justice, rights and freedoms; equality; private and public virtues; social responsibilities; citizenship and nationhood; and economic and environmental sustainability. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or Politics or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3124 | Contemporary Moral Problems | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A wide-ranging look at a variety of claims and issues perplexing moral agents in contemporary society. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3133 | Health Care in Ethics I | 3 ch (3C/WEB) (W) |
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Examines major problems in contemporary medical practice, including confidentiality, informed consent and paternalism, compulsory sterilization and blood transfusions, contraception, abortion and genetic engineering, euthanasia, allocation of scarce resources, moral aspects involved in strikes of medical personnel, and conflict of duty situations. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3134 | Health Care in Ethics II | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A continuation of Health Care in Ethics I. Examines major problems in contemporary medical practice, including confidentiality, informed consent and paternalism, compulsory sterilization and blood transfusions, contraception, abortion and genetic engineering, euthanasia, allocation of scarce resources, moral aspects involved in strikes of medical personnel, and conflict of duty situations. Prerequisite: PHIL 3133. |
PHIL3141 | Philosophy of Mind | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A study of various philosophical approaches to the nature and concept of mind. Topics to be covered include: Cartesian Dualism, Freudian Psychology, Behaviourism, Cognitive Psychology and Artificial Intelligence. Prerequisite: One-term course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3153 | Business Ethics | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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An evaluation of a selection of moral problems in business enterprises. Topics include: the state and business; the profit motive; ethics in the workplace; moral development; justice as fairness; social responsibility; wage equity; bribery; discrimination in hiring; ecology; business and the developing world; advertising; sexual harassment. Prerequisite: One term- course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3171 | Philosophy of Religion I | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A critical examination of the central philosophical issues in the Western Religious Tradition. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3172 | Philosophy of Religion II | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A further analysis and elaboration of issues raised in PHIL 3171. Prerequisite: PHIL 3171 or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3181 | Philosophy of History I | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A philosophical exploration of the nature of history and historiography. Topics include: laws and explanation; objectivity and subjectivity; point of view and value judgements; and narrative. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3234 | Wittgenstein's "Philosophical Investigations" | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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Prerequisite: One lower-level term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3241 | Philosophy of Natural Science | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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An analysis of such scientific concepts as explanation, theory, and law, with special attention to the implications of recent scientific theories. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3242 | Philosophy of Human Science | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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An analysis of the methods, theories and presuppositions of such human sciences as economics, psychology, history, and anthropology. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3252 | Environmental Philosophy | 3 ch (3C) |
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This course in environmental philosophy provides students with the basic concepts needed to analyze environmental issues from a philosophical point of view. |
PHIL3531 | Late Antiquity & Early Medieval Philosophy (A) | 3 ch (3C) |
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This course will concentrate on major figures, persistent themes and significant philosophical works of late antiquity and early medieval philosophy, from the rise of Christianity to the Carolingian Renaissance. Prerequisite: One term-course in philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3532 | Medieval & Renaissance Philosophy | 3 ch (3C) |
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This course will concentrate on major figures, persistent themes and significant philosophical works of the medieval period, from the rise of scholasticism, through the full flowering of medieval philosophy in the 13th century, to the breakdown of the medieval synthesis and the rise of Renaissance thought. Prerequisite: PHIL 3531. |
PHIL3631 | Existentialism and the Human Condition | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A study of existential inquiries into human existence. Topics include: existence; freedom, angst; alienation; death; meaning and hope. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3841 | Early Modern Philosophy from Descartes to Hume | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A study of the Rationalist and Empiricist traditions of the 17th and 18th century from Descartes to Hume. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3852 | German Philosophy from Kant to Nietzsche | 3 ch (3C) (W) |
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A study of late 18th and 19th century German philosophy, focusing on such figures as Kant, Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche. Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor. |
PHIL3901 | Special Topics I | 3 ch (3C/R) |
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This course will focus on specialized areas of interest. |
PHIL3902 | Special Topics II | 3 ch (3C/R) |
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This course will focus on specialized areas of interest. |