Summer 2012 Courses

1100E - Philosophy from Antiquity to the 20th Century (Ducharme) Summer Evening

A study of selected works by great philosophers from the Pre-Socratic philosophers to the Twentieth Century. Stress will be laid on the systematic unity of the thought of individual philosophers and their schools, and on how the history of Western philosophy has shaped present day thought.

Course Outline

2020 Basic Logic (Chow) - Summer Day

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2073F Death (McGinnis) - Intersession

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2074F - Business Ethics (Proessel) - Intersession

It is sometimes said that the phrase “business ethics” is an oxymoron. In this course we will attempt to dispel this popular conception. By working our way through many of the moral issues to which the practice of business gives rise, we will show that the interests of business people and moral philosophers converge. Topics include: What is the nature of moral reasoning? Do corporations have social responsibilities? What social responsibilities do corporations have when operating in the global context? Are there universal ethical principles which can guide the conduct of multinational corporations? Do international sweatshops violate human rights? What are the rights of employees in the workplace? Do employees have the right to due process? Is affirmative action morally justfiable? Is business bluffing ethical? When is advertising ethically questionable? How much information about a product is a corporation morally obligated to disclose to consumers, and how and to whom should this information be disclosed? Can the free market be justified? What is the appropiate level of taxation? What constitutes a just distributionof the goods and services produced by society?

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2200F - Ancient Philosophy (Fawcett) - Distance Studies

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2202F - Early Modern Philosphy (Middleton) - Distance Studies

A study of the influential thought of the 16th and 17th centuries. Powerful ideas in metaphysics, epistemology, and political theory were developed in this period. This course examines the contributions made in those areas by Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, and others.
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2250 - Introduction to Logic (Manafu) - Summer Evening

A study of sentential and predicate logic designed to train students to use procedures and systems for determining logical properties and relations, and to give students an understanding of the relevant metatheoretical concepts.
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2700F - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory (Porter) - Distance Studies

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2730F - Media Ethics (Robb) - Intersession

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2801F - Contemporary Political Philosophy (Lawson) - Summer Day

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2810F - Global Justice and Human Rights (Epp) - Summer Day

In this course, we will consider basic issues about human rights and global justice,including: What are human rights? What makes them important? What duties and obligations do human rights generate, and for whom? How should respect for them be promoted or enforced, particularly given so much cultural variation and widely diverse values and beliefs in the world?

Course Outline

FALL/WINTER 2011-2012

 1000 Level Courses 

Detailed Course Descriptions

PHILOSOP 1020 - Introduction to Philosophy

Instructor: J. Thorp

Teaching Assistants: Baumiller, Bieber, Monner, Peric, Peterson, Rossiter, Richards, Sidlar

This is a 'big-picture' course, which endeavours to give a sense of the broad intellectual terrain surrounding such fundamental issues as justice, morality, identity, freedom, religion, knowledge & truth. The aim is to help students to find their bearings in the welter of debates about these questions, and their offshoots, that surround us. Among the particular subjects covered will be human rights, feminism, religion and secularism, civil disobedience, homosexuality, moral evolution, relativism, freedom, minds and brains, artificial intelligence, personal and social identity, the nature of science, idealism, and religious faith. Lectures and tutorials will focus on short readings both classical and contemporary, as well as on film and other media. The course is intended for – though not restricted to – students with no prior exposure to philosophy.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1022E - Advanced Introduction to Philosophy

Instructors: A. Skelton (Fall) & C. Smeenk (Winter)

Teaching Assistants: Brandt, Kapusta, Luczak, MacAuley, Pearce

Questions about knowledge and reality, mind and body, morality and justice, truth and beauty, sex and gender, God's existence and attributes, and rationality and philosophical paradoxes are explored in this course designed for students with some acquaintance with philosophy who wish to further develop their analytic and expressive skills.

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PHILOSOP 1130F - Big Ideas

Instructor: S. Anis

Teaching Assistants: 

Apparently simple conceptions sometimes especially capture our imagination. Examples: Descartes's "I think, therefore I am," McLuhan's "the medium is the message," or Plato's theory of forms. The course examines a great number of these simple ideas that are also the Big Ideas that no educated person should be ignorant of.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1130G - Big Ideas

Instructor: A. Ducharme

Apparently simple conceptions sometimes especially capture our imagination. Examples: Descartes's "I think, therefore I am," McLuhan's "the medium is the message," or Plato's theory of forms. The course examines a great number of these simple ideas that are also the Big Ideas that no educated person should be ignorant of.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1200 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking

Instructor: E. Desjardins

Teaching Assistants: D. Booth, M. Graham, J. Jenkinson, R. MacIntosh, C. Roadevin.C. Shirreff  

An introduction to basic principles of reasoning and critical thinking designed to enhance the student's ability to evaluate various forms of reasoning as found in everyday life as well as in academic disciplines. The course will deal with such topics as inductive and deductive reasoning, the nature and function of definitions, types of fallacies, the use and misuse of statistics, and the rudiments of logic. Primarily for first-year students.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1200 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking

Instructor: D. Gault

An introduction to basic principles of reasoning and critical thinking designed to enhance the student's ability to evaluate various forms of reasoning as found in everyday life as well as in academic disciplines. The course will deal with such topics as inductive and deductive reasoning, the nature and function of definitions, types of fallacies, the use and misuse of statistics, and the rudiments of logic. Primarily for first-year students.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1200 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking (Distance Studies)

Instructor: A. Barth

An introduction to basic principles of reasoning and critical thinking designed to enhance the student's ability to evaluate various forms of reasoning as found in everyday life as well as in academic disciplines. The course will deal with such topics as inductive and deductive reasoning, the nature and function of definitions, types of fallacies, the use and misuse of statistics, and the rudiments of logic. Primarily for first-year students.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1305F - Questions of the Day

Instructor: A. Yates

This course develops students' ability to approach disputed questions by seeing them from both sides, so that they reach their own view only after respecting a broad range of argument. Six questions will be considered, including human (over) population, the public funding of art, and the limits of religious freedom.

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PHILOSOP 1305G - Questions of the Day

Instructor: D. Proessel

Teaching Assistants: S. Bartlett, G. Beaulac, J. Life, M. Winsby

This course develops students' ability to approach disputed questions by seeing them from both sides, so that they reach their own view only after respecting a broad range of argument. Six questions will be considered, including human (over) population, the public funding of art, and the limits of religious freedom.

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2000 Level Courses - Fall/Winter 2011-2012

Detailed Course Descriptions

PHILOSOP 2003E - Asian Philosophies (Distance Studies)

Instructor: K. Chung

Basic philosophical ideas in Indian, Chinese and Japanese thought. Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism and Zen are compared as life-philosophies, with special emphasis on their relation to the root categories of Western philosophy.

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PHILOSOP 2006 - The Metaphysics and Epistemology of Witchcraft

Instructor: S. Coughlin

Witches: who they were, why they were thought to be witches by themselves and others, what was done to them and why? The course will treat a number of standard philosophical issues (the mind-body problem, causation, free-will, theories of knowledge) through a study of Renaissance and early modern material.

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PHILOSOP 2020 - Basic Logic

Instructor: N. McGinnis

Modern formal logic including argument structure, propositional logic and elementary quantification. Applications to everyday reasoning and to computer "thinking" are considered, along with related issues in semantics and the philosophy of logic. Intended primarily for students not planning further studies in Philosophy or Logic.

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PHILOSOP 2020 - Basic Logic

Instructor: S. Hogarth-Rossiter (Fall) & M. Kao (Winter)

Modern formal logic including argument structure, propositional logic and elementary quantification. Applications to everyday reasoning and to computer "thinking" are considered, along with related issues in semantics and the philosophy of logic. Intended primarily for students not planning further studies in Philosophy or Logic.

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PHILOSOP 2030G - Philosophy of Science

Instructor: N. Fillion

An introductory discussion dealing with such issues as the demarcation between science and pseudo-science, the notion of scientific explanation, the structure of scientific theories and their relation to an empirical base, and the significance of revolutions in science.

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PHILOSOP 2032G - Einstein for Everyone

Instructor: C. Smeenk

Astronauts age more slowly. Time can have a beginning. Space and time are curved. All these surprising claims are consequences of Einstein's revolutionary theories of relativity. This course explains these and related ideas in historical context and explores their philosophical significance. No physics and only grade 11 mathematics required.

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PHILOSOP 2033A - Introduction to Environmental Philosophy

Instructor: A. Ducharme

We live in a time in which the headlines are full of reports of extreme weather, which climate scientists tell us is due, in part, to global warming caused by greenhouse gases we’ve released into the atmosphere. A time in which we hear of the imminent end of oil as a fuel resource. A time in which deforestation is occurring at unprecedented rates.

Are such things an inevitable by-product of the presence of nearly 7 billion human beings, or are they rooted in some fact about our culture? Is it the Western attitude towards the natural world? Is it something about our economic system? If we want to protect our environment, what is it that is worth saving, and why? Do we have a duty to protect Nature which is independent of its benefits to human beings? This course is an invitation to think about and discuss these philosophical questions and others, and to investigate what others have said about them.

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PHILOSOP 2033B - Introduction to Environmental Philosophy

Instructor: A. Ducharme

An examination of several key issues arising out of the present environmental crisis. Sample topics include: to what extent the environmental crisis is a scientific, religious, or ethical problem; the Gaia hypothesis; deep and shallow ecology; the land ethic; ecofeminism; the environment and economics; and sustainable development.

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PHILOSOP 2035F - Nature, Ecology, and the Future

Instructor: G. Barker

Our changing relationship to the natural world, and ability to affect Earth's future, bring urgent philosophical questions with real-world implications. This course draws on ideas from ethics, political philosophy, biology, psychology, economics and philosophy of science to explore the moral and epistemological dimensions of climate change, species extinction, and biotechnology.

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PHILOSOP 2065F - Evil

Instructor:  R. Samaroo

A study of philosophical approaches to evil from the Enlightenment to the present day. Topics include the existence of evil as a challenge to religious belief, understanding the nature of evil in the context of such events as the Holocaust and 9/11, and moral philosophical issues related to evil.

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PHILOSOP 2065F - Evil

Instructor: C. Young

A study of philosophical approaches to evil from the Enlightenment to the present day. Topics include the existence of evil as a challenge to religious belief, understanding the nature of evil in the context of such events as the Holocaust and 9/11, and moral philosophical issues related to evil.

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PHILOSOP 2065G - Evil

Instructor: A. Wuest

A study of philosophical approaches to evil from the Enlightenment to the present day. Topics include the existence of evil as a challenge to religious belief, understanding the nature of evil in the context of such events as the Holocaust and 9/11, and moral philosophical issues related to evil.

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PHILOSOP 2070E - Ethics and Society

Instructor: N. Fawcett

Techniques of moral analysis and evaluation are studied in the context of practical moral issues concerning the good life, the rights of the individual and the quest for social justice, etc. Classical and contemporary philosophical sources are examined, but the emphasis is on independent critical thought.

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PHILOSOP 2071E - Biomedical Ethics

Instructor: K. Okruhlik

An introduction to ethical issues that arise in the delivery of health care such as human experimentation, informed consent, and the allocation of scarce resources. A case study approach is used with students offering and defending solutions to moral problems in these areas.

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PHILOSOP 2071E - Biomedical Ethics (Distance Studies)

Instructor: A. Manafu

An introduction to ethical issues that arise in the delivery of health care such as human experimentation, informed consent, and the allocation of scarce resources. A case study approach is used with students offering and defending solutions to moral problems in these areas.

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PHILOSOP 2073F - Death

Instructor: J. Southworth

The meaning and moral importance of death will be explored through a series of questions: What is death? Is death a bad thing? Do people survive death? What do we mean when we say that someone is "dying"? Should knowledge of death change the way we live our lives?

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PHILOSOP 2073F - Death

Instructor: A. Shiller

The meaning and moral importance of death will be explored through a series of questions: What is death? Is death a bad thing? Do people survive death? What do we mean when we say that someone is "dying"? Should knowledge of death change the way we live our lives?

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PHILOSOP 2073G - Death

Instructor: Z. Munroe

The meaning and moral importance of death will be explored through a series of questions: What is death? Is death a bad thing? Do people survive death? What do we mean when we say that someone is "dying"? Should knowledge of death change the way we live our lives?

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PHILOSOP 2074F - Business Ethics

Instructor: D. Proessel

Ethical analysis of issues arising in contemporary business life. Sample topics: ethical codes in business; fair and unfair competition, advertising and consumer needs and wants; responsibilities to investors, employees and society; conflicts of interest and obligation; business and the regulatory environment.

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PHILOSOP 2074F - Business Ethics

Instructor: M. Hebert

Ethical analysis of issues arising in contemporary business life. Sample topics: ethical codes in business; fair and unfair competition, advertising and consumer needs and wants; responsibilities to investors, employees and society; conflicts of interest and obligation; business and the regulatory environment.

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PHILOSOP 2074G - Business Ethics

Instructor: D. Proessel

Ethical analysis of issues arising in contemporary business life. Sample topics: ethical codes in business; fair and unfair competition, advertising and consumer needs and wants; responsibilities to investors, employees and society; conflicts of interest and obligation; business and the regulatory environment.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2074G - Business Ethics (Distance Studies)

Instructor: A. Porter

Ethical analysis of issues arising in contemporary business life. Sample topics: ethical codes in business; fair and unfair competition, advertising and consumer needs and wants; responsibilities to investors, employees and society; conflicts of interest and obligation; business and the regulatory environment.

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PHILOSOP 2077F - Gender and Sexuality

Instructor: J. Epp

An investigation of ways that contemporary philosophers deal with concepts of gender and sexuality, addressing such issues as the regulation and production of normative sexuality, the question of essentialism, the construction and disciplining of the gendered body, and the effects of new media on sexual identity.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2077G - Gender and Sexuality

Instructor: J. Marsh

An investigation of ways that contemporary philosophers deal with concepts of gender and sexuality, addressing such issues as the regulation and production of normative sexuality, the question of essentialism, the construction and disciplining of the gendered body, and the effects of new media on sexual identity.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2080 - Philosophy of Law

Instructor: J. Hildebrand

A study of some main problems in legal philosophy. Emphasis is given to actual law, e.g. criminal law and contracts, as a background to questions of law's nature. Specimen topics: police powers in Canada, contractual obligation, insanity defence, judicial reasoning and discretion, civil liberties, legal responsibility, natural law and legal positivism.

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PHILOSOP 2080 - Philosophy of Law (Distance Studies)

Instructor: J. Hildebrand

A study of some main problems in legal philosophy. Emphasis is given to actual law, e.g. criminal law and contracts, as a background to questions of law's nature. Specimen topics: police powers in Canada, contractual obligation, insanity defence, judicial reasoning and discretion, civil liberties, legal responsibility, natural law and legal positivism.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2083F - Terrorism

Instructor: R. Robb

A study of contemporary philosophical discussions of terrorism, including different perspectives on the question of whether terrorism is morally justifiable. Related issues such as just war and civil disobedience will also be touched upon.

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PHILOSOP 2083G - Terrorism

Instructor: D. Suderman

A study of contemporary philosophical discussions of terrorism, including different perspectives on the question of whether terrorism is morally justifiable. Related issues such as just war and civil disobedience will also be touched upon.

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 2200 Level Courses

Detailed Course Descriptions

PHILOSOP 2200F - Ancient Philosophy

Instructor: K. Nielsen

A critical examination of key works of Greek philosophers with major emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

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PHILOSOP 2200F - Ancient Philosophy

Instructor: D. Henry

A critical examination of key works of Greek philosophers with major emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

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PHILOSOP 2202G - Early Modern Philosophy

Instructor: C. Dyck

A critical examination of key works of selected figures of the 17th and 18th centuries.

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PHILOSOP 2202G - Early Modern Philosophy

Instructor: L. Falkenstein

A critical examination of key works of selected figures of the 17th and 18th centuries.

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PHILOSOP 2250 - Introduction to Logic

Instructor: L. Falkenstein

A study of sentential and predicate logic designed to train students to use procedures and systems (trees, natural deduction, axiomatic systems) for determining logical properties and relations, and to give students an understanding of syntactic and semantic metatheoretical concepts and results relevant to those procedures and systems.

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PHILOSOP 2251F - Conceptual Development of Mathematics

Instructor: J. Bell

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PHILOSOP 2260F - Introduction to Philosophy of Language

Instructor: E. Doyle

This course is an introduction to philosophical issues in the study of language. We will be exploring three related topics: (1) The relations between mind, language, and reality: What is meaning? How do our linguistic expressions get their meanings? (2) The multifarious uses of language: How do we manage to use language to, e.g., communicate, promise, and bet? What role does context play in determining the meaning of an utterance? (3) Philosophical issues relating to language acquisition and competence: How do human beings understand language? Are certain linguistic abilities innate? Does language processing involve the representation of non-conscious rules? We will spend roughly equal amounts of time considering each of these main topics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2300F - Philosophy of Science

Instructor: W. Myrvold

Philosophy of science addresses questions such as: What is the difference between science and non-science? What sort of knowledge can we expect from science? Does it give us objective knowledge of the world? If so, can this knowledge extend beyond knowledge of what is directly observable? What is the proper role of science in society, and what are the ethical obligations of scientists?

We will address these questions in connection with two case studies of scientific revolution: the Copernican revolution at the birth of modern science, and the Darwinian revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will look at writings of the scientists involved, as well as major works by philosophers of science. The aim is for students to form their own thoughts on the questions to be addressed.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2350G - Philosophy of Biology

Instructor: E. Desjardins

An historical introduction to the Philosophy of Biology examining the development of evolutionary theory from Aristotle to Darwin and the ways in which past ideas have helped shape contemporary debates (e.g. species concepts, adaptation, levels of selection). Philosophy 2350F/G is recommended background for those interested in Philosophy 3340F/G.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2370F - Science and Values

Instructor: K. Okruhlik

A study of the relationships between scientific practice, cultural institutions, and human values. Attention will be devoted to such topics as the commercialization of research, military research, genetically modified organisms, and the study of race and gender.

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PHILOSOP 2400F - Introduction to Philosophy of Mind

Instructor: S.  Chow

We study the classical doctrines of Plato and Aristotle on the place of the mind in the material world, and the transformation of the debate in the course of the Scientific Revolution of the early modern period, with the work of Descartes, Locke and others We proceed to critically examine 20th and 21st century conceptions of the relation of mind and body, including those of Behaviorists, Linguistic Philosophers, Identity Theorists, Functionalists and the Computational Theory of Mind. In conclusion, we examine the notion of ‘content’ in mental representations and the surprising difficulty we have in saying what exactly the problem of consciousness even is.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2500F - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge

Instructor: G. Barker

This course will be an introduction to the main problems of epistemology or theory of knowledge. The course will focus on the core questions of epistemology: What is knowledge? What, if anything, do we know? How do we know it? More specific topics include the nature of perception, belief, knowledge justification and truth, and skeptical questions concerning the extent of our knowledge, including the problem of induction.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2500G - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge

Instructor: D. Gault

Epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief and is concerned with questions such as the following:  What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge? What are its sources?What is its structure, and what are its limits? How are we to understand the concept of justification? What makes justified beliefs justified? Is justification internal to one’s own mind, or external to it? We will discuss answers to some of these questions at an introductory level.  In addition, we will discuss in more detail recent arguments regarding the claim that knowledge is “socially constructed.”

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2500G - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge (Distance Studies)

Instructor: N, Ray

Epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief and is concerned with questions such as the following:  What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge? What are its sources? What is its structure, and what are its limits? How are we to understand the concept of justification? What makes justified beliefs justified? Is justification internal to one’s own mind, or external to it? We will discuss answers to some of these questions at an introductory level.  In addition, we will discuss in more detail recent arguments regarding the claim that knowledge is “socially constructed.”

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2555F - Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy

Instructor: D. Proessel

This course focuses on challenges to subject/object and mind/body dualisms taking into account the relationship between thought, meaning, truth and the ways that the world appears to us. We consider questions such as: How does the world become meaningful to me in my everyday life? What is freedom? To what extent am I responsible for my own life and the life of others? What does it mean to be ethically responsible in a secular society? And finally who is the other and how is otherness shaped by race and sex?

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2661F - Philosophy of Religion

Instructor: K. Paxman

As the twenty-first century enters its stride, many of the major fault-lines in the world are tied up with religion, whether it be tensions between different religions, or those between religion and secularism. This course will consider twelve major traditional issues in the philosophy of religion: the nature of God, including the relationship between God and time; the existence of God (ontological argument; cosmological arguments; teleological arguments; moral argument); faith and reason; the problem of evil; religious experience; miracles; evolution; religious pluralism; death and afterlife.

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PHILOSOP 2700F - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory

Instructor: R. Robb

Critical study of the nature and justification of ethical and value judgements, with an analysis of key concepts and a survey of the main contemporary theories.

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PHILOSOP 2700G - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory

Instructor: A. Skelton

Critical study of the nature and justification of ethical and value judgements, with an analysis of key concepts and a survey of the main contemporary theories.

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PHILOSOP 2701E - Modes of Normative Reasoning

Instructor: B. Hoffmaster

Approaches to ethical decision making will be examined to see how they can assist practical ethical reasoning and enhance our understanding of morality. Approaches to be studied include casuistry, interpretation, the construction of narratives, and the application of moral theory to real life situations.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2715G - Health Care Ethics

Instructor: D. Gault

An examination of key concepts in health care ethics, such as respect for patient autonomy, medical paternalism, patient competence, justice in health care, "death with dignity," "sanctity of life," commodifying human life. Goals are to understand these ideas and how to apply them to practical issues in health care.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2720G - The Ethics of Professional Relationships

Instructor: B. Hoffmaster

Professionals have special rights and duties that attach to their professional roles. This course will focus on the special ethical obligations that professionals have to themselves, to their clients, to their employers, to third parties, to their professions, and to society at large.

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PHILOSOP 2730F - Media Ethics

Instructor: K. Paxman

 A study of ethical issues in media, including such topics as: the reasonable limits of free expression; intellectual property and the public domain; official secrets and access to information; regulating online content; commercial databases and informational privacy; cameras in the courtroom; plagiarism and piracy; defamation; hactivism and the hacker ethic.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2750G - Ethics in Action

Instructor: R. Robb

This course examines individual and societal obligations in two complementary ways: first, through the study of philosophical work on moral obligations and, second, through service learning projects. In written work students will be required to integrate what they have learned in the classroom and in volunteer work in the community.

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PHILOSOP 2800F - The History of Political Philosophy

Instructor: D.Klimchuk

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PHILOSOP 2801G - Contemporary Political Philosophy

Instructor: J. Spring

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PHILOSOP 2810G - Global Justice and Human Rights 

Instructor: A. White

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PHILOSOP 2821F - Philosophy of Law

Instructor: A. Botterell

An introduction to the philosophy of law. Topics typically covered include responsibility and punishment, freedom of expression, the constitutional protection of fundamental freedoms, and jurisprudence (the study of the question, “What is law?)

Course Outline

 

3000 Level Courses - Fall/Winter 2011-2012

For up-to-date timetables for all terms, please use the online timetable service.

Detailed Course Descriptions

PHILOSOP 3003F - Plato

Instructor: D. Henry

An intermediate survey of the works of Plato. While some themes or works may be focused on to the exclusion of others, this course aims to give students a strong, foundational understanding of Plato’s thought on a range of topics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3006G - Aristotle

Instructor: D. Henry

An intermediate survey of the works of Aristotle. While some themes or works may be focused on to the exclusion of others, this course aims to give students a strong, foundational understanding of Aristotle's thought on a range of topics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3023F - Spinoza

Instructor: C. Dyck

This course gives an overview of medieval philosophy. It presents some of the most important text and philosophers from the Middle Ages. It deals with issues from logic, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, natural philosophy, and ethics. It situates medieval philosophy in the history of philosophy between the Ancient and the Modern traditions, and it shows how the Ancient philosophical culture was transformed in the Christian, Islamic and Jewish Middle Ages into what we know as Early Modern Philosophy.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3040G - Origins of Analytic Philosophy

Instructor: G. Barker

Analytic philosophy has been the predominant philosophical movement of the last century in the English-speaking world. Its central aim is to elucidate the structure of thought, so it is centrally concerned with questions concerning logic and the nature of rationality. Its methods emphasize the close analysis of language (either natural or formal). Analytic philosophy was originally  a self-consciously revolutionary movement, dedicated to the overthrow of philosophical traditions that it saw as engaged in groundless metaphysical speculation and philosophical mystification. This course will explore the origins of analytic philosophy in the first half of the twentieth century and its early evolution.We will investigate philosophical problems such as meaning, metaphysics, philosophical methodology and epistemology as they arise in the writings of such philosophers as Moore, Frege, Russell, Ayer, Carnap, Quine, Wittgenstein, Ryle, Austin, and others.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3170F - Topics in the History of Ethics

Topic: Aristotle's Ethics

Instructor: K. Nielsen

This course will allow students to study Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics in depth. Topics include happiness, virtue of character, virtue of intellect, pleasure and friendship.

Course Outline

PHILOSOP 3180G - Locke's Political Philosophy

Instructor: D. Klimchuk

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PHILOSOP 3201B - Special Topics in Logical Theory

Instructor: J. Bell

Specific issues and theories in formal and philosophical logic will be studied.

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PHILOSOP 3270G - Philosophy and Linguistics

Instructor: R. Stainton

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PHILOSOP 3320F - Philosophical Issues in Quantum Mechanics

Instructor: W. Myrvold

Though quantum mechanics is a well-tested and accepted part of physics, debate continues about what the success of this theory tells us about the world and about science. This course examines these questions while introducing the student to the peculiarities of quantum physics. No physics background presumed.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3330F - Philosophical Foundations of Spacetime Theories

Instructor: R. DiSalle

In this course we will study the nature of space and time. We will begin with disputes regarding the nature of space, time, and motion waged in the seventeenth century by the likes of Galileo, Descartes, Newton, and Leibniz. After briefly reviewing the Aristotelian doctrines that these thinkers responded to, we will study the debate between “aboslute” and “relational” accounts of space and time. Relationalists treat space as consisting of nothing but the spatial relationships between objects, whereas proponents of “absolute” space assert that space exists as a substance in its own right. We then turn to the development of non-Euclidean geometry in the 19th century and debates regarding the epistemology of geometry. Kant argued that Euclidean geometry must hold, but the study of non-Euclidean geometries led Poincare and others to conclude that spatial geometry is to some degree conventional. The final section of the course turns to the development of modern spacetime theories. We will consider Einstien’s special and general theories of relativ- ity, the new conceptions of space and time they introduce, and the impact of these new ideas on the traditional debates.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3410F - Philosophy of Mind

Instructor: A. Mendelovici

Advanced topics in the philosophy of mind, with emphasis on the metaphysics of mind. The course begins with some historical readings to situate the modern problems in philosophy of mind. We then investigate contemporary accounts of the mind as developed under the headings of Behaviourism, the Identity Theory, Functionalism, Interpretationism, and Eliminativism. We shall also explore issues about subjectivity and consciousness and consider challenges to materialism. Emphasis will be given to contemporary readings.

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PHILOSOP 3420F - Philosophy of Psychology

Instructor: C. Viger

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PHILOSOP 3501F - Epistemology

Instructor: S. Chow

Problems in contemporary theory of knowledge; topics will include: knowledge and modern skepticism, contextual factors in criteria and standards for knowledge, how attributing knowledge influences practical action, whether knowing something implies knowing its logical consequences, pragmatist and other contextualist approaches to epistemology, relativism, social dimensions of knowledge, the ethics of belief, and fact and value in inquiry and action. We also examine the relations of belief, knowledge and assertion.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3601G - Metaphysics

Instructor: A. Botterell

An introduction to current debate on metaphysical questions. Topics may include the nature of space and time, the status of phenomenal sensible qualities, the existence of natural kinds, causality and determinism, counterfactuals and possible worlds, identity and individuation, and personal identity.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3720G - Normative Ethics

Instructor: C. McLeod

Moral philosophers engaged in normative ethics seek to articulate and justify systems of normative standards—of action or of character—to guide our moral life. This course is an advanced study of normative ethical theories, such as utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue theories.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3991F - Problems in Philosophy

Topic: German Aesthetics

Instructor: C. Dyck

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3992F - Problems in Philosophy

Topic: Moral Psychology

Instructor: C. FitzGerald

Course Outline

 

4000 Level Courses - Fall/Winter 2011-2012

Detailed Course Descriptions

PHILOSOP 4052G - Kant and the Philosophy of Mind

Instructor: C. Dyck

A broadly-based study of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and his related critical and pre-critical writings on physical, metaphysical and epistemological topics.

Course Outline

PHILOSOP 4055G - Mill's Moral and Political Philosophy

Instructor: A. Skelton

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4210F - The Semantics-Pragmatics Boundary

Instructor: R. Stainton

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4311G - Problems in the Philosophy of Science

Topic: Contemporary Issues  in the Philsophy of Biology

Instructor: D. Henry

Course Outline


 

PHILOSOP 4410F - Concepts

Instructor: A. Mendelovici

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4610F - Problems in Metaphysics

Topic: Oppositions and Paradoxes in Philosophy and Mathematics

Instructor: J. Bell

An advanced treatment of a particular problem arising in metaphysics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4991G - Philosophy of Time

Instructor: J.  Thorp

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4993F - Environmental Philosophy

Instructor: E. Desjardins

Course Outline

 

Fall/Winter 2010-2011


1000 Level Courses 

  • Philosophy 1020 - Introduction to Philosophy (001)
  • Philosophy 1020 - Introduction to Philosophy (002)
  • Philosophy 1022E - Advanced Introduction to Philosophy
  • Philosophy 1130F - Big Ideas
  • Philosophy 1130G - Big Ideas
  • Philosophy 1200 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 1200 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking (Sectionn 002)
  • Philosophy 1200 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking (Distance Studies)
  • Philosophy 1305F - Questions of the Day
  • Philosophy 1305G - Questions of the Day

For up-to-date timetables for all terms, please use the online timetable service.

Detailed Course Descriptions

PHILOSOP 1020 - Introduction to Philosophy

Instructor: J. Thorp

Teaching Assistants: S. Anis, M. Barnett, T. Bieber, B. Cameron, M. Graham, Z. Munroe, L. Pelot,

This is a 'big-picture' course, which endeavours to give a sense of the broad intellectual terrain surrounding such fundamental issues as justice, morality, identity, freedom, religion, knowledge & truth. The aim is to help students to find their bearings in the welter of debates about these questions, and their offshoots, that surround us. Among the particular subjects covered will be human rights, feminism, religion and secularism, civil disobedience, homosexuality, moral evolution, relativism, freedom, minds and brains, artificial intelligence, personal and social identity, the nature of science, idealism, and religious faith. Lectures and tutorials will focus on short readings both classical and contemporary, as well as on film and other media. The course is intended for – though not restricted to – students with no prior exposure to philosophy.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1020 - Introduction to Philosophy

Instructor: S. Chow (Fall) & N. Fawcett (Winter)

This is a 'big-picture' course, which endeavours to give a sense of the broad intellectual terrain surrounding such fundamental issues as justice, morality, identity, freedom, religion, knowledge & truth. The aim is to help students to find their bearings in the welter of debates about these questions, and their offshoots, that surround us. Among the particular subjects covered will be human rights, feminism, religion and secularism, civil disobedience, homosexuality, moral evolution, relativism, freedom, minds and brains, artificial intelligence, personal and social identity, the nature of science, idealism, and religious faith. Lectures and tutorials will focus on short readings both classical and contemporary, as well as on film and other media. The course is intended for – though not restricted to – students with no prior exposure to philosophy.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1022E - Advanced Introduction to Philosophy

Instructors: S. Brennan (Fall) & J. Nicholas (Winter)

Teaching Assistants: C. Fenton, P. Froklage, C. Shirreff, J. Southworth, A. Wuest

Questions about knowledge and reality, mind and body, morality and justice, truth and beauty, sex and gender, God's existence and attributes, and rationality and philosophical paradoxes are explored in this course designed for students with some acquaintance with philosophy who wish to further develop their analytic and expressive skills.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1130F - Big Ideas

Instructor: S. Bland

Teaching Assistants: G. Beaulac, J. Life, A. Shiller, D. Suderman

Apparently simple conceptions sometimes especially capture our imagination. Examples: Descartes's "I think, therefore I am," McLuhan's "the medium is the message," or Plato's theory of forms. The course examines a great number of these simple ideas that are also the Big Ideas that no educated person should be ignorant of.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1130G - Big Ideas

Instructor: M. Ivanowich

Apparently simple conceptions sometimes especially capture our imagination. Examples: Descartes's "I think, therefore I am," McLuhan's "the medium is the message," or Plato's theory of forms. The course examines a great number of these simple ideas that are also the Big Ideas that no educated person should be ignorant of.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1200 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking

Instructor: E. Desjardins

Teaching Assistants: R. Brandt, P. Kapusta, M. MacAulay, J. Richards, E. Rossiter, C. Young

An introduction to basic principles of reasoning and critical thinking designed to enhance the student's ability to evaluate various forms of reasoning as found in everyday life as well as in academic disciplines. The course will deal with such topics as inductive and deductive reasoning, the nature and function of definitions, types of fallacies, the use and misuse of statistics, and the rudiments of logic. Primarily for first-year students.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1200 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking

Instructor: R. Moir

An introduction to basic principles of reasoning and critical thinking designed to enhance the student's ability to evaluate various forms of reasoning as found in everyday life as well as in academic disciplines. The course will deal with such topics as inductive and deductive reasoning, the nature and function of definitions, types of fallacies, the use and misuse of statistics, and the rudiments of logic. Primarily for first-year students.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1200 - Reasoning and Critical Thinking (Distance Studies)

Instructor: A. Barth

An introduction to basic principles of reasoning and critical thinking designed to enhance the student's ability to evaluate various forms of reasoning as found in everyday life as well as in academic disciplines. The course will deal with such topics as inductive and deductive reasoning, the nature and function of definitions, types of fallacies, the use and misuse of statistics, and the rudiments of logic. Primarily for first-year students.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1305F - Questions of the Day

Instructor: K. Biniek

This course develops students' ability to approach disputed questions by seeing them from both sides, so that they reach their own view only after respecting a broad range of argument. Six questions will be considered, including human (over) population, the public funding of art, and the limits of religious freedom.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 1305G - Questions of the Day

Instructor: D. Proessel

Teaching Assistants: C. Hiede, T. Plantikow, M. Vezer

This course develops students' ability to approach disputed questions by seeing them from both sides, so that they reach their own view only after respecting a broad range of argument. Six questions will be considered, including human (over) population, the public funding of art, and the limits of religious freedom.

Course Outline Pending.


2000 Level Courses - Fall/Winter 2010-2011

  • Philosophy 2003E - Asian Philosophies (Distance Studies)
  • Philosophy 2006 - The Metaphysics and Epistemology of Witchcraft
  • Philosophy 2020 - Basic Logic (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2020 - Basic Logic (Section 002)
  • Philosophy 2030G - Philosophy of Science
  • Philosophy 2032G - Einstein for Everyone
  • Philosophy 2033A - Introduction to Environmental Philosophy
  • Philosophy 2033B - Introduction to Environmental Philosophy
  • Philosophy 2035F - Nature, Ecology, and the Future
  • Philosophy 2065F - Evil (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2065F - Evil (Section 002)
  • Philosophy 2065G - Evil
  • Philosophy 2070E - Ethics and Society
  • Philosophy 2071E - Biomedical Ethics (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2071E - Biomedical Ethics (Distance Studies)
  • Philosophy 2073F - Death (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2073F - Death (Section 002)
  • Philosophy 2073G - Death
  • Philosophy 2074F - Business Ethics (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2074F - Business Ethics (Section 002)
  • Philosophy 2074G - Business Ethics (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2074G - Business Ethics (Distance Studies)
  • Philosophy 2077F - Gender and Sexuality
  • Philosophy 2077G - Gender and Sexuality (Section 002)
  • Philosophy 2080 - Philosophy of Law (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2080 - Philosophy of Law (Distance Studies)
  • Philosophy 2083F - Terrorism (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2083G - Terrorism (Section 002)
  • Philosophy 2091F - Philosophy in Literature

For up-to-date timetables for all terms, please use the online timetable service.


2200 Level Courses

  • Philosophy 2200F - Ancient Philosophy (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2200F - Ancient Philosophy (Section 002)
  • Philosophy 2202G - Early Modern Philosophy (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2202G - Early Modern Philospohy (Section 002)
  • Philosophy 2250 - Introduction to Logic
  • Philosophy 2260F - Introduction to Philosophy of Language
  • Philosophy 2300F - Philosophy of Science
  • Philosophy 2350G - Philosophy of Biology
  • Philosophy 2370F - Science and Values
  • Philosophy 2400F - Introduction to Philosophy of Mind
  • Philosophy 2410F - Issues in Philosophy of Emotion
  • Philosophy 2500F - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge
  • Philosophy 2500G - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2500G - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge (Distance Studies)
  • Philosophy 2555G - Phenomenology and Existenial Philosophy
  • Philosophy 2661F - Philosophy of Religion
  • Philosophy 2700F - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory (Section 001)
  • Philosophy 2700F - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory (Distance Studies)
  • Philosophy 2700G - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory
  • Philosophy 2701E - Modes of Normative Reasoning
  • Philosophy 2715G - Health Care Ethics
  • Philosophy 2720G - The Ethics of Professional Relationships
  • Philosophy 2730F - Media Ethics
  • Philosophy 2750G - Ethics in Action NEW!
  • Philosophy 2821F - Philosophy of Law

For up-to-date timetables for all terms, please use the online timetable service.

Detailed Course Descriptions

PHILOSOP 2200F - Ancient Philosophy

Instructor: D. Henry

A critical examination of key works of Greek philosophers with major emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2200F - Ancient Philosophy

Instructor: K. Nielsen

A critical examination of key works of Greek philosophers with major emphasis on Plato and Aristotle.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2202G - Early Modern Philosophy

Instructor: C. Dyck

A critical examination of key works of selected figures of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2202G - Early Modern Philosophy

Instructor: L. Falkenstein

A critical examination of key works of selected figures of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2250 - Introduction to Logic

Instructor: L. Falkenstein

A study of sentential and predicate logic designed to train students to use procedures and systems (trees, natural deduction, axiomatic systems) for determining logical properties and relations, and to give students an understanding of syntactic and semantic metatheoretical concepts and results relevant to those procedures and systems.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2260F - Introduction to Philosophy of Language

Instructor: A. Mendelovici

This course is an introduction to philosophical issues in the study of language. We will be exploring three related topics: (1) The relations between mind, language, and reality: What is meaning? How do our linguistic expressions get their meanings? (2) The multifarious uses of language: How do we manage to use language to, e.g., communicate, promise, and bet? What role does context play in determining the meaning of an utterance? (3) Philosophical issues relating to language acquisition and competence: How do human beings understand language? Are certain linguistic abilities innate? Does language processing involve the representation of non-conscious rules? We will spend roughly equal amounts of time considering each of these main topics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2300F - Philosophy of Science

Instructor: W. Myrvold

Philosophy of science addresses questions such as: What is the difference between science and non-science? What sort of knowledge can we expect from science? Does it give us objective knowledge of the world? If so, can this knowledge extend beyond knowledge of what is directly observable? What is the proper role of science in society, and what are the ethical obligations of scientists?

We will address these questions in connection with two case studies of scientific revolution: the Copernican revolution at the birth of modern science, and the Darwinian revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will look at writings of the scientists involved, as well as major works by philosophers of science. The aim is for students to form their own thoughts on the questions to be addressed.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2350G - Philosophy of Biology

Instructor: D. Henry

An historical introduction to the Philosophy of Biology examining the development of evolutionary theory from Aristotle to Darwin and the ways in which past ideas have helped shape contemporary debates (e.g. species concepts, adaptation, levels of selection). Philosophy 2350F/G is recommended background for those interested in Philosophy 3340F/G.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2370F - Science and Values

Instructor: K. Okruhlik

A study of the relationships between scientific practice, cultural institutions, and human values. Attention will be devoted to such topics as the commercialization of research, military research, genetically modified organisms, and the study of race and gender.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2400F - Introduction to Philosophy of Mind

Instructor: J. Nicholas

We study the classical doctrines of Plato and Aristotle on the place of the mind in the material world, and the transformation of the debate in the course of the Scientific Revolution of the early modern period, with the work of Descartes, Locke and others We proceed to critically examine 20th and 21st century conceptions of the relation of mind and body, including those of Behaviorists, Linguistic Philosophers, Identity Theorists, Functionalists and the Computational Theory of Mind. In conclusion, we examine the notion of ‘content’ in mental representations and the surprising difficulty we have in saying what exactly the problem of consciousness even is.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2410F - Issues in Philosophy of Emotions

Instructor: L. Charland

Do emotions interfere with reason and morality or are they required for both? Are emotions primarily biological or are they social constructions? These and other questions will be addressed using a variety of readings ranging from contemporary analytic and feminist philosophy to modern neurobiology and psychology.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2500F - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge

Instructor: G. Barker

This course will be an introduction to the main problems of epistemology or theory of knowledge. The course will focus on the core questions of epistemology: What is knowledge? What, if anything, do we know? How do we know it? More specific topics include the nature of perception, belief, knowledge justification and truth, and skeptical questions concerning the extent of our knowledge, including the problem of induction.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2500G - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge

Instructor: C. Smeenk

Epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief and is concerned with questions such as the following:  What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge? What are its sources?What is its structure, and what are its limits? How are we to understand the concept of justification? What makes justified beliefs justified? Is justification internal to one’s own mind, or external to it? We will discuss answers to some of these questions at an introductory level.  In addition, we will discuss in more detail recent arguments regarding the claim that knowledge is “socially constructed.”

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2500G - Introduction to Theory of Knowledge (Distance Studies)

Instructor: A. Manafu

Epistemology is the study of knowledge and justified belief and is concerned with questions such as the following:  What are the necessary and sufficient conditions for knowledge? What are its sources? What is its structure, and what are its limits? How are we to understand the concept of justification? What makes justified beliefs justified? Is justification internal to one’s own mind, or external to it? We will discuss answers to some of these questions at an introductory level.  In addition, we will discuss in more detail recent arguments regarding the claim that knowledge is “socially constructed.”

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2555G - Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy

Instructor: H. Fielding

This course focuses on challenges to subject/object and mind/body dualisms taking into account the relationship between thought, meaning, truth and the ways that the world appears to us. We consider questions such as: How does the world become meaningful to me in my everyday life? What is freedom? To what extent am I responsible for my own life and the life of others? What does it mean to be ethically responsible in a secular society? And finally who is the other and how is otherness shaped by race and sex?

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2661F - Philosophy of Religion

Instructor: J. Thorp

As the twenty-first century enters its stride, many of the major fault-lines in the world are tied up with religion, whether it be tensions between different religions, or those between religion and secularism. This course will consider twelve major traditional issues in the philosophy of religion: the nature of God, including the relationship between God and time; the existence of God (ontological argument; cosmological arguments; teleological arguments; moral argument); faith and reason; the problem of evil; religious experience; miracles; evolution; religious pluralism; death and afterlife.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2700F - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory

Instructor: A. Skelton

Critical study of the nature and justification of ethical and value judgements, with an analysis of key concepts and a survey of the main contemporary theories.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2700G - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory

Instructor: Michael Milde

Critical study of the nature and justification of ethical and value judgements, with an analysis of key concepts and a survey of the main contemporary theories.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2701E - Modes of Normative Reasoning

Instructor: B. Hoffmaster

Approaches to ethical decision making will be examined to see how they can assist practical ethical reasoning and enhance our understanding of morality. Approaches to be studied include casuistry, interpretation, the construction of narratives, and the application of moral theory to real life situations.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2715G - Health Care Ethics

Instructor: D. Gault

An examination of key concepts in health care ethics, such as respect for patient autonomy, medical paternalism, patient competence, justice in health care, "death with dignity," "sanctity of life," commodifying human life. Goals are to understand these ideas and how to apply them to practical issues in health care.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2720G - The Ethics of Professional Relationships

Instructor: B. Hoffmaster

Professionals have special rights and duties that attach to their professional roles. This course will focus on the special ethical obligations that professionals have to themselves, to their clients, to their employers, to third parties, to their professions, and to society at large.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2730F - Media Ethics

Instructor: R. Robb

A study of ethical issues in media, including such topics as: the reasonable limits of free expression; intellectual property and the public domain; official secrets and access to information; regulating online content; commercial databases and informational privacy; cameras in the courtroom; plagiarism and piracy; defamation; hactivism and the hacker ethic.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2750G - Ethics in Action NEW!

Instructor: R. Robb

This course examines individual and societal obligations in two complementary ways: first, through the study of philosophical work on moral obligations and, second, through service learning projects. In written work students will be required to integrate what they have learned in the classroom and in volunteer work in the community.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 2821F - Philosophy of Law

Instructor: A. Botterell

An introduction to the philosophy of law. Topics typically covered include responsibility and punishment, freedom of expression, the constitutional protection of fundamental freedoms, and jurisprudence (the study of the question, “What is law?)

Course Outline


3000 Level Courses - Fall/Winter 2010-2011

  • Philosophy 3003F - Plato
  • Philosophy 3006G - Aristotle
  • Philosophy 3012F - Medieval Philosophy
  • Philosophy 3024G - Leibniz
  • Philosophy 3040G - Origins of Analytic Philosophy
  • Philosophy 3170G - Topics in the History of Ethics: Aristotle's Ethics
  • Philosophy 3201B - Special Topics in Logical Theory
  • Philosophy 3320F - Philosophical Issues in Quantum Mechanics
  • Philosophy 3330F - Philosophical Foundations of Spacetime Theories
  • Philosophy 3410F - Philosophy of Mind
  • Philosophy 3501F - Epistemology
  • Philosophy 3601G - Metaphysics
  • Philosophy 3720G - Normative Ethics
  • Philosophy 3991F - Problems in Philosophy: Science and Democracy
  • Philosophy 3992F - Problems in Phil0sophy: Justice and Diversity

For up-to-date timetables for all terms, please use the online timetable service.

Detailed Course Descriptions

PHILOSOP 3003F - Plato

Instructor: K. Nielsen

An intermediate survey of the works of Plato. While some themes or works may be focused on to the exclusion of others, this course aims to give students a strong, foundational understanding of Plato’s thought on a range of topics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3006G - Aristotle

Instructor: D. Henry

An intermediate survey of the works of Aristotle. While some themes or works may be focused on to the exclusion of others, this course aims to give students a strong, foundational understanding of Aristotle's thought on a range of topics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3012F - Medieval Philosophy

Instructor: H. Lagerlund

This course gives an overview of medieval philosophy. It presents some of the most important text and philosophers from the Middle Ages. It deals with issues from logic, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, natural philosophy, and ethics. It situates medieval philosophy in the history of philosophy between the Ancient and the Modern traditions, and it shows how the Ancient philosophical culture was transformed in the Christian, Islamic and Jewish Middle Ages into what we know as Early Modern Philosophy.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3024G - Leibniz

Instructor: B. Hill

An intermediate survey of the works of Leibniz. While some themes or works may be focused on to the exclusion of others, this course aims to give students a strong foundational understanding of Leibniz’s thought on a range of topics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3040G - Origins of Analytic Philosophy

Instructor: G. Barker

Analytic philosophy has been the predominant philosophical movement of the last century in the English-speaking world. Its central aim is to elucidate the structure of thought, so it is centrally concerned with questions concerning logic and the nature of rationality. Its methods emphasize the close analysis of language (either natural or formal). Analytic philosophy was originally  a self-consciously revolutionary movement, dedicated to the overthrow of philosophical traditions that it saw as engaged in groundless metaphysical speculation and philosophical mystification. This course will explore the origins of analytic philosophy in the first half of the twentieth century and its early evolution.We will investigate philosophical problems such as meaning, metaphysics, philosophical methodology and epistemology as they arise in the writings of such philosophers as Moore, Frege, Russell, Ayer, Carnap, Quine, Wittgenstein, Ryle, Austin, and others.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3170G - Topics in the History of Ethics

Topic: Aristotle's Ethics

Instructor: K. Nielsen

This course will allow students to study Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics in depth. Topics include happiness, virtue of character, virtue of intellect, pleasure and friendship.

Course Outline Pending.


PHILOSOP 3201B - Special Topics in Logical Theory

Instructor: J. Bell

Specific issues and theories in formal and philosophical logic will be studied.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3320F - Philosophical Issues in Quantum Mechanics

Instructor: E. Curiel

Though quantum mechanics is a well-tested and accepted part of physics, debate continues about what the success of this theory tells us about the world and about science. This course examines these questions while introducing the student to the peculiarities of quantum physics. No physics background presumed.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3330F - Philosophical Foundations of Spacetime Theories

Instructor: C. Smeenk

In this course we will study the nature of space and time. We will begin with disputes regarding the nature of space, time, and motion waged in the seventeenth century by the likes of Galileo, Descartes, Newton, and Leibniz. After briefly reviewing the Aristotelian doctrines that these thinkers responded to, we will study the debate between “aboslute” and “relational” accounts of space and time. Relationalists treat space as consisting of nothing but the spatial relationships between objects, whereas proponents of “absolute” space assert that space exists as a substance in its own right. We then turn to the development of non-Euclidean geometry in the 19th century and debates regarding the epistemology of geometry. Kant argued that Euclidean geometry must hold, but the study of non-Euclidean geometries led Poincare and others to conclude that spatial geometry is to some degree conventional. The final section of the course turns to the development of modern spacetime theories. We will consider Einstien’s special and general theories of relativ- ity, the new conceptions of space and time they introduce, and the impact of these new ideas on the traditional debates.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3410F - Philosophy of Mind

Instructor: C. Viger

Advanced topics in the philosophy of mind, with emphasis on the metaphysics of mind. The course begins with some historical readings to situate the modern problems in philosophy of mind. We then investigate contemporary accounts of the mind as developed under the headings of Behaviourism, the Identity Theory, Functionalism, Interpretationism, and Eliminativism. We shall also explore issues about subjectivity and consciousness and consider challenges to materialism. Emphasis will be given to contemporary readings.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3501F - Epistemology

Instructor: J. Nicholas

Problems in contemporary theory of knowledge; topics will include: knowledge and modern skepticism, contextual factors in criteria and standards for knowledge, how attributing knowledge influences practical action, whether knowing something implies knowing its logical consequences, pragmatist and other contextualist approaches to epistemology, relativism, social dimensions of knowledge, the ethics of belief, and fact and value in inquiry and action. We also examine the relations of belief, knowledge and assertion.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3601G - Metaphysics

Instructor: E. Curiel

An introduction to current debate on metaphysical questions. Topics may include the nature of space and time, the status of phenomenal sensible qualities, the existence of natural kinds, causality and determinism, counterfactuals and possible worlds, identity and individuation, and personal identity.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3720G - Normative Ethics

Instructor: S. Brennan

Moral philosophers engaged in normative ethics seek to articulate and justify systems of normative standards—of action or of character—to guide our moral life. This course is an advanced study of normative ethical theories, such as utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue theories.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3991F - Problems in Philosophy

Topic: Science and Democracy

Instructor: K. Okruhlik

What should be the relationship between science and the people under a democratic government? The traditional view is that science flourishes best if left to determine its own direction. Recently, though, a significant body of literature has argued that citizens in a democracy should be able to have a say in determining the direction of science and science policy. The situation has become more complicated because of the major role played by corporate interests in determining those things at present. Can we find the resources in political theory and in philosophy of science to simultaneously achieve our political and epistemological goals?

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 3992F - Problems in Philosophy

Topic: Justice and Diversity

Instructor: R. Muldoon

Much of political philosophy assumes that humans are nearly identical in our intellectual and physical powers, and indeed in our social and economic standing. However, this assumption clearly does not match the world that we live in: people come from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds, and have varying talents, perspectives and abilities. In this class we will consider the moral and political implications of human diversity. This will be an investigation of both the costs and the benefits of diversity, through the lens of contemporary political philosophy and social science.

Course Outline


 4000 Level Courses - Fall/Winter 2010-2011

  • Philosophy 4027G - Special Topics in Later Medieval Philosophy: Dante Philosophus
  • Philosophy 4050G - Kant's First Critique
  • Philosophy 4310F - Problems in the Philosophy of Science: Philosophy of Psychiatry
  • Philosophy 4311F - Problems in the Philosophy of Science: Philosophy of Ecology
  • Philosophy 4530G - Feminist Epistemology
  • Philosophy 4610F - Problems in Metaphysics: Oppositions and Paradoxes in Philosophy and Mathematics
  • Philosophy 4810G - Advanced Topics in Political Philosophy: Egalitarianism
  • Philosophy 4991F - Problems in Philosophy: Mental Representation
  • Philosophy 4992G - Problems in Philosophy: Evolutionary Perspectives on Epistemology and Ethics

For up-to-date timetables for all terms, please use the online timetable service.

Detailed Course Descriptions

PHILOSOP 4027G - Special Topics in Later Medieval Philosophy

Topic: Dante Philosophus

Instructor: J. Miller

Dante’s fame as a poet has tended to eclipse his extraordinary achievements as a philosopher – not the least of which was his audacious vernacularization of Latin philosophical culture in the interests of a radically political reformation of nostra vita (“our life”) in all its spiritual, sexual, and social diversity. In fact, Dante could not have become the boldly original poet whom everyone knows today as the lover of Beatrice if he had not first scaled the Mount of Contemplation mapped out for him by his first love, Lady Philosophy. In order to imagine his own salvation as a lover, he virtually had to reinvent political theory and erotic psychology in lay terms opposing to some degree the discourses of natural law and sexual sin formulated by Catholic scholasticism.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4050G - Kant's First Critique

Instructor: C. Dyck

A broadly-based study of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and his related critical and pre-critical writings on physical, metaphysical and epistemological topics.

Course Outline.


PHILOSOP 4310F - Problems in the Philosophy of Science

Topic: Philosophy of Psychiatry

Instructor: L. Charland

An inquiry into the nature of mental disorder, considering issues such as: diagnosis, globalization and culture, decision-making capacity, history of descriptive psychopathology and clinical diagnosis, the nature of delusion, psychopharmacology, and detailed examination of specific mental conditions.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4311F - Problems in the Philosophy of Science

Topic: Philosophy of Ecology

Instructor: E. Desjardins

In this course, students will learn about foundational and methodological issues of theoretical and applied ecology. We will start by asking: Is nature balanced? Why and why not? In connection to this, we will look at the historical turn that started in the 1970s and ask why and to what extent history matters in ecological processes? This will naturally lead us to the next question: Are there
laws in ecology? Then we will reflect on a topic that is both perennial and persistently unresolved, namely the relationship between ecology and evolutionary biology. Finally, we will look at the different approaches to ecological management, reflecting on their different advantages and limitations. This portion will include discussions about the role of model-building in ecology and also touch on questions of environmental ethics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4530G - Feminist Epistemology

Instructor: K. Okruhlik

A critical study of contemporary feminist epistemology and philosophy of science, with discussion of feminist empiricism, standpoint, and postmodern positions, critiques of methodological essentialism, and proposals for integrating the consideration of contextual factors into theories of knowledge production and legitimation. The emphasis this year will be on philosophy of science.

Course Outline.


PHILOSOP 4610F - Problems in Metaphysics

Topic: Oppositions and Paradoxes in Philosophy and Mathematics

Instructor: J. Bell

An advanced treatment of a particular problem arising in metaphysics.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4810G - Advanced Topics in Political Philosophy

Topic: Egalitarianism

Instructor: S. Brennan

This class will explore the following questions: What is equality and why should we think it matters morally? What's the right way to measure inequality? Insofar as think equality matters morally, what exactly is it that we think ought to be equal: income, well-being, opportunities? How much does equality matter compared to other factors that also have moral significance, such as desert, evil, and overall well-being. We'll read work by egalitarian moral and political philosophers as well as by the critics of egalitarianism. In the final few weeks we'll turn to some applied problems in moral and political philosophy related to egalitarianism.

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4991F - Problems in Philosophy

Topic: Mental Representation

Instructor: A. Mendelovici

This course is an examination of topics of contemporary interest in the philosophy of mental representation. We will be exploring three related topics: (1) Naturalism in the philosophy of mind: What is naturalism? What constraints does it place on a theory of mental representation? (2) Representationalism: Is mental representation the key to understanding consciousness? (3) Phenomenal intentionality: Is there a type of mental content determined by phenomenal character? Can phenomenal intentionality provide the basis for other types of content?

Course Outline


PHILOSOP 4992G - Problems in Philosophy

Topic: Evolutionary Perspectives on Epistemology and Ethics

Instructor: G. Barker

Evolutionary approaches are increasingly popular in philosophy. This course will examine the general prospects of and limitations on this 'evolutionary philosophy,' as well as classic and current issues in evolutionary epistemology and evolutionary ethics. Implications of new perspectives in evolutionary thought such as evolutionary developmental biology and niche-construction will also be considered.

Course Outline Pending.

 

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