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. 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? This course is a general historical survey of the development of scientific ideas, primarily in physics and biology. This course will be discussing a period of time from about 3000 BCE until the early Twentieth Century. In addition to the examination of the history of science, this course will also examine issues of the nature of science, in scientific methodology, and in the impact of science on society. Among the major topics of the course are: different versions of biology, from vitalism through to evolutionary theory; the use of optics and mathematics in the development of perspective drawing; the role of agricultural technology in shaping capitalism; and the growth of the cosmology and atomic theory of Ancient Greece into the Big Bang theory and quantum mechanics. Some class time will be devoted to improving essay writing and examining student work. Summer 2012 Courses
1100E - Philosophy from Antiquity to the 20th Century (Ducharme) Summer Evening
2020 Basic Logic (Chow) - Summer Day
2073F Death (McGinnis) - Intersession
2074F - Business Ethics (Proessel) - Intersession
2200F - Ancient Philosophy (Fawcett) - Distance Studies
Course Outline
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.
Course Outline
2203E - History of Scientific Thought (Gault) - Summer Evening
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.
Course Outline
2700F - Introduction to Ethics and Value Theory (Porter) - Distance Studies
Course Outline
2730F - Media Ethics (Robb) - Intersession
Course Outline
2801F - Contemporary Political Philosophy (Lawson) - Summer Day
Course Outline
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 2012-2013 (under construction)
1000 Level Courses
Detailed Course Descriptions
1022E - Advanced Introduction to Philosophy (Brennan/Smeenk)
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Chris Viger
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