Philosophy

NOTE: See the beginning of Section F for abbreviations, course numbers and coding.

PHIL1001Introduction to Philosophy I3 ch (3C)

A survey of Western Philosophy from Thales of Miletus to Thomas Aquinas.

PHIL1002Introduction to Philosophy II3 ch (3C)

Survey of Western Philosophy from Francis Bacon to Contemporary Philosophy.

Prerequisite: PHIL 1001.

PHIL1053Introduction to Logic, Reasoning and Critical Thinking3 ch (3C)

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. 

PHIL2003Introduction to Moral, Social and Political Philosophy3 ch (3C) [W]

An 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.

PHIL2034Religion and Ethics3 ch (3C) [W]

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.

PHIL3012Symbolic Logic3 ch (3C)
A study of the principles and practices of symbolic logic, including truth tables, along with the standard notations and methods of natural deduction: conditional and indirect proof. This course emphasizes applications in sentence logic and in the logic of quantification up to the logic of relations.Prerequisites: PHIL 1053, or one upper level course in Mathematics, or permission of the instructor.
PHIL3014Metaphysics and Epistemology3 ch (3C) [W]

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. 

PHIL3033Pre-Socrates and Plato3 ch (3C) [W]

An examination of early forms of Greek thought from the pre-Socratics and Plato. The Platonic tradition will also be surveyed and assessed. 

Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or permission of the instructor. 

PHIL3034Aristotle and Hellenistic Philosophies3 ch (3C) [W]

A study of Aristotelian thought and of the diverse philosophies of the Hellenistic period. 

Prerequisite: PHIL 1001 or permission of the instructor. 

PHIL3063Philosophy of Language3 ch (3C)

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.

PHIL3075Philosophy of Art3 ch (3C) [W]

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.

PHIL3085Philosophy & Film3 ch (3C)

An exploration of the philosophical themes and issues in selected films. 

Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor.

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PHIL3115Contemporary Continental Philosophy3 ch (3C)

An in-depth study of the origins of and subsequent developments in Contemporary Continental Philosophy: the European philosophical tradition in western philosophy. 

Prerequisite: PHIL 1002 or permission of the instructor. 

PHIL3116Contemporary Analytic Philosophy (O)3 ch (3C)

An in-depth study of the origins of and subsequent developments in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy: the Anglo-American philosophical tradition in western philosophy.

PrerequisitePHIL 1002 or permission of the instructor.
PHIL3117Contemporary Political Philosophy3 ch (3C)

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.

PHIL3124Contemporary Moral Problems3 ch (3C) [W]

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. 

PHIL3133Health Care in Ethics I3 ch (3C) [W]

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.

PHIL3134Health Care in Ethics II3 ch (3C) [W]

A continuation of Health Care 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.

PHIL3141Philosophy of Mind3 ch (3C) [W]

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.

PHIL3153Business Ethics3 ch (3C) [W]

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. 

PHIL3171Philosophy of Religion I3 ch (3C) [W]

A critical examination of the central philosophical issues in the Western Religious Tradition. 

Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor.

PHIL3172Philosophy of Religion II3 ch (3C) [W]

A further analysis and elaboration of issues raised in PHIL 3171.

Prerequisite: PHIL 3171 or permission of the instructor. 

PHIL3181Philosophy of History I3 ch (3C) [W]

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.

PHIL3241Philosophy of Natural Science 3 ch (3C) [W]

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.

PHIL3242Philosophy of Human Science3 ch (3C) [W]

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.

PHIL3252Environmental Philosophy3 ch

This course in environmental philosophy provides students with the basic concepts needed to analyze environmental issues from a philosophical point of view. 

Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor.
PHIL3531Late Antiquity & Early Medieval Philosophy3 ch (3C)

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.

PHIL3532Medieval & Renaissance Philosophy3 ch (3C)

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

PHIL3631Phenomenology and Existentialism 3 ch (3S)

A study of the phenomenological method and 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. 

PHIL384117th & 18th Century Modern Philosophy3 ch (3C) [W]

A study of the Rationalist and Empiricist traditions of the 17th and 18th century from Descartes to Hume. 

Prerequisite: PHIL 1002 or permission of the instructor. 

PHIL3852Kant and 19th Century Philosophy3 ch (3C) [W]

A study of late 18th and 19th century German philosophy from Kant to Marx. 

Prerequisite: PHIL 1002 or permission of the instructor. 

PHIL3901Special Topics I3 ch

This course will focus on specialized areas of interest.

Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor.
PHIL3902Special Topics II3 ch

This course will focus on specialized areas of interest.

Prerequisite: One term-course in Philosophy or permission of the instructor.