Philosophy courses and programs

PHIL 1611: Self, Society, and Freedom
Instructor: Dr. J. Dryden

This course investigates ideas about the self in the western philosophical tradition, including work in contemporary philosophy. Issues may include freedom and responsibility, otherness, the relationship between mind and body, the relationship between humans and animals, the impact of trauma, suffering or oppression on self- identity, and the existence or non-existence of the soul.


PHIL 1621: Reason, Will, and World
Instructor: Dr. R. Moser

This course is an introduction to the study of philosophy that looks at some major thinkers in the Western philosophical tradition. We examine fundamental and enduring questions raised about human beings and the world. The specific topics to be discussed include the nature of the universe, human knowledge and desire, goodness and morality, the existence of a divine being, human flourishing and freewill, and the nature of philosophy. Students learn about and compose essays on these themes to discover the interconnections among theories of reason, will, and world.


PHIL 2511: Introductory Philosophy of Science
Instructor: TBA

Prereq: 3 credits from Humanities 1600 Series; or permission of the Department
This course explores competing philosophical explanations of scientific theory and practice. Based on historical and contemporary cases, it compares philosophical theories including logical positivism, scientific realism, scientific pluralism, sociology of scientific knowledge, and the most recent critiques from social constructivism and feminism.


PHIL 2611: Introductory Logic
Instructor: TBA

This course introduces the study of logic, examining the basic structure of arguments, common reasoning fallacies, truth tables, and propositional logic. Further topics may include an introduction to quantification theory, syllogistic reasoning, Venn diagrams, Mill's methods, and issues central to inductive and deductive reasoning.


PHIL 2701: Introduction to Ethics
Instructor: Dr. R. Majithia

An introduction to the history and philosophical problems of ethics in the western tradition. This will acquaint the student with a number of received traditions based on metaphysical, religious, rational, and pragmatic grounds, as well as introduce certain fundamental perennial problems of moral decision-making. Prereq: Three credits from Humanities 1600 Series; or permission of the Department.


PHIL 3000: Ancient Philosophy (full year, 6 credits)
Instructor: Dr. R. Majithia

This course examines the philosophical developments in the Ancient era within the thought of the Pre-Socratics, Plato, and Aristotle. Topics may include themes from metaphysics, epistemology, moral and political philosophy and aesthetics. Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department.


PHIL 3721: Environmental Ethics
Instructor: TBA

This course explores the interconnected ethical obligations that we have to other humans, to non-human life, and to the environment, within current ethical frameworks. Topics covered may include: animal welfare, industrial agriculture, the relations of ethical, political, aesthetic and economic value, global hunger, intergenerational and environmental justice, food security, and climate change. [Note 1: Students enrolled in Health Studies, Environmental Science, or Environmental Studies programs who are already doing 3/4000 level work in their own field will be admitted to this course.] Prereq: PHIL 2701; or permission of the Department.


PHIL 4111: Philosophy of Bodies
Instructor: Dr. J. Dryden

This course will explore the ways in which bodies have been included and excluded from Western philosophy. The course will cover issues such as: the perceived hierarchy between mind and body in the history of Western philosophy; the idea of normal vs. abnormal bodies; the connection between our bodies and their environment, including microorganisms; and food politics.  [Note 1: Permission of the Department is required. Note 2: Students may register for PHIL 4111 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.]

PHIL 1601: Plato’s Republic
Instructor: Dr. R. Majithia

Plato's Republic is a seminal text that originates, discusses and unifies important philosophical concerns that are perennially relevant. In addition to giving us an introduction to issues such as the nature of morality, mind, God, reality and knowledge, it provides us with an excellent point of departure for examining how other traditions of the world have originated and discussed these issues in their own contexts. Grounding our wide-ranging examination in the Republic will allow us to examine these issues in a dialogical fashion. More importantly, the use of non-western sources will throw light on some of the central presuppositions and concerns of the western philosophical tradition that are still with us today.


PHIL 2301: Introduction to Feminist Philosophy
Instructor: Dr. J. Dryden

This course provides an overview and introduction to the critique of traditional philosophy undertaken by feminist philosophers who argue that philosophy, along with other human endeavours, is shaped by the prejudices and assumptions of its practitioners. They do not reject philosophy as a discipline but explore new ways of doing philosophy. The aim of this course is to explore these new approaches in order to examine how feminist philosophers have combined the tools and methods of philosophy with their insights and values. Prereq: 3 credits from Humanities 1600 Series; or permission of the Department.


PHIL 3000: Ancient Philosophy (continued from Fall term, full year, 6 credits)
Instructor: Dr. R. Majithia


PHIL 3311: Analytic Philosophy in Progress
Instructor: Dr. R. Majithia

This course is an introduction to contemporary philosophy in response to the twentieth century analytic tradition. We will read thinkers discussing topics in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Topical focus may include experience, meaning, rationality, value, and accounts of the nature and practice of philosophy. Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department.


PHIL 3351: Phenomenology & Existentialism
Instructor: Dr. J. Dryden

This course introduces phenomenology and existentialism from the nineteenth century to the present. Existentialism encompasses a range of philosophies concerned with themes of freedom, anxiety, responsibility, and authentic living. Phenomenology is a philosophical methodology aiming to describe and understand the complex layers of our experience, including how memory, history, and community shape our perceptions. This course may include nineteenth- and twentieth-century authors such as Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Franz Fanon, and other more recent thinkers. Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department.


PHIL 3711: Biomedical Ethics
Instructor: Dr. J. Dryden

This course will examine ethical issues involved in medicine and health and explore assumptions that we tend to make about health, the good life, and human functioning. We will cover a range of ethical theories used in bioethics, such as deontological, utilitarian, virtue, feminist, and disability-centered approaches. Issues covered may include medical assistance in dying, patient autonomy and welfare, medical research practices, and the history of eugenics in Canada. The course may use case studies and usually focuses on the Canadian context. [Note 1: Students enrolled in Health Studies programs who are already doing 3/4000 level work in their own field will be admitted to this course.] Prereq: PHIL 2701; or permission of the Department.


PHIL 4511: Philosophy of Mind
Instructor: Dr. R. Moser

This course is a study of the contemporary philosophical arguments which attempt to resolve the real nature of mental states vis-a-vis the physical states of the brain. The course involves introduction to some basic problems and positions in the philosophy of mind. Here we examine traditional questions such as: What is a conscious mental state? Is it reducible to a physical (i.e. brain/body) state? How should we conceptualize and model mind and thought? What is thinking? Can a machine think? More generally, we critically examine how we should best proceed to resolve these questions, considering especially whether & where the explorations of psychology and the cognitive sciences may be used to take up or abandon philosophical positions. [Note 1: Permission of the Department is required.]