PHIL 100
Introduction to Philosophy: The Examined Life
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course provides an introduction to philosophy through a study of canonical texts pertaining to the topic of the examined life. Course content may include the nature and scope of knowledge, the existence of the self and the concept of the person, the reality of the world that we live in, the good life and the life worth living, or theories of right action. With a particular emphasis on close and careful reading of classic and influential philosophical writings, all students study Plato’s Apology as well as at least one other significant philosophical work in its entirety.

PHIL 103
Asian Philosophies
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course provides an introduction to and survey of Eastern and Asian Philosophies. The course investigates philosophical traditions, including important schools and figures, from the histories of India, China and Japan. This includes a consideration of the Hindu or Brahmanical philosophies of the Vedas and Upanishads, Buddhism (including Indian, Chinese and Japanese developments), Confucianism, and Taoism. Topics include the nature of reality, the nature of suffering and desire, the nature of a good life and good government, enlightenment, moral virtues, sageliness, views of Nature, and Eastern conceptions of the self.

PHIL 125
Analytical Reasoning
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

In this course, students use elementary methods and principles for analyzing reasoning as it occurs in everyday contexts. Topics may include informal fallacies, introduction to scientific method, elementary statistical reasoning, elementary sentential logic, as well as the study of argument in contemporary debates about issues of social concern. Note:This Arts course can also be used to satisfy the general science credit requirement of the Bachelor of Science.

PHIL 200
Metaphysics
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

Metaphysics is the area of philosophy that raises and responds to fundamental questions concerning the nature and structure of reality. In this course, students develop an understanding of metaphysical questions and their significance, as well as critically examine the ways philosophers address these questions and the metaphysical issues associated with them. Topics of study may include appearance and reality, the mind-body problem, metaphysical idealism and realism, freedom and determinism, personal identity, time and space, and universals and particulars.

PHIL 201
Buddhist Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course carries out a sustained philosophical investigation of Buddhist philosophy. This investigation considers the historical development of Buddhist philosophical thought, focusing on its origin, development, and expansion in India. The course considers, with the aim of coming to a philosophical understanding, issues such as Buddhist conceptions of suffering, desire, enlightenment, reality, self, mind, meditation and the ethics of compassion.

PHIL 202
Philosophies of China and Japan
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

Students study the philosophies of China and Japan, focusing on Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. This involves, primarily, a consideration of historical movements, figures and schools, although some contemporary figures may also be included. The discussion of Confucianism centers on Confucian Social and Moral Philosophy and issues such as the nature of a good life and good government, sageliness, and Confucian moral virtues. The discussion of Taoism centers on Taoist Metaphysics and issues such as the nature and meaning of the Tao, the principle of wu-wei or no action, and the Taoist understanding of a life lived in accordance with Nature. The discussion of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism focuses on Ch'an or Zen Buddhism (these are, respectively, Chinese and Japanese analogues), but Hua Yen or Kegon Buddhism, and Tien Tai or Nichiren Buddhism may be considered. Issues here center on the Buddhist Philosophy of Mind, and include the nature of enlightenment, self, and rationality.

PHIL 203
Philosophy of Religion
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course surveys important themes in the philosophy of religion – such as the nature of religious belief, religious truth, religious experience, and religious life – through a close reading of significant texts from key figures in the history of philosophy of religion. Specific issues may include conceptions of God, suffering, sin, faith and reason, religious uses of language, and mystical experience. Students can only receive credit for one of PHIL 203 and PHIL 357.

PHIL 204
Philosophical Writing and Analysis
3 Credits          Weekly (0-0-3)

This writing-focused seminar introduces students to the forms and methods of philosophy through the close reading and study of a selection of philosophical works. Particular emphasis is put on the analysis and composition of philosophical ideas, and students are expected to participate in discussion and writing activities as well as submit a final writing portfolio in place of a final exam. Course readings deal with a variety of styles in philosophical writing, which may include treatise, essay, dialogue, aphorism, confession, correspondence, literature, or film.

Prerequisite: A minimum grade of C- in any 3-credit PHIL or HUMN course.

PHIL 205
Philosophy of Mind
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course surveys major themes in the philosophy of mind throughout the history of philosophy. These themes may include but are not limited to the relationship between mind and body, the immortality of the soul, the nature and reality of the self, and the nature of the human mind as revealed by the nature of human knowledge.

PHIL 210
Symbolic Logic
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course is an introduction to modern symbolic logic, including the basic concepts of justification, argument, deduction, validity and soundness; translation of ordinary language into symbolic form; using sentential and predicate designators, carrying out truth functional analyses for validity and invalidity, testing sets for consistency, using rules of inference and equivalence to prove validity of arguments, and using methods of conditional and indirect proof in sentential and quantified forms. Note: Credit can only be obtained in one of PHIL 210 or PHIL 120. Note:This Arts course can also be used to satisfy the general science credit requirement of the Bachelor of Science.

PHIL 215
Epistemology
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

Epistemology is the area of philosophy that raises and responds to fundamental questions concerning the nature of knowledge. In this course, students closely read at least one classic text in the history of philosophy, and study central topics in the theory of knowledge. These may include the nature of truth, skepticism and the limits of knowledge, the necessary and sufficient conditions of knowledge versus belief, self-knowledge, perception, rationalism and empiricism, and the philosophical pursuit of knowledge.

PHIL 230
Ancient Western Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course provides a survey of ancient philosophy from the Presocratics to the Neoplatonists. Particular emphasis is placed on the works of Plato and Aristotle.

PHIL 232
Islamic Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course carries out a sustained investigation of Islamic philosophy. This investigation considers the historical development of Islamic philosophical thought, beginning with the translation movement of the 9th century. This involves consideration of historical movements, figures and schools, particularly those of the Classical Period (approx. 9th -12th Century C.E.), although some contemporary figures may also be included. This course will focus primarily on Islamic philosophy as distinct from Islamic theology, although debates and points of conflict between the two may be considered. Topics covered may include the existence and nature of God, the relationship between the human soul and body and the eternity of the world.

PHIL 235
Medieval Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course provides a survey of Medieval philosophy from the 4th to the 14th Century C.E. Special attention will be paid to issues that were of philosophical interest to Christian, Jewish, and Muslim medieval philosophers, such as St. Augustine, Moses Maimonides, Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali, and St. Thomas Aquinas.

PHIL 240
Early Modern Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course provides an examination of the philosophies of various thinkers of the early modern period. This period, which spans Western philosophy from the 16th- to 18th-century, includes the immensely influential philosophical systems of Descartes, Hume, and Kant. A selection of texts by some or all of those philosophers appears in this course. Other possible texts of study may include writings by Locke, Leibniz, or lesser-known figures, such as Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia or Anne Conway. The topics covered reflect the great intellectual curiosity and ambitions of the time. Particular emphasis is placed on theories of knowledge and reality.

PHIL 247
Continental Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course provides an introduction to twentieth century continental European philosophy through close reading of some of the century's major philosophers, such as Husserl, Heidegger, Levinas, Derrida, Foucault, and Badiou. Specific topics may include phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction, post-structuralism, and materialist dialectics.

PHIL 248
American Philosophies
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course provides an examination of the philosophies and philosophers emerging out of the Americas from the 19th century to the present. Figures may include Emerson, Thoreau, Peirce, James, Du Bois, Addams, Dewey, Locke, Rorty, Dussel, Anzaldua, and Deloria. Topics to be covered may include American Transcendentalism, Pragmatism, African-American philosophy, Latin-American philosophy, Indigenous philosophy, and neo-Pragmatism.

PHIL 250
Ethics
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course involves an examination of fundamental questions and theoretical answers in the philosophical discipline of ethics. Through a detailed study of important and influential texts in the philosophy of ethics, students develop the ability to understand and critically assess various philosophical systems of thought concerning moral judgements and ethical obligations.

PHIL 265
Philosophy of Science
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course surveys major themes in the philosophy of science throughout the history of philosophy. These themes may include but are not limited to causation and explanation, the scientific method, the relationship between faith and science, and the problem of induction. The course also considers how these major themes illuminate and are illuminated by the history of science itself.

PHIL 270
Social and Political Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course provides an introduction to social and political philosophy. The course poses the following questions: what is the nature of politics; what is the state; what is civil society; what (if any) are citizens' political obligations and rights? Readings are drawn from canonic philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Spinoza, Rousseau, Hegel and Marx.

PHIL 280
Aesthetics
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that studies art, beauty and taste. This course introduces aesthetics through the study of theories of art, aesthetic experience, aesthetic judgement and the role of art in society. Students read classical and contemporary writings in aesthetics and apply them to concrete examples of various media, including visual art, music and literature.

PHIL 291
Existentialism
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course is an introduction to existential philosophy. Through close reading of texts, students study some of the main themes of existential philosophy, such as anxiety, authenticity, bad faith, absurdity, the meaning of human life, and the self as finite and situated self-making. Particular attention is paid to the existential conception of philosophy as a truthful explication of concrete experience rather than the theoretical pursuit of abstract truth. Readings are drawn from the works of major figures in 19th and 20th century existential philosophy, such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus and Marcel.

PHIL 301
Comparative Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

In this topic based course, students study one or more non-Western, particularly Asian, philosophical tradition in comparison with approaches taken in the Western philosophical tradition. Issues for comparison between non-Western and Western philosophies may include methods and aims; the relation between religion and philosophy; views on the nature of reality, truth, the self, morality, justice, suffering, desire, and/or reason.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 303
Studies in Philosophy and Religion
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This topics based course focusses on the intersections of philosophy and religion. Topics may concern the religious philosophies expressed in key works of specific figures (e.g., Plato, Kierkegaard, Joseph Pieper, Simone Weil); a study of philosophical religious literature (e.g., Book of Job, Upanishads); or the philosophical investigation of specific religious themes (e.g., the human in relation to the divine, the relation of reason and faith, conceptions of the soul). The specific topic is chosen by the Instructor. Note: Students may take this course up to three times, provided that the topic is different.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL.

PHIL 305
Studies in the Self
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

In this course, students study the nature of the Self, drawing on one or more philosophical perspectives. The topic(s) of any particular section may vary. Possible topics include personal identity, the reality of the self, the soul, subjectivity, knowledge of self and others, and freedom and the will. Each section of this course requires that students produce a research essay that incorporates scholarly sources other than the course readings. This course may be taken up to three times, provided the course topic is different.

Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 330
Plato
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

With a view to both theoretical and moral issues, this course engages in a focused study of Plato and his philosophy. Students will engage in close readings of some of Plato's writings and will evaluate secondary literature on Plato. Some consideration may also be given to Academic Platonism and neo-Platonism.

Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 331
Philosophy of Love
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course engages in a philosophical investigation of love. Through a study of classic works of philosophy, students examine the experience of love, the meaning of love, the value of love, and philosophy's relationship to love. Special attention will be paid to Plato's theory of love as it is expressed in the Symposium.

Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 333
Philosophy of Sex and Sexuality
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course examines the philosophy of sex and sexuality.  This course may examine classic or contemporary works, while providing a close reading of at least 3 primary texts in the area. Topics may include gender and oppression, sexual difference, the metaphysics of desire, the legitimacy of consent, the politics of sexual relations/interactions, sexuality and embodiment, the morality of seduction, genealogy and sexuality, and the character of heteronormativity and ‘perversion'.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 337
Studies in Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This topics-based course focuses on the intersections of philosophy and one or more of the Abrahamic Faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). Topics may fall under either the philosophical theology or the philosophy, religious or otherwise, of a thinker from any of these traditions. The specific topic is chosen by the Instructor. Topics may include Josef Pieper's understanding of the Christian theological virtues, Al-Ghazali’s occasionalism, or Moses Maimonides’s proof for the existence of God. Note: Students may take this course up to three times, provided that the topic is different.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL.

PHIL 341
Studies in Early Modern Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

In this course on early modern philosophy, students will study particular developments and discussions of philosophical ideas through close study of writings by early modern philosophers such as Berkeley, Conway, Descartes, Princess Elisabeth, Leibniz, Locke, Malebranche, and Spinoza. These philosophers wrote on a range of topics from the reality of bodies to the physiology of human bodies, the freedom of God to the necessity of certain truths, the existence of evil to the happiness of the soul, and much more, and they did so in a variety of formats, including dialogue, meditation, notebook, essay, and correspondence. Students in this course will engage with a selection of topics and texts from this period as well as with contemporary scholarly articles about them. The specific readings will vary depending on the particular focus of each offering of the course.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 355
Studies in the Philosophy of Nature
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

In this course, students philosophically examine a specific topic relating to Nature. Topics may include: concepts of Nature; conceptions of what it is to live in accordance with Nature; approaches to Nature in religion; naturalistic approaches in philosophy; natural law; philosophical theories of human nature; environmental ethics; and aesthetics of the environment. The specific topic is chosen by the Instructor. Note: Students may take this course up to three times, provided that the topic is different.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits in 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 360
Death and Dying
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course offers a philosophical examination of the nature and significance of death. This includes detailed analysis and critical discussion of such topics as: what death is, emotional attitudes toward death, the badness of death, the value of life, immortality, personal identity, and suicide.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in any 200-level PHIL course.

PHIL 365
Studies in the Philosophy of Science
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

In this course, students study a topic(s) in the philosophy of science. The specific topic(s) is chosen by the instructor. Possible topics include realism vs antirealism about scientific theories, the scientific method, feminist critiques of science, scientific reduction and the relationship between physics and the special sciences, and topics in the philosophy of physics or the special sciences, such as different interpretations of quantum mechanics or the modern synthesis in evolutionary biology. Note: Students may take this course up to three times, provided that the topic is different.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 370
Studies in Political Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

In this course, students study a topic in political philosophy.  The topic for any particular section varies.  Possible topics include: liberalism, Plato, Aristotle, and St. Thomas Aquinas.  Each section of this course requires that students produce a research essay that incorporates sources other than the course readings.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits in 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 381
Philosophy as Literature
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

In this course, students study works of philosophy as pieces of literature. Serving as a practical introduction to an hermeneutical approach to philosophy and to philosophical scholarship, students consider how literary features, which might otherwise appear to be extraneous to philosophical content, affect the philosophical meaning of texts. Each section of this course requires that students produce a research essay that incorporates scholarly sources other than the course readings.

Prerequisites: Minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 383
Philosophy of Film
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course offers a philosophical examination of film.  Conceiving of film as a form or expression of thought, the class will engage films philosophically, reading them as one would a philosophical text. In this class we will think through, along with, and/or against films, to make sense of them, to learn from them, and to further expand the practice, study and teaching of philosophy into new regions through an engagement with film.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 3 credits of 200-level PHIL courses.

PHIL 386
Philosophy and Health Care
3 Credits          Weekly (3-0-0)

This course is an introduction to central issues in bioethics with a specific emphasis on practice of health care. Though students may briefly examine classical moral theories and principles, the bulk of the course examines contemporary discussions and issues in bioethics. The emphasis of the course is on ethical reasoning and moral deliberation involving issues in health care. Topics may include patient autonomy and confidentiality, advanced directives, allocation of medical resources, health care advocacy, integrity, and issues pertaining to disability and end-of-life care. Students may also be introduced to major ethical theories and moral principles. Readings may include case studies, legal cases, scholarly articles and classical sources.

PHIL 398
Independent Study
3 Credits          Total (0-0-45)

This course permits an intermediate-level student to work with an instructor to explore a specific topic in depth through research or directed reading in primary and secondary sources. The student plans, executes and reports the results of their independent research or study project under the direction of a faculty supervisor. To be granted enrollment in the course, the student must have made prior arrangements with a faculty member willing to supervise his or her project. This course can be taken twice for credit.

PHIL 401
Senior Seminar
3 Credits          Weekly (0-0-3)

In this seminar course, students study the nature, methods, and aims of philosophy, make seminar presentations, and write a major research essay. This course is open only to Philosophy majors. Note: Students are advised to enrol in this course in the final winter term of their studies.

Prerequisites: Successful completion of 30 credits of senior PHIL courses.

PHIL 402
Topics in the History of Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (0-0-3)

This seminar course deals with a major figure, issue, or specific period in the history of philosophy. There is a major essay requirement and, in addition to regular seminar participation, students make presentations. The topic of any given section of this course is selected by the instructor. This course may be taken up to three times, provided the course topic is different.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level PHIL, with at least 3 of those credits at the 300-level.

PHIL 403
Topics in Moral Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (0-0-3)

In this seminar course, students study a topic in moral philosophy broadly construed. The specific topic of each section focuses on a significant philosopher, theme, or problem in ethical theory, applied ethics, meta-ethics, political philosophy, or social philosophy. There is a major essay requirement and, in addition to regular seminar participation, students make presentations. The topic in any given semester is selected by the instructor. This course may be taken up to three times, provided the course topic is different.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level PHIL, with a least 3 of those credits at the 300-level.

PHIL 404
Topics in Asian Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (0-0-3)

Students study a topic in depth within Asian Philosophy. The specific topic focuses on a significant philosopher or philosophers, text, school, theme or issue within one or more of the traditions of Asian Philosophy, including Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Taoism. There is a major essay requirement and, in addition to regular seminar participation, students make presentations. The topic in any given year is selected by the instructor. This course may be taken up to three times, provided the course topic is different.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level PHIL, with a least 3 of those credits at the 300-level.

PHIL 405
Topics in Contemporary Philosophy
3 Credits          Weekly (0-0-3)

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in 9 credits of 200- or 300-level PHIL, with a least 3 of those credits at the 300-level.

PHIL 498
Advanced Independent Study
3 Credits          Total (0-0-45)

This course permits a senior-level student to work with an instructor to explore a specific topic in depth through research or directed reading in primary and secondary sources. The student plans, executes and reports the results of their independent research or study project under the direction of a faculty supervisor. To be granted enrollment in the course, the student must have made prior arrangements with a faculty member willing to supervise his or her project. This course can be taken twice for credit.