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2000 Level Courses

Courses may not be available during a specific term.

AP/PHIL2010 3.0A ORIGINS OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY

An examination of the origin and early development of western philosophy. The works of the first philosophers, the PreSocratic, will be introduced and contextualized, providing an indispensable background to Plato and Aristotle, and the continuing development of philosophy.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2010 3.00.

AP/PHIL2015 3.0M PLATO & ARISTOTLE

Plato and Aristotle are two of the pillars of philosophy. This course will introduce students to some of their most influential theses and works with a special emphasis on Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Students will also be introduced to the question of how and why their two opposite approaches to philosophy, rationalism and empiricism, still divide philosophers today.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusion: AS/PHIL 2015 3.00.

AP/PHIL2020 3.0A DESCARTES, SPINOZA & LEIBNIZ

This course is an introduction to the philosophical thought of the three most important rationalist philosophers of the seventeenth century: Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz. We will examine and discuss their attempted solutions to the following problems of metaphysics and epistemology: innatism, the foundations of knowledge, skepticism, the existence and nature of God, the relation between the human mind and the mind of God, the nature of animal minds, reason and emotion, and the mindbody problem.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusion: AS/PHIL 2020 3.00.

AP/PHIL2025 3.0M LOCKE, BERKELEY & HUME

This course is an introduction to the philosophical thought of the three most important empiricists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries: John Locke (16321704), Bishop George Berkeley (16851753), and David Hume (17111776). We will examine, discuss and criticize their attempted solutions to the following topics in metaphysics and epistemology: our knowledge of the external world, the limits of perception, skepticism, idealism, our knowledge of other minds, innate ideas, the nature of self and selfconsciousness, the concept of person, personal identity, and the existence and nature of God.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2025 3.00.

AP/PHIL2040 3.0A Introduction to Islamic Philosophy

This course is an introduction to some of the key figures, seminal texts, and main themes of Islamic philosophy in the classical period. Developing in the late ninth century C.E. and evolving without interruption into the fourteenth century, this body of thought was concerned with such questions as the nature of the good life, the best form of government, the means of justifying our knowledge, the relation between reason and faith, the possibility of miracles, and the nature of prophecy. Philosophers in the Islamic world were influenced by ancient Greek philosophical works and they were instrumental in the revival of the philosophical tradition in Europe.

AP/PHIL2050 6.0A PHILOSOPHY OF LAW

The course is divided into four parts.

First, we will critically examine several general theories about the nature of law. We will adopt a dynamic relational approach, and investigate the nature of law's relations to morality, coercion, social and economic norms, culture, and gender divisions.

Second, we will look at the relation between law and individual liberty. Here we will ask under what conditions, if any, is the law justified in enforcing morality as such. We will also critically examine the justification of limits on individual liberty in the context of recent antiterrorism laws and policies.

Third, we will consider the nature of criminal responsibility, at both a theoretical and practical level.

Fourth, we will employ the theories of law introduced in the first part of the course in the context of international law. In each part of the course we will consider important cases, in Canadian law and elsewhere, which illustrate philosophical questions as they arise in practice.

Prior TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/PHIL 3530 6.00 (prior to Summer 2007), AK/AS/PHIL 2050 6.00.

AP/PHIL2060 3.0A SOCIAL & POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

This course will examine some of conceptual foundations of Western social and political philosophy. We will undertake our study through an examination of the primary texts of such thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes, Locke, Mill, and Marx.

We will pay particular attention to the views about human nature, the social contract, social justice and its foundations, and the nature and origins of inequality. Towards the end of the course will be devoted to some contemporary writings on various political and social issues, both to present what are important criticisms of the classical texts and to understand some key debates in our times.

Requirements

First Test . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 %
Paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 %
Tutorial Participation . . . 10%
Final exam . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 %

Prior TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2060 3.00, AK/PHIL 2440 3.00.

AP/PHIL2070 3.0A INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS

A basic introduction both to the major ethical theories in Western thought and to some basic metaethical questions concerning the possibility of moral truth.

Prior TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2070 3.00, AK/MODR 1760 6.00, and AS/PHIL 2071 3.00 (prior to Summer 2006).

AP/PHIL2070 3.0M INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS

A basic introduction both to the major ethical theories in Western thought and to some basic metaethical questions concerning the possibility of moral truth.

Prior TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2070 3.00, AK/MODR 1760 6.00, and AS/PHIL 2071 3.00 (prior to Summer 2006).

AP/PHIL2075 3.0M INTRODUCTION TO APPLIED ETHICS

An introduction to ethics focusing on the application of ethical theories to controversial public issues such as abortion, affirmative action and euthanasia, among others.

Prior TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2075 3.00, AS/PHIL 2071 3.00 (prior to Summer 2006).

AP/PHIL2077 3.0A INTRODUCTION TO BIOETHICS

The aim of this course is to explore the philosophical dimensions of bioethics. Bioethics can be understood as the branch of applied ethics that investigates and proposes practical responses to moral problems that arise in medical practice and in the development, use and distribution of resources in the health care system.

These problems can arise at the micro level between individuals or at the macro level between health care institutions and society. The ethical problems we will examine include approaches to care and the distribution of treatments (e.g., substitute decisionmaking for mentally incapable persons and criteria for allocating scarce medical resources across society, patient selection for lifesaving medical resources), the spheres of authority of physicians, patients and other health care professionals and the limitations of acceptable intervention and medical experimentation (e.g., decisions to forgo or terminate life-sustaining treatment, assisted reproduction, abortion, euthanasia and physician assisted suicide).

These are challenging problems. Consider a case in which we have one transplantable organ and five patients whose lives could be saved with it. On what ethical basis do we decide which patient will be saved when not can be saved? What about terminally ill patients who want to choose their own time to die painlessly with the assistance of a physician? Do physicians have an ethical obligation to assist in these cases?

In relating theory to practice, we will also examine the conceptual foundations of bioethics and their relevance to the different approaches to bioethical reasoning as well as selected case studies.

Prior TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusion: AK/PHIL 3774 3.00.

AP/PHIL2080 3.0M PERCEPTION, KNOWLEDGE & CAUSALITY

An introduction to philosophical discussion about what exists, and how the most basic things interact with each other (the subject of metaphysics), and what we can truly know about such things (the subject of epistemology).

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2080 3.00.

AP/PHIL2090 3.0M PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

Does God exist? Can religious belief be explained away? What is the relationship between faith and reason? Through a selection of classic readings, this course provides a survey of some central topics in the philosophy of religion.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2090 3.00.

AP/PHIL2100 3.0M INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC

This course will introduce students to the basics of formal logic. Students will develop skills in sentential and quantificational logic, and they will be required to apply those skills in order to understand and prove validity in formal arguments.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/PHIL 2100 3.00 (prior to Summer 2007), AS/PHIL 2100 3.00.

AP/PHIL2110 3.0A Revolutions in Science

Scientific revolutions can implicate changes outside science, e.g., in interpreting religious text, or abandoning creationism. An introduction to puzzling philosophical issues concerning changes in knowledge, scientific method, facts, progress, intellectual legitimacy, and implied values, even beyond communities of scientists.

AP/PHIL2120 3.0A INTRODUCTION TO EXISTENTIALISM

An introduction to some central themes of existentialism such as the individual, being, the absurd, freedom, moral choice. These themes are explored in the work of philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Camus, Sartre, de Beauvoir.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/PHIL 2120 3.00, AS/PHIL 2120 3.00.

AP/PHIL2130 3.0 M PHILOSOPHY OF ART & LITERATURE

This course, which emphasizes the visual arts more than literature, presents both as historical traditions. A painting or a book or a film, like a piece of furniture, is constructed. But unlike a merely useful or decorative or object, it rarely has a single specified purpose.

It offers entertainment, diversion, delight, beauty, awe, etc. It can be studied, criticized, and appraised. Problems in the philosophy of art arise in connection with both the making of such works and with their critical appreciation.

Some of the basic problems tackled are: What is involved in the creation of a work of art? How has the category of “art” changed over time? Are aesthetic judgments objective, or are they subjective matters of taste and feeling? Is it possible to have standards of criticism? Is art a “language of the emotions?” What is meaning and truth in art?

Requirements

Test 15%
Essay 1 25%
Essay 2 35 %
Examination 25%

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2130 3.00.

AP/PHIL2160 3.0M MINDS, BRAINS & MACHINES

 

This course is an introduction to the philosophy of cognitive science. Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary study of human cognition, from perspectives of neuroscience, animal cognition, child development, social psychology, computer science, anthropology, and others.

In this class we will examine questions including: What is artificial intelligence? Is it possible that we will someday build computers that think? Does language affect thought? Do we think in language or pictures? How is conscious experience related to the brain?

AP/PHIL2170 3.0M FREEDOM, DETERMINISM & RESPONSIBILITY

Course Director:TBA
Day: Tuesday & Thursday
Time: 5:30 - 7:30

An investigation of different concepts of freedom, and how they relate to arguments for free will and determinism, the adjudication of people's responsibility for their actions, the justification of punishment and some related moral problems.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/PHIL 2170 3.00, AS/PHIL 2170 3.00.

AP/PHIL2200 3.0A CRITICAL REASONING

A systematic study of practical argument, formal and informal fallacies, and the relationship between arguing well and winning an argument. Methods of identifying and undermining specious arguments will be explored as well as the question of when argument becomes propaganda.

COURSE CREDIT EXCLUSION: AP/MODR 1770 6.0

AP/PHIL2200 3.0M CRITICAL REASONING

A systematic study of practical argument, formal and informal fallacies, and the relationship between arguing well and winning an argument. Methods of identifying and undermining specious arguments will be explored as well as the question of when argument becomes propaganda.

COURSE CREDIT EXCLUSION: AP/MODR 1770 6.0

AP/PHIL2240 3.0A INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF MIND

How does the mental relate to the physical? In this introduction to metaphysical theories about the relationship between the mind and the body we examine Descartes' mindbody dualism as well as several 20th century theories including behaviourism, identity theory, functionalism, instrumentalism, eliminative, and emergentism.Course Director:

AP/PHIL2250 3.0M PHILOSOPHY OF GENDER & SEXUALITY

Gender plays a crucial role in the way society is structured. Perhaps more than any other quality, an individual's gender identification dictates the role she or he will play in the culture. Numerous institutions including marriage, family, sexism, homosexuality and a host of others depend for their very existence on the concept of gender, and, in particular, on understanding it as a bipolar phenomenon. That is, these and other icons of our culture declare that there are two genders, that nothing falls in between, and the rules and constraints for each gender are already laid out.

In this course we will explore the nature of gender. First, by attempting to define it; secondly, by examining the role it plays in contemporary society; and thirdly, by examining the moral and ethical issues surrounding it. Readings from feminist, gay and transgender authors will raise questions regarding the assumptions and legitimacy of our preconceived notions.

Prior TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2250 3.00.

AP/PHIL2420 3.0M HUMAN NATURE

An introduction to philosophy focusing upon traditional and contemporary views of human nature. The course focuses on the question of whether we are basically good or evil, rational or irrational, free or unfree, altruistic or egoistic.

PRIOR TO FALL 2009: Course credit exclusions: AK/AS/PHIL 2420 3.00.

AP/PHIL2500 3.0M GENDER, POWER AND OPPRESSION: INTRODUCTION TO FEMINIST PHILOSOPHY

This course takes up the topics, questions and debates that have shaped the development of feminist philosophy, and which have been changed by feminist philosophy, in turn. Topics include rationality, knowledge and emotion, personal identity, mind and body, political power and oppression, the nature and origin of moral values and the roles of sameness and difference in political equality.