2024-25
PHIL 203
Science and Society
FALL - IN PERSON
Mark Smith
This course will focus on some centrally important themes in the philosophy of science, and on how science and broader social concerns and problems interconnect. We will address such topics as: the supposed fact/value dichotomy, the ideal of objectivity and what it means, the notion of expertise in science and in other matters, connections between science and social policy, and the important concept of trust. The aim is to prepare students for a more critical and informed appraisal of scientific information and its relevance to vital social issues.
Texts/Readings: All available electronically via onQ site
Assessment: Some combination of argument/media analyses, short paper, and final paper; details TBA
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 204
Life, Death and Meaning
FALL - IN PERSON
Alisha Sharma
An examination of whether life has 'meaning', and a consideration of different philosophical interpretations of the meaning of life, the significance of death for the meaning of life, and whether it even makes sense to speak of life as having meaning.
Learning Hours: Learning hours may vary
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 224
Africana Philosophy I
Winter - IN PERSON
Dalitso Ruwe
This class will present readings that identify and name coherent intellectual traditions that began in the early 1800’s and are still exemplified in the writings of Africana thinkers today. This class will not be merely an articulation of ideas communicated to the world by Black thinkers; rather this class will identify and explore the tensions between the Americanist and Pan-African/Africanist traditions that have shaped Black Intellectual History.
Texts/Readings: Will be provided to students.
Assessment: Two short exams each worth 25 percent of the grade and a final research paper worth 50 percent.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 233
Greek Philosophy
FALL - IN PERSON
Daryn Lehoux
This course will survey central works of Ancient Greek Philosophy from Thales and the other Pre-Socratics through the seminal works of Plato and Aristotle, and may include examples of later works by Post-Hellenic Philosophers including Plotinus, the Stoics, and the Skeptics.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL. Exclusion No more than 1 course from PHIL232; PHIL233.
Course Equivalencies: PHIL232B; PHIL233
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 242
History of Moral Philosophy
Winter - IN PERSON
David Bakhurst
Using diverse historical and contemporary sources we will explore a range of theoretical questions about the nature of ethical judgements, moral reasons and moral principles, virtues and vices. The theories under consideration will include Utilitarianism, Kantianism, relativism, non-cognitivism, moral realism and ethical particularism. Among the questions we shall consider are: Can we expect moral philosophers to provide theories that offer procedures to determine how we should live and what we should do? Or should moral philosophy be confined to the exploration of metaethical questions about the nature of moral concepts?
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 243
History of Political Philosophy
FALL - IN PERSON
Meena Krishnamurthy
This class will immerse students in the history of political philosophy. It
may focus on traditional canonical issues (such as how to justify political authority, or particular forms governments or societal structures) and/or the ideas of thinkers who argue for radical political change (such as the abolitionists, suffragists, anti-colonialists or civil-rights activists). A connective thread will be the question of canon construction: what gets included in, or excluded from the political philosophy canon, and why?
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 246
Normative Ethics
FALL - IN PERSON
Kerah Gordon-Solmon
This course will explore central themes in late-20th- and 21st-century normative ethics. Possible topics include moral theory and anti-theory, conceptions of rights, conceptions of wronging, the doctrines of double effect and doing and allowing, aggregation, the scope of our duty to aid, and nonidentity and its permutations.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 247
Practical Ethics
FALL - IN PERSON
Meena Krishnamurthy
"Practical ethics” concerns the question of how to put our ethical obligations into practice. To answer this question, we must not only engage in philosophical theorizing - to determine the nature of our ethical obligations - but we must also engage in empirical analysis - to determine how we can effectively satisfy these obligations. In this class, we will be especially concerned with practical ethics as it relates to global economic inequality. Our primary focus will be on the moral question of whether we should help the global poor. We will also consider whether we can, in fact, help the global poor. We will consider research in philosophy, history, development economics, political science, and social psychology. The goal of this class is to give students concrete information that they can use to determine how they should think about and react to the moral problem of global poverty.
Texts/Readings: Among other things, we will read articles by Peter Singer, Richard Miller, Martha Nussbaum, Sunstein and Thaler, and Sendhil Mullainathan.
Assessment: Daily discussion questions, 2 writing assignments
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 251
Metaphysics
FALL - IN PERSON
Josh Mozersky
Metaphysics is the attempt to uncover the most general structure of reality. This course is an introduction to metaphysical topics such as the nature of time and space, universals vs. particulars, possibility and necessity, and the nature of causation. These issues will be examined from both historical and contemporary perspectives; ways in which the purview of metaphysics has expanded over time will emerge.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 252
Epistemology
FALL - IN PERSON
Jon Miller
This course will offer an historical introduction to epistemology. It will specifically focus on ancient philosophy, where it will examine works from Plato, Aristotle and the Hellenistic philosophers. Students who take this course will have the opportunity to study some of the most important philosophical texts ever written. They will also be encouraged to begin developing their own answers to the questions that they will find being addressed by the Greeks.
Texts: TBA
Assessments: TBA
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 256
Existentialism
WINTER - IN PERSON
Lisa Guenther
Representative figures from Kierkegaard to de Beauvoir will be the focus of attention in this overview of the main ideas of existentialism, a vital movement in contemporary philosophy. The foundations of existential thought, its distinctive style of argumentation and its relationship to the perennial concerns of philosophy will be explored.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 259
Critical Thinking
FALL - ONLINE
Nancy Salay
A discussion of the general principles of reasonable discourse, with a focus on persuasive and cogent writing.
NOTE Also offered online. Consult Arts and Science Online. Learning Hours may vary.
NOTE Also offered at the Bader International Studies Centre, Herstmonceux. Learning Hours may vary.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: excl 3 units fr PHIL158;259
Course Equivalencies: PHIL158; PHIL259
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 260
Introduction to Logic
FALL - IN PERSON
Catherine Stinson
When we uncover the formal structure of our thoughts and utterances, we gain a deeper understanding of what we think and say. When we study the formal structures themselves, we learn something of the processes underlying cognitive activity in general.
Learning Hours: 120 (24 Lecture, 12 Group Learning, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 266
Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic
Winter - IN PERSON
Josh Mozersky
Will the future resemble the past? How should we decide what to do? Can groups make rational decisions? What is the best way to draw conclusions about the unknown? Are we living in a computer simulation?
These questions have two things in common. First, their solutions continue to evade philosophers and others who have thought about them. Secondly, their answers depend on probabilistic and inductive reasoning.
This course introduces the basic concepts, tools, and techniques of probability and inductive logic so that students will be equipped to reflect thoughtfully and precisely on these and related questions.
Topics to be covered include: the calculation of probabilities; the uses of probability in decision-making; paradoxes of decision; the nature of probability; uncertainty and risk; the relationship between probability and statistics; the philosophical problem of induction; the new riddle of induction; anthropic reasoning and the simulation hypothesis.
No prior familiarity with probability is assumed and any necessary mathematical tools will be introduced to students.
No prior familiarity with philosophy is assumed and students from other departments are warmly welcomed.
Learning Hours: 120 (24 Lecture, 12 Group Learning, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 270
Minds and Machines
Winter - IN PERSON
Nancy Salay
A survey of the contribution of philosophy to the cognitive sciences. The focus will be on providing a synthesis of the different perspectives brought by each of the disciplines, in particular, cognitive psychology, computer science, neurophysics, and linguistics, through an investigation of how the various approaches ultimately frame and answer our questions about the mind.
NOTE Each week, students will be assigned a number of articles or chapters for reading and will be expected to be able to discuss the readings in class.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Course Equivalencies: PHIL270; PHIL170
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 275
Thinking Gender, Sex and Love
Fall - IN PERSON
Jacqueline Davies
What is at stake in how we think about gender, sex, and love? How do these concepts inform each other? What else defines them? Using classic and contemporary philosophical texts we examine presuppositions and alternative possibilities. Old and new insights are explored. Emphasis is on careful reading and critical thinking skills.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
PHIL 296
Animals and Society
Winter - IN PERSON
Post-doc
This course introduces students to historical and contemporary debates regarding the treatment of nonhuman animals within Western societies, and explores our ethical responsibilities toward them. The course examines a range of human-animal relations, involving domesticated, working, research subjects and wild animals.
Learning Hours: 120 (36 Lecture, 84 Private Study)
Requirements: Prerequisite Level 2 or above or completed 6.0 units in PHIL.
Offering Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Science
2023-24
PHIL 203
Science and Society
WINTER – IN PERSON
In this course we will be looking at science as a set of social activities. We will study practices, organizations and institutions of science and scientized disciplines. As the course goes on, we’ll be able to connect the society within science with the science in society.
We’ll be reading some recent classics, each of which will provide examples useful to think with.
PHIL 204
Life Death & Meaning
Fall – IN PERSON
In this class, we will be discussing one of the most debated topics of philosophical thought: the meaning of life and death. Most of us, at a certain—often decisive—moment in our lives will be faced with deep existential questions: What should I feel, think, or do regarding the assured future of my own death? Is life worth living? Does my life have a meaning? If not, can I do something to give my life meaning? Is that even possible? What does ‘the meaning of life’ mean, anyway? Unsurprisingly, these questions have been the object of intense philosophical reflection and debate since ancient times. Moreover, being such a universal and pressing topic, not only in philosophy but also in the religious and artistic expressions of the human mind has made of this subject, such questions of life, death and meaning have been principal themes through history across all cultures and epochs.
Therefore, although our main lens in this course will be that of modern Western philosophy, we will examine religious, artistic, musical, and literary works to better understand the meaning of life and the role of death in it. We will learn about the ideas of Epicurus, Lucretius, Hegel, Feuerbach, and Zizek on death while considering paintings like Jacques Louis David’s The Death of Socrates and The Death of Marat. We will discuss biblical passages and other religious texts and practices addressing death. We will examine Tolstoy’s classic short novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking movie Memento. We will read Hume’s, Kant’s, and Marx’s writings about death and suicide. We will listen to and analyze musical works like Chopin’s famous Funeral March of his Piano Sonata No. 2 and the song La vida sigue igual by the Spanish singer Julio Iglesias. You will be introduced to the Soviet philosopher Evald Ilyenkov’s ideas on the meaning of human life. Finally, we will reflect on what it means to live a meaningful life by examining fictional works like the movies Fight Club and Into the Wild, and the manga (graphic novel) Berserk.
PHIL 206
Philosophy in Science Fiction
FALL – IN PERSON
This is an introduction to topics in philosophy through accessible science fiction stories about robots, alien intelligences, future technologies, mad scientists, dystopias, and virtual realities. Topics will span philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, bioethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. Each topic will be approached through text (short story, novel, graphic novel) and visual media (film, TV show, music video), and connect to discussion of real-world issues. Course materials will include a mix of science fiction classics, popular contemporary fare, and works that challenge the genre’s boundaries.
Texts/Readings:
Annalee Newitz, Autonomous
Nnedi Okorafor, Binti: Home
Rivers Solomon, The Deep
The final book list will be announced in September.
Assessment:
2 essays, 1 creative group project, weekly quizzes or final exam.
PHIL 233
Greek Philosophy
WINTER – IN PERSON
This course will survey central works of Ancient Greek Philosophy from Thales and the other Pre-Socratics through the seminal works of Plato and Aristotle, and may include examples of later works by Post-Hellenic Philosophers including Plotinus, the Stoics, and the Skeptics.
PHIL 247
Practical Ethics
FALL – IN PERSON
"Practical ethics” concerns the question of how to put our ethical obligations into practice. To answer this question, we must not only engage in philosophical theorizing - to determine the nature of our ethical obligations - but we must also engage in empirical analysis - to determine how we can effectively satisfy these obligations. In this class, we will be especially concerned with practical ethics as it relates to global economic inequality. Our primary focus will be on the moral question of whether we should help the global poor. We will also consider whether we can, in fact, help the global poor. We will consider research in philosophy, history, development economics, political science, and social psychology. The goal of this class is to give students concrete information that they can use to determine how they should think about and react to the moral problem of global poverty.
Texts/Readings: Among other things, we will read articles by Peter Singer, Richard Miller, Martha Nussbaum, Sunstein and Thaler, and Sendhil Mullainathan.
Assessment: Daily discussion questions, 2 writing assignments
PHIL 250
Epistemology and Metaphysics
FALL/WINTER – IN PERSON
Metaphysics is the attempt to uncover the most general structure of reality, in other words, how everything that exists hangs together. Throughout most of its history, philosophy has been centred on metaphysics. Why? Because philosophy is, in large part, the attempt to understand ourselves, and it is hard to see how we can understand our own nature without understanding the basic structure of the surroundings that contain and formed us.
There is, however, a problem. The method of metaphysics is rational reflection, i.e., thinking carefully and rigorously about reality as a whole. This raises a concern: how can even the most careful and logical thinking inform us about the nature of the non-mental world? Won’t it simply tell us about the structure of thought itself, perhaps even only our own thoughts? How, in other words, can the mind reach beyond its own activities to reveal the nature of mind-independent reality, no matter how careful and rigorous its reasoning?
This is a puzzle that lies at the heart of metaphysics, which philosophers have sought to address for millennia. In the Western philosophical tradition, the discussion has centered on the relationship between reason and reality, with different philosophers proposing different theories to explain how the latter might, or might not, be accessible to the former. Philosophical paradoxes figure prominently in such work because they are places where the rational understanding of reality appears to break down, so they offer opportunities to try out new ways of reasoning that might better capture the world’s structure.
We will explore the relationship between reason and reality by examining various aspects of the world that seem to elude our understanding, including: the nature of time, space, objects, properties, causation, and necessity. We finish with one of the oldest metaphysical questions: why does the world exist? These questions will be examined from both historical and contemporary perspectives.
PHIL 256
Existentialism
FALL – IN PERSON
What is the meaning of human existence? This question feels especially pressing in the midst of a global pandemic that has disrupted our everyday lives and unsettled many of our assumptions about the world, other people, and ourselves. It is also the core question of Existentialism, a philosophical movement that emerged in France during the Second World War. In this course, we will study four philosophers who contributed to this movement: Camus, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Fanon, beginning with Camus’ absurdist novel, The Plague, and ending with Fanon’s reflections on colonial violence and mental illness.
Existentialism is more than a theory; it’s a practice of radical freedom and responsibility. Inspired by Nietzsche’s perspectivism and by the phenomenological tradition, existentialism takes the concrete experience of individual consciousness as the starting point for philosophy. Many existentialists hold that the world, in itself, is meaningless and absurd; there is no God and no universal measure of right and wrong, good and evil. In the absence of objective standards for knowledge and ethics, individuals must choose or create their own meaning, accepting full responsibility for the implications of their choices. This includes the responsibility to affirm and support the freedom of others; to do otherwise would be “bad faith,” or a refusal to affirm the radical freedom of all human beings. Ultimately, the practice of individual freedom demands a struggle for collective liberation from oppressive structures such as sexism, racism, colonialism, and economic inequality, which block the full expression of existential freedom and responsibility.
Two Essays (40% each)
Discussion Board Participation (20%)
PHIL 257
Ethics
FALL/WINTER – IN PERSON
The first half of this course will survey the ideas of historical thinkers who argue for radical political change. We will read work by Abolitionists, Suffragists, Anti-colonialists, and Civil Rights Activists. We focus on these thinkers because, for the most part, they are often either under examined or completely ignored by philosophers and hence are ripe for the attention of curious minds! We will consider the ideas that are offered in light of recent revolutionary movements including the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Lives Matter Protests, and the Wet’suwet’en Resistance to the Coastal GasLink Pipeline.
Texts/Readings: Selections from Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Jacobs, Emmaline Pankhurst, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and Audre Lorde, among others.
Assessment: Weekly reading quizzes/discussion questions, 2-3 short papers.
PHIL 259
Critical Thinking
FALL – ASO
In this class you will learn how to think critically; you will learn how to evaluate arguments, claims, and beliefs as well as how to make solid arguments of your own. You will learn how to think clearly, a powerful skill indeed.
To help with this, one of the four modules for the term is an introduction to the basics of sentential logic. This will involve some technical work, but nothing that even those who fear, probably incorrectly, that they are ‘bad at math’ couldn’t handle.
Since the complement to thinking clearly is writing clearly, this critical thinking course also includes a writing component. Many of the assignments require short essay or paragraph-style answers that will be marked on content, grammar, and style. By the end of the course, you will be writing 500-750-word critiques.
Texts/Readings: Moore, B. N. & Parker, R. 2021. Critical Thinking, 13th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill
OR Moore, B. N. & Parker, R. 2016. Critical Thinking, 12th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill
Assessment:
Three Assignments (12% each – 36%): Short answer, essay, argument evaluation
One Blog Argument (12%): Posted
One Blog Critique (12%): Posted
One Final Exam (40%): Scheduled. Short answer, essay, argument evaluation, possibly some multiple choice.
PHIL 260
Introduction to Logic
FALL – IN PERSON
In this course, we attempt to understand two things :
(1) various ways of assessing the goodness (or badness) of reasoning;
and, perhaps even more importantly,
(2) the logical structures underlying natural language sentences.
(2) deals with understanding sentences : the part of this course intended to develop these skills is known as symbolization (from English into Logikese), and translation (from Logikese into English). This is how the study of logic, as I approach it with a grounding in theoretical linguistics, increases the clear-mindedness of our thoughts and their accurate expression. (Many students over the years have reported that studying logic has greatly improved their writing skills.)
(1) deals with understanding arguments : what conclusion follows from which hypotheses, what claim ensues from other claims, what statement can be derived from other statements, what the consequence is of a certain set of premises, what new information can be inferred from prior information, and correspondingly, what fails to follow, what does not ensue, what should not be derived, what is only mistakenly taken as a consequence of and merely falsely inferred. This is how the study of logic, as I approach it with a heavy emphasis on natural deduction (to show validity) and modelling exercises (to show invalidity), increases the reflexive awareness of reasoning processes and our reasoning agility. (Many math students over the years have reported that studying logic has improved their formal skills.)
This class will cover what is called propositional logic (sometimes called “baby logic”) and monadic predicate calculus. Don’t let the math-sounding vocabulary intimidate you. Similar to a grammar class in your native language, you will not so much learn new things in this class, as understand reflexively what you already know without realizing that you know it, eliminating in the process doubts and errors. A 20-minutes-per-day investment in this course will yield great benefits to your thought processes.
PHIL 263
Philosophy of Religion
FALL – IN PERSON
This course looks at religion from a philosophical perspective. Its goal is not to convert anyone to a particular religious belief but rather to submit religious concepts to careful philosophical analysis. The course will progress from basic concepts to more rarified ones.
It will start with questions about God himself/herself/itself. What are the different ways of thinking about God? Is there a right way to think about God? How can we compare different conceptions of God?
Once we have fixed our concept of God, we will then turn to the big question: Does God exist? What reasons do we have to believe that God does exist? How do the causal factors at play on us affect our thinking about God? What is the difference between reasons and causes, anyway?
After we have studied various arguments for the existence of God, we will proceed to consider arguments against the existence of God. Some of these will be directed at religion while others will target God directly. How can God exist when there is so much evil in the world?
The course will conclude with reflection on some of God's properties, how humans relate to God (can we have free will given what God is supposed to be?), paradoxes related to prayer and finally the notion of the after-life.
Readings will be drawn from two sources – a textbook and an anthology. The readings are concise and targeted to specific topics. The syllabus will indicate what exactly students are expected to read. As for assignments, there will be two short papers due during the semester and one final essay due during the exam period. Students will also have to write brief comment sheets. More information on the assignments will be given at the start of the semester.
PHIL 266
Probability and Inductive Logic
WINTER – IN PERSON
Will the future resemble the past? How should we decide what to do? Can groups make rational decisions? What is the best way to draw conclusions about the unknown? Are we living in a computer simulation?
These questions have two things in common. First, their solutions continue to evade philosophers and others who have thought about them. Secondly, their answers depend on probabilistic and inductive reasoning.
This course introduces the basic concepts, tools, and techniques of probability and inductive logic so that students will be equipped to reflect thoughtfully and precisely on these and related questions.
Topics to be covered include: the calculation of probabilities; the uses of probability in decision-making; paradoxes of decision; the nature of probability; uncertainty and risk; the relationship between probability and statistics; the philosophical problem of induction; the new riddle of induction; anthropic reasoning and the simulation hypothesis.
No prior familiarity with probability is assumed and any necessary mathematical tools will be introduced to students.
No prior familiarity with philosophy is assumed and students from other departments are warmly welcomed.
PHIL 270
Minds and Machines
WINTER – IN PERSON
In this course we will take a philosophical stance towards the cognitive sciences by synthesising the various perspectives of its sub-disciplines — cognitive psychology, computer science, neuroscience, and linguistics — into a comprehensive picture of mind. The course will begin with a brief overview of the traditional themes in the philosophy of mind, but the bulk of the term will be spent investigating contemporary issues in cognitive science. The topics we will cover throughout the term include, but are not limited to, the following: formal systems; physical symbol systems; neural networks; A-life; emergent systems; dynamical systems; cognitive linguistics; embodied cognition.
Texts/Readings: Clark, A. 2014. Mindware: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Science, 2nd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press — Handouts
Assessment:
30%: Essay (1800 - 2500 words)
24%: Three Write Ups (WUP’s) (250-500 words)
30%: Two In-Class Tests (15% each)
16%: Participation (8% attendance; 8% in class participation
PHIL 271
Philosophy and Literature
WINTER – IN PERSON
A survey of philosophical problems related to the nature and status of literature and fiction, broadly construed. Issues are explored through short stories heavily featuring works by women, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC authors. Topics include: the relationship between authors and audience, the concept of genre, literature and labour, and feminist approaches to literature, among others.
PHIL 275
Thinking Gender, Sex and Love
FALL – IN PERSON
Our study of a classic in the philosophy of sexual love—Plato’s Symposium—is meant to prompt us to ask what Eros has to do with philosophy.
In this course we’ll read Plato alongside contemporary reflections on the meaning of erotic love, as well as the social organization and regulation of sexuality and gender. The twentieth and twenty-first century texts we’ll study include stories, articles or chapters by Beth Brant, Audre Lorde, Kim TallBear, Nkiru Nzegwu, Saylesh Wesley, Joan Roughgarden, and Michel Foucault.
This is a lecture course with lots of space for classroom and online discussion, and engagement with multi-media materials.
Philosophical reading skills are strongly emphasized, as is critical reflection. Students are encouraged to identify and critically reflect on their own preconceptions as well as the assumptions and implications of the texts we study. Students practice and develop their skills in written argumentation: formulating clear theses, clear and cogent reasoning, careful textual interpretation supported by relevant and accurate quotations and paraphrases, and well-reasoned answers to plausible objections.
Texts/Readings: Plato’s Symposium, plus a selection of short texts by contemporary thinkers. The short pieces by Brant, Lorde, TallBear, Nzegwu, Wesley, Roughgarden, and Foucault are all available electronically for free through library reserves and the course Perusall platform. An electronic copy of the Symposium is available for a fee on the course Perusall platform. Its purchase is mandatory for completion of many reading assignments. A print edition of the Symposium is available at the Campus Bookstore. Its purchase is optional.
Assessment:
Optional classroom participation & written participation log (5%). Students who opt out of this activity add 5% to the weight of their best essay.
Active reading assignments on Perusall (15%)
Midterm Essay (35%)
Final Essay (45%)
PHIL 296
Animals and Society
WINTER – IN PERSON
This course will introduce you to the animal turn with a particular emphasis on questions related to animal ethics, justice, and politics. It will be divided in three modules. First, we will explore the question ‘Who are animals?’ In this first module, we will learn why understanding who animals are (and can become) matters ethically and politically speaking. In the second module, we will learn about traditional animal ethics, and the interconstituted nature of oppressions regarding gender, race, ability, geography, and animality. In the third module, we will think and imagine what a more just political and legal system for human and nonhuman animals could look like, with a special focus on zoodemocratic theory. We will discuss questions such as: How can animals’ voices co-author democracies and the common good?