Faculty of Arts

Philosophy Courses

PY110 Values and Society 0.5

An introductory course that critically analyzes philosophical problems implicit in our moral, political and social attitudes, with a view to assisting the student in formulating reasonable responses to a diversity of current issues. It considers such questions as: Are there objective standards for value judgements or are they merely matters of subjective taste? What is morally right? How is justice related to law or custom?

Exclusion: PY100*.

PY111 Knowledge and Reality 0.5

This course critically analyzes philosophical problems implicit in our understanding of reality and quest for knowledge, with a view to assisting the student in formulating reasonable responses to a diversity of current issues. It considers such questions as: Can we ever be certain of anything through experience, reason, or faith? Is reality ultimately material, and is the mind distinct from matter? Does God exist?

Exclusion: PY100*.

PY201 Reasoning and Argumentation 0.5

The course provides tools for the analysis of reasoning and the construction and evaluation of arguments. Examples from newspaper articles and theoretical discussions of science and social policy will be discussed. (Cross-listed as CS201.)

PY203 Social and Political Philosophy 0.5

Analysis and critical evaluation of key socio-political concepts: the state, civil society, power and authority, individual freedom, property, human rights, justice, democracy, liberalism, conservatism, authoritarianism versus totalitarianism. Ideas of theorists like Plato, Hobbes, Hegel, Marx, Rawls, and others will be discussed.†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY204 Formal Logic 0.5

An introduction to first order logic, including the propositional calculus and quantification theory. The basic notions studied are consistency, validity, proof, truth, and counter-example. The relationship between natural language and formal logic will be discussed.†

PY207 Ethical Theories 0.5

An introduction to traditional and contemporary ethical theory. The work of thinkers such as Aristotle, Aquinas, Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Mill, and Ross, and theories such as Naturalism, Utilitarianism, Formalism, Natural Rights, and Intuitionism will typically be examined.†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY209 Philosophy of Religion 0.5

A critical study, based on classical and contemporary readings, of such issues as: the basis of religious claims, the meaning of religious discourse, the relationship between faith and reason, the nature and existence of God, the nature of religious experience, the problems of evil and human destiny. (Cross-listed as RE209.)††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY213 Legal Philosophy 0.5

Analysis and critical evaluation of the concepts of law, rights, and related categories and problems: commands, social rules, moral rules, primary and secondary rules, sovereignty, international law, war, punishment, social justice, property. Texts of classical and contemporary authors will be closely read and analyzed in class.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY214 Philosophy of Mind 0.5

A study of the relationship between the mental and the physical, and the nature of mental phenomena such as thought, desire, sensation, consciousness, emotion and artificial intelligence. A variety of theories (dualism, materialism, functionalism, etc.), both classical and contemporary, are examined.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY215 Aesthetics 0.5

A survey of issues related to our aesthetic appreciation of works of visual art, music and other objects (the environment, architecture, etc.). Traditional and contemporary aesthetic theories will be discussed. (Cross-listed as FI215.)†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

Exclusion: PY205.

PY216 Critical Social Theory 0.5

A study of current philosophical approaches to the analysis and critique of contemporary society. Topics may include capacities for domination and emancipation inherent in forms of rationality, language, individuation, and social struggles. Writings to be discussed will be drawn from the Critical Theorists of the Frankfurt School and others.

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student

Exclusion: PY240Y.

PY217 Medical Ethics 0.5

A study of some of the fundamental social and ethical issues brought about by the biomedical revolution: behaviour control (by drugs, psychosurgery, and psychotherapy); experimentation; informed consent; genetic screening and genetic control; transplantation; truth-telling; death and dying; new concepts of health and illness; allocation of scarce medical resources.†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY218 Existentialism 0.5

An examination of one or more themes in existentialist thought. Topics to be investigated will include authenticity, anxiety, being, and meaning.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY223 Contemporary Moral Issues 0.5

An examination of work by contemporary philosophers on problems of normative ethics. Topics such as aboriginal rights, abortion, world poverty, capital punishment, national and international environmental issues, pornography, criminal justice and animal rights will be discussed. A variety of approaches (e.g., liberal, communitarian, utilitarian, feminist) will be considered.†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY224 Philosophy and the Environment 0.5

A study of current philosophical approaches to environmental issues. Topics may include environmental ethics, deep ecology, ecofeminism, the Green movement and radical ecology, as well as the analysis of central concepts such as domination, stakeholder analysis, sustainability, wilderness and biophilia.

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

Exclusion: PY240z.

PY225 Theories of Knowledge 0.5

A study of belief, justification and knowledge, with consideration of such current issues as foundationalism, scepticism and relativism.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY226 Philosophy of Science 0.5

An investigation of the effectiveness of science as a means for obtaining knowledge. Topics may include the nature of method and explanation, the relation between observation and theory, the role of mathematics and reason in the construction and application of theory, and appraisal of competing scientific claims.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY229 Theories of Reality 0.5

An examination of such topics in metaphysics as being, existence, universals and particulars, self, mind, body, causality, freedom, necessity, purpose and value.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY230 The Quest for World Peace 0.5

An inquiry into the causes and possible cures for international violence, focusing on the threat of nuclear war. Discussion will include such topics as moral obligations, strategic policy, international order, the rationality of deterrence, disarmament, and the arms race.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY233 Philosophy of Sex, Love and Friendship 0.5

A philosophical examination of intimate human relationships. Topics covered include the nature of inter-personal desire, sexual ethics, sexual orientation, romantic and agapic love, kinds of friendships, and selected concepts such as trust, betrayal, celibacy, promiscuity, and perversion.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY239 Explorations of the Self 0.5

Conceptual frameworks concerning the nature of the self. Self-identity and the social context, the experience of meaninglessness, the fact of death, the experience of liberation, the possibility of reconstructing one's identity. The course seeks to discover and raise fundamental philosophical questions about accepted ways of thinking about the self.†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY240 Special Topics 0.5

Consult the Department of Philosophy for current offerings.

Irregular course

PY247 Business Ethics 0.5

An examination of the ethical aspects of central features of business activity such as property rights, contracts, the profit motive, advertising, and regulated trade. Reference will be made to moral concepts such as justice, welfare, and responsibility, in relation to such current issues as preferential hiring, deceptive advertising, environmental destruction, and consumer protection.†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY249 Philosophy and Gender 0.5

An investigation into basic assumptions about masculinity and femininity and their influence upon conceptual frameworks appearing in theories of mind, knowledge, ethics, society, and culture.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY256 Ancient Philosophy I 0.5

An introduction to ancient philosophy from Thales to Plato. The relation of myth to philosophy, the Presocratics, Socrates and Plato's dialogues will be topics for discussion. (Cross-listed as CL256.)†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

Exclusion: PY260.

PY259 Ancient Philosophy II 0.5

An introduction to ancient philosophy from Aristotle to Plotinus. Aristotle, Greek philosophy after Aristotle, and the relationship of Greek philosophy to earlier and later thought will be topics for discussion (Cross-listed as CL259.)†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

Exclusion: PY260.

PY261 Medieval Philosophy 0.5

An introduction to medieval philosophy which will examine medieval thought beginning with Augustine. Christian, Islamic, and Jewish sources will typically be discussed. Selections from original works by philosophers such as Averroes, al-Ghazali, Aquinas, Anselm, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham and Erasmus will be a focus for discussion.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY262 Modern Philosophy I 0.5

An introduction to modern philosophy which will discuss its beginnings in the Renaissance and its development in the 17th and 18th centuries. Discussion will focus on thinkers such as Montaigne, Descartes, Hobbes, Spinoza, Hume, Rousseau and Kant. The rise of science, modernity, the Enlightenment, empiricism, rationalism and idealism will be possible topics for discussion.†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY263 Modern Philosophy II 0.5

A survey of modern philosophy from Kant to Nietzsche. The Enlightenment, the Romantic Movement, idealism, positivism, utilitarianism, traditionalism and liberalism will be possible topics of discussion.†

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY264 Twentieth Century Philosophy 0.5

A survey of themes in 20th century philosophy, including such movements as pragmatism, logical empiricism, ordinary language philosophy, analytic philosophy, phenomenology, hermeneutics, critical theory, deconstruction, and the bridging of the so called analytical/continental divide.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

PY304 Advanced Formal Logic 0.5

A study of logic which will focus on theoretical considerations (e.g. soundness, completeness and decision procedures) and their relationship to problems in logic, philosophy, philosophy of logic and philosophy of mathematics. Model theory, modal logic, set theory, predicate logic and many-valued logic are possible topics of discussion.††

Prerequisite: PY204 or MA121 (or permission of the department).

Faculty of Arts Faculty of Arts – Programs and Courses Philosophy

Official electronic version updated on February 4, 2002