Course Descriptions

A study of major topics in recent analytic and/or continental philosophy of religion. Topics include the rationality of religious belief, the nature of God, religious language, the problem of evil, critiques of religion, and the interface of major world religions.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.

Thomas Aquinas, widely considered the greatest and most influential thinker of the medieval period, advanced a philosophical project of such depth and coherence that it still influences and informs the thought of many philosophers today. Drawing upon the basic metaphysical framework Aquinas sets out, this course will examine his thought about God and the nature of the human person and consider its continuing relevance today.

Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.
Note: Students who have taken PHIL 412.3 Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas I cannot take this course for credit.

Thomas Aquinas, widely considered the greatest and most influential thinker of the medieval period, advanced a philosophical project of such depth and coherence that it still influences and informs the thought of many philosophers today. This course will examine Aquinas's conception of moral philosophy – an account of how we should think about human choices and actions, laws, and the state – and consider its continuing relevance for human living and flourishing today.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor
Note: Students who have taken PHIL 413.3 Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas II cannot take this course for credit.

A seminar in early modern philosophy focussing on the work of a specific philosopher or a philosophical topic.

Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.
Note: Historical and Topical content will vary from year to year. See department for latest details. Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic or period covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

Detailed reading in the work of a major philosopher such as Aristotle, Descartes, or Hume.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.
Note: Historical and Topical content will vary from year to year. See department for latest details. Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic or period covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

Consists of detailed reading in the work of some major philosopher.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.
Note: Historical and Topical content will vary from year to year. See department for latest details. Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic or period covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is generally regarded as one the greatest philosophical thinkers of the Enlightenment, and of all time. This course will offer an examination of the Kant’s philosophical thought, including the critical system developed in Critique of Pure Reason, and a study of his practical philosophy.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.

Examines specific issues or authors in current continental philosophy. Areas of discussion might include critical theory, aesthetics, or hermeneutics, and authors such as Foucault, Habermas, Derrida, or Gadamer.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.
Note: Historical and Topical content will vary from year to year. See department for latest details. Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic or period covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

The topic, movement or philosophers studied will vary from year to year.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.
Note: Historical and Topical content will vary from year to year. See department for latest details. Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic or period covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

Concerned with topics such as the cognitive status of judgements about what is right and good, about the grounds of ethical judgement and the logic of ethical argument, and about the role of rules and principles in ethical dispute.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.

A seminar in moral philosophy that will focus every year on a different issue, philosopher or theories.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units PHIL courses at the 200-level or above and completion of at least 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.
Note(s) Topical content will vary from year to year. See department for latest details. Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic or period covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

A critical examination of attempts to provide theories of the nature of law. This course will examine the debate between legal positivists and natural law theorists, as well as the reaction to this debate (e.g. Dworkin, legal realists, critical legal theorists, and feminists).

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.

The topic, political philosopher, movement or theories studied will vary from year to year.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units in philosophy at the 200-level or above, and completion of 24 credit units at the university level; or permission of the instructor.
Note: Historical and Topical content will vary from year to year. See department for latest details. Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic or period covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours