85 courses in the 1991–92 Undergraduate Calendar, read from the scanned original. The text comes from OCR, so check the scanned page before relying on a detail.
Undergraduate Officer W.R. Abbott, HH 326, ext. 2660
Courses not offered in the current academic year are listed at the end of this section.
Introductory Notes
1. Students must consult the Department before preregistering in upperyear courses. Final details of the courses which will actually be offered in the next academic year, including special subject courses, are available at preregistration time.
2. Any two term courses in philosophy can be used to satisfy the Group A(i) requirements.
3. Courses suffixed with “J” are administered by St. Jerome's College.
What can we know? Whatis real? Are moral choices and politics based on reason? Are human beings really just machines? Does God exist? The goal of the course is to promote critical reasoning about these issues which touch your beliefs and lives.
Prereq: No prerequisite
A broad selection of the main problems in philosophy will be considered. For example: How can we know whether anything is right or wrong? How can we know about things we cannot directly observe? Can we know whether there is a God? |s mind in any sense distinct from matter?
Discussion of the nature of reality. Rival theories concerning mind, matter, freedom, the existence of God, and the place of experience and reason in human knowledge are considered.
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An introduction to basic concepts and principles in classic and contemporary social and political philosophy. Differing views on basic questions are examined, with applications to such issues as capital punishment, welfare provisions, taxation, natural resource ownership, and terrorism.
PHIL 1020 W 3C 05
Philosophy of Life
“Who am |?" “What can | hope for after death?” “How can | tell what to do?” “What can | know?" are questions that have led many to philosophize. The course will examine what lifestyles and attitudes major philosophers, stoics, skeptics, pleasure-seekers, mystics, pragmatists, etc. have promoted, and why.
An examination of the importance of virtue in general and of the cardinal virtues in particular for the development of character and the enjoyment of the good life.
A study of what some of the great philosophers have said about the meaning of life and death and the transition from life to death. Students are urged to raise questions and help direct discussion.
A study of what some of the great philosophers have said about the causes of discontent. Social disobedience and the extent to which ethical principles can be altered to accommodate changing conditions are possible topics for discussion.
Elementary sentence and predicate logic. Translation from English into formalism, decision methods and deductions. This course is a prepara- ‘ tion for courses in the foundations of Mathematics, scientific methods, and more advanced logic courses.
An analysis of basic types of reasoning, structure of arguments, critical assessment of information, common fallacies, problems of ciarity and meaning.
PHIL 2004/8
Great Works of Western Philosophy An examination of some of the greatest writings in Western Philosophy. Students will be encouraged to come to a critical appreciation of such masterworks as Plato's Republic, Descartes’ Discourse on Method, Hobbes’ Leviathan, Hume's Enquiry, Kant's Prolegomena, Nietzsche's Zarathustra, and an outstanding work in contemporary philosophy.
Great Works of Western Philosophy: Part 1 Outstanding works from the ancient and medieval periods.
Taught in French in the Fall term.
Great Works of Western Philosophy: Part 2
Outstanding works from the early modern and contemporary periods.
An introduction to the understanding of how words are used, the formation of propositions, the construction of arguments and the examination of fallacies to help the student argue with order, facility and without error.
A philosophical analysis of different forms and functions of love. Among the topics to be considered: love and sexuality, religious love, love and knowledge. Classical and contemporary sources will be treated.
A study of issues arising from current relations between men and women: masculinity, femininity and androgyny; love; marriage and its alternatives; sexuality, parenthood, abortion, pornography, rape.
An analysis of the philosophical assumptions of Western popular culture as reflected In various mass media and in current models of production and consumption.
Course Descriptions Philosophy
PHIL 2055 F 3C 0.5
Philosophy of Nature
An examination of ancient and modern accounts of the natural world. Problems include whether matter alone can account for change, whether there is more than one cause, whether nature operates by purpose or chance.
PHIL 206) W 3C 0.5
Philosophy of Science
A philosophical study of the approaches to the material world used by contemporary physical science. The nature and value of the experimental method in the writings of scientists past and present will be examined.
Alternative philosophical perspectives on problems raised by scientific and technological developments including moral issues (e.g. privacy and datagathering, “clean” vs. “dirty” energy). Also an examination of the nature and scope of scientific and technical knowledge as it bears on the responsibilities of scientists and engineers.
Philosophical themes (such as alienation, freedom and responsibility) will be explored through appropriate literary works (for example, works by Aeschylus, Dostoevsky, Kafka, and Twain).
What is a human being? What is the place of humans among other creatures? Are human beings accidents of evolution? What are the major theories of human nature? How are love and sex aspects of human life?
Study of ethical and moral issues that typically arise In professional and business activity. What responsibilities to society at large do people in such business and professional activities as teaching, engineering, planning, archltecture and accounting have? How far should professional autonomy extend?
An elementary introduction to the subject of 'rational' behaviour and decision-making for individuals and groups. Emphasis is on the definition and measurement of utility functions and various criteria employed in models of decision-making. This course is intended to help those whose work will involve them in making decisions in either the public or private sectors.
A normative approach, employing several of the classic Western traditions of rational thought, to general ethics. The various schools of ethical thought will be discussed.
PHIL 2195 W 3C 0.5
Practical Ethics
This course will discuss the applications of general ethics to more specific areas of human endeavour. Among the topics discussed will be abortion, contraception, sex, obscenity, violence, drugs, egoism, dishonesty, and various forms of human exploitation.
The aim of this course is to improve the student's understanding of ethical ideas and principles by carefut discussion of selected concrete moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and violence. Choice of issues is partly determined by student interest.
This course is intended to be both a history of and an introduction to moral philosophy. Views on the foundations of ethics of the great philosophers from classical antiqulty to about 1900 are systematically examined. Writers studied include: Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, Mill and Nietzsche.
A philosophical study of the relationship between mankind and nature: historical and current philosophies of the natural world, including the place and responsibilitles of human beings; problems of ecological imbalance and collapse.
An investigation of some critical ethical issues in human research and therapy. Includes discussions of the right to live and the right to die, behaviour control (e.g. psychosurgery, behaviour madification and psychotherapy), human experimentation (including “informed consent” and fetal research) and genetic engineering.
Offered at Conrad Grebel College.
An investigation of several aspects concerning the meaning and existence of God. Is God-talk possible? Can faith and reason be reconciled? is religious experience a meaningful argument? A wide range of different views will be considered.
A critical philosophical discussion of reports of several kinds of extraordinary experiences, such as magic, extrasensory perception, mysticism, and divination will lead us to discussion of such concepts as insanity, irrationality, the supernatural, and the miraculous.
Religion.
A critical discussion af basic religious concepts. Among the topics covered will be faith, miracles, religious experience, immortality, and arguments for the existence of God.
Axiom systems of logic are developed and compared with natural deduction procedures. Then certain properties of these logical systems, such as consistency, completeness and compactness, will be investigated.
Prereq: PHit. 140 or consent of the instructor.
The classical logic introduced in PHIL 140 will be extended to form systems of modal logic, including logics of obligation, belief and knowledge, necessity, and temporal order. Essentialism, future contingencies, proofs for the existence of God will be discussed. Prereq: PHIL 140 or consent of the instructor.
Course Descriptions Philosophy
Basic concepts of game and decision theory are introduced and applied to ethical theory and problems in social philosophy.
Prereq: PHIL 140, 145 or consent of instructor.
An analysis of more complex types of reasoning, including statistical reasoning, decision strategies, and reasoning involving causes and correlations. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of concrete examples.
Prereq: PHIL 145 or 140 recommended
A discussion of the fundamental concepts on which science is based. Consideration is given to such topics as scientific theories, the nature of iawlikeness, the grounds for scientific confirmation, and the debate between rationalism and empiricism in science.
Why go to unviersity? What are the present realities in Canada? What is the role of the liberal arts? The primary interest will be upon what can be done in practice rather than upon ideal schemes.
An introduction to the existentialist view of man using both literary and philosaphical texts from such authors as Kierkegaard, Unamuno, Nietzsche, Ortega y Gasset, Camus, Sartre, Heidegger and others..
An examination of major writings that have shaped present-day consciousness. Works by such thinkers as Marx, Darwin, Freud, Nietzsche and Mill will be included.
(1600 to present) An intensive overview of the major recurring themes in Western intellectual history from both an historical and philosophical viewpoint. Descartes to Existentialism.
Prereq: Second-year standing
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A ccritical examination of contemporary feminist thought in philosophy, focusing on topics of current concern to feminist writers and to the class.
Prereq: Consent of instructor
A philosophicat analysis of classical and contemporary theories of education, with a view to formulating a clear workable concept of education, its aims and methods.
Prereq: At least second-year standing or consent of instructor
An introduction to current work in the field. Issues to be considered may include: the desirability and content of a core curriculum, methods of moral development, the problem of indoctrination, gender and education, computers and education, and peace education.
An analysis from the standpoint of philosophical ethics of moral issues arising in professional engineering practice. Issues include the social responsibility of engineers, conflict of interest and obligation, morally acceptable levels of risk, and moral implications of technology.
Cross-listed as GEN E 412
Offered at Conrad Grebei College.
PHIL 318) W 3C 0.5 Philosophy of the Family A philosophical examination of the family: its foundation, its purpose, its importance in personal growth, and its relation to political community.
Prereq: One course in moral philosophy, or consent of the instructor
Discussion and analysis, with special attention te Roman Catholic thinkers, of life-sustaining technologies and ethical issues concerning euthanasia; and lifeinitiating technologies and ethical issues concerning human generation. Legal, economic and social aspects are also examined.
Continues the history and discussion of ethics begun in PHIL 221 with writings from 1900 to the present. Theories such as intuitionism, emotivism, utilitarianism, and relativism are examined via the writings of such people as Moore, Hare and Warnock.
Prereq: PHIL 221 recommended
Basic themes in the philosophy of law. Issues include the nature of law and its relation to morality and politics, legal reasoning, the justification of punishment, and theories of rights, responsibility and liabitity.
An examination of areas within the law in which philosophical problems and methods are featured prominently, with special focus on the Canadian constitution and legal process, and such issues as the conflict between collective and individual rights.
Prereq: PHIL 327A or consent of the instructor
An intensive study of the moral issues involved in war and armed revolution. Critical evaluation of “just war” theories and international rules of warfare is pursued as well as the moral arguments for and against pacifism and conscientious objection.
Prereq: PHIL 102B or 322 or consent of instructor
Offered at Conrad Grebel College.
Philosophical consideration of works of art and the problems of beauty using selected readings to enable the student to recognize and formulate his own views in a philosophic manner.
Prereq: Two term courses in Philosophy or consent of instructor
An examination of such problems as
meaning criteria, primary data, and the
importance of certainty to knowledge. Prereq: Two term courses in philos-
ophy
Course Descriptions Philosophy
An examination of the problem of defining knowledge, of naturalized epistemology, and of such problems as a priori knowledge and the existence of other minds.
Prereq: Two term courses in philosophy
A study of philosophical problems concerning mathematics. Topics discussed include formalism, intuitionism, logicism, the mathematical paradoxes, and other topics in foundations and metamathematics.
Prereq: At least second-year standing or consent of instructor
Problems about the fundamental methods and aims of the social sciences generally, and problems specific to Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, etc., and their relations to one another will be considered. Cross-listed as SOC 371
One or more term courses will be offered at different times, as announced by the Department.
Prereq: Consent of instructor
A survey of the leading ideas of classical American philosophers, including Peirce, James, Royce, Santayana, Dewey and Mead. Attention will be paid to certain common themes, such as the pragmatic theory of truth, and the concept of democratic community. An effort will also be made to determine what makes these views distinctively American.
Prereq: One term course in Philosophy or consent of instructor
From the beginnings to Plato. Prereq: One term course in Philosophy or consent of instructor Cross-listed as CLAS 361 Offered at St. Jerome's College
From Aristotle to the close of classical antiquity. Prereq: One term course in Philosophy or consent of instructor Cross-listed as CLAS 362 Offered at St. Jerome's College
The early period to the 13th century. Among those considered will be: Augustine, Boethius, Ansetm and Abailard.
Prereq: One term course in Philosophy or consent of instructor
The later period from the 13th century.
Among those considered will be: Bona-
venture, Aquinas, Scotus, and Ockham. Prereq: One term course in Philos-
ophy or consent of instructor
Earlier period beginning with Descartes. Prereq: One term course in Philos-
ophy or consent of instructor
Later period including Hume and Kant. Prereq: One term course in Philos-
ophy or consent of instructor
The 19th century Philosophers covered may include Hegel, Mill, Schopenhauer, James and Kierkegaard.
Prereq: One term course in Phifosophy or consent of instructor
A study of major themes of 20th century philosophy through representative works of Russell, Moore, Carnap, Wittgenstein, Husserl and others.
Prereq: One term course in Philosophy or consent of instructor.
A series of readings and/or seminars on one or two topics or thinkers, with periodic reports and discussions.
Prereq: Consent of instructor, permission of the College Discipline Co-ordinator, and approval of the Callege Academic Committee
Special topics in ethics, as announced by the Department.
Prereq: At least one term course in athics
Philosophical analysis of central concepts in political theory and its relation to moral and metaphysical problems of various periods.
Prereq: At least one term course in ethics
A detailed discussion of contemporary theories.
Prereq: At least one term course in ethics
A study of a particular philosopher or problem, as announced by the Department.
Prereq: Consent of instructor
PHIL 4404/8 Logical Theory A rigorous and general development of the propositional and predicate calculus within which alternative calculi are examined. Study of such concepts as completeness, consistency, extensionality, and modality from both formal and philosophical points of view. Intended primarily for those interested in philosophical issues connected with logic. Prereq: At least one term course in formal logic, or consent of instructor
The first part of PHIL 440.
The second part of PHIL 440.
Special topics in logic, as announced by the Department.
Prereq: At least one of: PHIL 241, 242, 440A, 440B, PMATH 430A
Course Descriptions Philosophy
Problem solving, including Assessment of Risk, Uncertainty and Value form one part of the course. Other subjects include Individual and Group Process for Finding and Weighing Alternatives; Organization of Data, its Presentation and Analysis.
A discussion of the notions of reality, being, essence, existence, analogy, etc. The techniques of linguistic analysis will be employed. Also, the very possibility of any kind of metaphysics will be discussed.
Prereq: Third-year standing or consent of instructor
An examination of the work of Thomas Aquinas, his philosophical relation to his times, and the revival of Thomism in the modern era.
Prereq: Twe term courses in Philosophy and third-year standing, or consent of instructor
Studies in the nature of being, with
special emphasis on material objects
and their properties, and on causation. Prereq: Consent of instructor
Metaphysical problems in the areas of space, time and motion.
Prereq: Consent of instructor
Issues in the philosophy of language.
such as synonymy, propositions.
meaning, semantics, reference. Prereg: At least two term courses in
philosophy or consent of instructor
A consideration of ordinary language analysis as a method for solving philosophical problems, and a comparison of it with structural linguistics.
Prereq: At least two term courses in philosophy or consent of instructor
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An in depth study of the thoughts of a major figure such as Kierkegaard, Unamuno, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, Marcel, Jaspers, Ortega y Gasset.
Prereq: Consent of instructor
A critical examination of the issues and methods of phenomenology, including the attempts to understand the uses and ramifications of phenomenological methods through the working out of particular analyses. The basic writings of phenomenologists such as Husserl and Merleau-Ponty will be used. Prereq: Two term courses in Philosophy or consent of instructor
One or more term courses will be offered at different times, as announced by the Department.
Prereq: Consent of instructor
A series of readings and/or seminars on one or two topics or thinkers, with periodic reports and discussions.
Prereq: Consent of instructor, permission of the College Discipline Co-ordinator, and approval of the College Academic Committee
Prereq: Consent of instructor
All senior honours students attend this seminar in which a selection of major philosophical problems is discussed. They will also prepare a senior essay and discuss it with this group.
A letter grade for PHIL 499A will be submitted only after the completion of PHIL 4998 or PHIL 499J.
Students wishing to enrol in 499J should consult the St. Jerome's College Discipline Co-ordinator.
Prereq: PHIL 499A
COURSES NOT OFFERED 1991-92
PHil. 300J The Western Philosophical Tradition (to 1600)
Listed without a description.
Listed without a description.