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PHIL 208Philosophy Through Science Fiction

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
Philosophy

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 1 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Science fiction depicts alternate and weird possibilities. It can also uncritically reproduce biases of its time. In both cases, science fiction helps us explore philosophical questions about what it means to be human, what the world is really like, and how we might make our world better. Students will develop their ability to understand and evaluate philosophical arguments that appear in academic and popular works, by reading and discussing philosophy alongside science fiction media (e.g., art, comic books, film, novels, short stories, television).

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Reviewed on UW Flow

100% liked it100% easy75% useful

From 4 ratings and 3 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Took the course with Katy Fulfer. Course readings were fun; notable ones were the Matrix, Star Trek, and short stories from science fiction authors such as Ted Chiang and Ray Bradbury. I liked that Katy's grading scheme wasn't based on traditional forms of assessment, e.g. quizzes and exams, but rather based on your contributions to learning–both the class's and your own. The midterm and final projects were fun as you could choose to write a paper/review or do something creative instead. A good course for covering a breadth of philosophical topics while engaging in science fiction, and also a good course if you want to get into science fiction!

    Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Took this class with Katy Fulfer, who is super passionate about the course. Lectures were always engaging with lots of discussion, debates & fun activities! Watched episodes of Star Trek & The Matrix as part of the coursework, which was awesome.

    Apr 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • As a non-arts major, this was a really great course to introduce me to thinking philosophically more often, and gave me a new lens to look through at media in general. It honestly just became scheduled time to think about certain topics and concepts and argue or form your opinion, and the topics were for the most part very thought-provoking or relevant to our current lives.

    Mar 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

9 posts and comments in 6 threads mention PHIL 208, October 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Winter 2021

Fall 2016

Best philosophy course/prof at Waterloo? 5 points, 5 comments

“Looking to take a Phil course for fun this term. Any suggestions?”

u/Low-monthly-payments: “Do you have any specific interests within philosophy?”

u/Scryfish: “I think I'm looking for a course that would go in depth on the writings of 19 and 20th century philosophers (Kierkegaard, Camus, etc). Or something about the future. Was actually set on phil208 (philosophy through science fiction) but it's not listed on quest this term :(”

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Fall 2012

What courses are you taking next semester? 10 points, 107 comments

“Now that exams are finally over, we can starting thinking about the Winter 2013 semester. What courses will you be taking? Any that you're anticipating and/or dreading?”

u/jcollins1991: “- cs454: distributed systems - phil208: philosophy through science fiction - psych101 - econ202: macroeconomics screw that, rs100 instead - span102 Gonna be an easy final term :)”

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Thoughts on PHIL 208 - Philosphy through Science Fiction 1 point, 8 comments

u/LeafFan13: “Third year chem student here trying to decide what I should take as an elective in the winter term. I've never taken a philosophy course before and was wondering what the workload/class structure. Is the course time consuming? …”

u/hpgross: “Dunno about PHIL 208, but ENGL 208B Scifi Lit is really fun. I suggest double or nothing, make it a scifi term.”

[deleted]: “I recommend PHIL 208 but not ENGL 208B. (I've taken both.)”

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Fall 2011

What's your most/least favourite course? 12 points, 77 comments

“Favourite: Algebra. MATH 135. Least Favourite: Linear Algebra. MATH 136. Frigging hate matrices. Tell us what your favourite/least favourite courses are and why! …”

u/Noxxed: “Fav: CS135 or CS246 Least: CS245. Oh my god so bad.”

u/Stratisphear: “Agreed. Except I think PHIL 208 was my favourite. Philosophy through Science Fiction. That was awesome.”

[deleted]: “Favourites: CO 342, PHIL 100, PHIL 258, PHIL 208. Least favourite: STAT 231, FINE 112.”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

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