To see a complete list of courses offered and their descriptions, visit the online course catalog.
The courses listed below are provided by Student Information Services (SIS). This listing provides a snapshot of immediately available courses within this department and may not be complete. Course registration information can be found at https://sis.jhu.edu/classes.
Column one has the course number and section. Other columns show the course title, days offered, instructor's name, room number, if the course is cross-referenced with another program, and a option to view additional course information in a pop-up window.
Course # (Section)
Title
Day/Times
Instructor
Room
PosTag(s)
Info
AS.001.142 (01)
FYS: The Physics of Democracy
MW 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Carroll, Sean Michael
Bloomberg 259
FYS: The Physics of Democracy AS.001.142 (01)
This First-Year Seminar considers what we can learn about democratic societies by thinking of them as complex physical systems. We will discuss voting and social choice theories and their relationship to renormalization and emergence; organization and segregation in complex systems: power laws, inequality, and polarization; and the dynamics of information and opinions: networks, bubbles, filters, and phase transitions.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Instructor: Carroll, Sean Michael
Room: Bloomberg 259
Status: Open
Seats Available: 12/12
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.150.136 (01)
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50 Krieger 302
COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both AS.150.136 (01)
Philosophers and scientists raise important questions about the nature of the physical world, the mental world, the relationship between them, and the right methods to use in their investigations of these worlds. The answers they present are very different. Scientists are usually empiricists, and want to answer questions by experiment and observation. Philosophers don’t want to do this, but defend their views a priori. Why? Can both be right? Readings will present philosophical and scientific views about the world and our knowledge of it. They will include selections from major historical and contemporary figures in philosophy and science. The course has no prerequisites in philosophy or science.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50 Krieger 302
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
AS.150.136 (02)
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50 Gilman 55
COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both AS.150.136 (02)
Philosophers and scientists raise important questions about the nature of the physical world, the mental world, the relationship between them, and the right methods to use in their investigations of these worlds. The answers they present are very different. Scientists are usually empiricists, and want to answer questions by experiment and observation. Philosophers don’t want to do this, but defend their views a priori. Why? Can both be right? Readings will present philosophical and scientific views about the world and our knowledge of it. They will include selections from major historical and contemporary figures in philosophy and science. The course has no prerequisites in philosophy or science.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50 Gilman 55
Status: Open
Seats Available: 14/20
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
AS.150.136 (03)
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50 Gilman 17
COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both AS.150.136 (03)
Philosophers and scientists raise important questions about the nature of the physical world, the mental world, the relationship between them, and the right methods to use in their investigations of these worlds. The answers they present are very different. Scientists are usually empiricists, and want to answer questions by experiment and observation. Philosophers don’t want to do this, but defend their views a priori. Why? Can both be right? Readings will present philosophical and scientific views about the world and our knowledge of it. They will include selections from major historical and contemporary figures in philosophy and science. The course has no prerequisites in philosophy or science.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 11:00AM - 11:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50 Gilman 17
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
AS.150.136 (04)
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both
MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Achinstein, Peter
Gilman 50 Gilman 75
COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
Philosophy & Science: An Introduction to Both AS.150.136 (04)
Philosophers and scientists raise important questions about the nature of the physical world, the mental world, the relationship between them, and the right methods to use in their investigations of these worlds. The answers they present are very different. Scientists are usually empiricists, and want to answer questions by experiment and observation. Philosophers don’t want to do this, but defend their views a priori. Why? Can both be right? Readings will present philosophical and scientific views about the world and our knowledge of it. They will include selections from major historical and contemporary figures in philosophy and science. The course has no prerequisites in philosophy or science.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 11:00AM - 11:50AM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Instructor: Achinstein, Peter
Room: Gilman 50 Gilman 75
Status: Open
Seats Available: 17/20
PosTag(s): COGS-PHLMND, PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
AS.150.201 (01)
Introduction To Greek Philosophy
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Bett, Richard
Hodson 213 Ames 320
PHIL-ANCIEN
Introduction To Greek Philosophy AS.150.201 (01)
A survey of the earlier phase of Greek philosophy. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle will be discussed, as well as two groups of thinkers who preceded them, usually known as the pre-Socratics and the Sophists.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Instructor: Bett, Richard
Room: Hodson 213 Ames 320
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN
AS.150.201 (02)
Introduction To Greek Philosophy
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, W 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Bett, Richard
Hodson 213 Gilman 400
PHIL-ANCIEN
Introduction To Greek Philosophy AS.150.201 (02)
A survey of the earlier phase of Greek philosophy. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle will be discussed, as well as two groups of thinkers who preceded them, usually known as the pre-Socratics and the Sophists.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, W 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Bett, Richard
Room: Hodson 213 Gilman 400
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/10
PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN
AS.150.201 (03)
Introduction To Greek Philosophy
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Bett, Richard
Hodson 213 Hodson 203
PHIL-ANCIEN
Introduction To Greek Philosophy AS.150.201 (03)
A survey of the earlier phase of Greek philosophy. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle will be discussed, as well as two groups of thinkers who preceded them, usually known as the pre-Socratics and the Sophists.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, F 10:00AM - 10:50AM
Instructor: Bett, Richard
Room: Hodson 213 Hodson 203
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN
AS.150.201 (04)
Introduction To Greek Philosophy
MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, W 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Bett, Richard
Hodson 213 Croft Hall G02
PHIL-ANCIEN
Introduction To Greek Philosophy AS.150.201 (04)
A survey of the earlier phase of Greek philosophy. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle will be discussed, as well as two groups of thinkers who preceded them, usually known as the pre-Socratics and the Sophists.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 10:00AM - 10:50AM, W 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Bett, Richard
Room: Hodson 213 Croft Hall G02
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/10
PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN
AS.150.219 (01)
Intro to Bioethics
MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Bok, Hilary
Remsen Hall 1 Krieger Laverty
PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, BEHB-SOCSCI, MSCH-HUM
Intro to Bioethics AS.150.219 (01)
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 12:00PM - 12:50PM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 3:00PM - 3:50PM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 4:00PM - 4:50PM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 4:00PM - 4:50PM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, F 9:00AM - 9:50AM
Introduction to a wide range of moral issues arising in the biomedical fields, e.g. physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, abortion, surrogacy, and human subjects research. Cross listed with Public Health Studies.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 12:50PM, W 4:00PM - 4:50PM
If we know anything, it is natural to think it is our own minds. Despite this, philosophers have long disagreed about the natures of the states which make up our minds. And there is equally little agreement as to what makes such states count as mental in the first place. This course will investigate the nature of different aspects of mind and their interrelations. Time permitting, we will explore debates and puzzles about perception, memory, imagination, dreaming, pain and bodily sensation, emotion, action, volition and those states commonly classed as propositional attitudes: knowledge, belief, desire and intention. This will put us in a position to ask what if anything unifies such phenomena as mental
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 1:30PM - 2:20PM
Instructor: Phillips, Ian B
Room: Krieger 180 Gilman 186
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, PHIL-MIND, COGS-PHLMND
AS.150.245 (02)
Philosophy of Mind
MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 4:30PM - 5:15PM
Phillips, Ian B
Krieger 180 Gilman 219
MSCH-HUM, PHIL-MIND, COGS-PHLMND
Philosophy of Mind AS.150.245 (02)
If we know anything, it is natural to think it is our own minds. Despite this, philosophers have long disagreed about the natures of the states which make up our minds. And there is equally little agreement as to what makes such states count as mental in the first place. This course will investigate the nature of different aspects of mind and their interrelations. Time permitting, we will explore debates and puzzles about perception, memory, imagination, dreaming, pain and bodily sensation, emotion, action, volition and those states commonly classed as propositional attitudes: knowledge, belief, desire and intention. This will put us in a position to ask what if anything unifies such phenomena as mental
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:20PM, F 4:30PM - 5:15PM
Instructor: Phillips, Ian B
Room: Krieger 180 Gilman 219
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, PHIL-MIND, COGS-PHLMND
AS.150.406 (01)
Tragedy and Living Well
M 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Lebron, Christopher Joseph
Maryland 104
PHIL-ANCIEN, PHIL-ETHICS, PHIL-SEM
Tragedy and Living Well AS.150.406 (01)
This course revisits the idea of tragedy as represented in Ancient Greek thought for the purpose of approaching questions of flourishing and ethical living from a different angle.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: M 3:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Lebron, Christopher Joseph
Room: Maryland 104
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-ANCIEN, PHIL-ETHICS, PHIL-SEM
AS.150.428 (01)
Spinoza’s Theological Political Treatise
W 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
Gilman 288
INST-PT, PHIL-MODERN
Spinoza’s Theological Political Treatise AS.150.428 (01)
The course is an in-depth study of Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise. Among the topics to be discussed are: Spinoza’s Bible criticism, the nature of religion, philosophy and faith, the nature of the ancient Hebrew State, Spinoza’s theory of the State, the role of religion in Spinoza’s political theory, the freedom to philosophize, the metaphysics of Spinoza’s Theological-Political Treatise, and finally, the reception of the TTP.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Instructor: Melamed, Yitzhak Yohanan
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Reserved Open
Seats Available: 13/18
PosTag(s): INST-PT, PHIL-MODERN
AS.150.465 (02)
Topics in the Philosophy of Physics
W 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Carroll, Sean Michael
Krieger 304
PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
Topics in the Philosophy of Physics AS.150.465 (02)
This course will consider some philosophical topics in the foundations of physics. Entropy and the arrow of time -- why time has a direction, whether it can be explained in terms of entropy, and what role the arrow of time plays in causation and emergence. Anthropics and indexical uncertainty -- approaches to probability, reference classes, the cosmological multiverse, Boltzmann brains, simulation and doomsday arguments. Foundations of quantum mechanics -- the measurement problem, many-worlds, probability and structure, alternative approaches.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 4:00PM - 6:30PM
Instructor: Carroll, Sean Michael
Room: Krieger 304
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 1/18
PosTag(s): PHIL-LOGSCI, MSCH-HUM
AS.211.265 (01)
Panorama of German Thought
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Tobias, Rochelle
Smokler Center 301
Panorama of German Thought AS.211.265 (01)
This course introduces students to major figures and trends in German literature and thought from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. We will pay particular attention to the evolution of German political thought from the Protestant Reformation to the foundation of the German Federal Republic after WWII. How did the Protestant Reformation affect the understanding of the state, rights, civic institutions, and temporal authority in Germany? How did German Enlightenment thinkers conceive of ethics and politics or morality and rights? How do German writers define the nation, community, and the people or das Volk? What is the link between romanticism and nationalism? To what degree is political economy, as developed by Marx, a critical response to romanticism? How did German thinkers conceive of power and force in the wake of World Wars I and II? What are the ties that bind as well as divide a community in this tradition? We will consider these and related questions in this course through careful readings of selected works.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Tobias, Rochelle
Room: Smokler Center 301
Status: Open
Seats Available: 15/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.213.374 (01)
Existentialism in Literature and Philosophy
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Gosetti, Jennifer Anna
Smokler Center 213
MLL-GERM, MLL-ENGL
Existentialism in Literature and Philosophy AS.213.374 (01)
What does it mean to exist, and to be able to reflect on this fact? What is it mean to be a self? This course explores the themes of existentialism in literature and philosophy, including the meaning of existence, the nature of the self, authenticity and inauthenticity, the inescapability of death, the experience of time, anxiety, absurdity, freedom and responsibility to others. It will be examined why these philosophical ideas often seem to demand literary expression or bear a close relation to literary works. Readings may include writings by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Heidegger, Rilke, Kafka, Simmel, Jaspers, Buber, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus, and Daoud.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Gosetti, Jennifer Anna
Room: Smokler Center 213
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): MLL-GERM, MLL-ENGL
AS.213.374 (02)
Existentialism in Literature and Philosophy
T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Gosetti, Jennifer Anna
Smokler Center 213
MLL-GERM, MLL-ENGL
Existentialism in Literature and Philosophy AS.213.374 (02)
What does it mean to exist, and to be able to reflect on this fact? What is it mean to be a self? This course explores the themes of existentialism in literature and philosophy, including the meaning of existence, the nature of the self, authenticity and inauthenticity, the inescapability of death, the experience of time, anxiety, absurdity, freedom and responsibility to others. It will be examined why these philosophical ideas often seem to demand literary expression or bear a close relation to literary works. Readings may include writings by Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Heidegger, Rilke, Kafka, Simmel, Jaspers, Buber, Sartre, de Beauvoir, Camus, and Daoud.
Credits: 4.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Gosetti, Jennifer Anna
Room: Smokler Center 213
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/5
PosTag(s): MLL-GERM, MLL-ENGL
AS.214.479 (01)
Dante Visits the Afterlife
MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Staff
Shriver Hall 104
ENGL-PR1800
Dante Visits the Afterlife AS.214.479 (01)
One of the greatest works of literature of all times, the Divine Comedy leads us down into the torture-pits of Hell, up the steep mountain terrain of Purgatory, through the “virtual” space of Paradise, and then back to where we began: our own earthly lives. We accompany Dante on his journey, building along the way knowledge of medieval Italian history, literature, philosophy, politics, and religion. The course also focuses on the arts of reading deeply, asking questions of a text, and interpreting literary and scholarly works through discussion and critical writing. Conducted in English.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Staff
Room: Shriver Hall 104
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/15
PosTag(s): ENGL-PR1800
AS.300.399 (01)
Cinema and Philosophy
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Marrati, Paola, Meyer, Marshall
Gilman 208
Cinema and Philosophy AS.300.399 (01)
What do films and philosophy have in common? Do films express, with their own means, philosophical problems that are relevant to our experience of ourselves and the world we live in? This term we will study such issues with a particular focus on questions of justice, truth, revenge, forgiveness, hope, hate, and fear.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Marrati, Paola, Meyer, Marshall
Room: Gilman 208
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/25
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.310.335 (01)
Theorizing Race and Mixed-Race in Asia and its Diasporas
W 4:30PM - 7:00PM
Reizman, Laura Ha Ha
Shaffer 100
INST-CP
Theorizing Race and Mixed-Race in Asia and its Diasporas AS.310.335 (01)
This class will explore the construction of race and its applications in Asia and its diasporas. Using the notion of “mixed-race” as an analytic, we will examine how the colonial origins of race and the ensuing Cold War have influenced concepts of national identity and belonging. Employing an inter-sectional approach towards race, gender, and sexuality, the course will draw on a variety of media including memoirs, archives, and videos, to contemplate the locus of race and mixed-race and their importance within the larger nexus of identity formation in Asia and its diasporas.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 4:30PM - 7:00PM
Instructor: Reizman, Laura Ha Ha
Room: Shaffer 100
Status: Open
Seats Available: 12/15
PosTag(s): INST-CP
AS.363.302 (01)
Feminist and Queer Theory: Women in Western Thought an Introduction
T 4:30PM - 7:00PM
deLire, Luce Marcella
Maryland 104
INST-PT, MSCH-HUM
Feminist and Queer Theory: Women in Western Thought an Introduction AS.363.302 (01)
Women in Western Thought is an introduction to (the history of) Western thought from the margins of the canon. The class introduces you to some key philosophical question, focusing on some highlights of women’s thought in Western thought, most of which are commonly and unjustly neglected. The seminar will be organized around a number of paradigmatic cases, such as the mind/body question in Early Modern Europe, the declaration of the rights of (wo)men during the French revolution, the impact of slavery on philosophical thought, the MeToo debate and others. By doing so, the course will cover a range of issues, such as the nature of God, contract theory, slavery, standpoint epistemology, and queer feminist politics. Students will engage with questions about what a canon is, and who has a say in that. In this sense, Women in Western Thought introduces you to some crucial philosophical and political problems and makes you acquainted with some women in the field. The long term objective of a class on women in Western thought must be to empower, to inspire independence, and to resist the sanctioned ignorance often times masked as universal knowledge and universal history. People of all genders tend to suffer from misinformation regarding the role of women and the gender of thought more generally. By introducing you to women who took it upon themselves to resist the obstacles of their time, I am hoping to provide role models for your individual intellectual and political development. By introducing you to the historical conditions of the exclusion and oppression of women (including trans and queer women as well as black women and women of color), I hope to enable you to generate the sensitivities that are required to navigate the particular social relations of the diverse world you currently inhabit. By introducing philosophical topics in this way, I hope to enable you to have a positive, diversifying influence on you future endeavours.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: T 4:30PM - 7:00PM
Instructor: deLire, Luce Marcella
Room: Maryland 104
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): INST-PT, MSCH-HUM
AS.150.426 (01)
Philosophy and Disability
F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Bok, Hilary
Gilman 288
PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, MSCH-HUM
Philosophy and Disability AS.150.426 (01)
In this course, we will consider various philosophical issues related to disability. What counts as a disability? What obligations do we have, both as individuals and as a society, to people with disabilities? What counts as respecting people with disabilities, and what counts as unjustifiable discrimination against them?
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Bok, Hilary
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Reserved Open
Seats Available: 5/15
PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH, PHIL-ETHICS, MSCH-HUM
AS.150.125 (01)
Life and Death
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Holguín, Ben Walton
Hackerman B 17
MSCH-HUM, PHIL-MIND
Life and Death AS.150.125 (01)
This course will address some of the Big Picture questions about human life using the methods of analytic philosophy. These questions include: What am I, and what kinds of things could happen to me before I'd no longer be me? Should I be afraid of death? Is it better to be than to never have been anything at all? When is it permissible to end a life? To what extent do I live my life freely?
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Holguín, Ben Walton
Room: Hackerman B 17
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/20
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, PHIL-MIND
AS.150.423 (01)
Theory of Knowledge
TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Holguín, Ben Walton
Gilman 288
PHIL-MIND
Theory of Knowledge AS.150.423 (01)
An advanced introduction to the central problems, concepts and theories of contemporary philosophical epistemology (theory of knowledge). Topics to be explored will includes: what is knowledge (and why do we want it)?; theories of justification (foundationalism, the coherence theory, etc.); externalism and internalism in epistemology; skepticism, relativism and how to avoid them. Reading from contemporary sources.
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: TTh 12:00PM - 1:15PM
Instructor: Holguín, Ben Walton
Room: Gilman 288
Status: Reserved Open
Seats Available: 4/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-MIND
AS.150.482 (01)
Food Ethics
W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Barnhill, Anne
Smokler Center 213
PHIL-BIOETH
Food Ethics AS.150.482 (01)
Eating is an essential human activity: we need to eat to survive. But how should we eat? In this course, we consider such ethical questions as: Is it morally wrong to make animals suffer and to kill them in order to eat them? What is the extent of hunger and food insecurity, in this country and globally, and what should we as individuals do about it? Should the government try to influence our food choices, to make them healthier?
Credits: 3.00
Level: Upper Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: W 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Barnhill, Anne
Room: Smokler Center 213
Status: Reserved Open
Seats Available: 4/20
PosTag(s): PHIL-BIOETH
AS.150.125 (04)
Life and Death
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Holguín, Ben Walton
Hackerman B 17
MSCH-HUM, PHIL-MIND
Life and Death AS.150.125 (04)
This course will address some of the Big Picture questions about human life using the methods of analytic philosophy. These questions include: What am I, and what kinds of things could happen to me before I'd no longer be me? Should I be afraid of death? Is it better to be than to never have been anything at all? When is it permissible to end a life? To what extent do I live my life freely?
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Holguín, Ben Walton
Room: Hackerman B 17
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/20
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, PHIL-MIND
AS.150.475 (01)
The Nature and Significance of Animal Minds
TTh 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Brown, Simon Alexander Burns
Gilman 288
PHIL-MIND, PHIL-ETHICS, PHIL-BIOETH, MSCH-HUM
The Nature and Significance of Animal Minds AS.150.475 (01)
Humans have a complicated relationship with other animals. We love them, befriend them and save them. We hunt, farm and eat them. We experiment on and observe them to discover more about them and to discover more about ourselves. For many of us, our pets are amongst the most familiar inhabitants of our world. Yet when we try to imagine what is going on in a dog or cat’s mind — let alone that of a crow, octopus or bee — many of us are either stumped about how to go about this, or (the science strongly suggests) get things radically wrong. Is our thought about and behaviour towards animals ethically permissible, or even consistent? Can we reshape our habits of thought about animals to allow for a more rational, richer relationship with the other inhabitants of our planet? In this course, students will reflect on two closely intertwined questions: an ethical question, what sort of relationship ought we to have with animals?; and a metaphysical question, what is the nature of animal minds? Readings will primarily be from philosophy and ethics and the cognitive sciences, with additional readings from literature and biology. There are no prerequisites for this class. It will be helpful but certainly not necessary to have taken previous classes in philosophy (especially ethics and philosophy of mind) or in cognitive science
This course will address some of the Big Picture questions about human life using the methods of analytic philosophy. These questions include: What am I, and what kinds of things could happen to me before I'd no longer be me? Should I be afraid of death? Is it better to be than to never have been anything at all? When is it permissible to end a life? To what extent do I live my life freely?
Credits: 3.00
Level: Lower Level Undergraduate
Days/Times: MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Instructor: Holguín, Ben Walton
Room: Hackerman B 17
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/20
PosTag(s): MSCH-HUM, PHIL-MIND
AS.150.125 (02)
Life and Death
MW 1:30PM - 2:45PM
Holguín, Ben Walton
Hackerman B 17
MSCH-HUM, PHIL-MIND
Life and Death AS.150.125 (02)
This course will address some of the Big Picture questions about human life using the methods of analytic philosophy. These questions include: What am I, and what kinds of things could happen to me before I'd no longer be me? Should I be afraid of death? Is it better to be than to never have been anything at all? When is it permissible to end a life? To what extent do I live my life freely?
Can we gain knowledge of reality, or is everything a matter of opinion? Does it matter? Why do we want (or need) knowledge anyway? Questions like this have been the stock in trade of philosophical skeptics throughout the entire history of our Western philosophical tradition. This First-Year Seminar will involve close readings of some classic works on the topic of skepticism with a view to understanding some of the main arguments for (and against) skepticism: how they work and how they may have changed over time. Readings include selections from Sextus Empiricus, Descartes, Hume and Wittgenstein.
