We are happy to announce that the Department of Philosophy has new undergraduate modules to offer! We have also made some changes to a few existing modules!

Here are the updates:

Changes to Modules

PH2110/GEM2006 Logic

New description: An introduction to classical logic. The first half of the course introduces propositional logic, using the techniques of truth-tables and trees. The second half of the course extends the use of trees to predicate logic and basic modal logic. Emphasis is placed on applying the techniques to philosophical arguments, and on philosophical questions raised by the study of logic.

PH4212 Issues in Philosophy of Mind (Module Title Changed)

Description: This module will explore in depth an advanced topic in the philosophy of mind. Possible topics are the unity of consciousness, the relationship between consciousness and time and the relationship between phenomenology and intentionality. The course may also focus on alternative conceptions of the mind to physicalism, such as dualism, panpsychism, or phenomenalism, issues from the philosophy of perception, such as the problems of illusion, hallucination, and the inverted spectra, or issues from philosophical psychology and cognitive science, such as the modularity of mind, the nature of tacit knowledge, or the relationship between neural states and mental states.

PH4211 Issues in Epistemology (Module Title Changed)

Description: This module will explore an advanced topic in epistemology in depth. Some possible topics are the problem of scepticism, including realist and anti-realist responses to it, the nature of certainty and the relationship of knowledge to chance and credence, the internalism versus externalism debate about the nature of knowledge and justification, and the definability of knowledge in terms of truth, belief, justification and their cognates. The module may also explore a problem from formal epistemology, such as the lottery paradox, the problem of logical omniscience, or probabilistic approaches to the problem of induction.

New Modules

PH2111/GEK2048 Effective Reasoning

Description: What is good reasoning? We will try to answer this question by studying the mechanics of reasoning. Students will learn what an argument is, what the difference between validity and soundness is, and what it means to say that an argument is valid in virtue of its form. They will also be introduced to various strategies and pitfalls in reasoning. In addition, to hone their analytical skills, students will be given arguments—drawn from philosophy and other areas—to unpack and evaluate. It is hoped that in the process of learning what counts as good reasoning, one will become a better reasoner.

PH4240 Issus in Metaphysics

Description: This module will explore in depth some advanced topics in metaphysics. Some possible topics include whether similar things have universals in common, whether time flows, whether past and future exist, whether a whole is something over and above the sum of its parts, whether chance is objective, whether there are other possible worlds, and whether numbers, gods, or chairs and tables exist.

PH4241 Issues in Philosophical Logic

Description: This module will explore in depth some advanced topics in philosophical logic. Possible topics include extensions to classical logic, such as modal logics and higher order logics, non-classical logics, such as intuitionistic, many-valued and relevant logics, or philosophical questions about logic.

PH4242 Issues in Philosophy of Language

Description: This module will explore in depth some advanced topics in philosophy of language. Possible topics are the nature of truth, Dummettian anti-realism, contextualism, relativism, or two-dimensionalism. We may also consider the application of philosophy of language to issues in other areas of philosophy, such as the debate between cognitivists and non-cognitivists in metaethics, or the question of whether metaphysical disputes are merely verbal.

PH4243 Issues in Aesthetics

Description: This module will explore in depth an advanced topic in aesthetics. Possible topics are the ontology of art, the nature of the imagination, the definition of art, subjectivism about beauty, relativism about taste, or the appreciation of nature. Alternatively, we may consider the aesthetics of a particular artform, such as music, film, fiction, painting or dance, or of a particular philosopher, such as Immanuel Kant or Nelson Goodman. Finally, we may consider issues that arise at the intersection of aesthetics and other areas in philosophy, such as the debate over fictionalism in metaphysics.

To view the entire list of modules offered by the Department of Philosophy, click here!