Philosophy Major Concentration (B.A.) (36 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Arts and Science
Program credit weight: 36
Program Description
Degree Requirements — B.A. students
To be eligible for a B.A. degree, a student must fulfil all Faculty and program requirements as indicated in Degree Requirements for the Faculty of Arts.
We recommend that students consult an Arts OASIS advisor for degree planning.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Course (3 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 210 | Introduction to Deductive Logic 1. | 3 |
Introduction to Deductive Logic 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 An introduction to propositional and predicate logic; formalization of arguments, truth tables, systems of deduction, elementary metaresults, and related topics. | ||
Complementary Courses (33 credits)
33 credits, of which no more than 9 may be at the 200 level and at least 9 must be at the 400 or 500 level, distributed as follows:
18 credits from Groups A, B, C, D, E, and F:
3 credits from Group A
3 credits from Group B
6 credits, two courses from either Group C or Group D
3 credits from Group E
3 credits from Group F
15 additional credits from Groups A, B, C, D, E or F or from other Philosophy (PHIL) courses. Only one of PHIL 200 Introduction to Philosophy 1. or PHIL 201 Introduction to Philosophy 2. may be included in the program.
Group A
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 306 | Philosophy of Mind. | 3 |
Philosophy of Mind. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of major positions of the mind-body problem, focusing on such questions as: Do we have minds and bodies? Can minds affect bodies? Is mind identical to body? If so, in what sense "identical"? Can physical bodies be conscious. | ||
| PHIL 310 | Intermediate Logic. | 3 |
Intermediate Logic. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A second course in Logic. NB. The course will be technical in nature, and some mathematical aptitude is essential. The emphasis is on the expressive properties of standard logical systems, including implications for the philosophy of mathematics. We will study the Completeness of First-Order Logic, then the 'limitative' theorems of Tarski and Gödel. | ||
| PHIL 311 | Philosophy of Mathematics. | 3 |
Philosophy of Mathematics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course provides an historically informed introduction to philosophy of mathematics. It gives the student an overview of prominent issues and arguments, to enable her to follow and discuss contemporary research in philosophy of mathematics. | ||
| PHIL 341 | Philosophy of Science 1. | 3 |
Philosophy of Science 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A discussion of philosophical problems as they arise in the context of scientific practice and enquiry. Such issues as the philosophical presuppositions of the physical and social sciences, the nature of scientific method and its epistemological implications will be addressed. | ||
| PHIL 411 | Topics in Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics. | 3 |
Topics in Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A course focusing on some philosophical issue (e.g., the nature of numbers or the relation of truth to provability) as it arises in the study of mathematics and logic. | ||
| PHIL 415 | Philosophy of Language. | 3 |
Philosophy of Language. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of central notions in the philosophy of language (reference, meaning, and truth, e.g.), the puzzles these notions give rise to, and the relevance of these notions to such questions as: What is language? How is communication possible? What is understanding? Is language rule-governed. | ||
| PHIL 419 | Epistemology. | 3 |
Epistemology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A discussion of central topics in the theory of knowledge. The questions addressed in the course may include: What is knowledge? Do we have any knowledge? What is the relation between knowledge and belief? When is belief justified? Is all knowledge conscious knowledge. | ||
| PHIL 421 | Metaphysics. | 3 |
Metaphysics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of central questions in metaphysics in their historical and contemporary forms. Topics may be chosen from such issues as: personal identity, the nature of space and time, the nature of events and properties, possible worlds, and the problem of realism. | ||
| PHIL 441 | Philosophy of Science 2. | 3 |
Philosophy of Science 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An analysis of some key philosophical ideas in science and technology, e.g. problem, explanation, forecast, testability and truth. | ||
| PHIL 470 | Topics in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy. | 3 |
Topics in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An advanced discussion of major themes in the analytic tradition. | ||
Group B
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 375 | Existentialism. | 3 |
Existentialism. Terms offered: Summer 2025 This course will examine the nature of existentialist thought as represented in various philosophical and literary texts. Particular themes to be examined include freedom, alienation, responsibility and choice, and the nature of self. | ||
| PHIL 474 | Phenomenology. | 3 |
Phenomenology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of phenomenology from a historical and thematic perspective. The course will typically involve the study of central thinkers such as Husserl, Heidegger, or Merleau-Ponty, with an examination of the nature and development of the phenomenological movement. | ||
| PHIL 475 | Topics in Contemporary European Philosophy. | 3 |
Topics in Contemporary European Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced discussion of selected themes in contemporary European philosophy. | ||
Group C
6 credits (two courses) from Group C OR Group D:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 344 | Medieval and Renaissance Political Theory. | 3 |
Medieval and Renaissance Political Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of Medieval and Renaissance political theory. | ||
| PHIL 345 | Greek Political Theory. | 3 |
Greek Political Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the ethical and political theories of ancient Greece, especially those of Plato and Aristotle. | ||
| PHIL 350 | History and Philosophy of Ancient Science. | 3 |
History and Philosophy of Ancient Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics in ancient pure mathematics (geometry and number theory), "mixed mathematics" (astronomy, music theory, optics, mechanics), and/or natural science (including medicine), studied with a view to philosophical issues raised by the content of ancient science and/or by the logic of scientific argument. | ||
| PHIL 353 | The Presocratic Philosophers. | 3 |
The Presocratic Philosophers. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the surviving fragments of the presocratic philosophers and schools of philosophy, as well as later reports of their views. | ||
| PHIL 354 | Plato. | 3 |
Plato. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of some of the philosophical problems (those in logic, epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics, e.g.) found in a selection of Plato's dialogues. | ||
| PHIL 355 | Aristotle. | 3 |
Aristotle. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of selected works by Aristotle. The course considers issues in moral philosophy as well as those found in the logical treatises, the Physics and Metaphysics, and in the philosophy of mind. | ||
| PHIL 356 | Early Medieval Philosophy. | 3 |
Early Medieval Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of selected works in the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions. Topics in moral and political philosophy, logic and metaphysics, philosophical psychology and epistemology, philosophy of science, and philosophical theology may be discussed. | ||
| PHIL 452 | Later Greek Philosophy. | 3 |
Later Greek Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of some of the major post-Aristotelian schools of philosophy. Texts from the Peripatetic, Stoic, Epicurean, Sceptical, Platonic, and medical traditions may be considered. Problems in logic, ethics, physics, epistemology, and metaphysics will be addressed. | ||
| PHIL 453 | Ancient Metaphysics and Natural Philosophy. | 3 |
Ancient Metaphysics and Natural Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of central themes of ancient metaphysics and/or natural philosophy as treated by two or more contrasting philosophers or philosophical traditions - probably including Plato and/or Aristotle, and possibly including some Hellenistic or post-Hellenistic schools. | ||
| PHIL 454 | Ancient Moral Theory. | 3 |
Ancient Moral Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of central themes of ancient moral theory as treated by two or more contrasting philosophers or philosophical traditions - probably including Plato and/or Aristotle, and possibly some Hellenistic or post-Hellenistic schools. | ||
Group D
6 credits (two courses) from Group C OR Group D:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 360 | 17th Century Philosophy. | 3 |
17th Century Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the work of such seventeenth-century philosophers as Descartes, Hobbes, Gassendi, Malebranche, Leibniz, and the Cambridge Platonists. | ||
| PHIL 361 | 18th Century Philosophy. | 3 |
18th Century Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of eighteenth century philosophy, especially British philosophy. Attention is given to fundamental metaphysical, epistemological, and moral issues as reflected in the work of such philosophers as Locke, Shaftesbury, Berkeley, Hutcheson, Butler, Hume and Reid. | ||
| PHIL 366 | 18th and Early 19th Century German Philosophy. | 3 |
18th and Early 19th Century German Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the works of such philosophers as Kant, Fichte, Jacobi, Schelling, and Hegel. | ||
| PHIL 367 | 19th Century Philosophy. | 3 |
19th Century Philosophy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of the works of such 19th century philosophers as Mach, Helmholtz, Dedekind, Frege, Marx, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Mill and Bradley. | ||
| PHIL 444 | Early Modern Political Theory. | 3 |
Early Modern Political Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of political and moral theory from the Reformation to the French Revolution including Luther, Montaigne, Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Smith. | ||
| PHIL 445 | 19th Century Political Theory. | 3 |
19th Century Political Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of various strands of political theory since Rousseau, concentrating on such themes as the understanding of modernity and theories of liberal society. | ||
Group E
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 230 | Introduction to Moral Philosophy 1. | 3 |
Introduction to Moral Philosophy 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A survey of a number of historically important and influential theories. Philosophers to be discussed may include Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Bentham, Mill, and Moore. | ||
| PHIL 237 | Contemporary Moral Issues. | 3 |
Contemporary Moral Issues. Terms offered: Summer 2025 An introductory discussion of central ethical questions (the value of persons, or the relationship of rights and utilities, for example) through the investigation of currently disputed social and political issues. Specific issues to be discussed may include pornography and censorship, affirmative action, civil disobedience, punishment, abortion, and euthanasia. | ||
| PHIL 240 | Political Philosophy 1. | 3 |
Political Philosophy 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to contemporary philosophy of politics by concentrating on a number of contested concepts, such as freedom, justice and equality, in contemporary political philosophy and practice. | ||
| PHIL 242 | Introduction to Feminist Theory. | 3 |
Introduction to Feminist Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to feminist theory as political theory. Emphasis is placed on the plurality of analyses and proposals that constitute contemporary feminist thought. Some of the following are considered: liberal feminism, marxist and socialist feminism, radical feminism, postmodern feminism, francophone feminism, and the contributions to feminist theory by women of colour and lesbians. | ||
Group F
3 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PHIL 334 | Ethical Theory. | 3 |
Ethical Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A course focusing on central questions in ethical theory such as the nature of the good and the right and the factors which determine moral rightness and wrongness. | ||
| PHIL 343 | Biomedical Ethics. | 3 |
Biomedical Ethics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An investigation of ethical issues as they arise in the practice of medicine (informed consent, e.g.) or in the application of medical technology (in vitro fertilization, euthanasia, e.g.) | ||
| PHIL 348 | Philosophy of Law 1. | 3 |
Philosophy of Law 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A discussion of the nature of justice and law, and of the relationship between them. | ||
| PHIL 427 | Topics in Critical Philosophy of Race. | 3 |
Topics in Critical Philosophy of Race. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An advanced discussion of topics in the critical philosophy of race. | ||
| PHIL 434 | Metaethics. | 3 |
Metaethics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the status of sentences containing moral terms, judgements about moral claims, and the nature of moral facts. | ||
| PHIL 442 | Topics in Feminist Theory. | 3 |
Topics in Feminist Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced discussion of topical and central themes in feminist theory. | ||