2025-2026 Catalog

PHIL 10005. Introduction to the Philosophy of Love. 100 Units.

Love is one of the most important, profound things in life; and yet, it is notoriously hard to articulate just what love is. In this course, we will inquire about the nature of love, addressing some of the central questions that have occupied philosophers of love. Why do we love what we love? Who can love, and who can be loved? What does love demand of us, and how can we love well? What is the relationship between love and morality? And what is love? We will seek an understanding of love that can account, in particular, for the central role that love plays in human life - the sense in which it is "what makes the world go 'round." We will discuss historical and contemporary philosophical texts, such as Plato's Symposium, bell hooks' all about love, and Harry Frankfurt's The Reasons of Love, as well as literature and film. In the course of our inquiry, we will consider the ways that philosophical reflection - with its focus on conceptual clarity, rational argumentation, and communicative precision - can be enriched by literature and film while, in turn, helping us to better understand literature, film, and life.

Terms Offered: Summer

PHIL 10250. The World of Greek Philosophy. 100 Units.

This course will serve as an introduction to ancient Greek philosophy and literature of the pre-Classical, Classical, and Hellenistic Greek world, and their conceptions that at once influence and differ from our own. In addition to discussing traditional Greek understandings of virtue, honor, and happiness, we will consider how intellectual life was believed to help people find meaning, purpose,and self-fulfillment and shape their ethics. We will recreate the experience of Greek intellectual culture in simulated marketplace disputations and (nonalcholic) symposia while reading and discussing works from Pre-Socratics, Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles, Euripides, Euclid, and the Stoics, in an effort to understand not just what but how they thought.

Terms Offered: Summer

PHIL 20012. Accelerated Introduction to Logic. 100 Units.

This course provides an introduction to logic for students of philosophy. It is aimed at students who possess more mathematical training than can be expected of typical philosophy majors, but who wish to study logic not just as a branch of mathematics but as a method for philosophical analysis. (II)

Instructor(s): Anubav Vasudevan     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): While no specific mathematical knowledge will be presupposed, some familiarity with the methods of mathematical reasoning and some prior practice writing prose that is precise enough to support mathematical proof will be useful.
Note(s): Students may count either PHIL 20012 or PHIL 20100, but not both, toward the credits required for graduation.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 30012

PHIL 20097. Medieval Metaphysics: Thomas Aquinas on Potency and Act. 100 Units.

Our central text will be Thomas Aquinas's commentary on Metaphysics IX, which is Aristotle's thematic treatment of potency and act. We will frame this with other passages-from parts of Thomas's Metaphysics commentary, from his commentaries on other works of Aristotle, especially the Physics, and from some of his stand-alone writings-which exhibit ways in which he uses and extends the concepts. Time permitting, we will also look into Thomas's famous notion of being (esse) as the "actuality of all acts." It has Neoplatonic roots, and its compatibility with Aristotle's thought on being and act is disputed. (B)

Instructor(s): Stephen Brock     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates who are not Philosophy majors need the instructor’s consent.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 30097, FNDL 20097

PHIL 20100. Introduction to Logic. 100 Units.

An introduction to the concepts and principles of symbolic logic. We learn the syntax and semantics of truth-functional and first-order quantificational logic, and apply the resultant conceptual framework to the analysis of valid and invalid arguments, the structure of formal languages, and logical relations among sentences of ordinary discourse. Occasionally we will venture into topics in philosophy of language and philosophical logic, but our primary focus is on acquiring a facility with symbolic logic as such.

Instructor(s): 200/300: Ginger Schultheis (Autumn 2025); 200: Gregory Brown (Spring 2026)     Terms Offered: Autumn Spring
Note(s): Students may count either PHIL 20100 or PHIL 20012, but not both, toward the credits required for graduation.
Equivalent Course(s): CHSS 33500, HIPS 20700, PHIL 30000

PHIL 20119. Introduction to Wittgenstein. 100 Units.

This course is an introduction to the central ideas of Wittgenstein--in philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics and logic, philosophy of mind, epistemology, philosophy of religion, metaphilosophy, and other areas of the subject. We will attempt to understand, and to evaluate, these ideas. As part of this attempt, we will explore Wittgenstein's relation to various others figures-among them Hume, Schopenhauer, Frege, and the logical positivists. (B)

Instructor(s): Benjamin Callard     Terms Offered: Spring
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 24311

PHIL 20308. What is Hegelianism? 100 Units.

The seminar will explore the fundamental issues in Hegel's philosophy by means of attention to the texts where he most clearly states his ambitions: his early essay, "The Difference Between Fichte's and Schelling's Systems of Philosophy"; The Introduction to his "Phenomenology of Spirit"; The long Introduction to his "Encyclopedia Logic"; The Preface and Introduction to his "Philosophy of Right," and the Introduction to his "Lectures on Fine Art."

Instructor(s): Robert Pippin     Terms Offered: Autumn. Autumn 2024
Prerequisite(s): The course is open to graduate and undergraduate students.
Equivalent Course(s): SCTH 20308, PHIL 30308, SCTH 30308

PHIL 20606. Spinoza and German Thought. 100 Units.

This course provides an introduction to Spinoza's philosophy and his relation to German thought, both prior to and within German idealism. In addition to carefully reading Spinoza's own writings, we will consider rationalist alternatives to Spinoza's metaphysics, the Pantheism controversy, and the acosmism charge. Beyond Spinoza, authors to be read include Leibniz, Moses Mendelssohn, and Hegel.

Instructor(s): Andrea Ray     Terms Offered: Winter. Winter 2025
Prerequisite(s): Undergrads Only
Equivalent Course(s): SCTH 30606, JWSC 20606, FNDL 20606, SCTH 20606, GRMN 24606

PHIL 21000. Introduction To Ethics. 100 Units.

An exploration of some of the central questions in metaethics, moral theory, and applied ethics. These questions include the following: are there objective moral truths, as there are (as it seems) objective scientific truths? If so, how can we come to know these truths? Should we make the world as good as we can, or are there moral constraints on what we can do that are not a function of the consequences of our actions? Is the best life a maximally moral life? What distribution of goods in a society satisfies the demands of justice? Can beliefs and desires be immoral, or only actions? What is "moral luck"? What is courage? (A)

Instructor(s): Candace Vogler     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 23107, HIPS 21000

PHIL 21002. Human Rights: Philosophical Foundations. 100 Units.

In this class we explore the philosophical foundations of human rights, investigating theories of how our shared humanity in the context of an interdependent world gives rise to obligations of justice. We begin by asking what rights are, how they are distinguished from other part of morality, and what role they play in our social and political life. But rights come in many varieties, and we are interested in human rights in particular. In later weeks, we will ask what makes something a human right, and how are human rights different from other kinds of rights. We will consider a number of contemporary philosophers who attempt to answer this question, including James Griffin, Charles Beitz, Joseph Raz, Jiewuh Song, Pablo Gilabert, and Martha Nussbaum. Throughout we will be asking questions such as, "What makes something a human right?" "What role does human dignity play in grounding our human rights?" "Are human rights historical?" "What role does the nation and the individual play in our account of human rights?" "When can one nation legitimately intervene in the affairs of another nation?" "How can we respect the demands of justice while also respecting cultural difference?" "How do human rights relate to global inequality and markets?" (A)

Instructor(s): Ben Laurence, Pozen Center for Human Rights Instructional Professor     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): INRE 31602, HMRT 31002, MAPH 42002, PHIL 31002, HIST 29319, DEMS 21002, HMRT 21002, HIST 39319

PHIL 21013. Neo-Aristotelian Moral Philosophy. 100 Units.

TBA

Instructor(s): Candace Vogler     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 31013

PHIL 21102. Opera as Idea and As Performance. 100 Units.

Is opera an archaic and exotic pageant for fanciers of overweight canaries, or a relevant art form of great subtlety and complexity that has the power to be revelatory? In this course of eight sessions, jointly taught by Professor Martha Nussbaum and Anthony Freud, General Director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, we explore the multi-disciplinary nature of this elusive and much-maligned art form, with its four hundred-year-old European roots, discussing both historic and philosophical contexts and the practicalities of interpretation and production in a very un-European, twenty-first century city. Anchoring each session around a different opera, we will be joined by a variety of guest experts, one each week, including a director, a conductor, a designer and two singers, to enable us to explore different perspectives. The list of operas to be discussed include Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppaea, Mozart's Don Giovanni, Rossini's Barber of Seville, Verdi's Don Carlos, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Wagner's Die Meistersinger, Britten's Billy Budd, and Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking. Students do not need to be able to read music, but some antecedent familiarity with opera in performance or through recordings would be extremely helpful. REQUIREMENTS: PhD students and law students will write one long paper at the end (20-25 pages), based on a prospectus submitted earlier. Other students will write one shorter paper (5-7 pages) and one longer paper (12-15 pages), the former due in week 4 and the latter during reading period. PhD students in the Philosophy Department and the Music Department and all law students (both J. D. and LL.M.) may enroll without permission. All other students will be selected by lottery up to the number feasible given TA arrangements.

Instructor(s): Anthony Freud; Martha Nussbaum     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Remark: Students do not need to be able to read music, but some antecedent familiarity with opera in performance or through recordings would be extremely helpful. But enthusiasm is the main thing! Assignments: In general, for each week we will require you to listen carefully to the opera of that week. Multiple copies of the recommended recordings will be available in the library. But you should feel free to use your own recordings, or to buy them, or stream them, if you prefer. There will also be brief written materials assigned, and posted on the course canvas site. No books are required for purchase. Because listening is the main thing, we will try to keep readings brief and to make recommendations for further reading should you want to do more. Class Structure: In general we will each make remarks for about twenty minutes each, then interview the guest of the week, with ample room for discussion. REQUIREMENTS: PhD students and law students will write one long paper at the end (20-25 pages), based on a prospectus submitted earlier. Other students will write one shorter paper (5-7 pages) and one longer paper (12-15 pages), the former due in week 4 and the latter during reading period. STUDENTS: PhD students in the Philosophy Department and the Music Department and all law students (both J. D. and LL.M.) may enroll without permission. All other students will be selected by lottery up to the number feasible given CA arrangements.
Equivalent Course(s): MUSI 24416, RETH 51102, PLSC 31102, MUSI 30716, PHIL 31102, PLSC 21102

PHIL 21103. Ethics in a Time of Climate Crisis. 100 Units.

Humanity faces a climate crisis. Its effects are already tangible, including a loss of biodiversity and wildlife, rising sea levels and the disappearance of traditional living space, the accumulation of extreme weather events, and increased migration due to growing hostility of previously agreeable and fertile natural environments. And this is nothing to speak of the potentially catastrophic effects of global heating yet to come. In this course, we will discuss both historically influential and recent works that can help us get a better understanding of the ethical challenges of our current situation. Our discussions will center around three thematic questions: What is our relation to nature? In what sense, if any, is climate change a matter of justice? And what are the right ethical ways of addressing our current environmental predicament? (A)

Instructor(s): Laurenz Ramsauer     Terms Offered: Winter

PHIL 21104. Introduction to Philosophy through Taylor Swift. 100 Units.

This will be an introduction to philosophy through the music of Taylor Swift. We'll explore a range of philosophical themes using Swift's lyrics as a starting point. Such themes include the nature of love and desire, the ethics of fantasy, memory and nostalgia, revenge, aesthetics, and autonomy. No prior experience with philosophy required, nor does one have to be a Swiftie. (A)

Instructor(s): Mikayla Kelley     Terms Offered: Winter

PHIL 21203. Introduction to Philosophy of Law. 100 Units.

This course will be an introduction to the philosophy of law. The first third will cover some historical classics: Plato's Crito, and selections from Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Kant's Doctrine of Right, Hegel's Outline of the Philosophy of Right, and Austin's The Province of Jurisprudence Determined. The second third of the course will cover some classics of postwar Anglo-American jurisprudence, including selections from H.L.A. Hart, Ronald Dworkin, Richard Posner, and Ernest Weinrib. The final third of the course will explore in a little further detail philosophical problems that arise in the following areas: the philosophy of tort law, theories of constitutional interpretation, and feminist jurisprudence. (A)

Instructor(s): Lisa Van Alstyne     Terms Offered: Autumn

PHIL 21204. Philosophy of Private Law. 100 Units.

This course will be on the part of the law known as private law - the part that adjudicates disputes between private citizens where one person is alleged to have suffered harm through the wrongdoing of another. Among the questions with which we will be concerned are the following: What constitutes a legal harm in such a context? What, in the eyes of the law, counts as one person being the cause of another person's suffering? What sort of redress or compensation may one justifiably seek for such suffering? Who has a right to decide such questions? What justifies the use of sanction or force - and when is it justified - in the enforcement of such legal decisions? The first half of this course will present a selective historical genealogy of our contemporary understanding of how to go about answering such questions. The second half of the course will be on contemporary theories of private law. The historical portion of the course will begin by examining the origins of the modern distinction between private and public law in Aristotle's ancient distinction between corrective and distributive justice. Next we will briefly consider what private legal adjudication looks like in the absence of the state, first by reading an Icelandic Saga and then by watching John Ford's classic western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. (A)

Instructor(s): Lisa Van Alstyne     Terms Offered: Spring

PHIL 21304. Introduction to Type Theory. 100 Units.

Type theory is a new way of thinking about logic in which proofs are associated with computational verifications. This class will introduce students to the formal and philosophical issues involved in this way of looking at logic. The Curry-Howard correspondence will be examined in both the intuitionistic and classical context, and its significance discussed. Familiarity with the ideas of elementary logic will be presupposed. (B) (II)

Instructor(s): Kevin Davey     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 31304

PHIL 21315. Adorno on Morality. 100 Units.

TBA

Instructor(s): Matthias Haase     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 31315

PHIL 21412. Analytic Thomism: Philosophical Anthropology. 100 Units.

TBA

Instructor(s): Candace Vogler     Terms Offered: Spring

PHIL 21518. Liberation and Enlightenment. 100 Units.

The purpose of this course is to explore the relationship between the project of human freedom-the project of liberation-and the idea of enlightenment. The main theme is a question: Is liberation simply a matter of enlightenment? That is, does freedom come from a special kind of profound knowledge? Affirmative answers to this question can be found in many places across the world and history, from Gautama the Buddha and the Stoic Epictetus to Francis Bacon and Immanuel Kant. Others have insisted that enlightenment, while part of liberation, is not reducible to it: liberation is a social, economic, and political process, facilitated by a kind of realization about one's lack of freedom, but not reducible to it. This kind of thought is also ubiquitous: from Marcus Garvey and Frederick Douglass to Angela Davis and Catherine MacKinnon. Still others have been skeptical of enlightenment: most famously, Frankfurt school theorists Max Horkheimer and Theodore Adorno. At stake in this debate is a set of fundamental questions about the human condition and what one is to do with one's life. Why, for example, are we supposedly unfree? After all, many people-including many of you considering enrolling in this class-have relative freedom of bodily movement, the ability to choose when and where to eat your next meal, or whom to love. But all of these thinkers agree that we-all of us, from the college student to the political prisoner to the head of state-are unfree. Why? (A)

Instructor(s): John Proios     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 31518

PHIL 21626. Human Heterogeneity I. 100 Units.

People differ from one another, and some of those differences really matter-for working together, for understanding each other, and for shaping who we are. Which differences have philosophical significance, and why? This course explores both the obvious social categories-race, gender, class, culture-and the more elusive, fine-grained differences that challenge the conceit of a universal human nature. Drawing on philosophical, sociological, and literary texts, we'll investigate how conversation can bridge (or deepen) these gaps, ultimately asking what it means to truly understand someone whose experience may be radically unlike our own.

Instructor(s): Agnes Callard     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Note that you do not need to take this as a two quarter class, you can take only the Fall Quarter, but IF you wish to take the Winter quarter you must take the Fall quarter.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 31626

PHIL 21627. Human Heterogeneity II. 100 Units.

People differ from one another, and some of those differences really matter-for working together, for understanding each other, and for shaping who we are. Which differences have philosophical significance, and why? This course explores both the obvious social categories-race, gender, class, culture-and the more elusive, fine-grained differences that challenge the conceit of a universal human nature. Drawing on philosophical, sociological, and literary texts, we'll investigate how conversation can bridge (or deepen) these gaps, ultimately asking what it means to truly understand someone whose experience may be radically unlike our own.

Instructor(s): Agnes Callard     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Note that you do not need to take this as a two quarter class, you can take only the Fall Quarter, but IF you wish to take the Winter quarter you must take the Fall quarter.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 31627

PHIL 21727. Plato and his Predecessors. 100 Units.

A close reading of Plato's Hippias Major, Protagoras, and Gorgias. (A)

Instructor(s): Sean Kelsey     Terms Offered: Winter

PHIL 22000. Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. 100 Units.

This class will be a survey of major themes in contemporary philosophy of science. Topics will include inductivism, Popper's deductivism, Kuhn's conception of science, and Bayesianism. Towards the end of the course as a case study we will look at the debate about whether the existence of multiple universes should be considered a genuine scientific hypothesis. (B)

Instructor(s): Kevin Davey     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): HIPS 22000, HIST 25109

PHIL 22212. Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. 100 Units.

This seminar will introduce some of the central concepts of psychoanalysis: Mourning and Melancholia, Repetition and Remembering, Transference, Neurosis, the Unconscious, Identification, Psychodynamic, Eros, Envy, Gratitude, Splitting, Death. The central theme will be how these concepts shed light on human flourishing and the characteristic ways we fail to flourish. Readings from Plato, Aristotle, Freud, Loewald, Lacan, Melanie Klein, Betty Joseph, Hanna Segal and others.

Instructor(s): Jonathan Lear; Dr. Alfred Margulies     Terms Offered: Spring. Spring 2025
Prerequisite(s): Instructor's consent is required for all students.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 51413, SCTH 55512, FNDL 22212

PHIL 22702. Abortion: Morality, Politics, Philosophy. 100 Units.

Abortion is a complex and fraught topic. Morally, a very wide range of individual, familial, and social concerns converge upon it. Politically, longstanding controversies have been given new salience and urgency by the Dobbs decision and the ongoing moves by state legislatures to restrict access to abortion. In terms of moral philosophy, deep issues in ethics merge with equally deep questions about the nature of life, action, and the body. In terms of political philosophy, basic questions are raised about the relationship of religious and moral beliefs to the criminal law of a liberal state. We will seek to understand the topic in all of this complexity. Our approach will be thoroughly intra- and inter-disciplinary, drawing not only on our separate areas of philosophical expertise but on the contributions of a series of guest instructors in law, history, and medicine. (A)

Instructor(s): Jason Bridges; Dan Brudney     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 32702, HIPS 22701, BPRO 22700, HMRT 22702, GNSE 22705, HLTH 22700

PHIL 22910. Mind and Reality. 100 Units.

This course brings together the philosophy and the sciences of the mind to examine fundamental questions about our subjective experience of the world, ourselves, and others such as: What is consciousness? Do we all experience and represent the world in the same way? Can we know other minds? What is it like to be other animals? Can machines perceive, think, or feel? The first half of the course challenges the naïve impression that our conscious experience of reality is a passive and accurate reflection of how the world is. By introducing a range of scientific phenomena such as visual illusions, false memories and cognitive biases, the lectures will engage students in analyzing how our experience of an external and internal reality is actively constructed by our minds. Besides lectures, we will do field trips to several museum exhibits to explore hands-on the complexity and error-proneness of our mental processes. The second half of the course delves into ancient and contemporary philosophical thought on the nature of mental representation, self-consciousness, and knowledge of other minds. We will examine how fundamental questions about the nature of our minds can be addressed through philosophical analysis and thought experiments, but also in film, science-fiction, and visual arts.

Terms Offered: Summer

PHIL 22960. Bayesian Epistemology. 100 Units.

Epistemology is the study of belief, and addresses questions like "what are we justified in believing?" and "when does a belief count as knowledge?" This course will provide an overview of Bayesian epistemology, which treats belief as coming in degrees, and addresses questions like "when does rationality require us to be more confident of one proposition than another?", "how should we measure the amount of confirmation that a piece of evidence provides for a theory?", and "which actions should we choose, based on our judgments about how probable various consequences are?" (B) (II)

Instructor(s): Mikayla Kelley     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): Logic or some other college level mathematics course.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 32960

PHIL 22961. Social Epistemology. 100 Units.

Traditionally, epistemologists have concerned themselves with the individual: What should I believe? What am I in a position to know? How should my beliefs guide my decision-making? But we can also ask each of these questions about groups. What should we -- the jury, the committee, the scientific community--believe? What can we know? How should our beliefs guide our decision-making? These are some of the questions of social epistemology Social epistemology also deals with the social dimensions of individual opinion: How should I respond to disagreement with my peers? When should I defer to majority opinion? Are there distinctively epistemic forms of oppression and injustice? If so, what are they like and how might we try to combat them? This class is a broad introduction to social epistemology. (B) (II)

Instructor(s): Ginger Schultheis     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 32961

PHIL 23000. Introduction to Metaphysics and Epistemology. 100 Units.

In this course we will explore some of the central questions in epistemology and metaphysics. In epistemology, these questions will include: What is knowledge? What facts or states justify a belief? How can the threat of skepticism be adequately answered? How do we know what we (seem to) know about mathematics and morality? In metaphysics, these questions will include: What is time? What is the best account of personal identity across time? Do we have free will? We will also discuss how the construction of a theory of knowledge ought to relate to the construction of a metaphysical theory-roughly speaking, what comes first, epistemology or metaphysics? (B)

Instructor(s): Benjamin Callard     Terms Offered: Spring

PHIL 23105. Introduction to the Philosophy of Mathematics. 100 Units.

This course will be an introduction to the philosophy of mathematics. In the first part of the course we take a close look at traditional issues in the philosophy of mathematics such as the realism / anti-realism dispute and the epistemology of mathematics. In the second part of the course we look at a selection of more contemporary topics, focusing on threats to traditional ways of thinking of mathematics posed by Godel's Theorems, Lakatos' conception of mathematics, and the use of computers (including AI) in mathematics. (B) (II)

Instructor(s): Kevin Davey     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 33105

PHIL 23207. Phenomenology and Existentialism. 100 Units.

This course introduces students to key concepts, texts, and figures from the phenomenological tradition as it emerged and developed in Germany and France over the late-19th and 20th centuries. Students will engage with questions of intentionality, temporality, embodiment, finitude, and meaning-making. The course will pay particular attention to continuities and discontinuities between key figures. Major figures covered include Edmund Husserl, Edith Stein, Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Hannah Arendt, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir, Frantz Fanon, and Jean-Paul Sartre. (B)

Instructor(s): Magnus Ferguson     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): At least one previous course in philosophy.

PHIL 23401. Philosophy and Science Fiction. 100 Units.

How do we know whether our perceptual experiences really are of a real world outside of us? What determines the identity of a person over time? What does it take to be conscious, and how can we tell whether someone or something is? Could radically different languages lead to radically different forms of experience and thought? These are key questions in the philosophical fields of epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, and Philosophy of Language. In this course, we'll explore these questions (and more) as they arise in works of science fiction and consider the main philosophical proposals for tackling them with an eye to these works. The main works with which we'll engage will be the films "The Matrix," "Moon," "Ex Machina," and "Arrival," though there will be many supplementary works of science fiction. Philosophical readings will be drawn from both historical and contemporary sources. (B)

Instructor(s): Ray Briggs     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 33403

PHIL 23404. Science and Values. 100 Units.

Ever since the establishment of modern science, a central topic of discussion is whether and how scientific reasoning differs from political, moral, or philosophical reasoning. One of the traditionally identified unique features of science is its 'ideal' of being 'value-free'. The value-free ideal of science states that scientific reasoning from evidence to theory should not be influenced by social, political, or moral values. In recent decades numerous philosophers of science have concerted that the value-free ideal of science is neither attainable nor desirable. Some of the motivations for this criticism are to promote traditionally underrepresented perspectives such as feminism in science and to rethink the social and moral responsibilities of scientists beyond those understood under scientific integrity. The main upshot of this critique is that scientific objectivity must be redefined in a way that does not imply value-freedom. This course will give an outlook on the central ideas and concepts in the science and values debate and beyond it. The core philosophical discussion will focus on the main arguments for the untenability or undesirability of the value-free ideal and their criticisms. The broader context of discussion will include topics such as the science-society relationship, how scientific expertise and scientifically informed policy relates to democratic governance, public trust in science, and misinformation. (B)

Instructor(s): Duygu Uygun Tunc     Terms Offered: Spring
Prerequisite(s): One previous philosophy course.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 33404

PHIL 23417. Plato's Theory of Forms. 100 Units.

Plato's theory of forms is perhaps the first complete philosophical idea in the Greek tradition. It is so fundamental to the activity of philosophy, that the entire subject might be summarized as "a series of alternatives to Plato's theory of Forms." We sketch out the development of this theory from its earliest presentations in dialogues like the Republic through Plato's own reconsideration of the theory in Parmenides, to the late presentations of the theory in Sophist and Philebus. (B)

Instructor(s): Arnold Brooks     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): This course is intended as a standalone course but it constitutes excellent preparation for Aristotle’s Metaphysics (Spring 2026). History of Philosophy I: Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy (PHIL 25000) is recommended but not required.
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 33417

PHIL 23502. Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind. 100 Units.

What is a mind? How are minds related to bodies, to brains, and to the world? In this course, we take up these central questions of the philosophy of mind. We will consider a range of views about the mind-body problem, such as dualism, behaviorism, physicalism, functionalism, and eliminativism. We will also examine accounts that have been given of particular aspects of our mentality, such as consciousness, perception, personal identity, and the so-called propositional attitudes. Finally, we will conclude by considering artificial intelligence. (B)

Instructor(s): Gregory Brown     Terms Offered: Autumn

PHIL 24103. First-Personal Memory: Locke, Freud, and Wittgenstein. 100 Units.

(B) (IV)

Instructor(s): David Finkelstein     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 34103

PHIL 24261. Kant's Ethical Theory. 100 Units.

A study of the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant as presented in his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason, Metaphysics of Morals, and Religion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reason. (A) (IV)

Instructor(s): Thomas Pendlebury     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 34261

PHIL 24709. Morality and Psychology in the Films of Ingmar Bergman. 100 Units.

The films of the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman are among the most powerful, complicated, and philosophically sophisticated portrayals of moral and religious and failed moral and religious life in the twentieth century. Bergman is especially concerned with crisis experiences and with related emotional states like anguish, alienation, guilt, despair, loneliness, shame, abandonment, conversion, and the mystery of death. We will watch and discuss eight of his most important films in this course with such issues in mind: Wild Strawberries (1957), The Virgin Spring (1960), Winter Light (1963), Persona (1966), Shame (1968), Cries and Whispers (1973), Autumn Sonata (1978), Fanny and Alexander (1982). (A)

Instructor(s): Robert Pippin     Terms Offered: Spring. Spring 2025
Prerequisite(s): Instructor's permission is required for all students.
Equivalent Course(s): GRMN 24709, CMST 38005, SCTH 38005, FNDL 24709, PHIL 34709, GRMN 34709

PHIL 24752. Philosophy of Human Rights and Human Rights Law. 100 Units.

The notion of Human Rights has become one of the most prominent conceptions in modern political language - both as a widely popular normative standard and as the object of much criticism. In this course, we will explore some fundamental issues in the philosophical foundations of human rights alongside their implementation in international human rights law and their historical development, as well as some popular criticisms. This course will be of interest to interested in social, legal and political philosophy, international relations, as well as to students considering law school. (A)

Instructor(s): Laurenz Ramsauer     Terms Offered: Spring

PHIL 25000. History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy. 100 Units.

An examination of ancient Greek philosophical texts that are foundational for Western philosophy, especially the work of Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the nature and possibility of knowledge and its role in human life; the nature of the soul; virtue; happiness and the human good.

Instructor(s): John Proios     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the general education requirement in humanities.
Equivalent Course(s): CLCV 22700

PHIL 25102. Aquinas on Justice. 100 Units.

Aquinas regards justice as the preeminent moral virtue, and in the Summa theologiae he devotes more Questions to it than to any other virtue (II-II, qq. 57-79). With occasional help from other passages of his, and with an eye to his sources (especially Aristotle) and to later thinkers, we will first work through his general accounts of the object of justice (ius-the just or the right), justice as a virtue, the nature of injustice, and the distinction between distributive and commutative justice. Then, as time permits, we will discuss selected texts on more specific topics such as judicature, restitution, partiality, murder, theft, verbal injuries, fraud, and usury. (A

Instructor(s): Stephen Brock     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the general education requirement in humanities.
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 24304

PHIL 25104. Aristotle's De Anima. 100 Units.

A careful study of Aristotle's De Anima in its entirety. (B)

Instructor(s): Sean Kelsey     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 35104

PHIL 25120. Introduction to Philosophy of Religion. 100 Units.

This course explores the Western philosophical tradition of reasoned reflection on religious belief. Our questions will include: what are the most important arguments for, and against, belief in God? How does religious belief relate to the deliverances of the sciences, in particular to evolutionary theory? How can we reconcile religious belief with the existence of evil? What is the relationship between religion and morality? In attempting to answer these questions we will read work by Plato, Augustine, Anselm, Nietszche, and Freud, as well as some recent texts. (B)

Instructor(s): Benjamin Callard     Terms Offered: Winter

PHIL 25405. Feminist Political Philosophy. 100 Units.

Feminist political philosophy has a two-fold history: both as a persistent critique of canonical political philosophy, as well as generative of new models of justice altogether. This course will be an exploration of the two sides of the history of feminist political philosophy. We will begin with a survey of feminist critiques of the canon, including from liberal feminism, Black feminist philosophy, and Marxist feminist philosophy. We will then move on to the positive accounts that have come out of this tradition, asking whether new models of the state, of the person, and of gender are required in order to construct theories that adequately represent what justice requires in a world with gender-based oppression. We will read philosophers such as Rousseau, Marx, Engels, John Rawls, Susan Okin, Mary Wollstonecraft, Catherine Mackinnon, and Christine Delphy. (A)

Instructor(s): Tyler Zimmer     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 35405, GNSE 20108, HIPS 25405

PHIL 25714. An Introduction to Wittgenstein's Tractatus. 100 Units.

This will be an introductory course on Wittgenstein's Tractatus. The seminar will be organized around the following proposal: the book is meant to reveal the sort of understanding that is at stake whenever a philosophical problem arises. It teaches that such understanding is not a form of knowledge - and in particular not scientific knowledge- of whether or why something is the case. Its clarification of the sort of understanding at issue here allows for a reading according to which the Tractatus, contrary to what most commentators assume, seeks to affirm rather than to cancel philosophy. It affirms it as a fundamental concern with understanding distinct from science or from reason.

Instructor(s): Irad Kimhi     Terms Offered: Autumn. Autumn 2024
Prerequisite(s): Background in philosophy for Undergrads.
Note(s): Undergrads require the Instructor's consent to register.
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 25714, SCTH 25714, PHIL 35714, SCTH 35714

PHIL 25715. Aristotle: Action, Embodied Agents and Value in Acting. 100 Units.

The aim of the course is to understand and assess central aspects of Aristotle's account of actions and agency. We will locate his views within the context of his discussion of (a) the relation between psychological and physical states, processes, and activities and (b) the value of acting well. The course is aimed at graduates and advanced undergraduates (seniors and juniors) in Philosophy or Classics.

Instructor(s): David Charles     Terms Offered: Autumn. Autumn 2024
Prerequisite(s): Knowledge of Greek is not required.
Note(s): Only senior Undergraduates with the instructor's consent can register. No consent is required for Graduate Students. Auditors are allowed subject to enrollment and with the instructor's permission. Auditors will be expected to attend all classes, complete all reading assignments, and participate in class discussions, but not to complete writing assignments.
Equivalent Course(s): SCTH 35715, FNDL 25715, CLAS 35924, CLCV 25924, SCTH 25715, PHIL 35715

PHIL 25716. The Linguistic Turn in Philosophy (Language, Meaning, Being) 100 Units.

How did philosophy come to be understood in the twentieth century as a special concern with our language? We shall deal with this question by studying the central philosophical approaches to language and philosophy (Frege, Wittgenstein, Carnap, Quine, Davidson, Dummett, McDowell).

Instructor(s): Irad Kimhi     Terms Offered: Winter. Winter 2025
Prerequisite(s): Consent Required for Undergraduate Students.
Equivalent Course(s): SCTH 35716, PHIL 35716, FNDL 25716

PHIL 26000. History of Philosophy II: Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy. 100 Units.

A study of conceptions of the relation of the human intellect to reality in medieval and early modern Europe. Figures studied include Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Descartes, Elisabeth of the Palatinate, Conway, Locke, Leibniz, Hume, and Kant.

Instructor(s): Thomas Pendlebury     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the general education requirement in humanities required; PHIL 25000 recommended.
Equivalent Course(s): MDVL 26000, HIPS 26000

PHIL 26520. Mind, Brain and Meaning. 100 Units.

What is the relationship between physical processes in the brain and body and the processes of thought and consciousness that constitute our mental life? Philosophers and others have puzzled over this question for millennia. Many have concluded it to be intractable. In recent decades, the field of cognitive science--encompassing philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, computer science, linguistics, and other disciplines--has proposed a new form of answer. The driving idea is that the interaction of the mental and the physical may be understood via a third level of analysis: that of the computational. This course offers a critical introduction to the elements of this approach, and surveys some of the alternative models and theories that fall within it. Readings are drawn from a range of historical and contemporary sources in philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and computer science. (B) (II)

Instructor(s): Jason Bridges; Leslie Kay; Chris Kennedy     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PSYC 26520, SIGN 26520, COGS 20001, NSCI 22520, PHIL 36520, EDSO 20001, LING 36520, LING 26520, PSYC 36520

PHIL 27000. History of Philosophy III: Kant and the 19th Century. 100 Units.

The philosophical ideas and methods of Immanuel Kant's "critical" philosophy set off a revolution that reverberated through 19th-century philosophy. We will trace the effects of this revolution and the responses to it, focusing specifically on the influence of Kant's contribution to moral philosophy and its lasting influence on discussions of ethics and political philosophy. We will begin with a consideration of Kant's famous Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, in which he announces his project of grounding all ethical obligation in the very idea of a free will. We will then consider Hegel's radicalization of this project in his Philosophy of Right, which seeks to derive from the idea of freedom, not just formal constraints on right action, but a determinate, positive conception of what Hegel calls "ethical life". We will conclude with an examination of some important challenges to the Kantian/Hegelian project in ethical and political theory: Karl Marx's re-interpretation of the idea of freedom in the economic sphere; Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill's radicalizations of the ideas of political liberty and equality; and the appropriation and critique of the Enlightenment rhetoric of freedom by writers on racial oppression including Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. DuBois, and Angela Davis.

Instructor(s): Maya Krishnan     Terms Offered: Spring

PHIL 27328. Friedrich Nietzsche: The Gay Science. 100 Units.

The Gay Science is the only work that Nietzsche wrote and published before and after the Zarathustra experiment of 1883-1885. It first appeared in 1882, ending with the last aphorism of Book IV and anticipating verbatim the opening of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In 1887 Nietzsche republished The Gay Science and added a substantial new part: Book V looks back to "the greatest recent event" announced by The Gay Science of 1882, "that 'God is dead'." I shall concentrate my interpretation on books IV and V, the only books of The Gay Science for which Nietzsche provided titles: "Sanctus Januarius" and "We Fearless Ones." And I shall pay special attention to the impact of the Zarathustra endeavor, which separates and connects these dense and carefully written books.

Instructor(s): Heinrich Meier     Terms Offered: Spring. Spring 2025
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates Need Instructor's Permission to Register.
Note(s): The seminar will take place in Foster 505 on Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m.*, during the first five weeks of the term (March 24 – April 23, 2025).
Equivalent Course(s): FNDL 27328, PHIL 37328, GRMN 37327, SCTH 37327

PHIL 27380. The Ethics of Immigration. 100 Units.

Immigration is quickly becoming one of the defining controversies of our age, and it is increasingly common for states to restrict the movement of people across borders. But should we say that nation states have the right to exclude non-members in the first place? If so, what is the basis of that right? If not, should we say that immigration controls of any kind are at odds with justice? And is there a compelling case for the exclusion of immigrants that depends on a commitment to preserving national culture or managing the demographics of a national population? As we'll see, these questions touch on fundamental issues in political philosophy: the nature of citizenship and its relationship to culture, the source of legitimate authority, the justifiability of state coercion, the content and justification of rights. Readings will be drawn from the contemporary philosophical literature on immigration. (A)

Instructor(s): Tyler Zimmer     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): HMRT 27380

PHIL 27507. Kant's First Critique. 100 Units.

This course will be an intensive introduction to the Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant.

Instructor(s): Maya Krishnan     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 37507

PHIL 27523. Reading Kierkegaard. 100 Units.

This will be a discussion-centered seminar that facilitates close readings two texts: Philosophical Fragments and Concluding Unscientific Postscript. Each of these texts is officially by the pseudonymous author Johannes Climacus. But the author of that author is Soren Kierkegaard. Topics to be considered will include: What is subjectivity? What is objectivity? What is irony? What is humor? What is the difference between the ethical and the religious? What is it to become and be a human being? We shall also consider Kierkegaard's form of writing and manner of persuasion. In particular, why does he think he needs a pseudonymous author? (IV)

Instructor(s): Jonathan Lear     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): This course is intended for undergraduate majors in Philosophy and Fundamentals and graduate students in Social Thought and Philosophy. Permission of instructor required.
Equivalent Course(s): SCTH 37523, PHIL 37523, SCTH 27523, FNDL 27523

PHIL 27543. Black and/or Human: On Humanism and Racialized Being. 100 Units.

What is it to be human and why does it matter? This course invites students to engage the question within the relation between theories of humanism and the histories of dehumanization as pertains to the racialization of Black people. Specific theories of the human have served as foundations of practices of dehumanization, and yet experiences of dehumanization have led to the development of new forms of humanism. In light of histories of enslavement and colonization and the related hierarchies of the human, what is the conceptual basis of the hierarchization within or exclusion from the category of the human? What does it feel like to be dehumanized and how does one adequately respond to such an experience? Some thinkers reject the concept while others reclaim it to inspire new existential outlooks on the world or political struggles. This course will explore the wide literature on these questions, supplementing written texts with other media such as film and music. We will focus on the implications of theories of humanism for the particularly human form of being, the pursuit of the good, and the organization of social life. Engagement in this course will be based on discussion, personal reflection, and the relation of course material to contemporary issues.

Instructor(s): Kevin Irakoze     Terms Offered: Winter
Equivalent Course(s): RDIN 27543, PHIL 37543, RDIN 37543

PHIL 29200. Junior Tutorial. 100 Units.

Junior/Senior Tutorial. For topic and other information, please visit https://philosophy.uchicago.edu/courses.

Instructor(s): Winter 2026 Karl von der Luft (Topic: TBA)     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Open only to intensive-track and philosophy majors.
Note(s): Junior and Senior sections meet together. No more than two Tutorials may be used to meet program requirements.

PHIL 29300. Senior Tutorial. 100 Units.

Junior/Senior Tutorial. For topic and other information, please visit https://philosophy.uchicago.edu/courses.

Instructor(s): Winter 2026 Karl von der Luft (Topic: TBA)     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Open only to intensive-track and philosophy majors.
Note(s): Junior and Senior sections meet together. No more than two Tutorials may be used to meet program requirements.

PHIL 29601. Intensive Track Seminar. 100 Units.

In this seminar we engage in an in-depth examination of a focused philosophical topic-in a manner akin to that of a graduate seminar. Readings are challenging, but there is no presumption of prior expertise in the course topic.

Instructor(s): Arnold Brooks     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Open only to third-year students who have been admitted to the intensive track program.

PHIL 29700. Reading and Research. 100 Units.

Reading and Research.

Terms Offered: Autumn Spring Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of Instructor & Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students are required to submit the college reading and research course form.

PHIL 29901. Senior Seminar I. 100 Units.

Students writing senior essays register once for PHIL 29901, in the Autumn Quarter, and once for PHIL 29902, in the Winter Quarter. The Senior Seminar meets for two quarters, and students writing essays are required to attend throughout.

Instructor(s): Agnes Callard; Tyler Zimmer; Hannah McKeown     Terms Offered: Autumn
Prerequisite(s): Consent of Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Note(s): Required and only open to fourth-year students who have been accepted into the BA essay program.

PHIL 29902. Senior Seminar II. 100 Units.

Students writing senior essays register once for PHIL 29901, in the Autumn Quarter, and once for PHIL 29902, in the Winter Quarter. The Senior Seminar meets for two quarters, and students writing essays are required to attend throughout.

Instructor(s): Agnes Callard; Tyler Zimmer; Hannah McKeown     Terms Offered: Winter
Prerequisite(s): Consent of Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Note(s): Required and only open to fourth-year students who have been accepted into the BA essay program.

PHIL 29906. Philosophy of AI: Introduction-Minds and Machines. 100 Units.

(B)

Instructor(s): Jason Bridges; Benjamin Callard     Terms Offered: Autumn
Equivalent Course(s): PHIL 39906, COGS 23009