Please proceed to MyBUStudent for the most up-to-date information, class locations, and to register for classes. For more detailed descriptions and access to previously offered courses, please proceed to the Academic Bulletin. Course offerings from previous semesters can be found on the sidebar.
Please note that Philosophy offers lecture/discussion style courses, which means that in order to complete your enrollment in this style of course and be eligible to receive credit, you must register for the lecture section AND a discussion section that corresponds by letter. For example, if you register for CAS PH 100 A1, you must also register for CAS PH 100 A2, A3, A4, or A5.
Please also note that GRS (Graduate School of Arts & Sciences) courses are available for students enrolled in graduate programs only, and undergraduate students may only register for GRS courses with special circumstances and approval from the instructor.
CAS – College of Arts & Sciences
CAS PH 100 A1: Introduction to Philosophy
Professor Darien Pollock
Tuesday, Thursday 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics may include the nature of reality, knowledge, God’s existence, and the significance of human life.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 100 B1: Introduction to Philosophy
Professor Sally Sedgwick
Tuesday, Thursday 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics may include the nature of reality, knowledge, God’s existence, and the significance of human life.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 110 A1: Great Philosophers
Professor Benjamin Crowe
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM
An introduction to philosophy through a reading of great figures in western thought. The list may include Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Roussesau, Nietzsche, Russell. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 150 A1: Introduction to Ethics
Professor Daniel Star
Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
This course focuses on a set of interrelated questions about morality: What is morality? How should I live? What does morality require of us in our daily lives, if it requires anything at all? Is morality universal? Or, is it relative or subjective? What is the relationship between morality and religion? Answering such questions will help us to understand what the most important features of morality are. We will look both at traditional moral theories that attempt to specify what morality requires of us (Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Contractarianism and Virtue Ethics), and at the application of these theories to many specific moral issues.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 155 A1: Politics & Philosophy
Professor Susanne Sreedhar
Tuesday, Thursday 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
What is justice? What are the foundations of property rights, liberty, and equality? Are anarchism and utopianism defensible? This course is an introduction to major themes and questions in political philosophy. It includes a study of classical and modern texts, as well as contemporary political issues.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 159 A1: Philosophy and Film
Professor Derek Anderson
Tuesday, Thursday 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
This class provides an introduction philosophical and aesthetic issues connected with film.
BU Hub: Aesthetic Exploration, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 160 A1: Reasoning & Argumentation
Professor Alisa Bokulich
Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Knowing how to think, reason, and argue well is essential for success in all disciplines and in everyday life. The aim of this course is to strengthen and develop your critical thinking skills; you will learn how to make good arguments and how to critically evaluate the arguments of others. This course will emphasize both real everyday examples, such as those drawn from newspaper articles, and examples drawn from the scientific literature. Course will include a systematic study of the principles of inductive, deductive and informal reasoning, calculated to enhance students’ actual reasoning and argumentation skills.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 242 A1: Philosophy of Human Nature
Professor Dan Dahlstrom
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM
Examines the way in which Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud undermine traditional conceptions of human nature. These thinkers teach us to question our ordinary assumptions about religion, human distinctiveness, the conscious mind, the role and status of morality, and the uplifting effects of civilization.
BU Hub:Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 248 A1: Existentialism
Professor Jordan Kokot
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2:30 PM – 3:20 PM
This course examines how existentialist thinkers grappled with some of the most problematic aspects of the human condition.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 251 A1: Medical Ethics
Professor Rachell Powell
Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
This course will survey ethical issues that arise in connection with medicine and emerging biotechnologies. It will examine topics such as the right to healthcare, research on human subjects, euthanasia, abortion, cloning, genetic selection, disabilities, and the biomedical enhancement of human capacities. Students can expect to gain not only training in the concepts and methods of moral philosophy and the logic of argumentation, but also the resources needed for assessing ethically difficult questions that healthcare professionals routinely face. Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 251 B1: Medical Ethics
Professor Tom Miles
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3:35 PM – 4:25 AM
This course will survey ethical issues that arise in connection with medicine and emerging biotechnologies. It will examine topics such as the right to healthcare, research on human subjects, euthanasia, abortion, cloning, genetic selection, disabilities, and the biomedical enhancement of human capacities. Students can expect to gain not only training in the concepts and methods of moral philosophy and the logic of argumentation, but also the resources needed for assessing ethically difficult questions that healthcare professionals routinely face.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 253 A1: Social Philosophy
Professor Tian Cao
Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Through a reading of some selected texts we will examine modern and contemporary theories of society, concerning its nature and the direction of its evolution. The philosophical and sociological discussions are framed in terms of the complicated relationship between individuals and society, and between civil society and the sovereign power.
Prerequisites: At least sophomore standing or any 100-level philosophy course.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 259 A1: Philosophy of the Arts
Professor Dan Dahlstrom
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:20 PM – 1:10 PM
What makes something beautiful? How do different arts (music, dance, painting, sculpture, architecture, film, drama) relate to our aesthetic experience of the world? Explores several philosophical theories of art through specific examples of artwork.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 266 A1: Mind, Brain, and Self
Professor Derek Anderson
Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
This course is devoted to exploring the relationships among consciousness, the mind, and the brain, the nature of the self or person, and other related topics. This course will also examine whether and to what extent these issues can be addressed by contemporary natural science.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Writing-Intensive Course, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 266 B1: Mind, Brain, and Self
Professor Nicholas Westberg
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3:30 AM – 4:25 AM
This course is devoted to exploring the relationships among consciousness, the mind, and the brain, the nature of the self or person, and other related topics. This course will also examine whether and to what extent these issues can be addressed by contemporary natural science.
Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120).
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Writing-Intensive Course, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 300 A1: History of Ancient Philosophy
Professor Cinzia Arruzza
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:20 PM – 1:10 PM
A survey of ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g. WR 100 or WR 120).
BU Hub: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Legacy.
CAS PH 300 B1: History of Ancient Philosophy
Professor Marc Gasser-Wingate
Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 PM – 10:45 PM
A survey of ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g. WR 100 or WR 120).
BU Hub: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Legacy.
CAS PH 300 C1: History of Ancient Philosophy
Professor Marc Gasser-Wingate
Tuesday, Thursday 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
A survey of ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g. WR 100 or WR 120).
BU Hub: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Legacy.
CAS PH 310 A1: History of Modern Philosophy
Professor Aaron Garrett
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:10 AM – 11:00 PM
An examination of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophy from Descartes to Kant, with emphasis on the nature and extent of knowledge. Readings include Descartes, Spinoza, Cavendish, Hume, and Kant.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS PH 310 B1: History of Modern Philosophy
Professor Nicholas Westberg
Tuesday, Thursday 3:30 AM – 4:45 AM
An examination of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophy from Descartes to Kant, with emphasis on the nature and extent of knowledge. Readings include Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, Berkley, Hume, and Kant.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS PH 340 A1: Metaphysics and Epistemology
Professor Nicolas Westberg
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM
This course is about metaphysics (the study of what there is, and how it all relates) and epistemology (the study of knowledge, and how we can know things about the world) and their intersection.
Prerequisites: CAS PH 160; or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 350 A1: History of Ethics
Professor Ben Crowe
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:25 PM – 2:15 PM
Are there fundamental principles for determining the right way to act ethically? How do different eras answer this question? What is the significance of these differences? This course addresses these questions by examining classical ethical texts from different historical traditions.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 360 A1: Symbolic Logic
Professor Peter Hylton
Tuesday, Thursday 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
A survey of the concepts and principles of symbolic logic: valid and invalid arguments, logical relations of statements and their basis in structural features of statements, analysis of the logical structure of complex statements of ordinary discourse, and the use of a symbolic language to display logical structure and to facilitate methods for assessing the logical structure of arguments. We cover the analysis of reasoning with truth-functions (“and”, “or”, “not”, “if … then”) and with quantifiers (“all”, “some”), attending to formal languages and axiomatic systems for logical deduction. Throughout, we aim to clearly and systematically display both the theory underlying the norms of valid reasoning and their applications to particular problems of argumentation. The course is an introduction to first-order quantificational logic, a key tool underlying work in foundations of mathematics, philosophy of language and mind, philosophy of science and parts of syntax and semantics. It is largely mathematical and formal in character, but lectures situate these structures within the context of questions raised in contemporary philosophy of language and mind
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Quantitative Reasoning I, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 403 A1: Plato I
Professor Cinzia Arruzza
A close reading of one of Plato’s dialogues.
Monday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
Prerequisites: Two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. – (Knowledge of Greek is helpful but not required. Familiarity with Greek philosophy is helpful.)
CAS PH 409 A1: Maimonides
Professor Michael Zank
Monday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
A study of major aspects of the thought of Maimonides. Primary focus on the Guide of the Perplexed, with attention to its modern reception in works by Baruch Spinoza, Hermann Cohen, Leo Strauss, and others. Also offered as CAS RN 420.
Prerequisites: CASPH 300
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
CAS PH 418 A1: Marx and Marxism
Professor Tian Cao
Thursday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
In this introductory course, Marxism will be treated mainly as a conceptual framework for understanding history and society (including economy, politics and culture), and also as a critique of capitalism and a program of transforming the capitalist society for human emancipation, with an analysis of both its philosophical and ethical presuppositions and its conceptions of a post-capitalist society. The evolution of its theoretical bases, through its three stages (classical Marxism of Marx and Engels; the Soviet orthodoxy and its critics; and contemporary Marxisms) will be critically examined, and its practical (political, economic and cultural) impacts on the historical course since its inception briefly outlined.
Prerequisites: two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 419 A1: Nietzsche
Professor Paul Katsafanas
Wednesday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
An intensive study of Nietzsche’s philosophical thought. Topics to be addressed may include Nietzsche’s claim that modern morality is dangerous; that the death of God brings with it the possibility of the “last man”; that modern culture exhibits or leads to nihilism; that we have lost “higher values”; that all organisms manifest a “will to power”; that the will to truth is an expression of the ascetic ideal; that we need a “revaluation of all values”; that we must affirm the eternal recurrence of our lives; and that we have a superficial understanding of the nature of happiness. Readings will include a combination of primary and secondary sources.
Prerequisites: Two philosophy courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings.
CAS PH 424/624 A1: Wittgenstein
Professor Juliet Floyd
Monday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
An intensive (line by line) study of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations.
Prerequisites: CASPH 310 and two other philosophy courses, or consent of instructor.
CAS PH 436 A1: Gender, Race, and Science
Professor Daniel Munro
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:25 PM – 2:15 PM
An upper-level exploration of topics in the philosophy of gender and philosophy of race, informed by historical and scientific inquiry. Explores philosophical questions about the nature of race and racism, sex and sexism.
Prerequisites: Two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 442 A1: Philosophy and Feminism
Professor Sam Hesni
Monday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
An advanced undergraduate/graduate discussion-based survey course of historical and contemporary feminist philosophy. We will read texts from among the following areas of feminist philosophy: methodology, ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, black feminist thought, postcolonial and decolonial feminism, global feminism, philosophy of gender, and queer and trans philosophy. Students will come away with a background in contemporary debates about these issues and in-depth scholarly engagement on one particular debate of their choosing.
Prerequisites: Two courses in philosophy and two courses in WGS (women’s, gender, and sexuality studies) or permission from instructor.
CAS PH 462 A1: Foundations of Mathematics
Professor Akihiro Kanamori
Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Axiomatic set theory as a foundation for, and field of, mathematics: Axiom of Choice, the Continuum Hypothesis, and consistency results. Also offered as CAS MA 532.
CAS PH 472 A1: Philosophy of Biology
Professor Rachell Powell
Tuesday, Thursday 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM
Conceptual problems in biology; unity or pluralism of science; hierarchy theory; biological explanation; evolutionary theory, teleology and causality, statistical explanation; the species problem; mind and the brain; and language in animals and humans.
Prerequisites: two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
CAS PH 482 A1: Topics in Modern and Contemporary Philosophy
Professor Susanne Sreedhar
Tuesday, Thursday 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
This seminar will be a close study of the writings of Olympe de Gouges, a late 18th century philosopher, feminist, abolitionist, pamphleteer, playwright, and activist. Writing during the French Revolution, she’s most famous for her “Declaration of the Rights of Woman,” which argued for social and political equality for women. She also penned essays about the nature of human happiness and the evils of slavery. We will read each of these works, as well as some of her plays. De Gouges challenges the false universalism of the French Revolution and the early modern natural rights tradition, anticipating debates between feminist thinkers in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. For her troubles, she was charged with treason and beheaded during the Terror. As necessary background for making sense of de Gouges, we will read some canonical enlightenment thinkers including Locke, Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, and Condorcet. Fair warning: this course will be reading and writing heavy. It will also satisfy the “one course from PH 403-430” requirement for the philosophy major.
CAS PH 487 A1: Topics in the Philosophy of Science
Professor Alisa Bokulich
Tuesday, Thursday 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
This course is a discussion-based introduction to core issues in the philosophy science, focusing on the topics of data, measurement, theory change, scientific realism, reductionism, models, and natural kinds. What are data and how are they related to models? What does it mean to say a measurement is accurate and how would we know? How does a scientific theory come to be rejected and a new theory take its place? Can idealized scientific models that make all sort of false assumptions nonetheless make true predictions and provide genuine explanatory insight? Why did astronomers decide that Pluto is not a planet? Has our scientific understanding of the world forced us to revise our philosophical conception of natural kinds? We’ll explore these and many other questions as we work together through key works in the philosophy of science. This course is highly recommended for all joint majors in philosophy and a science.
CAS PH 496 A1: Topics in Religious Thought
Professor Diana Lobel
Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 PM –3:15PM
Topic for Spring 2025: Happiness, East and West. What is happiness? How can we achieve a balanced, healthy, fulfilling life? Classical thinkers such as Aristotle, Plato, Chuang Tzu; Stoic, Confucian, Buddhist paths; comparison with contemporary studies on happiness and mindfulness.
Prerequisites: CASWR 120 or equivalent and one course from among the following: Religion, Philosophy, Core Curriculum (CASCC 101 and/or CC 102).
BU Hub: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings.
GRS – GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES
GRS PH 603 A1: Plato I
Professor Cinzia Arruzza
Monday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
A close reading of one of Plato’s dialogues.
Prerequisites: Two courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. – (Knowledge of Greek is helpful but not required. Familiarity with Greek philosophy is helpful.)
GRS PH 609 A1: Maimonides
Professor Michael Zank
Monday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
A study of major aspects of the thought of Maimonides. Primary focus on the Guide of the Perplexed, with attention to its modern reception in works by Baruch Spinoza, Hermann Cohen, Leo Strauss, and others. Also offered as CAS RN 420.
Prerequisites: CASPH 300
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
GRS PH 618 A1: Marx and Marxism
Professor Tian Cao
Thursday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
In this introductory course, Marxism will be treated mainly as a conceptual framework for understanding history and society (including economy, politics and culture), and also as a critique of capitalism and a program of transforming the capitalist society for human emancipation, with an analysis of both its philosophical and ethical presuppositions and its conceptions of a post-capitalist society. The evolution of its theoretical bases, through its three stages (classical Marxism of Marx and Engels; the Soviet orthodoxy and its critics; and contemporary Marxisms) will be critically examined, and its practical (political, economic and cultural) impacts on the historical course since its inception briefly outlined.
Prerequisites: two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
GRS PH 619 A1: Nietzsche
Professor Paul Katsafanas
Wednesday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
An intensive study of Nietzsche’s philosophical thought. Topics to be addressed may include Nietzsche’s claim that modern morality is dangerous; that the death of God brings with it the possibility of the “last man”; that modern culture exhibits or leads to nihilism; that we have lost “higher values”; that all organisms manifest a “will to power”; that the will to truth is an expression of the ascetic ideal; that we need a “revaluation of all values”; that we must affirm the eternal recurrence of our lives; and that we have a superficial understanding of the nature of happiness. Readings will include a combination of primary and secondary sources.
Prerequisites: Two philosophy courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub:Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings.
GRS PH 624: Wittgenstein
Professor Juliet Floyd
Monday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
An intensive (line by line) study of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations.
Prerequisites: CASPH 310 and two other philosophy courses, or consent of instructor.
GRS PH 633 A1: Symbolic Logic
Professor Peter Hylton
Tuesday, Thursday 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
A survey of the concepts and principles of symbolic logic: valid and invalid arguments, logical relations of statements and their basis in structural features of statements, analysis of the logical structure of complex statements of ordinary discourse, and the use of a symbolic language to display logical structure and to facilitate methods for assessing the logical structure of arguments. We cover the analysis of reasoning with truth-functions (“and”, “or”, “not”, “if … then”) and with quantifiers (“all”, “some”), attending to formal languages and axiomatic systems for logical deduction. Throughout, we aim to clearly and systematically display both the theory underlying the norms of valid reasoning and their applications to particular problems of argumentation. The course is an introduction to first-order quantificational logic, a key tool underlying work in foundations of mathematics, philosophy of language and mind, philosophy of science and parts of syntax and semantics. It is largely mathematical and formal in character, but lectures situate these structures within the context of questions raised in contemporary philosophy of language and mind
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Quantitative Reasoning I, and Critical Thinking.
GRS PH 636 A1: Gender, Race, and Science
Professor Daniel Munro
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:25 PM – 2:15 PM
An upper-level exploration of topics in the philosophy of gender and philosophy of race, informed by historical and scientific inquiry. Explores philosophical questions about the nature of race and racism, sex and sexism.
Prerequisites: Two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
GRS PH 642 A1: Philosophy and Feminism
Professor Sam Hesni
Monday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
An advanced undergraduate/graduate discussion-based survey course of historical and contemporary feminist philosophy. We will read texts from among the following areas of feminist philosophy: methodology, ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, black feminist thought, postcolonial and decolonial feminism, global feminism, philosophy of gender, and queer and trans philosophy. Students will come away with a background in contemporary debates about these issues and in-depth scholarly engagement on one particular debate of their choosing.
Prerequisites: Two courses in philosophy and two courses in WGS (women’s, gender, and sexuality studies) or permission from instructor.
GRS PH 662 A1: Foundations of Mathematics
Professor Akihiro Kanamori
Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Axiomatic set theory as a foundation for, and field of, mathematics: Axiom of Choice, the Continuum Hypothesis, and consistency results. Also offered as CAS MA 532.
GRS PH 672 A1: Philosophy of Biology
Professor Rachell Powell
Tuesday, Thursday 5:00 PM – 6:15 PM
Conceptual problems in biology; unity or pluralism of science; hierarchy theory; biological explanation; evolutionary theory, teleology and causality, statistical explanation; the species problem; mind and the brain; and language in animals and humans.
Prerequisites: two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
GRS PH 687 A1: Topics in the Philosophy of Science
Professor Alisa Bokulich
Tuesday, Thursday 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
A discussion-based introduction to core issues in the philosophy of science, focusing on the topics of scientific realism, theory change, reductionism, explanation, models, and natural kinds.
GRS PH 850 A1: Modern Moral Philosophy
Professor Aaron Garrett
Monday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
In this seminar we will focus on two strands of eighteenth-century British moral philosophy which have been particularly influential on contemporary normative ethics and metaethics: sentimentalism and intuitionism. Readings will include Lord Shaftesbury, Bernard Mandeville, Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Adam Smith, Joseph Butler, and Richard Price. We will conclude the semester by reading H. A. Prichard, W. D. Ross, Iris Murdoch, and C. L. Stevenson to better understand how the remarkable explosion of moral philosophy in the eighteenth-century views shaped twentieth-century ethics (and continues to shape twenty-first century ethics).
GRS PH 860 A1: Epistemology
Professor Walter Hopp
Wednesday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
GRS PH 992 A1: Dissertation Workshop
Professor Daniel Star
Friday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
Intended for the Philosophy Ph.D. students working towards a dissertation prospectus or dissertation. Students present their research and discuss each other’s research projects.
Prerequisites: Consent of major professor.
GRS PH 994 A1: Philosophy Pro Seminar II
Professor Victor Kumar
Friday 11:15 PM – 2:00 PM
A continuation of GRS PH 993. A workshop seminar offering advanced graduate students the opportunity to present and discuss work-in-progress (dissertation chapters, papers for job applications, journal submissions). A serious commitment to regular and continuing attendance is expected.
Prerequisites: (GRSPH993) or consent of instructor.