Note: All tuition rates and fees on the Summer Term website are pending approval.

 

Philosophy

College of Arts & Sciences

  • Introduction to Philosophy

    CAS PH 100

    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. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. 4 cr. Tuition: $3260

    Summer 1 (May 20-June 27)

    A1 (IND) Mon./Wed./Fri. 1-3:30 pm
    ... Open Seats

    Summer 1 seven-week course (May 13-June 27)

    O1 (IND) Arranged
    ... Open Seats

    Summer 2 (June 30-August 15)

    O2 (IND) Arranged
    ... Open Seats
    Summer 1 Section A1: As a special provision of this BU Hub course, BU financial aid may be available to BU need-based scholarship recipients for up to one course in summer 2024. For more information, please contact BU Financial Assistance at 617-353-2965 or finaid@bu.edu.
    Summer 1 Section O1: As a special provision of this summer online BU Hub course, BU financial aid may be available to BU need-based scholarship recipients for up to one course in summer 2024. For more information, please contact BU Financial Assistance at 617-353-2965 or finaid@bu.edu.
    Summer 2 Section O2: As a special provision of this summer online BU Hub course, BU financial aid may be available to BU need-based scholarship recipients for up to one course in summer 2024. For more information, please contact BU Financial Assistance at 617-353-2965 or finaid@bu.edu.
    For information about technology requirements for online courses at Boston University, see bu.edu/online/online-learning/technology. BU Virtual can be reached at buvirtual@bu.edu or 617-358-1960 for additional information.

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  • Introduction to Ethics

    CAS PH 150

    Many of us want to lead meaningful lives. But what is it for a life to be meaningful? What makes some lives better or more meaningful than others? Can life as a whole have some significance or meaning? Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. 4 cr. Tuition: $3260

    Summer 1 (May 20-June 27)

    A1 (IND) Mon./Wed./Thurs. 1-3:30 pm
    ... Open Seats

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  • Politics and Philosophy

    CAS PH 155

    Online offering. 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. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. 4 cr. Tuition: $3260

    Summer 1 seven-week course (May 13-June 27)

    O1 (IND) Arranged
    ... Open Seats
    Meets online every Mon & Wed 9-10 am for a live class. Nonstandard course dates

    Summer 2 (June 30-August 15)

    O2 (IND) Arranged
    ... Open Seats
    Summer 1 Section O1: As a special provision of this summer online BU Hub course, BU financial aid may be available to BU need-based scholarship recipients for up to one course in summer 2024. For more information, please contact BU Financial Assistance at 617-353-2965 or finaid@bu.edu.
    Summer 2 Section O2: As a special provision of this summer online BU Hub course, BU financial aid may be available to BU need-based scholarship recipients for up to one course in summer 2024. For more information, please contact BU Financial Assistance at 617-353-2965 or finaid@bu.edu.
    For information about technology requirements for online courses at Boston University, see bu.edu/online/online-learning/technology. BU Virtual can be reached at buvirtual@bu.edu or 617-358-1960 for additional information.

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  • Reasoning and Argumentation

    CAS PH 160

    A systematic study of the principles of both deductive and informal reasoning, calculated to enhance students' actual reasoning skills, with an emphasis on reasoning and argumentation in ordinary discourse. Emphasizes argumentation and criticism in ordinary life and also presents formal models of reasoning designed to elicit underlying patterns and structures of reasoning and argumentation that are widely applicable. Includes simultaneous training in the skills of argument analysis, argument pattern recognition, argument construction, and argument interpretation and creation. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Critical Thinking. 4 cr. Tuition: $3260

    Summer 1 (May 20-June 27)

    A1 (IND) Mon./Thurs. 1-4:30 pm
    ... Open Seats

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  • Medical Ethics

    CAS PH 251

    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one philosophy course or sophomore standing. - Surveys ethical issues that arise in connection with medicine and emerging biotechnologies. Examines 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. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking. 4 cr. Tuition: $3260

    Summer 1 (May 20-June 27)

    A1 (IND) Mon./Wed./Thurs. 10 am-12:30 pm
    ... Open Seats

    Summer 2 (June 30-August 8)

    B1 (IND) Mon./Tues./Thurs. 1-4:30 pm
    ... Open Seats

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  • Mind, Brain, and Self

    CAS PH 266

    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Writing-Intensive Course, Critical Thinking. 4 cr. Tuition: $3260

    Summer 2 (June 30-August 8)

    B1 (IND) Mon./Wed./Thurs. 1-3:30 pm
    ... Open Seats
    Amber Sheldon

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  • History of Ancient Philosophy

    CAS PH 300

    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Semina r (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - Prereq: one philosophy course or sophomore standing and First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CAS WR 100 or CAS WR 120). A survey of ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics include the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. 4 cr. Tuition: $3260

    Summer 1 (May 20-June 27)

    A1 (IND) Mon./Wed./Thurs. 10 am-12:30 pm
    ... Open Seats

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  • History of Modern Philosophy

    CAS PH 310

    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one philosophy course or sophomore standing. - An examination of seventeenth- and eighteenth‐century philosophy from Descartes to Kant, with emphasis on the nature and extent of knowledge, the relation of mind to body, the nature of personal identity, the problem of free will, and the problem of evil. Readings from Rene Descartes, Princess Elizabeth, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Benedict Spinoza, David Hume, and Immanuel Kant. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Research and Information Literacy. 4 cr. Tuition: $3260

    Summer 2 (June 30-August 8)

    B1 (IND) Mon./Tues./Thurs. 10 am-12:30 pm
    ... Open Seats

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