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PHIL 125: Kant's First Critique (PHIL 225)

(Graduate students register for 225.) The founding work of Kant's critical philosophy emphasizing his contributions to metaphysics and epistemology. His attempts to limit metaphysics to the objects of experience. Prerequisite: course dealing with systematic issues in metaphysics or epistemology, or with the history of modern philosophy.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, GER:DB-Hum

PHIL 133S: Heidegger and Mysticism (RELIGST 181)

The new paradigm for understanding Heidegger makes possible a fresh look at his long-standing interest in western mysticism as well as in Daoism. Part One: a radical recasting of Heidegger's thought, including his readings of the Presocratics (6th century BCE). In light of that, Part Two: a reading of selected texts of western mystics as well as Laozi's Dao De Jing / Tao Te Ching (6th century BCE).
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
Instructors: Sheehan, T. (PI)

PHIL 137: Wittgenstein (PHIL 237)

(Graduate students register for 237.) An exploration of Wittgenstein's changing views about meaning, mind, knowledge, and the nature of philosophical perplexity and philosophical insight, focusing on the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations.
Last offered: Autumn 2015 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

PHIL 165: Philosophy of Physics: Philosophical Issues in Quantum Mechanics (PHIL 265)

Graduate students register for 265. NOTE: Phil 165/265 alternates topics yearly between "Philosophical Issues in Quantum Mechanics" and "Philosophical Problems of Space, Time and Motion". The course may be repeated with a different subject matter. nnIn Winter 2017-18, the subject is ""Philosophical Issues in QM"nnI. TOPICS: After introducing a simplified version of Dirac's 'bra-ket' vector space formalism for the quantum state (a.k.a. function), the first third of the term is a historical overview of Heisenberg's uncertainty relations, wave-particle duality, the problem of quantum measurement, and the non-classical nature of spin. We survey the treatment of these issues within Bohr's doctrine of complementarity and the so-called Copenhagen interpretation of QM. We review Einstein's several arguments for the incompleteness of QM, leading up to the famous EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paper of 1935, the resulting issue of quantum entanglement as discussed by Einstein and Schrödinger, and the complexities of Bohr's response to EPR. In the second third of the term, we examine a well-known 'no go' theorem on EPR-type experimental set-ups stemming from Bell in the 1960s, according to which no hidden variables theory satisfying a certain locality condition (apparently assumed by EPR) can reproduce all the predictions of QM. In the last third, we survey current variations of, or interpretive options for, standard QM: Bohmian mechanics (a.k.a. pilot wave theory), spontaneous collapse theories, and Everett's relative-state interpretation with its many worlds/ many minds variants. We end by scrutinizing the recent decoherence program (a.k.a.localization induced by the scattering of environmental particles) that purports to explain the quantum-to-classical transition, i.e., the emergence of the world of classical physics and macroscopic objects and properties from quantum physics. We consider whether decoherence is justifiably viewed as solving the quantum measurement problem. nnII. PREREQUISITES: No detailed knowledge of quantum physics or advanced mathematics is presumed. Some background in philosophy, natural science or mathematics will be helpful. Students will benefit from possession of a modicum of mathematical maturity (roughly equivalent to a familiarity with elementary single-variable calculus or the metatheory of first-order logic).
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SMA | Repeatable for credit

PHIL 167A: Philosophy of Biology (PHIL 267A)

(Graduate students register for 267A.) Evolutionary theory and in particular, on characterizing natural selection and how it operates. We examine debates about fitness, whether selection is a cause or force, the levels at which selection operates, and whether cultural evolution is a Darwinian process. Prerequisites:  one PHIL course and either one BIO course or Human Biology core; or equivalent with consent of instructor.
Last offered: Winter 2017 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

PHIL 167D: Philosophy of Neuroscience (PHIL 267D, SYMSYS 206A)

How can we explain the mind? With approaches ranging from computational models to cellular-level characterizations of neural responses to the characterization of behavior, neuroscience aims to explain how we see, think, decide, and even feel. While these approaches have been highly successful in answering some kinds of questions, they have resulted in surprisingly little progress in others. We'll look at the relationships between the neuroscientific enterprise, philosophical investigations of the nature of the mind, and our everyday experiences as creatures with minds. Prerequisite: PHIL 80.n(Not open to freshmen.)
Terms: Win | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II
Instructors: Cao, R. (PI)

PHIL 170: Ethical Theory (ETHICSOC 170, PHIL 270)

How should we live our lives? Should you love your neighbour as yourself? Should you be digging wells rather than taking philosophy classes? Is taxation just? What obligations do we have to the not-yet-born, and to the dead? And says who? Are there really any answers to these questions? If so, what explains why they are one way rather than another? The will of God? Perhaps we need rules to ensure mutual benefits. But then, can I break them if no-one will find out? Can it be appropriate to blame you for doing something that you thought was the right thing to do (perhaps rejecting a blood transfusion)? Or to praise you for doing something you thought was the wrong thing to do (like Huck Finn)? By the end of this semester, you will be developing answers to these questions and many more.nnA more challenging version of Phil 2 designed primarily for juniors and seniors (may also be appropriate for some freshmen and sophomores - contact professor). Fulfills the Ethical Reasoning requirement. Graduate section (270) will include supplemental readings and discussion, geared for graduate students new to moral philosophy, as well as those with some background who would like more.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, GER:DB-Hum, WAY-ER

PHIL 170B: Metaphor (PHIL 270B)

In metaphor we think and talk about two things at once: two different subject matters are mingled to rich and unpredictable effect. A close critical study of the main modern accounts of metaphor's nature and interest, drawing on the work of writers, linguists, philosophers, and literary critics. Attention to how understanding, appreciation, and pleasure connect with one another in the experience of metaphor. Consideration of the possibility that metaphor or something very like it occurs in nonverbal medial: gesture, dance, painting, music.
Last offered: Autumn 2016 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II

PHIL 172: History of Modern Moral Philosophy (PHIL 272)

A critical exploration of some of the main forms of systematic moral theorizing in Western philosophy from Hobbes onward and their roots in ancient ethical thought. Prerequistes are some prior familiarity with utilitarianism and Kantian ethics and a demonstrated interest in philosophy.
Last offered: Winter 2017 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER

PHIL 174A: Moral Limits of the Market (ETHICSOC 174A, PHIL 274A, POLISCI 135P)

Morally controversial uses of markets and market reasoning in areas such as organ sales, procreation, education, and child labor. Would a market for organ donation make saving lives more efficient; if it did, would it thereby be justified? Should a nation be permitted to buy the right to pollute? Readings include Walzer, Arrow, Rawls, Sen, Frey, Titmuss, and empirical cases.
Last offered: Winter 2013 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
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