Mount Allison University Campus

Academic Calendar 2020-2021

Table of Contents

Philosophy

Philosophy is the endeavour to understand the basic questions that arise for us in our world, and to formulate this understanding in a critical manner. Traditionally, these questions have touched upon what can be known, what can be valued, what our own position is socially and individually- above all, how we can know what we think we know.

The Department believes that careful study of the great works of the past and present provides the best access to philosophical questions. Thus many of our courses concentrate the student on developments in the history of philosophy, from the sixth century B.C. to the twentieth century. Courses in logic, ethics, metaphysics, philosophy of science and the philosophy of mind examine special issues in these developments and are compared to the formulation of these same issues in Asian philosophy.

The study of philosophy invites critical and imaginative consideration of the questions themselves.

Only thereby can the student learn to appreciate their force, and the variety of responses to them. Since philosophical questions are deeply imbedded in the development of western civilization, one can study philosophy in conjunction with a wide range of other disciplines. Moreover, our students have found it a useful background for subsequent endeavours in fields such as law, civil service, medicine, theology, and further graduate study.

Disciplinary B.A. Programs

MINOR in Philosophy is 24 credits, earned as follows:

6from the Humanities 1600 Series
6 to 12from Philosophy at the 2000 level
6 to 12from Philosophy at the 3/4000 level, chosen in consultation with the Program Advisor

MAJOR in Philosophy is 60 credits earned as follows:

6from the Humanities 1600 Series
3from PHIL 2611
3 to 9from Philosophy at the 2000 level
12from PHIL 3000, 3011, 3101, 3221, 3231, 3240, 3250, 3301, 3311, 3351, and 3891
12 to 18from Philosophy at the 3/4000 level, including at least 6 at the 4000 level
18credits from complementary courses in Arts and Letters and Humanities, chosen in consultation with the Program Advisor

HONOURS in Philosophy is 72 credits earned as follows:

42credits as in the first five lines of the Major, plus:
3credits from PHIL 3631
6from PHIL 4990
21from Philosophy at the 3/4000 level, chosen in consultation with the Program Advisor

BASIC COURSES

The Humanities 1600-series is intended to provide an introduction to Humanities disciplines. These three-credit courses offered by the participating disciplines of Classics, History, Philosophy and Religious Studies are designed to acquaint beginning students with the methodologies typical of these disciplines and to familiarize them with the approaches taken, as well as the sorts of themes pursued and questions raised in these disciplines.

Note:  The listing of a course in the Calendar is not a guarantee that the course is offered every year.

Note:  Students must obtain a grade of at least C- in all courses used to fulfill prerequisite requirements. Otherwise, written permission of the appropriate Department Head or Program Co-ordinator must be obtained.

Plato's Republic

This course consists of a discussion of fundamental philosophical issues presented in Plato's Republic, such as the nature of morality, selfhood, God, reality, and knowledge. It may also use non-western sources to illuminate and evaluate central presuppositions and preoccupations of the western philosophical tradition that persist today. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours) (Exclusion: Any version of PHIL 1601 previously offered with a different title)

Self, Society, and Freedom

This course investigates ideas about the self in the western philosophical tradition, including work in contemporary philosophy. Issues may include freedom and responsibility, otherness, the relationship between mind and body, the relationship between humans and animals, the impact of trauma, suffering or oppression on self- identity, and the existence or non-existence of the soul. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours) (Exclusion: Any version of PHIL 1611 previously offered with a different title)

Reason, Will, and World

This course introduces the study of philosophy by looking at some major thinkers in the Western philosophical tradition as well as the fundamental and enduring questions they raise about human beings and the world. Specific topics may include the nature of knowledge, desire, goodness, human flourishing, and free will. Students explore these themes to discover the relations between reason, the will, and the world. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours) (Exclusion: Any version of PHIL 1991 previously offered with the title The Story of Reason)

The Changing Image of Nature

This course examines shifting and conflicting attitudes towards "Nature" which impact everything from how we can come to know about nature, scientifically, to ethical implications for how human beings relate to other natural beings. It uses readings from the history of western philosophy, especially from the early modern era, to assess the extent to which we have inherited these convictions or developed alternatives to them. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Special Topic in Philosophy

This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for PHIL 1991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Variable)

Introduction to Feminist Philosophy

Prereq: 3 credits from Humanities 1600 Series; or permission of the Department
This course provides an overview and introduction to the critique of traditional philosophy undertaken by feminist philosophers who argue that philosophy, along with other human endeavours, is shaped by the prejudices and assumptions of its practitioners. They do not reject philosophy as a discipline but explore new ways of doing philosophy. The aim of this course is to explore these new approaches in order to examine how feminist philosophers have combined the tools and methods of philosophy with their insights and values. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)(Exclusion: Any version of PHIL 2991 previously offered with this title)

Introductory Aesthetics

Prereq: 3 credits from Humanities 1600 Series; or permission of the Department
This course focuses on aesthetics and the philosophy of art, drawing on both the history of philosophy (including figures such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Nietzsche) and on contemporary theories about art. Topics may include the problem of defining art, the role of art and the artist in society, the experience of the sublime, and the nature of aesthetic judgment and taste. [Note 1: This course may count as 3 credits in Art History.] (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Introductory Philosophy of Science

Prereq: 3 credits from Humanities 1600 Series; or permission of the Department
This course explores competing philosophical explanations of scientific theory and practice. Based on historical and contemporary cases, it compares philosophical theories including logical positivism, scientific realism, scientific pluralism, sociology of scientific knowledge, and the most recent critiques from social constructivism and feminism. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Introductory Logic

This course introduces the study of logic, examining the basic structure of arguments, common reasoning fallacies, truth tables, and propositional logic. Further topics may include an introduction to quantification theory, syllogistic reasoning, Venn diagrams, Mill's methods, and issues central to inductive and deductive reasoning. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours) (Exclusion: Any version of PHIL 2611 previously offered with a different title; PHIL 2621)

Introductory Ethics

Prereq: 3 credits from Humanities 1600 Series; or permission of the Department
An introduction to the history and philosophical problems of ethics in the western tradition. This will acquaint the student with a number of received traditions based on metaphysical, religious, rational, and pragmatic grounds, as well as introduce certain fundamental perennial problems of moral decision-making. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Introduction to Metaphysics

Prereq: 3 credits from Humanities 1600 Series; or permission of the Department
An introduction to the study of metaphysics understood broadly as the study of the fundamental nature of reality. This will include the study of various themes including the nature of substance, divinity, causation, appearance and reality, the one and the many, mind and matter. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Special Topic in Philosophy

Prereq: 3 credits from Humanities 1600 Series; or permission of the Department
This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for PHIL 2991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Variable)

Ancient Philosophy

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course examines the philosophical developments in the Ancient era within the thought of the Pre-Socratics, Plato, and Aristotle. Topics may include themes from metaphysics, epistemology, moral and political philosophy and aesthetics. Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course examines the philosophical developments in the late Ancient and Roman eras within the various schools of the Epicureans, Stoics, Skeptics, Cynics, Romans, and Neoplatonists. Themes may include the nature and possibility of knowledge, the ethics of happiness, the problem of free will, and the nature of the Divine. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Mediaeval Philosophy

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course examines themes and developments in the mediaeval monotheistic tradition of philosophy (ca. 350-1400 CE). The enduring philosophical topics discussed may include knowledge of God, universals, the nature of the human person, freedom of the will, the scope of philosophy, and the relationship between faith and reason. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Modern Philosophy: the Rationalist Tradition

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course investigates the thought of Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, the leading seventeenth-century continental thinkers who formulated the great a priori systems. The capacity and function of human reason fully to understand the world is a theme common to these thinkers; it constitutes one of the major concerns of the course, a concern balanced by investigation of why these systems have reached such diverse answers to the substantive issues of how the world is to be understood. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Modern Philosophy: the Empiricist Tradition

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course investigates the thought of Locke, Berkeley, and Hume, the leading English-language thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These authors seem to be reacting to the a priori tradition examined by Philosophy 3221. But they also make claims that are not merely reactive, and the course examines the degree to which they propose a coherent interpretation of the extent and the limitations of human understanding. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Kant

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course examines Kant's Critical project, including the arguments for the existence of God, freedom, and immortality to which it led. This necessitates close study of Critique of Pure Reason, and may include other texts such as Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Judgment, Religion Within the Bounds of Mere Reason, and selections from Kant's social and political philosophy. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)(Exclusion: PHIL 4200)

Nineteenth-Century German Philosophy

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course provides an overview of the philosophical revolution that followed in the wake of Kant, often referred to as Germany's counterpart to the French Revolution. This strain of philosophy challenged the traditional understanding of the relationship of mind and world and the nature of reality itself. The course begins with J.G. Fichte's late eighteenth-century attempt to carry on the spirit of Kantian critical philosophy by grounding it in the radical freedom of the 'I' before considering such figures as the early German Romantics, Schelling, Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Analytic Philosophy in Origin

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course is an historical introduction to the major philosophers and movements in the analytic and Anglo-American philosophical traditions from the turn of the twentieth century to 1950. Topical focus is on language, logic, ethics, and attempts to change the conception of metaphysics and to diminish the scope of philosophy. Authors studied may include Bradley, James, Frege, Russell, Moore, Dewey, Wittgenstein, Schlick, Carnap, and Ayer. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)(Exclusion: PHIL 3991 Analytic Philosophy: Origins to 1950)

Analytic Philosophy in Progress

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course is an historical and topical introduction to the major figures and trends in the analytic philosophical tradition from 1950 to the present day, with special attention to the various ways philosophy comes to be presented and practiced. Topical focus may include ordinary language philosophy, the attack on logical positivism, the blending of empiricism and pragmatism, naturalism, and the re-emergence of work in metaphysics and ethics. Authors studied may include Wittgenstein, Ryle, Austin, Searle, Kripke, Putnam, Davidson, Lewis, Anscombe, Foot, Sellars, Rorty, and Brandom. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)(Exclusion: PHIL 4611 Analytic Philosophy: 1950 to Present; PHIL 3991 Analytic Philosophy: 1950 to Present)

Phenomenology & Existentialism

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course introduces phenomenology and existentialism from the nineteenth century to the present. Existentialism encompasses a range of philosophies concerned with themes of freedom, anxiety, responsibility, and authentic living. Phenomenology is a philosophical methodology aiming to describe and understand the complex layers of our experience, including how memory, history, and community shape our perceptions. This course may include nineteenth- and twentieth-century authors such as Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Franz Fanon, and other more recent thinkers. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours) (Exclusion: PHIL 3991 Phenomenology and Existentialism)

Philosophy of the Life Sciences

Prereq: PHIL 2511; B.Sc. students already doing 3/4000 level work in their own field, and students with declared programs in Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, or Cognitive Science will be admitted; or permission of the Department.
In recent decades the philosophical assumptions underlying the life sciences have been seen increasingly as distinct from the physical sciences. This course will examine this difference as well as the linkage between them, then turn to the philosophical issues within evolutionary theory, the notion of species and problems of classification, persistent controversies surrounding sociobiology, genetic control, use of animals in research, and the application of bioethics. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Symbolic Logic

Prereq: PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This is a course in quantificational logic, concentrating on the nature of logic, methods of deduction, quantification theory, and the logic of relational statements. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Biomedical Ethics

Prereq: PHIL 2701; or permission of the Department
This course will consist of the examination of a number of contemporary issues, such as gene therapy, abortion, reproductive technologies, euthanasia, HIV testing and confidentiality, organ retrieval, and advanced directives. In a framework of health, we will discuss larger philosophical questions such as: the possibility of assigning and comparing values, the nature of the human self, the possibilities of agency and responsibility, duties to society, gender and health, the meanings of technology, and social justice. While the focus of this course is not on ethical theory, we will make use of classical moral theories and principles to frame our analyses. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Environmental Ethics

Prereq: PHIL 2701; or permission of the Department
After reviewing traditional attitudes toward the environment, this course will explore recent attempts to "apply" ethical analysis to such problems as pollution and conservation. We will pay particular attention to the ways in which problems of preservation challenge us to extend our traditional norms and values. To what extent, for example, does growing sensitivity to our natural environment require of us a new "environmental ethic" and oblige us to recognize "animal rights"? (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Philosophy of Law

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level; or permission of the Department
This course introduces central issues in the philosophy of law. Topics may include the relation of law and morality, the rule of law in relation to coercion and liberty, the nature of judicial decision-making, the origin and justification of legal systems, and theories of the nature and function of law from the competing claims of legal positivism, formalism, and realism. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Philosophy of Disability

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level excluding PHIL 2611; or permission of the Department
This course introduces the philosophical study of disability. It raises important questions that challenge our thinking and assumptions in a range of ways and explores issues such as: social versus medical models of disability; definitions of impairment and disability, including how they have changed through history; disability as identity and how it interacts with other identities; the relationship between concepts of disability and concepts of well-being; disability and culture; and philosophy's treatment of intellectual disability in the context of philosophy's traditional valorization of reason. (Format: Lecture 3 Hours) (Exclusion: PHIL 4991 Philosophy of Disability)

Indian Philosophy

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level; or permission of the Department
A study of selected primary sources in the Indian philosophical tradition, from the Vedas and Upanishads to the recent work of thinkers like S. Radhakrishnan. Topics usually include the nature of reality, moral obligation, Divinity, selfhood and freedom, the philosophy of love, and various social and political issues. [Note 1: This course is cross-listed as RELG 3891 and may therefore count as three credits in either discipline.] (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Special Topic in Philosophy

Prereq: 3 credits from PHIL; 3 credits from PHIL at the 2000 level; or permission of the Department
This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for PHIL 3991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Variable)

Selected Topics in the History of Philosophy

This course involves careful study of one or more texts and themes in the History of Philosophy from antiquity to the twentieth century, depending on the interests and discretion of the instructor. [Note 1: Permission of the Department is required. Note 2: Students may register for PHIL 4001 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Seminar 3 Hours) (Exclusion: Any version of PHIL 4101 in which the same material was covered)

Selected Topics in Moral, Social and Political Philosophy

This course examines closely one or more themes and texts in Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy, depending on the interests and discretion of the instructor. Topics include contemporary virtue theory, deontological ethics, theories of recognition, multiculturalism, and cultural criticism. [Note 1: Permission of the Department is required. Note 2: Students may register for PHIL 4111 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Seminar 3 Hours)

Selected Topics in Continental Philosphy

This course explores twentieth- and twenty-first-century philosophical schools associated with French and German traditions of thought. Topics may include phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, deconstruction, affect theory, feminist new materialism, and other developments in contemporary Continental thought.[Note 1: Permission of the Department is required. Note 2: Students may register for PHIL 4211 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Philosophy of Mind

This course studies the philosophical arguments that attempt to resolve the real nature of mental states vis à vis the physical states of the brain. Topics include how it is we have knowledge of our own sensations, beliefs, desires, and consciousness; how we gain knowledge of other minds; and the more general questions of how we should best proceed to resolve these issues. [Note 1: Permission of the Department is required.] (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Selected Topics in Philosophy of Science

This course examines contemporary themes in the philosophy of science. Topics may include models and their use in scientific reasoning, philosophical foundations of statistical inference, the nature of scientific methods, truth and scientific progress, the political and moral elements of scientific research, science and the environment. It investigates the philosophical foundations of scientific theories of evolution, matter, time, biological life, and human social activity. [Note 1: Permission of the Department is required. Note 2: Students may register for PHIL 4521 more than once, provided that the subject matter differs.] (Format: Seminar 3 hours )

Selected Topics in Analytic Philosophy

This course examines contemporary themes in the analytic tradition of philosophy. Topics may include truth, logicism, the nature of reference, skepticism, the realism/anti-realism debate, historicism and the collapse of positivism or contextualism. [Note 1: Permission of the Department is required. Note 2: Students may register for PHIL 4611 more than once, provided the subject matter differs] (Format: Lecture 3 Hours)

Independent Study in Philosophy

This course permits senior students, under the direction of faculty members, to pursue their interest in areas not covered, or not covered in depth, by other courses through a program of independent study. [Note 1: Permission of the Department/Program Advisor. Students must obtain consent of an instructor who is willing to be a supervisor and must register for the course prior to the last day for change of registration in the term during which the course is being taken. Note 2: A program on Independent Study cannot duplicate subject matter covered through regular course offerings. Note 3: Students may register for PHIL 4950/51 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Independent Study)

Independent Study in Philosophy

This course permits senior students, under the direction of faculty members, to pursue their interest in areas not covered, or not covered in depth, by other courses through a program of independent study. [Note 1: Permission of the Department/Program Advisor. Students must obtain consent of an instructor who is willing to be a supervisor and must register for the course prior to the last day for change of registration in the term during which the course is being taken. Note 2: A program on Independent Study cannot duplicate subject matter covered through regular course offerings. Note 3: Students may register for PHIL 4950/51 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Independent Study)

Honours Thesis

This course comprises independent research and study under the direction of one or more supervisors approved by the Department. [Note 1: Students should discuss the format and process for the Honours thesis as early as possible with the Departmental Program Advisor. Note 2: Permission of the Department is required.] (Format: Independent Study/Thesis)

Special Topic in Philosophy

This course either focuses on topics not covered by the current course offerings in a department or program or offers the opportunity to pilot a course that is being considered for inclusion in the regular program. [Note 1: Prerequisite set by Department/Program when the topic and level are announced. Note 2: When a Department or Program intends to offer a course under this designation, it must submit course information, normally at least three months in advance, to the Dean. Note 3: Students may register for PHIL 4991 more than once, provided the subject matter differs.] (Format: Variable)