Graduate Courses

Winter 2025


PHIL 674/676 — SEM 001: Cosmology: Plato to Galileo

Responding to their naked-eye observations of the world and divergent philosophical commitments, ancient Greek philosophers and mathematicians constructed competing theories of the cosmos’ composition and structure.  This course examines the variety of cosmological theories advanced by ancient Greek philosophers and mathematicians as well as their reception from the medieval Islamic tradition to early modern Europe.  Analyzing texts by Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Ptolemy in English translation, students will familiarize themselves with the content and range of ancient Greek cosmologies as well as their relation to various epistemological and metaphysical theories.  In addition, students will examine these cosmologies’ reception by Ibn Tufayl, Copernicus, and Galileo, who responded to earlier cosmologies in light of their own philosophical commitments and, in the case of Galileo, the observation of phenomena inaccessible before the invention of the telescope. 

PHIL 674/676 3SEM 002: Racial Justice Movements

Using Black racial justice movements across the globe as our guide, this seminar will examine the philosophical foundations of the fight for racial equity through the lens of three racial justice movements: 

  1. Negritude Movement
  2. Black Lives Matter
  3. Black Class Action

Grounded in social-political thought and drawing upon Black scholars, popular culture icons, academics, and philosophers, this course will explore various “modes of resistance” including but not limited to letters, interviews, radio, television and film, the creative arts, and public speeches to help us think through broader philosophical ideas about racial justice and the ongoing struggle for racial equity in the Canadian context.

PHIL 673 — SEM 003: Thinking Through Gender: Feminist Perspective on Language

In this course we will explore feminist philosophy of language.  Topics are not yet settled, but may include gendered language, language referring to gender, sexual communication, speech acts and oppression, dogwhistles, and hermeneutical injustice.  The main large piece of writing for the course will be a self-chosen case study of real-world communication (or failure of communication), applying concepts from the class.

PHIL 680 B — SEM 001: Arguments from Analogy (continued)

Arguments from Analogy—which argue for a conclusion on the grounds that the case under consideration is similar in relevant respects to other cases—have a long history in philosophy and a broad scope of application across the discipline. Arguments from analogy are also employed in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. An important philosophical question is how to distinguish good arguments from analogy from bad ones. In this course, we will examine philosophical accounts of analogical reasoning as well as case studies of arguments from analogy. 

Fall 2025 tentative course offerings

PHIL 673/675 — 001: Philosophy of Education

PHIL 673/675 — 002: Feminist Philosophy of Science

Winter 2026 tentative course offerings

PHIL 673/675 — 002: Fairness and Anti-Discrimination in AI

PHIL 673/675 — 001: Equity, Sufficiency, and Limit

Need help or have a question? Please contact Ashley Price, Philosophy Graduate Coordinator.