A study of one or more problems, such as universals, time, freedom, causation, happiness and necessary truth. Attention mainly to recent papers and books. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor. May be repeated for credit with different topics.
| Distribution Area | Prerequisites | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor | 1 course |
What is knowledge? Is it possible for humans to get it? If so, how? What is it for a belief to be justified? What is the relationship between knowledge and justification? In this course, we examine some of the main analyses of knowledge and some of the main criteria of justification and other related questions. Readings will include classic and contemporary sources. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor.
An examination of philosophical issues related to religious belief. Typical topics include various puzzles relating to the divine attributes, arguments for and against God's existence and the contemporary debate between theism and naturalism. Prerequisite: two courses in philosophy or permission of instructor.
What should we do after we, or our loved ones, have been wronged? After you have been abused, mistreated or suffered an injustice, or after your community has been subjected to an atrocity, how should you act towards the perpetrator(s)? Moral philosophers tell us that there is a natural and justified response to moral injury: resentment (or ressentiment), and that there are two options for how to move forward from there: to forgive the perpetrator; or to take revenge against them. Moral philosophers are also almost unanimously in favour of forgiveness and strongly against revenge. This course will explore these issues through engagement with the work of some classic philosophers (Nietzsche, Bacon, Butler and Arendt), as well as contemporary theorists of forgiveness and vengeance (Jeffrie Murphy, Peter French and Charles Griswold). We will explore the almost magical power of forgiveness to release us from an otherwise irreversibly ruined past, and the very real dangers of taking revenge. But we will also tackle difficult questions about the limits of forgiveness, whether forgiveness is possible in political or social-level wrongs, the possibility of unforgivable crimes, and some partial and wholehearted defences of vengeance. A note of caution: The class will involve a viewing of the hyper-violent Korean revenge film Old Boy, and readings from post-atrocity contexts such as the Holocaust, which students may find unpleasant or disturbing.