Major Concentration Philosophy at McGill University

About

Offered by: Philosophy Degree: Bachelor of Arts

Program Requirements

Required Course (3 credits)

PHIL 210 Introduction to Deductive Logic 1 (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : An introduction to propositional and predicate logic; formalization of arguments, truth tables, systems of deduction, elementary metaresults, and related topics.

Terms: Fall 2022, Summer 2023

Instructors: Therrien, Valérie Lynn (Fall) Xu, Ruigang (Summer)

Restriction: Not open to students who are taking or have taken MATH 318

Complementary Courses (33 credits)

33 credits, of which no more than 9 may be at the 200 level and at least 9 must be at the 400 or 500 level, distributed as follows:

18 credits from Groups A, B, C, D, E, and F:
3 credits from Group A
3 credits from Group B
6 credits, two courses from either Group C or Group D
3 credits from Group E
3 credits from Group F

15 additional credits from Groups A, B, C, D, E or F or from other Philosophy (PHIL) courses. Only one of PHIL 200 or PHIL 201 may be included in the program.

Group A

3 credits from:

PHIL 306 Philosophy of Mind (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : A survey of major positions of the mind-body problem, focusing on such questions as: Do we have minds and bodies? Can minds affect bodies? Is mind identical to body? If so, in what sense "identical"? Can physical bodies be conscious.

Terms: Fall 2022

Instructors: Ochoa, Anaid (Fall)
PHIL 310 Intermediate Logic (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : A second course in Logic. NB. The course will be technical in nature, and some mathematical aptitude is essential. The emphasis is on the expressive properties of standard logical systems, including implications for the philosophy of mathematics. We will study the Completeness of First-Order Logic, then the 'limitative' theorems of Tarski and G¶del.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Hallett, Michael Frank (Winter)

Prerequisite: PHIL 210 or equivalent
PHIL 311 Philosophy of Mathematics (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : This course provides an historically informed introduction to philosophy of mathematics. It gives the student an overview of prominent issues and arguments, to enable her to follow and discuss contemporary research in philosophy of mathematics.

Terms: Fall 2022

Instructors: Schlimm, Dirk (Fall)

Prerequisite: PHIL 210
PHIL 341 Philosophy of Science 1 (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : A discussion of philosophical problems as they arise in the context of scientific practice and enquiry. Such issues as the philosophical presuppositions of the physical and social sciences, the nature of scientific method and its epistemological implications will be addressed.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Derome, Léa (Winter)
PHIL 411 Topics in Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : A course focusing on some philosophical issue (e.g., the nature of numbers or the relation of truth to provability) as it arises in the study of mathematics and logic.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Hallett, Michael Frank (Winter)

Prerequisites: PHIL 210 or the equivalent, and one intermediate course in philosophy
PHIL 415 Philosophy of Language (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : An examination of central notions in the philosophy of language (reference, meaning, and truth, e.g.), the puzzles these notions give rise to, and the relevance of these notions to such questions as: What is language? How is communication possible? What is understanding? Is language rule-governed.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Blome-Tillmann, Michael (Winter)

Prerequisites: PHIL 210 or equivalent and one intermediate course in philosophy
PHIL 419 Epistemology (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : A discussion of central topics in the theory of knowledge. The questions addressed in the course may include: What is knowledge? Do we have any knowledge? What is the relation between knowledge and belief? When is belief justified? Is all knowledge conscious knowledge.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Blome-Tillmann, Michael (Winter)

Prerequisite: PHIL 210 or equivalent and one intermediate course in philosophy
PHIL 421 Metaphysics (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : An examination of central questions in metaphysics in their historical and contemporary forms. Topics may be chosen from such issues as: personal identity, the nature of space and time, the nature of events and properties, possible worlds, and the problem of realism.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Leary, Stephanie (Winter)

Prerequisites: PHIL 210 or equivalent and one intermediate course in philosophy
PHIL 441 Philosophy of Science 2 (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : An analysis of some key philosophical ideas in science and technology, e.g. problem, explanation, forecast, testability and truth.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Prerequisite: PHIL 341 or written permission of the instructor
PHIL 470 Topics in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : An advanced discussion of major themes in the analytic tradition.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Prerequisite: PHIL 370, PHIL 415 or written permission of instructor

Group B

3 credits from:

PHIL 375 Existentialism (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : This course will examine the nature of existentialist thought as represented in various philosophical and literary texts. Particular themes to be examined include freedom, alienation, responsibility and choice, and the nature of self.

Terms: Fall 2022, Summer 2023

Instructors: Jokic, Dallas (Fall) Rioux, Jean-Fran§ois (Summer)

Prerequisite: one course in philosophy
PHIL 474 Phenomenology (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : A study of phenomenology from a historical and thematic perspective. The course will typically involve the study of central thinkers such as Husserl, Heidegger, or Merleau-Ponty, with an examination of the nature and development of the phenomenological movement.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Buckley, R Philip (Winter)

Prerequisite: one intermediate course in philosophy
PHIL 475 Topics in Contemporary European Philosophy (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : Advanced discussion of selected themes in contemporary European philosophy.

Terms: Fall 2022

Instructors: Buckley, R Philip (Fall)

Prerequisite: one intermediate course in philosophy

Group C

6 credits (two courses) from Group C OR Group D:

PHIL 344 Medieval and Renaissance Political Theory (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : A study of Medieval and Renaissance political theory.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Levy, Jacob (Winter)
PHIL 345 Greek Political Theory (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : An examination of the ethical and political theories of ancient Greece, especially those of Plato and Aristotle.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Restriction: Not open to students who have taken POLI 333
PHIL 350 History and Philosophy of Ancient Science (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : Topics in ancient pure mathematics (geometry and number theory), "mixed mathematics" (astronomy, music theory, optics, mechanics), and/or natural science (including medicine), studied with a view to philosophical issues raised by the content of ancient science and/or by the logic of scientific argument.

Terms: Fall 2022

Instructors: Hallett, Michael Frank (Fall)
PHIL 353 The Presocratic Philosophers (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : An examination of the surviving fragments of the presocratic philosophers and schools of philosophy, as well as later reports of their views.

Terms: Fall 2022

Instructors: Lewis, Eric (Fall)
PHIL 354 Plato (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : An examination of some of the philosophical problems (those in logic, epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics, e.g.) found in a selection of Plato's dialogues.

Terms: Fall 2022

Instructors: Menn, Stephen (Fall)
PHIL 355 Aristotle (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : An examination of selected works by Aristotle. The course considers issues in moral philosophy as well as those found in the logical treatises, the Physics and Metaphysics, and in the philosophy of mind.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Deslauriers, Marguerite (Winter)
PHIL 356 Early Medieval Philosophy (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : An examination of selected works in the Christian, Islamic and Jewish traditions. Topics in moral and political philosophy, logic and metaphysics, philosophical psychology and epistemology, philosophy of science, and philosophical theology may be discussed.

Terms: Fall 2022

Instructors: Laywine, Alison (Fall)
PHIL 452 Later Greek Philosophy (3 credits)
Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)
Overview

Philosophy : An examination of some of the major post-Aristotelian schools of philosophy. Texts from the Peripatetic, Stoic, Epicurean, Sceptical, Platonic, and medical traditions may be considered. Problems in logic, ethics, physics, epistemology, and metaphysics will be addressed.

Terms: Winter 2023

Instructors: Menn, Stephen (Winter)

Prerequisite: PHIL 354 or PHIL 355
PHIL 453 Ancient Metaphysics and Natural Philosophy (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : An examination of central themes of ancient metaphysics and/or natural philosophy as treated by two or more contrasting philosophers or philosophical traditions - probably including Plato and/or Aristotle, and possibly including some Hellenistic or post-Hellenistic schools.

Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2022-2023 academic year.
PHIL 454 Ancient Moral Theory (3 credits)

Offered by: Philosophy (Faculty of Arts)

Overview

Philosophy : An examination of central themes of ancient moral theory as treated by two or more contrasting philosophers or philosophical traditions - probably including Plato and/or Aristotle, and possibly some Hellenistic or post-Hellenistic schools.

Terms: Fall 2022

Instructors: Magal, Oran; Rioux, Jean-Fran§ois (Fall)

Group D

6 credits (two

Disciplines

Faculty of Arts

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Canadian citizenship or Canadian permanent residency
23 years of age or older by the start of classes (21 years of age for the Faculties of Management and Music)
No high school, college or university level studies within the last five years that would constitute a basis for admission
Two letters of reference
Mature Student Statements:
- Letter of Intent, including description of all educational experiences
- Complete resume of employment and other activities, highlighting points relevant to the application
In some cases, an interview may be required
Demonstrate academic potential by successfully completing a minimum number of specific courses (see 'Minimum grades & prerequisites' below) within the three-year period prior to admission and no later than May 15th of the year of application for the intended program (May 1 for some programs). These courses, which may be completed at CEGEP or university, will also fulfill prerequisites for the intended program.

Fee Information

Tuition Fee

CAD 34,639 / year

How to Apply

Know your deadlines.

Mark your calendar with these important dates regarding your application.
Decide what to study.

Use the program finder tool to explore over 300 undergraduate programs and find your best match.
Make sure you're eligible.
Admission to most programs is based on grades only. In this step, you'll find:
- How your academic record is reviewed
- The grades that gained entrance to your program in previous years
- The prerequisites for your program
Get ready to apply.

As of October 1, you can apply. Complete each step of the pre-application to-do list, including:
- Understand the deadlines that apply to you
- Prepare your academic documents
- Identify supporting documents you'll need to provide
Submit your application.

Review our tips on how to apply and see what the application fees will be. Remember that you can apply to two programs.
Apply for an entrance scholarship.

Look into entrance scholarships early! The deadline is usually a week after your application deadline. This page provides information about entrance scholarships, bursaries, and other funding opportunities.
Submit documents and keep in touch.
We'll connect with you by email to let you know when to upload supporting documents, if required. In this step, you'll see:
- How to follow your applications status
- Supporting documents you may need to prepare
- How to submit supporting documents, including self-reporting your grades

Major Concentration Philosophy

McGill University

McGill University

Key Facts

Start & Deadlines