Please proceed to MyBUStudent for the most up-to-date information, class locations, and to register for classes. For more detailed descriptions and access to previously offered courses, please proceed to the Academic Bulletin. Course offerings from previous semesters can be found on the sidebar.
Please note that Philosophy offers lecture/discussion style courses, which means that in order to complete your enrollment in this style of course and be eligible to receive credit, you must register for the lecture section AND a discussion section that corresponds by letter. For example, if you register for CAS PH 100 A1, you must also register for CAS PH 100 A2, A3, A4, or A5.
Please also note that GRS (Graduate School of Arts & Sciences) courses are available for students enrolled in graduate programs only, and undergraduate students may only register for GRS courses with special circumstances and approval from the instructor.
CAS – College of Arts & Sciences
CAS PH 100 A1: Introduction to Philosophy
Professor Derek Anderson
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM
Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics may include the nature of reality, knowledge, God’s existence, and the significance of human life.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 100 B1: Introduction to Philosophy
Professor TBD
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 4:40 PM – 5:30 PM
Introduces the nature of philosophical activity through careful study of major philosophical topics. Topics may include the nature of reality, knowledge, God’s existence, and the significance of human life.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 150 A1: Introduction to Ethics
Professor Daniel Star
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM
This course is an introduction to moral philosophy: what morality is, how we should live, and how to reason well about difficult ethical questions. We examine foundational debates and study major ethical frameworks. We use these tools to think clearly about a range of concrete moral problems in personal life and public affairs. Apart from introducing you to a central branch of philosophy, this course will help you improve your skills at careful reading, rigorous argument, and clear analytical writing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 150 B1: Introduction to Ethics
Professor Victor Kumar
Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
This course is an introduction to moral philosophy: what morality is, how we should live, and how to reason well about difficult ethical questions. We examine foundational debates and study major ethical frameworks. We use these tools to think clearly about a range of concrete moral problems in personal life and public affairs. Apart from introducing you to a central branch of philosophy, this course will help you improve your skills at careful reading, rigorous argument, and clear analytical writing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 159 A1: Philosophy and Film
Professor Aaron Garrett
Tuesday, Thursday 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
This class provides an introduction philosophical and aesthetic issues connected with film.
BU Hub: Aesthetic Exploration, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 160 A1: Reasoning & Argumentation
Professor Derek Anderson
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2:30 PM – 3:20 PM
An introduction to philosophical methods of inquiry and discourse with three aims. The first aim is to understand the nature of reason and argumentation; the course will serve as an introduction to logic, epistemology, and philosophy of language. The second aim is to improve our ability to reason, construct arguments, and identify fallacies. The third aim concerns the social dimension of knowledge and processes of social change. In order to achieve a more just society, we need to reason together and argue with one another in ways that facilitate change of belief in the direction of knowledge and social justice.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 248 A1: Existentialism
Professor Paul Katsafanas
Tuesday, Thursday 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
This course examines approaches to central existentialist themes such as anxiety, truth, decision, authenticity, freedom, possibility, and “bad faith.” The first part of the course reviews the historical context of late modern European philosophy and the views of nineteenth century thinkers (Kierkegaard, Nietzsche) whose work set the stage for existentialist thinking in the twentieth century. The second part of the course focuses on writings of those thinkers (Heidegger, Sartre) most responsible for the development of existentialism in the first half of the twentieth century.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 251 A1: Medical Ethics
Professor TBD
Tuesday, Thursday 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
This course will survey ethical issues that arise in connection with medicine and emerging biotechnologies. It will examine topics such as the right to healthcare, research on human subjects, euthanasia, abortion, cloning, genetic selection, disabilities, and the biomedical enhancement of human capacities. Students can expect to gain not only training in the concepts and methods of moral philosophy and the logic of argumentation, but also the resources needed for assessing ethically difficult questions that healthcare professionals routinely face.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 253 A1: Social Philosophy
Professor TBD
Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Through a reading of some selected texts we will examine modern and contemporary theories of society, concerning its nature and the direction of its evolution. The philosophical and sociological discussions are framed in terms of the complicated relationship between individuals and society, and between civil society and the sovereign power.
Prerequisites: At least sophomore standing or any 100-level philosophy course.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 259 A1: Philosophy of The Arts
Professor Allen Speight
Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 PM – 3:20 PM
Is a painting that shreds itself a work of art? Is a forgery? This course will explore philosophical questions across a range of genres and media, including architecture, painting, photography, drama, music and dance. Contemporary and historical readings accompanied by visits to Boston-area arts installations.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Aesthetic Exploration, Critical Thinking
CAS PH 266 A1: Mind, Brain, and Self
Professor Daniel Munro
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 2:30 PM – 3:20 PM
This course is devoted to exploring the relationships among consciousness, the mind, and the brain, the nature of the self or person, and other related topics. This course will also examine whether and to what extent these issues can be addressed by contemporary natural science.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Writing-Intensive Course, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 272 A1: Science, Technology, and Values
Professor Alisa Bokulich
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM
Examination of some of the important ways in which science, technology, society, and human values are interconnected. Includes case studies of the social and ethical challenges posed by technologies such as facial recognition software, biotech, ChatGPT, LLMs, and AI, particularly in connection to philosophical issues of privacy and discrimination. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
CAS PH 300 A1: History of Ancient Philosophy
Professor Cinzia Arruzza
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:20 PM – 1:10 PM
A survey of ancient Greek Philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g. WR 100 or WR 120).
BU Hub: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Legacy.
CAS PH 300 B1: History of Ancient Philosophy
Professor Ben Crowe
Tuesday, Thursday 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
A survey of ancient Greek Philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. Topics will include: the fundamental nature of reality, how we know anything about it, wisdom, virtue, and human happiness.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g. WR 100 or WR 120).
BU Hub: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Legacy.
CAS PH 310 A1: History of Modern Philosophy
Professor Sally Sedgwick
Tuesday, Thursday 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
An examination of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophy from Descartes to Kant, with emphasis on the nature and extent of our knowledge. Readings include Descartes, Leibniz, Conway, Hume, and Kant.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS PH 310 B1: History of Modern Philosophy
Professor Dan Dahlstrom
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:05 AM – 9:55 AM
A survey of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European Philosophy, focusing on epistemology, metaphysics, and natural philosophy. We will read selections from the works of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Hume.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS PH 310 C1: History of Modern Philosophy
Professor Miguel Ohnesorge
Tuesday, Thursday 11:00 AM – 12:15 AM
A survey of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century European Philosophy, focusing on epistemology, metaphysics, and natural philosophy. We will read selections from the works of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Hume.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS PH 340 A1: Metaphysics and Epistemology
Professor Walter Hopp
Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 AM – 10:45 AM
This course is about metaphysics (the study of what there is, and how it all relates) and epistemology (the study of knowledge, and how we can know things about the world) and their intersection.
Prerequisites: One previous Philosophy course.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 360 A1: Symbolic Logic
Professor Marc Gasser-Wingate
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM
A survey of the concepts and principles of symbolic logic: valid and invalid arguments, logical relations between statements and their basis in the structural features of those statements, analysis of the logical structure of complex statements of ordinary discourse, and the use of symbolic language to express this logical structure and facilitate the methodical assessment of arguments.
Prerequisites: One philosophy course or sophomore standing.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Quantitative Reasoning I, and Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 414 A1: Hume
Professor Aaron Garrett
Thursday 12:30 PM – 3:15 PM
A detailed analysis of the philosophy of David Hume, focusing on one or more of his works.
Prerequisites: Class standing in CAS and at least four courses in Philosophy; or cons ent of instructor.
CAS PH 415 A1: 19th Century Philosophy
Professor Ben Crowe
Tuesday, Thursday 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
A survey of nineteenth-century European philosophy focused on G.W.F. Hegel and the critical reception of his work by Soren Kierkegaard and Karl Marx.
Prerequisites: CASPH 310 and one other philosophy course.
BU Hub: Historical Consciousness, Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 420 A1: Contemporary Philosophy
Professor Victor Kumar
Tuesday 12:30 PM – 3:15 PM
This course is about controversial ideas in American political culture. We’ll begin by exploring how knowledge and false belief are shaped by politics. Next, we’ll dive into debates about two politically contentious topics: AI and trans issues. Our aim will be to take seriously—and criticize—ideas on both left and right sides of the political spectrum.
CAS PH 427 A1: Heidegger and Existentialism
Professor Dan Dahlstrom
Friday 11:15 AM – 2:00 PM
This course critically examines what, in the case of human beings, it means to be, based upon Heidegger’s “existential” posing of this question in his early, but unfinished work, Being and Time.
Prerequisites: two philosophy courses.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Research and Information Literacy, The Individual in Community.
CAS PH 452 A1: Ethics of Health Care
Professor TBD
Thursday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
Medicine and health care offer a unique opportunity to explore the nature of humanity and the world and to ask fundamental questions concerning the nature of birth, life, and death, and what it is to be a person. Readings from both classical and contemporary writings in ethics, medicine, law, and public health policy.
Prerequisites: (CASPH350) and two other philosophy courses, or consent of instructor (PH 150 and PH 251 are recommended).
CAS PH 454 A1: Liberty and Justice/Community, Liberty, and Morality
Professor Derek Anderson
Friday 11:15 AM – 2:00 PM
This course will study the relationship between liberalism and fascism, framed in light of the Foucauldian concept of “politics as war by other means.” What is power and how is it related to politics? What is fascism and when does a state count as becoming fascist? Liberalism vs. neoliberalism; ideal theory vs. non-ideal theory; freedom, rights, equality, democracy—what are they and what does it take to ensure they exist in the future?
CAS PH 470 A1: Philosophy of Physics
Professor Miguel Ohnesorge
Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Introduction to central philosophical issues in the theoretical and empirical practice of modern physical science from Newton up to the 21st century. These include interpretational problems surrounding specific concepts (space, time, matter, force), methodological problems concerning the use of mathematics, idealizations, measurement, and statistical inference, and ethical problems concerning morally consequential areas of physical research.
Prerequisites: two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
CAS PH 480 A1: Topics in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
Professor Cinzia Arruzza
Monday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
This course will be based on a close reading of Plato’s Phaedrus. Among the topics that will be addressed are: philosophical eros, recollection, theory of the Forms, immortality of the soul, writing and speaking, rhetoric, and education.
CAS PH 487 A1: Topics in the Philosophy of Science
Professor Alisa Bokulich
Monday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
A discussion-based introduction to core issues in the philosophy of science, focusing on the topics of philosophy of measurement, data, and uncertainty, as well as theory change, scientific modeling, and natural kinds.
CAS PH 488 A1: Contemporary Aesthetics
Professor Daniel Star
Friday 11:15 AM – 2:00 PM
We will focus on recent philosophical work in aesthetics, covering both standard questions (e.g. what is art? what are aesthetic properties and concepts? can good art be immoral?), as well as questions specifically about photography as an art form, the relation of practical welfare-based normativity to aesthetic normativity, and the role of aesthetic experiences in our daily lives.
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.
CAS PH 489 A1: Henry James and New Media
Professor Juliet Floyd
Tuesday 3:30 PM – 6:15 PM
James’s writing exposed the moral and aesthetic dimensions of social status, wealth, and romance. Exploring James’s works and film adaptations of them, as well as American philosophical traditions of his time (including William James) and contemporaneous philosophy, we address how they anticipate the social media of our time. Students complete a video, graphic novel, or other form of “new media” for a final project.
BU Hub: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation
GRS – GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES
GRS PH 614 A1: Hume
Professor Aaron Garrett
Thursday 12:30 PM – 3:15 PM
A detailed analysis of the philosophy of David Hume, focusing on one or more of his works.
GRS PH 620 A1: Contemporary Philosophy
Professor Victor Kumar
Tuesday 12:30 PM – 3:15 PM
This course is about controversial ideas in American political culture. We’ll begin by exploring how knowledge and false belief are shaped by politics. Next, we’ll dive into debates about two politically contentious topics: AI and trans issues. Our aim will be to take seriously—and criticize—ideas on both left and right sides of the political spectrum.
GRS PH 627 A1: Heidegger and Existentialism
Professor Dan Dahlstrom
Friday 11:15 AM – 2:00 PM
This course critically examines what, in the case of human beings, it means to be, based upon Heidegger’s “existential” posing of this question in his early, but unfinished work, Being and Time.
GRS PH 633 A1: Symbolic Logic
Professor Marc Gasser-Wingate
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:10 AM – 11:00 AM
A survey of the concepts and principles of symbolic logic: valid and invalid arguments, logical relations between statements and their basis in the structural features of those statements, analysis of the logical structure of complex statements of ordinary discourse, and the use of symbolic language to express this logical structure and facilitate the methodical assessment of arguments.
GRS PH 652 A1: Ethics of Health Care
Professor TBD
Thursday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM
Medicine and health care offer a unique opportunity to explore the nature of humanity and the world and to ask fundamental questions concerning the nature of birth, life, and death, and what it is to be a person. Readings from both classical and contemporary writings in ethics, medicine, law, and public health policy.
GRS PH 654 A1: Liberty and Justice/Community, Liberty, and Morality
Professor Derek Anderson
Friday 11:15 AM – 2:00 PM
This course will study the relationship between liberalism and fascism, framed in light of the Foucauldian concept of “politics as war by other means.” What is power and how is it related to politics? What is fascism and when does a state count as becoming fascist? Liberalism vs. neoliberalism; ideal theory vs. non-ideal theory; freedom, rights, equality, democracy—what are they and what does it take to ensure they exist in the future?
GRS PH 670 A1: Philosophy of Physics
Professor Miguel Ohnesorge
Tuesday, Thursday 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Introduction to central philosophical issues in the theoretical and empirical practice of modern physical science from Newton up to the 21st century. These include interpretational problems surrounding specific concepts (space, time, matter, force), methodological problems concerning the use of mathematics, idealizations, measurement, and statistical inference, and ethical problems concerning morally consequential areas of physical research.
Prerequisites: two previous PH courses, or consent of instructor.
BU Hub: Philosophical Inquiry and Life’s Meanings, Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
GRS PH 680 A1: Topics in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy
Professor Cinzia Arruzza
Monday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
This course will be based on a close reading of Plato’s Phaedrus. Among the topics that will be addressed are: philosophical eros, recollection, theory of the Forms, immortality of the soul, writing and speaking, rhetoric, and education.
GRS PH 687 A1: Topics in the Philosophy of Science
Professor Alisa Bokulich
Monday 2:30 PM – 5:15 PM
A discussion-based introduction to core issues in the philosophy of science, focusing on the topics of philosophy of measurement, data, and uncertainty, as well as theory change, scientific modeling, and natural kinds.
GRS PH 688 A1: Contemporary Aesthetics
Professor Daniel Star
Friday 11:15 AM – 2:00 PM
We will focus on recent philosophical work in aesthetics, covering both standard questions (e.g. what is art? what are aesthetic properties and concepts? can good art be immoral?), as well as questions specifically about photography as an art form, the relation of practical welfare-based normativity to aesthetic normativity, and the role of aesthetic experiences in our daily lives.
GRS PH 689 A1: Henry James and New Media
Professor Juliet Floyd
Tuesday 3:30 PM – 6:15 PM
James’s writing exposed the moral and aesthetic dimensions of social status, wealth, and romance. Exploring James’s works and film adaptations of them, as well as American philosophical traditions of his time (including William James) and contemporaneous philosophy, we address how they anticipate the social media of our time. Students complete a video, graphic novel, or other form of “new media” for a final project.
GRS PH 816 A1: Hegel
Professor Sally Sedgwick
Thursday 3:30 PM – 6:15 PM
An Introduction to Hegel’s philosophy drawing from some of his major works, especially his Phenomenology of Spirit and Philosophy of Right.
GRS PH 880 A1: Topics in Philosophy I (Iris Murdoch)
Professor Paul Katsafanas
Tuesday 3:30 PM – 6:15 PM
A study of Iris Murdoch’s philosophical work. Topics covered will include her accounts of moral vision; choice; freedom; love; interiority; self-knowledge; unselfing; conceptual change; and the role of imagination. We will read philosophical essays as well as some of Murdoch’s novels.
GRS PH 990 A1: Dissertation Workshop
Professor Marc Gasser-Wingate
Friday 11:15 AM – 2:00 PM
GRS PH 993 A1: Placement Seminar
Professor Michaela McSweeney
Tuesday 6:30 PM – 9:15 PM