Courses for Spring 2026 | Department of Philosophy

	Title	Instructor	Time	Description	Cross Listings	Fulfills	Syllabus URL
PHIL 1000-001	Intro to Philosophy	Samantha Fritz	MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM	Philosophers ask difficult questions about the most basic issues in human life. Does God exist? What can we know about the world? What does it mean to have a mind? How should I treat non-human animals? Do I have free will? This course is an introduction to some of these questions and to the methods philosophers have developed for thinking clearly about them.		Hum & Soc Sci Sector (new curriculum only)
PHIL 1110-401	Ancient Greek Philosophy	Sukaina Hirji	MW 10:15 AM-11:14 AM	What is philosophy? How does it differ from science, religion, literature, and other modes of human discourse? This course traces the origins of philosophy as a discipline in the Western tradition, looking to thinkers of Ancient Greece and Rome. We will examine how natural philosophers such as Thales, Anaximander, and Heraclitus distinguished their inquiries from the teachings of poets such as Homer and Hesiod; how ancient atomism had its origins in a response to Parmenides' challenge to the assumption that things change in the world; how Socrates reoriented the focus of philosophy away from the natural world and toward the fundamental ethical question, how shall I live? We will also examine how his pupil, Plato, and subsequently Aristotle, developed elaborate philosophical systems that address the nature of reality, knowledge, and human happiness. Finally, we will examine the ways in which later thinkers such as the Epicureans and Stoics transformed and extended the earlier tradition.	CLST1501401	History & Tradition Sector (all classes)
PHIL 1170-001	History of Modern Philos	Karen Detlefsen	MW 9:00 AM-9:59 AM	This course is an introduction to a few central themes in philosophy in the 17th and 18th centuries, and to some of the crucial thinkers who addressed those themes. Topics to be covered may include, among others, the nature of the human being (including the human mind), the relationship between God and the created world, the nature of freedom, and the relations among natural sciences, philosophy and theology in this rich period of human history.		History & Tradition Sector (all classes)
PHIL 1330-301	Intro to Ethics	Samantha Fritz	MW 12:00 PM-1:29 PM	Ethics is the study of right and wrong. This introductory course will introduce students to major ethical theories, the possible sources of normativity, and specific ethical problems and questions. Topics may include euthanasia, abortion, animal rights, the family, sexuality, bioethics, crime and punishment, and war.		Society sector (all classes)
PHIL 1342-601	Bioethics		CANCELED	This course is an introduction to bioethics, focusing on ethical questions arising at the beginning and end of life. Topics will include procreative responsibilities, the question of wrongful life, and prenatal moral status as well as questions of justice related to markets for sperm, eggs and gestation. We will also attend to dilemmas at the end of life, including the authority of advance directives, euthanasia and the allocation of life-saving therapies.		Society sector (all classes)
PHIL 1360-301	Philosophy pf Sport		TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM	This is an introductory philosophy course that uses philosophical tools to understand and answer questions that arise in and about sports. Is there a principled basis for determining which methods of performance enhancement are acceptable? Developing a framework to answer this question will take us through: 1) questions about rules: what is their point in sports and what are appropriate reasons to change them; 2) questions about the point of participation in a sport; 3) questions about the kinds of virtues sports participants can demonstrate; and 4) questions about integrity of participants and a sport itself. A related set of questions concerns the appropriate competitors in sporting events: Should competition be restricted to single sex categories; Should competition be divided into disabled and non-disabled categories?
PHIL 1433-001	The Social Contract	Daniel Wodak	TR 10:15 AM-11:14 AM	This is a critical survey of the history of western modern political philosophy, beginning from the Early Modern period and concluding with the 19th or 20th Century. Our study typically begins with Hobbes and ends with Mill or Rawls. The organizing theme of our investigation will be the idea of the Social Contract. We will examine different contract theories as well as criticisms and proposed alternatives to the contract idea, such as utilitarianism. Besides the above, examples of authors we will read are Locke, Rousseau, Hume, Mill and Marx.		Society sector (all classes)
PHIL 1433-601	The Social Contract	Caleb H Zimmerman	T 5:15 PM-8:14 PM	This is a critical survey of the history of western modern political philosophy, beginning from the Early Modern period and concluding with the 19th or 20th Century. Our study typically begins with Hobbes and ends with Mill or Rawls. The organizing theme of our investigation will be the idea of the Social Contract. We will examine different contract theories as well as criticisms and proposed alternatives to the contract idea, such as utilitarianism. Besides the above, examples of authors we will read are Locke, Rousseau, Hume, Mill and Marx.		Society sector (all classes)
PHIL 1450-001	Philosophy of Law	Carlos J Pereira Di Salvo	MW 10:15 AM-11:14 AM	An introduction to some of the central philosophical problems of law: What is law? What makes law? What is the relationship between law and morality? Can laws be unjust? Is there a moral obligation to obey the law? We will look at different theories of law, such as positivism and natural law theory, and discuss topics like civil disobedience, liberty and the law, and punishment and the law, and the special status of constitutional law. Readings from both classic and contemporary philosophers such as Michelle Alexander, Jeremy Bentham, Angela Davis, Ronald Dworkin, John Hart Ely, H.L.A. Hart, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Robert Nozick, Martha Nussbaum, Richard Posner, and Jeremy Waldron.		Society sector (all classes)	https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL1450001
PHIL 1571-401	Repairing the Climate	Carlos Santana	MW 10:15 AM-11:14 AM	This course is a comprehensive introduction to the climate emergency and the tools with which we can fight it. It will integrate natural science, social science, philosophy of science, history, ethics, and policy. The course opens with an overview of the historical discovery of global warming and our contemporary understanding of climate change. We then turn to the framework that the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has developed to study climate risks, focusing on both general issues and case studies throughout the world. The existence and severity of these risks raises questions of climate justice at many levels: individuals to individuals, countries to countries, and the present generation to future generations. We will study these issues in detail, and then examine the policy tools developed to address them. Although we will discuss national and sub-national policy and policy proposals such as the Green New Deal, special attention will be given to global policy tools, especially the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. In addition to standard writing assignments, students will have a chance to develop policy proposals that address the core issues of the class.	ENVS1043401	Nat Sci & Math Sector (new curriculum only)
PHIL 1710-401	Intro Logic	Daniel Singer	TR 10:15 AM-11:14 AM	This course provides an introduction to some of the fundamental ideas of logic. Topics will include truth functional logic, quantificational logic, and logical decision problems.	LGIC1710401, PHIL5710401	General Requirement in Formal Reasoning & Analysis
PHIL 1800-301	Philosophy of Science	Maja Sidzinska	MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM	What counts as a scientific theory? What counts as evidence for a scientific theory? Are scientific inferences justified? Does science give us truths or approximate truths about a world that exists independently of us? How can we know? Does it matter? These are all perennial questions in the philosophy of science, and the goal of this course is to look at how philosophers have answered these questions since the scientific revolution. In addition to reading classic work by philosophers of science, we will read material from living and dead scientists in order to gain a deeper appreciation of the philosophical questions that have troubled the most brilliant scientists in Western science.		Nat Sci & Math Sector (new curriculum only)
PHIL 2383-301	The Functions of Art	Errol D Lord	MW 12:00 PM-1:29 PM	Art is a perennial human institution. We write, act, dance, paint, make orchestrated noise. Many live and die for these activities. Sometimes they make people rich, but for the most part that is not why we do them. Sometimes they aid in the production of scientific knowledge, but for the most part that is not why we do them. This can easily seem strange. Why place so much value in this vast collection of sounds, pieces of wood, words in files across the world’s vast servers? It seems like our obsession with art must spring from a deep well of humanity, but its functions remain obscure. This course is about functions of art across time, told from the perspective of philosophy of art and its history. Given the nature of the travel component of the course, we will focus most of our attention on visual art. We will consider five different types of function: Moral, religious, aesthetic, transcendental, and political. The first half of the course will build up to our Spring Break trip to Italy–to Florence, Padua, and Venice. Our trip will focus not only on the huge variety of masterpieces we will see, but also on their social, religious, and aesthetic functions. We will be particularly interested in how these functions interact with their physical setting, whether it be in a church, monastery, or museum. In the second half of the course, we will also make trips to the Barnes Collection and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, focusing on their world class collections of 19th and 20th century art.
PHIL 2384-301	The Problem of Freedom in Philosophy, Film, and Literature	Ege Yumusak	T 3:30 PM-6:29 PM	What does it mean to be free? Philosophers have distinguished between individual and collective freedom, 'freedom from' and 'freedom to', dialectical, teleological, and normative notions of freedom, and more. Despite the vast amount of philosophical ink spilled over disagreements about what freedom ultimately is, the call for freedom remains one of the most basic feelings humans across time and culture have heeded—and one that can unite people in surprising ways. In this course, rather than reading philosophical texts on freedom in isolation, we will engage with literature and film from a global context to put theory in situ. We will journey across distant pasts and futures, such as pre-revolutionary Iran, the New York City subway, the unconscious of a decolonial Martiniquais thinker, the memories of an Albanian teenager, and more—exploring a wide-ranging catalog of critical theory and philosophy on freedom.
PHIL 2560-301	Philosophy of Education		TR 10:15 AM-11:14 AM	The philosophy of education asks questions about the foundational assumptions of our formal institutions for the reproduction of culture. It ranges therefore, from epistemology and philosophy of mind to ethics and political philosophy. For instance: What is the nature of learning and teaching? How is it possible to come to know something we did not know already--and how can we aid others in doing that? How, if at all, should formal institutions of education be concerned with shaping students' moral and civic character? What is the proper relation between educational institutions and the state? We also ask questions more specific to our own time and context. For example: how, in a multicultural state, should we educate students of varied social identities, like race, gender, and religion? What is the relationship between education and justice.
PHIL 2640-401	Philosophy of Mind	Ege Yumusak	TR 1:45 PM-2:44 PM	This course will survey several central topics in philosophy of mind, as well as investigate how philosophy of the mind interacts with scientific study of the mind. Among the questions we'll be asking are: What is it to have a mind? What is the relationship between the mind and the brain? Can there be a science of the mind? What can it tell us? What can philosophy contribute to a science of the mind? What is consciousness? What is it to think, to perceive, to act? How are perception, thought, and action related to one another?	VLST2210401		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL2640401
PHIL 2980-301	Failure to Communicate (SNF Paideia Program Course)	Carlin P. Romano	M 7:00 PM-9:59 PM	This seminar examines “failure to communicate” in a variety of cultural areas, among them literature, romance, politics, theater, law, science, war, and education. Materials will include literary fiction, plays, poetry, film, TV, and assorted nonfiction, journalism and scholarship. See the English Department's website at www.english.upenn.edu for a description of the current offerings.
PHIL 3800-301	Topics in Phil of Sci	Scott Weinstein	TR 10:15 AM-11:44 AM	A seminar for philosophy majors on selected topics in the Philosophy of Science.			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL3800301
PHIL 3991-301	Topics in Philosophy	Kok-Chor Tan	MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM	This seminar is restricted to philosophy majors (all others require a permit). Topic will vary by semester.
PHIL 3991-302	Topics in Philosophy: Philosophy of Race	Quayshawn Nigel Julian Spencer	TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM	This seminar is restricted to philosophy majors (all others require a permit). Topic will vary by semester.
PHIL 4182-401	Kant II	Carlos J Pereira Di Salvo	M 1:45 PM-4:44 PM	This course is a study of Kant's moral and political philosophy. Texts may include Kant's Lectures on Ethics, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason, Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, and Metaphysics of Morals.	GRMN5520401, PHIL6182401		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL4182401
PHIL 4251-401	Themes in Indian Philosophy	Deven Patel	TR 10:15 AM-11:44 AM	Yoga is a classical school of Indian philosophy that consists of a unique metaphysics epistemology, and ethics. Yoga in the contemporary context usually refers to a system of physical and spiritual exercises that draw from this philosophy. In this course, we will read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in English translation from the original Sanskrit, with commentary. We will go over all central concepts, technical terms, and historical developments in the philosophy of Yoga. We will also discuss the philosophy of Hatha Yoga in the context of its historical and practical developments. No prior knowledge of Indian philosophy is required for this course. Alongside this, we will also look at the philosophy, religious significance, and history of the Bhagavad Gita -- a major conspective statement of Indian philosophy which draws together the insights of the early Vedic tradition (including Yoga), Buddhism, Jainism, and effectively becomes a foundational work of classical Hinduism.	SAST3650401
PHIL 4331-401	Normative Ethics	Daniel Wodak	TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM	Some particular acts are morally right; other acts are morally wrong. The task of normative ethics is to provide a general account of which acts are morally right or wrong and why they are morally right or wrong. The primary goal of this course is to provide an advanced survey of two theories that dominate contemporary ethics: consequentialism and deontology. Consequentialists - such as, most famously, the British utilitarians: Bentham, Mill and Sidgwick - hold that acts are right or wrong because of their good or bad consequences. Consequentialism faces numerous objections: that it is wrong to make trade-offs between benefits and harms to different individuals; that it requires us to violate rights; that it is too demanding; and that it does not respect our special obligations to our friends and family. These objections are used to motivate deontology. We will explore Immanuel Kant's influential version deontology, and the challenges that it faces in relation to the prohibition on lying, on how we should treat the risk of wrong-doing, and on the moral status of animals. The secondary goal of this course is to develop the philosophical skills that we use to understand, evaluate, and defend moral theories.	PHIL6331401
PHIL 4510-401	Metaphysics of Race (SNF Paideia Program Course)	Quayshawn Nigel Julian Spencer	M 1:45 PM-4:44 PM	Historically, philosophical questions about race have been about what race is and whether it exists, the nature of racism, and social or political questions related to race or racism. This course focuses squarely on what race is and whether it exists. The first part of the course will focus on race theories and race-related debates by biologists, anthropologists, and philosophers of biology. The second part of the course will focus on race theories from philosophers of race and sociologists about race from an ordinary folk perspective. We will begin by looking at biological race theories from Francois Bernier in 1684 to J.F. Blumenbach in 1795. Next, we will study the epistemological debate about Samuel Morton's craniometry. Finally, we will explore folk race theories from W.E.B. DuBois in 1897 to present-day work from philosophers of race like Sally Haslanger, Michael Hardimon, and Joshua Glasgow. Topics covered will include, but not be limited to, classical biological race theories, experimentation and measurement in race science, biological anti-realism about race, biological realism about race, non-biological realism about race, and meta-metaphysical issues about race theory.	PHIL6510401		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL4510401
PHIL 4660-401	Philosophy of Language	Carlos Santana	R 3:30 PM-6:29 PM	This course provides an overview of 20th century analytic philosophy of language. Questions we will ask may include: How do words refer? How do they combine to express thoughts? How do words relate to ocncepts or to thoughts more generally? What do words and sentences mean? How do we use them to communicate with each other? How does word and sentence meaning depend on the contexts in which they are spoken or heard, or on stable features of environments of linguistic speakers?	PHIL6660401		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL4660401
PHIL 4722-401	Logic and Computability 2	Aaron W Anderson	TR 3:30 PM-4:59 PM	The course is a continuation of PHIL 4721. Cross-list with MATH5710 and LGIC3200.	LGIC3200401, MATH5710401, PHIL6722401
PHIL 4724-401	Logic From Gödel to Gödel	Scott Weinstein	TR 12:00 PM-1:29 PM	The course focuses on two central results of logic, the Gõdel Completeness Theorem and the Gõdel Incompleteness Theorems, and their ongoing impact on developments in mathematics, philosophy, and technology.	PHIL6724401		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL4724401
PHIL 5175-301	Figures in Early Modern Philosophy: Emilie du Chatelet	Karen Detlefsen	M 3:30 PM-6:29 PM	A seminar in philosophy of the early modern period (roughly 1600-1800), covering figures such as Descartes, Cavendish, Astell, Locke, Hume, du Chatelet, and Kant.
PHIL 5330-301	Contemporary Ethics	Sukaina Hirji	R 3:30 PM-6:29 PM	Selected topics in contemporary ethical theory. Recent topics have included rationality and sources of normativity. Semester-specific description available in course syllabus.
PHIL 5562-301	Topics in Philosophy of Work	Daniel Singer Jennifer Morton	T 3:30 PM-6:29 PM	This is a graduate course on topics in the philosophy of work. In this class, we'll look at work in philosophy and social science to examine questions like the following: What is work? What makes work meaningful and what makes it good? What role does and should work play in shaping workers ethically and epistemically? What role does and should work play in society more generally? What role do and should workers play in shaping the firms for which they work? How should we distribute or compensate for “bad” work? Should people be able to opt out of work (for instance, by receiving basic income payments)? What does a good relationship between a firm and a worker look like? Undergraduates need permission.
PHIL 5710-401	Intro Logic	Daniel Singer	TR 10:15 AM-11:14 AM	This graduate-level course provides an introduction to some of the fundamental ideas of logic. Topics will include truth functional logic, quantificational logic, and logical decision problems.	LGIC1710401, PHIL1710401
PHIL 5802-401	Figures in Philosophy of Science: Humboldt	Michael Weisberg Simon J Richter	W 3:30 PM-6:29 PM	A graduate seminar on Humboldt.	ENGL5501401
PHIL 5991-640	Philosophy of Religion	Stephen P Steinberg	T 5:15 PM-8:14 PM	This topics seminar is restricted to philosophy graduate students (undergraduates require permission from the department). Topic will vary by semester.			https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL5991640
PHIL 6182-401	Kant II	Carlos J Pereira Di Salvo	M 1:45 PM-4:44 PM	This graduate course is a study of Kant's moral and political philosophy. Texts may include Kant's Lectures on Ethics, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, Critique of Practical Reason, Religion within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, and Metaphysics of Morals.	GRMN5520401, PHIL4182401		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL6182401
PHIL 6331-401	Normative Ethics	Daniel Wodak	TR 1:45 PM-3:14 PM	A discussion of contemporary debates in normative ethical theory.	PHIL4331401
PHIL 6510-401	Metaphysics of Race	Quayshawn Nigel Julian Spencer	M 1:45 PM-4:44 PM	Historically, philosophical questions about race have been about what race is. and whether it exists, the nature of racism, and social or political questions related to race or racism. This course focuses squarely on what race is and whether it exists. The first part of the course will focus on race theories and race-related debates by biologists, anthropologists,and philosophers of biology. The second part of the course will focus on race theories from philosophers of race and sociologists about race from an ordinary folk perspective. We will begin by looking at biological race theories from Francois Bernier in 1684 to J.F. Blumenbach in 1795. Next, we will study the epistemological debate about Samuel Morton's craniometry. Finally, we will explore folk race theories from W.E.B. DuBois in 1897 to present-day work from philosophers of race like Sally Haslanger, Michael Hardimon, and Joshua Glasgow. Topics covered will include, but not be limited to, classical biological race theories, experimentation and measurement in race science, biological anti-realism about race, biological realism about race, non-biological realism about race, and meta-metaphysical issues about race theory.	PHIL4510401		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL6510401
PHIL 6660-401	Philosophy of Language	Carlos Santana	R 3:30 PM-6:29 PM	This graduate-level course provides an overview of 20th century analytic philosophy of language. Questions we will ask may include: How do words refer? How do they combine to express thoughts? How do words relate to ocncepts or to thoughts more generally? What do words and sentences mean? How do we use them to communicate with each other? How does word and sentence meaning depend on the contexts in which they are spoken or heard, or on stable features of environments of linguistic speakers?	PHIL4660401		https://coursesintouch.apps.upenn.edu/cpr/jsp/fast.do?webService=syll&t=202610&c=PHIL6660401
PHIL 6722-401	Logic and Computability 2	Aaron W Anderson	TR 3:30 PM-4:59 PM	A continuation of PHIL 6721.	LGIC3200401, MATH5710401, PHIL4722401
PHIL 6724-401	Logic From Gödel to Gödel	Scott Weinstein	TR 12:00 PM-1:29 PM	The course focuses on two central results of logic, the Gõdel Completeness Theorem and the Gõdel Incompleteness Theorems, and their ongoing impact on developments in mathematics, philosophy, and technology.	PHIL4724401
PHIL 6998-301	Pre-Dissertation Philosophy Writing Workshop	Jennifer Morton Sukaina Hirji		This workshop is designed for graduate students in their second or third year of a doctorate program who want to refine a paper or chapter. Participants will discuss how to develop an effective writing practice, understand the elements of good academic writing, and both receive and provide detailed feedback on 1-2 pieces of academic work.