Philosophy
Our philosophy program cultivates general intellectual virtues of critical thinking, clarity of thought, writing and communication, and creativity in approaching difficult problems. Our philosophical reflections are also guided by critical engagement with the views of great thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Quine, Kripke, and many others.
Honours Bachelor of Arts
Program Plans
Plan your degree with these academic and co-curricular program overviews.
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Regional Requirements
Admissions RequirementsLife in Philosophy
Buzz Around Campus
Is time travel possible? That’s a question that has helped land U of T’s top undergraduate a coveted spot at MIT. This fall, U of T Mississauga’s Abraham Mathew will join MIT’s PhD program in philosophy, one of the top five programs in the English-speaking world, where he plans to continue to find ways to make his chosen field of study relevant and accessible to everyone.
What do words like “tall” or “old” or even “green” and “blue” have in common? They all fall into a category of vague words that cause much debate among philosophers, linguists and other interested parties, according to Professor Diana Raffman (pictured) from U of T Mississauga’s Department of Philosophy.
Although University of Toronto philosophy professor Mohan Matthen started out his academic life in the late-1960s earning a bachelor of science in physics, pondering philosophical problems is how he has enjoyed spending his time for the past 35 years. “I felt that none of my talents lay in the lab,” laughs Matthen.
Sample Courses
Some core texts of ancient philosophy, concentrating on the work of Plato and Aristotle. Topics include the good life, the soul, knowledge, virtue and the nature of reality.
Typical topics: the brain-mind identity theory; consciousness intentionality and the mental; personal identity; the nature of human action.
The course will cover various topics in action theory and the nature of practical reason, such as the nature of intentional action and intentional explanations.
Other Programs to Consider
History
History is an ancient discipline, but its modern practitioners are often by necessity interdisciplinary and are frequently positioned at the crossroads of the humanities and social sciences. The curriculum is also characterized by sets of thematic emphases that include imperialism, colonialism and nationalism, culture and society, religion, the environment, source criticism, labour, gender, ethnicity, war and politics.
Classical Civilization
Classical Civilization or Classics is the study of the cultures of the Ancient Mediterranean, and in particular the cultures of the Greek and Roman worlds. Beyond being a corner stone for the Humanities, the ancient Mediterranean world can in itself offer students the opportunity for a deep engagement with cross-cultural exchange, social structures, global markets and geopolitics in a well-attested, ancient world.
Linguistics
The linguistics programs at UTM provide a solid foundation in the core theoretical fields of linguistics, covering the structure of sounds, words, sentences, and meaning, as well as a wide selection of courses in areas such as language variation and change, experimental linguistics, first and second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, language teaching and learning, and computational linguistics.