The PTI philosophy program has grown considerably in recent years thanks to the combined efforts of professors and graduate students in philosophy, English and classics. Our approach is to teach courses that explore historical and contemporary philosophical texts and debates while also cultivating the distinctive skills required for philosophical inquiry (such as analyzing arguments in terms of their logical structure). The two most recent PTI philosophy courses concerned how we ought to live (with a particular focus on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics) and inequality (with a much broader syllabus that engaged with a wide range of philosophical and non-philosophical work on egalitarianism).

 

 

 

PHI 102: Philosophy and the Good Life

 

This course has two central and interrelated aims. The first aim is to provide an introduction to philosophy and reasoning. It aims to improve students' abilities to read, respond to and compose arguments. The course focusses on this directly by discussing introductory material in logic and critical thinking. The course also focusses on this indirectly, by applying the skills developed to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. 

 

The second aim is to introduce students to one of the most canonical texts in Western philosophy, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Both the questions Aristotle posed and the answers he offered remain central to contemporary ethical thought: "What is the good life?"; "What is responsibility?"; "What is virtue?"; "What is justice?"; "What are the values of pleasure, friendship and community?"; and perhaps most importantly, "What is the value of philosophy?". Students will also be introduced to more contemporary literature to compare and contrast with Aristotle. Argument analyses, short and long response papers, and a final exam will provide opportunities for students to carefully consider their understanding of Aristotle, develop their own answers to these central ethical questions, and improve their analytical and argumentative writing skills. The importance of these skills goes well beyond the classroom. In Book I of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle asks "Will not the knowledge of [the highest good] have a great influence on life? Shall we not, like archers who have a mark to aim at, be more likely to hit upon what is right?" 

 

 

 

PHI 205: Philosophy of Inequality

 

Human beings stand in unequal relationships with one another: we are unequal in our talents and abilities, our needs, participation in social institutions, access to opportunities, possession of goods and influence. There are numerous factors that explain and reinforce these unequal relationships including facts about our birth, luck over the course of our lives, our own actions, and large and small-scale social, political and economic forces. When are these unequal relationships morally problematic and why? What is the appropriate response to these various forms of inequality?

 

The overarching aim of this course is to have students think critically about the nature and moral significance of inequality. To achieve this aim, we will consider various theoretical approaches to inequality and ask whether and to what extent these can help us better understand particular cases of unequal relationships. In the first section of the course, we consider the case of unequal relationships between the rich and poor. We ask how various theories explain the root causes of economic inequality, why and to what extent economic inequality is a moral problem and how we ought to respond. In the second section, we consider the case of unequal social relationships, in particular, inequality amongst different racial groups and different genders. Again, we look at how various factors cause and perpetuate inequalities amongst these groups, how we could try to rectify these inequalities. In the third section of the course we ask how the value of equality should be weighed against other values like freedom, welfare and justice. Throughout the course, students will develop their own philosophical abilities by reconstructing the arguments of others, and formulating and defending sophisticated arguments of their own. 

 

The readings for this course are extremely varied, and include excerpts from works of philosophy, pieces of literature, journalism, psychology, economic analyses and court proceedings. Throughout the course, our goal is to explore philosophical positions through their implications for concrete issues in the real world. By doing so, we hope to better understand both abstract theories and practical questions about inequality.