63 courses with the subject PHIL, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
PHIL 001AIntroduction to Philosophy: Knowledge and Agency1
What ought I to do? What are the demands of morality? What is their basis (if there is one)? Can values conflict and if yes, what can we do about that? What is freedom of the will and do we enjoy it? What can we know? Nothing? What is knowledge anyway? How can we understand consciousness? Can some machines think? Can the mind be outside the head? How can we or anything remain the same through change? Is there a self? Why is there something rather than nothing? Is death bad? Can life be meaningful or is it absurd? These are fundamental philosophical questions. We will deal with them by reading and discussing some classical but mostly contemporary philosophical texts. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Spring 2027. Baumann.
PHIL 001CIntroduction to Philosophy: Truth and Desire1
How can or should we distinguish what is true about life from what we want from life? How can or should the pursuit of truth relate to our passions, our self-interests, the machinations of social power, and our highest aspirations as human beings? How do unquestioned assumptions inform what we perceive, believe, and desire, and how might investigating these assumptions shift or affirm our perspectives and instigate new approaches, or give fresh impetus to current approaches, to the problems we face? In this course we will take a chronological look at the distinct world-views of philosophers like Plato, Descartes, and Nietzsche, and then look at the perspectives of some contemporary theorists, in order to ask ourselves questions about when and how we know something to be true, what it is that we desire and why, and how revealing the assumptions we take for granted might affect our perceptions of both. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit.
PHIL 001FIntroduction to Philosophy: Classical and Contemporary Problems1
Classical and current readings by Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, Mill, Russell, and Lewis ‘62, amoung others introduce the traditions of Western Philosophy. Topics may include: God and Evil, Knowledge and Belief, Life and Mind, Morality and Interests, Taste and Aesthetic Judgment, Personal and Bodily Identity. Humanities 1 credit. Fall 2026. Raff.
PHIL 001GIntroduction to Philosophy: Rationality and Religious Belief1
This course provides a cross-cultural introduction to some of the central questions and arguments in the philosophy of religion, covering both classical and contemporary authors, western and non-western traditions, and theistic and non-theistic perspectives. In particular, it centers on the following questions: Is religious belief rational? Is God necessary for morality? How do we account for the existence of evil and suffering? Is the “self” an illusion? Can there be reasonable religious disagreement? In contemplating these questions, students will have the opportunity to reexamine their own views and assumptions about religion in dialogue with great thinkers from diverse cultural and historical backgrounds. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for MDST. Fall 2026. Picascia. Fall 2027 Picascia.
PHIL 001HIntroduction to Philosophy: Personal Identity1
This course examines a wide range of interrelated questions concerning personal identity and the self through the lens of pre-modern Indian philosophy, as well as early modern and contemporary Western philosophy. In particular, the course addresses the following questions: 1) What is the essential nature of sentient beings like persons? 2) What does is it take for persons to persist over time? 3) What are the practical and moral implications of our conception of personal identity? In addressing these questions, students will have the opportunity to foster new ways of thinking about perennial philosophical puzzles in dialogue with great thinkers from diverse cultural, historical, and linguistic backgrounds. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for MDST. Spring 2027. Picascia. Spring 2028 Picascia.
PHIL 001MIntroduction to Philosophy: Free Thinkers1
Thinking for yourself is an essential feature of being human, but it’s also very hard to do. This course introduces students to philosophy by examining the question: how do we become free thinkers? We take a tour through the history of philosophy (considered from a global perspective) to see how different philosophers have tried to cultivate independent minds and to see how their strategies might help us become free thinkers. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Fall 2027 Thomason.
This course focuses on three main philosophical topics: morality, freedom, and the self. In our lives, we face ethical and political questions. For instance, how much money should we donate to the needy? How should we organize our political institutions to safeguard freedom? When we fail to act ethically, we often think that it makes sense to hold others responsible. But does it make sense to do so? Do we have free will, or are our actions determined by physical laws? And if our actions are causally determined, does it make sense to hold people responsible? We also think that we are not merely responsible for our actions, but also for the sense of self that we cultivate. But are we responsible for our sense of self? Can we ever understand ourselves? These are all philosophical questions. The primary goal of this course is to introduce you to philosophical questions in ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind. We will do so by considering a variety of approaches to these questions through historical and contemporary texts. Humanities. 1 credit. Fall 2026. Vergara.
What is the meaning of life? Isn’t this question too big for us? Do we even understand the question? This course will engage critically with several philosophical attempts to make sense of this fundamental question; we will discuss different answers to it. More specifically, we will deal with questions like the following: Can life have a meaning only if there is a God? Isn’t life just absurd? Is there anything that really matters? Is death a problem for the attempt to lead a meaningful life? (and wouldn’t immortality be a good alternative?) What is the role of purpose, purposes and plans in our lives? Is a meaningful life a happy life? What role do values and goals play in a meaningful life? And, finally: What is a good life? Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit.
Who are we? Who are we becoming? Who could we become? Are we masters of the universe, coparticipants in a larger whole, or instigators of an out-of-control path to destruction? We will read classic conceptions of human nature drawn from philosophers like Plato, Descartes, Rousseau, Kant, and Nietzsche, as well as contemporary theorists, to consider the implications high-tech living and advances in scientific research might hold for how we reconceive ourselves and our future. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Fall 2026. Lorraine.
PHIL 006First-Year Seminar: Life, Mind, and Consciousness1
Ancient Greek philosophical approaches to the nature and value of life; modern philosophical problems that arise with 17th Century science of mind and body; and contemporary philosophical issues that center on consciousness introduce the literature of Western philosophy of mind in the format of weekly seminars. Humanities. 1 credit. Spring 2027. Raff. Spring 2028 Raff.
A chronological introduction to perennial philosophical problems through readings that center on inquiry in the theories and practices of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Kant, Mill, Russell, and Lewis ‘62, among others. Problems include philosophical questions that arise in science, morality, religion and in philosophy itself. Reading assignments advance the skills of reading literature generally. Humanities. 1 credit. Fall 2026. Raff. Fall 2027 Raff.
‘What should I do?’ This is one of the oldest and most complex philosophical puzzles, and it also occupies the minds of individuals in their day-to-day lives. In this course, we will focus on both ways of approaching this question. From the philosophical direction, we will discuss how philosophers from both the eastern and western traditions have attempted to understand and describe our moral lives. From the practical direction, we will ask ourselves what it means to ascribe to these moral theories and how we might be able to actually live them. PEAC eligible only when taught by PHIL instructor K. Thomason. PHIL distribution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for PEAC, PPE. Fall 2027 Thomason. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 012ALogic1
An introduction to the principles of deductive logic with equal emphasis on the syntactic and semantic aspects of logical systems. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for PPE, COGS-focus course Fall 2027 Baker.
An introduction to the principles of deductive logic with equal emphasis on the syntactic and semantic aspects of logical systems. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for PPE, COGS-focus course Fall 2027 Baker.
Philosophical topics in metaphysics, epistemology, and moral theory selected from masterpieces of 17th and 18th-century authors Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume, Reid, and Kant. PHIL distribution - (M)H
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Spring 2027. Raff. Spring 2028 Raff. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 015Special Topics: Kant: Critique of Pure Reason1
Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is not only a philosophical classic but also still frames current debates in metaphysics and epistemology. This course is dedicated to a close reading of core parts of the Critique. Main topics include: Kant’s defense of substantial a priori knowledge, his theories of space and time, his doctrine of the categories and a corresponding view of the world, his view that human knowledge is limited in basic ways, his doctrine of transcendental idealism, and his approach to traditional problems of metaphysics. PHIL distribution - (M)H
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities 1 credit. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 016Philosophy of Religion1
(Cross-listed as RELG 015B ) Searching for wisdom about the meaning of life? Curious as to whether there is a God? Questioning the nature of truth and falsehood? Right and wrong? You might think of philosophy of religion as your guide to the universe. This course considers Anglo-American and Continental philosophical approaches to religious thought using different disciplinary perspectives; it is a selective overview of the history of philosophy with special attention to the religious dimensions of many contemporary thinkers’ intellectual projects. Topics include rationality and belief, proofs for existence of God, the problem of evil, moral philosophy, biblical hermeneutics, feminist revisionism, postmodernism, and interreligious dialogue. Thinkers include, among others, Anselm, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Kant, Wittgenstein, Derrida, Levinas, Weil, and Abe. Must be taken for PHIL credit to count towards the PHIL major/minor. PHIL distribution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for INTP Spring 2027. Wallace. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 017Aesthetics and Experience1
What kind of experience is aesthetic experience? Is it just a genus of our ordinary perceptual and emotional experience, or is there something else that sets it apart? When we make aesthetic judgments, what sets the standard by which those judgments are correct or incorrect? Can there be genuine disagreement about matters of taste? Does the value of a work of art depend on our responses to it? Are facts about beauty part of the set of facts that are studied by empirical science, or are these facts (if they exist) some other kind of thing? In this class we will consider the meaning of art and how our experiences of art relate us to this form of meaning. We’ll also inquire into what it is that artists are doing when they make art and the role art plays in everyday life. There will be an emphasis on how art and aesthetics relate to the human mind: what happens in our minds when we have aesthetic experiences, the pleasurable and painful character of engaging with the world aesthetically, and whether to regard our aesthetic judgments as subjective or objective. PHIL distribution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Spring 2028 Baker. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 020Plato and His Modern Readers1
(Cross-listed as CLST 020 ) Plato’s dialogues are complex works that require literary as well as philosophical analysis. While our primary aim will be to develop interpretations of the dialogues themselves, we will also view Plato through the lens of various modern and postmodern interpreters (e.g., Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, Jung, Foucault, Irigaray, Rorty, Lacan, Nussbaum, Vlastos) Must be taken for PHIL credit to count towards the PHIL major/minor. PHIL distribution - (A)H
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for CLST, INTP Spring 2027. Ledbetter. Spring 2028 Ledbetter. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 021Social and Political Philosophy1
How should we punish criminals? What immigration policy should we have? Is socioeconomic redistribution required domestically? Globally? What do we owe to those who have suffered injustices? Who should have the right to vote? One prominent way to think about these questions-to think about the rights and duties that we have, and the institutions that we ought to support-is the social contract. The primary goal of this course is to introduce you to social contract theory and the main debates in analytical political philosophy. We will consider how social contract theory has been applied to a variety of questions, and we will consider critiques of social contract theory. PHIL distribution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for GLBL-core, PPE. Fall 2026. Vergara. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 023Metaphysics1
God, Freedom, and Immortality introduce the traditional metaphysical problems that raise specific issues about causation, necessity, and personal identity, as well as some more general, no less challenging problems of reality and its categories. Fortunately, we are aided by burgeoning current work on all these issue as well as by classical and early modern sources. PHIL distribution - L
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 024Theory of Knowledge1
This course selects key texts in the theory of knowledge by epistemologists such as Socrates, Plato, Sextus Empircus, Hume, Moore, and Wittgenstein on topics that include that nature and extent of human knowledge, disagreement, faith, and self-knowledge, among others. PHIL distribution - L
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for COGS Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 027Ethics & Technology1
(Cross-listed as CPSC 019 ) Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other forms of technology have become pervasive in our daily lives. With this technology comes serious ethical questions. How do we use, create, and regulate all of it responsibly? How might our current and future technologies change our social and political landscape, and how might they change us as individuals? This course examines ethical questions involving social media, data mining, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other topics. Must be taken for PHIL credit to count towards the PHIL major/minor. PHIL distribution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for COGS, PPE. Fall 2026. Thomason, Soni Spring 2028 Thomason. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 029Philosophy of Nature1
(Cross-listed as ENVS 048 ) The question of how we conceive of nature and our relationship to it is one that has become increasingly pressing as we deal with environmental issues that are rapidly reaching a critical point. There has been a resurgence of interest in views like process philosophy-a view that suggests that unless we take interconnected becoming into account we cannot explain the novelty of life; panpsychism-a view that suggests that consciousness may be a fundamental component of the universe rather than an emergent effect of brains; biosemiotics-a view that suggests that even at the level of cells and unicellular organisms life operates through meaning-making rather than merely as mechanisms; and “new” materialism-a view that suggests that even matter instead of being viewed as inert could be conceived as having a kind of agency of its own. These views, among others, in updated forms that take up again questions silenced at earlier points in time in new contexts-along with cross-cultural views that have never succumbed to the Western binaries of nature/culture, human/animal, and self/other-in light of the radical challenges facing us, are rich resources for rethinking our relationship to nature in ways that could foster the kind of shifts in self-understanding and investment in our relations to others and our surroundings that we need to survive. PHIL distribution - L, V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 030Buddhist Philosophy1
This course explores some of the central arguments and debates in Indian Buddhist philosophy from the second to the eleventh centuries. Topics include the problem of human suffering, the existence of the self and the external world, the sources of knowledge, epistemological skepticism, moral responsibility, and the problem of other minds. Students will have the opportunity to reconstruct and critically analyze the arguments of Buddhist philosophers in their historical contexts, as well as ask what we can learn from them today. PHIL distribution - H, V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 031Advanced Logic1
A survey of various technical and philosophical issues arising from the study of deductive logical systems. Topics are likely to include extensions of classical logic (e.g., the logic of necessity and possibility [modal logic], the logic of time [tense logic], etc.); alternatives to classical logic (e.g., intuitionistic logic, paraconsistent logic); metatheory (e.g., soundness, compactness, Gödel’s incompleteness theorem); philosophical questions (e.g., What distinguishes logic from non-logic? Could logical principles ever be revised in the light of empirical evidence?). PHIL distribution - L
PHIL 012, or PHIL 012A or PHIL 012B Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for COGS Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 032History of Analytic Philosophy1
This course, first, attends to 20 th century philosophy’s initial innovations, led by Moore, Russell, Wittgenstein, as well as Frege and Ramsey. Secondly, we follow developments advanced under banners both of “Logical Positivism,” led by Carnap, Ayer and Quine, and of “Ordinary Language,” by Ryle, Austin, Strawson. We arrive at still current 20 th century achievements and philosophical controversies among late Wittgenstein, McDowell, Appiah, Kripke, and Lewis ‘62. PHIL distribution - H
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 035Environmental Ethics1
Environmental ethics deals with normative moral and political questions and issues concerning the environment. Here are some questions we will examine. Who counts in environmental ethics: only humans, all animals, plants, too, or all forms of life, even ecosystems? Should species, natural habitats, or wilderness be preserved for their own sake? What ethical questions does climate change raise and how could and should we answer them? How should we think about our relation to nature and our use of technology in general? PHIL distribution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ENVS, ESCH, GLBL-core, PPE. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 037Contemporary Political Philosophy1
(Cross-listed as POLS 037 ) Must be taken for PHIL credit to count towards the PHIL major/minor. PHIL distribtution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for PPE. Spring 2027. Thakkar. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 038Origins of Indic Thought1
Cross-listed as CLST 28 Origins of Indic Thought is designed to give students a foundation in various major philosophical schools that have emerged in the Indian subcontinent by studying their origin stories. These schools include Buddhism, Jainism, Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika, Vedānta, and Sikhism. Students will learn the fundamental arguments that each school makes and understand the ongoing conversation between the various schools about the nature of and relationship between the Self, the World, and God. PHIL distribution - H, L, V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 039Existentialism1
In this course, we will examine existentialist thinkers such as Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Camus to explore themes of contemporary European philosophy, including the self, responsibility and authenticity, and the relationships between body and mind, fantasy and reality, and literature and philosophy. PHIL distribution - H, L, V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for INTP, GLBL-Paired Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 040Semantics1
(Cross-listed as LING 040 ) Prior to F’24 this is not a writing course for PHIL. (WC starting F’24.) Must be taken for PHIL credit to count towards the PHIL major/minor. PHIL distribution - L
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. WC starting F’24. 1 credit. Eligible for COGS Fall 2026. Staff. Spring 2027. Staff. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 041Peace and Political Philosophy1
(Cross-listed as PEAC 41) How might we establish a peaceful world? What is the relationship between peace, justice, and individual rights? Can war ever be justified and, if so, under what circumstances? How can societies that have experienced violent conflict transition into peace? This course examines these questions from the perspective of political philosophy. We will ask what a peaceful world might look like and what would be required to bring it about. PHIL distribution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities 1 credit. Eligible for PEAC, PPE. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 042Descartes in Contemporary Philosophy1
Responses to Descartes’s early modern philosophical innovations include basic contemporary work in philosophy of mind, epistemology, philosophy of religion, and metaphysics. Readings from authors who may include Frege, Russell, Moore, Husserl, Ryle, Wittgenstein, Kripke, Plantinga, Stroud and others. PHIL distribution - (M)H
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 043American Pragmatism1
Pragmatism is a distinctively American philosophical tradition originating in the late 19th century. It centers on the idea that the truth, meaning, and value of our ideas lie in their practical consequences. This course explores what pragmatism is, both as a tradition and as a philosophical approach. The primary focus of the course is on close reading and discussion of works by the classical pragmatists, namely, Charles S. Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. We will discuss pragmatic theories of truth and meaning; belief and action; and experience and inquiry. PHIL distribution - H, L, V
What can we know? What should we believe? Are there good responses to skeptical arguments challenging our claims to knowledge and justified belief? Under what conditions can we acquire knowledge from what others tell us? Can there be reasonable disagreements among epistemic peers? This course looks at some of the major questions in both contemporary epistemology and classical Indian epistemology on the nature of knowledge and justified belief, skepticism, and topics in social epistemology. Students will be encouraged to think creatively about their own answers to these questions, while appreciating the influential answers coming from a diversity of voices and perspectives in the history of philosophy. This course was previously called ‘Epistemology without Borders’. If you have already taken that course, you cannot take this course, it is the same content, with a new name. PHIL distribution - L
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course, before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 052Bioethics1
Advances in medicine and biological research have no doubt contributed both to the body of human knowledge and to the advances of modern life. But these great strides are accompanied by serious ethical questions and those questions are the topic of this course. We will approach issues in bioethics from two perspectives. First, we will grapple with the ethical issues from a theoretical perspective. What are the values and principles involved in medicine, healthcare, and research? Second, we will examine these issues at the level of policy: what can doctors, patients, researchers, and lawmakers actually do about any of these issues and how do we go about making those hard choices? Topics covered include the use of human subjects in experimentation, physician-assisted suicide, and the rights of reproduction, and many others. PHIL distribution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ESCH, PPE. Spring 2027. Thomason. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 053Indian Philosophy1
This course covers central philosophical debates that took place among the diverse traditions of premodern Indian Philosophy on topics in metaphysics, epistemology, the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind. We will critically analyze debates concerning the existence of selves, an external world, and God; the nature of consciousness; conceptual content and how it relates to the world; how we know dharma (righteousness); and skepticism about the possibility of knowledge. PHIL distribution - H, L, V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA, MDST. Fall 2027 Picascia. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 069Phenomenology1
In this course we will look at classic figures in phenomenology like Husserl, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty, along with contemporary theorists, in order to investigate the kind of light descriptions of the lived experience of specifically human bodies in all their variations might shed on questions we face in the 21st century about what it means to be human (as opposed to, say, non-human life or artificial intelligence), embodied cognition, interdependent living and environmental change. PHIL distribution - H, L, V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for INTP Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 079Poststructuralism1
Poststructuralism is a form of critical thinking that problematizes frameworks for knowledge that we might otherwise take for granted, thus opening questions about the structures that shape and inform our understanding of ourselves and our reality. It problematizes the notion that language is a transparent tool that simply refers to a reality it describes, and it examines the way social power relates to how we experience ourselves and our world. This course will examine this “movement” as it emerges in the distinctive work of Foucault, Derrida, and Deleuze in light of contemporary questions about reality, identity, embodiment, and the relationship between self and other, as well as ethical and political questions about how we ought to live. PHIL distribution - H, L, V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for INTP Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 085Aesthetics1
This class is designed to bridge philosophical concepts with our own experiences making and appreciating art (and non-art) of all kinds. We will consider a range of central questions in aesthetics and philosophy of art, such as: What is beauty? Or ugliness? What guides the agency of artists? What makes a good work of art a good work of art? What about everyday objects, experiences, and places-what makes them aesthetically meaningful? What about the aesthetics of abstract objects like scientific theorems or works of conceptual art? Why, cognitively, do we have aesthetic experiences in the first place? Is there aesthetic truth? What knowledge of the world can we obtain through aesthetic experience? What is the role of the imagination in bringing works of art to life? Who or what has authority over a work’s meaning-author, work, or audience? We’ll explore these questions both abstractly and through particular media-both ‘fine’ arts such as painting, music, poetry, film, and literature-and popular or applied arts such as fashion, video, food, architecture, interiors, and games. PHIL distribution - V
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for COGS-focus course Spring 2027. Berinstein. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 089Philosophy of Science Fiction1
In a world where technology and our relations to our surroundings are rapidly changing, time itself can appear to be speeding up. Especially when events appear to be spinning out of our control, this can be disconcerting. In this course, we will consider different conceptions of time and the human along with their implications for how we experience our world, the parameters of reality, our mental health, and the future of the human race. We will read and watch classics in science fiction as well as more recent work alongside an exploration of philosophical texts on time, reality, consciousness, embodiment, what makes us human, and how we can adapt to swiftly changing circumstances in order to stretch our minds about what is and what could be for humanity in a time of change. PHIL distribution - L
First- and second-year students must complete one introductory level PHIL course before enrolling in this course. Humanities. 1 credit. Fall 2026. Lorraine. Catalog chapter: Philosophy Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/philosophy Access the class schedule to search for sections.
PHIL 093Directed Reading0.5-1
Requires approval of a department faculty member sponsor. Humanities. 0.5 - 1 credit.
This seminar focuses on one of the age-old questions in philosophy: what is the right thing to do? We start with an in-depth look at some of the major historical figures in moral philosophy from both western and eastern traditions. We then move into contemporary discussions of responsibility, practical reason, moral emotions, and moral skepticism. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - V Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for PPE. Fall 2026. Thomason.
For the Greeks and Romans, philosophy was a way of life and not merely an academic discipline. With this perspective in mind, we will examine topics in ethics, metaphysics, aesthetics, epistemology, and theology through close readings of Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics . We will also look more briefly at the thought of the Presocratics and the Stoics. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - (A)H Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for CLST Fall 2026. Ledbetter.
One or more philosophers or philosophical works of the 17 th and 18 th Centuries selected for systematic treatment. Most recently: Descartes’s Meditations selected for systematic exploration of Descartes’s seminal contributions to modern and contemporary epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophical theology. Additional readings from early modern and commentary commentators and critics may include Spinoza, Kant, Brentano, Russell, Ryle, Wittgenstein, among others. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - (M)H Humanities. 2 credits. Fall 2027 Raff.
Traditional metaphysical issues about God, Freedom, and Immortality raise specific issues about, among others, causation, modality, and personal identity, as well as some more general, no less challenging problems of ontology and its categories. The metaphysicians include Parmenides and Heraclitus (change), Plato and Aristotle (reality), Anselm and Aquinas (God), Descartes and Locke (selves), and our contemporaries Kripke and Lewis’62 (modality), Jon Shaffer and Karen Bennett (ontology). This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - L Humanities. 2 credits.
The aim of this seminar is to “open up” and creatively rethink the parameters of debates in Philosophy of Religion. It does so by expanding the range of issues and problems traditionally discussed, broadening the scope of perspectives considered, and constructing dialogues between philosophers from different historical, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds. Topics include the following: the rationality of religious belief, the problem of religious disagreement, the problem of suffering, personal identity and the self, alternative conceptions of God, and the possibility of surviving death. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - H, L, V Humanities. 2 credits.
What is knowledge? Can we have it? If not, why not? If yes, how? What does it mean to have evidence, justification or reasons for ones beliefs? How rational or irrational are we? Can we have a priori, “armchair” knowledge? Is cognition essentially social? We will discuss classic and contemporary answers to such questions. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - L Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for COGS Spring 2028 Picascia.
(Cross-listed as LING 116 ) Language is an excellent tool for expressing and communicating thoughts. You can let your friend know that there will probably be fewer than 25 trains from Elwyn to Gladstone next Wednesday - but could you do this without using language (have you tried?)? Even more interesting is the question how you can do this using language. How can the sounds I produce or the marks that I leave on this sheet of paper be about the dog outside chasing the squirrel? How can words refer to things and how can sentences be true or false? Where does meaning come from? Philosophy has dealt with such questions for a long time but it was only a bit more than 100 years ago that these questions have taken center stage in philosophy. We will read and discuss such more recent authors, starting with the „classics” Frege, Russell and Wittgenstein and leading up to authors like Austin, Carnap, Davidson, Grice, Kripke, Ludlow, Putnam, Quine Searle, Strawson, Waismann and Whorf. Must be taken for PHIL credit to count towards the PHIL major/minor. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - L Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for COGS
(Cross-listed as POLS 117 ) Must be taken for PHIL credit to count towards the PHIL major/minor. This seminar cannot be used as a PHIL honors preparation, or for the PHIL ancient distribution requirement. But it will count toward the PHIL history distribution requirement, and toward your PHIL elective credits. PHIL distribution - H Humanities. 2 credits.
The course is divided into three principal sections, focusing on philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. Section 1 covers four core positions in the philosophy of mind “dualism, behaviorism, materialism, and functionalism,” and it serves as an overview of traditional philosophy of mind. Section 2 explores how the philosophical ideas developed above connect to ongoing research in artificial intelligence. Section 3 concerns the philosophy of cognitive science, a field that investigates the biological and neurophysiological underpinnings of human mentality. Part of the aim is to clarify the goals and methods of cognitive science and to investigate ways in which advances in cognitive science may yield philosophical insights into the nature of mind. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - L Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for COGS-focus course Spring 2028 Baker.
This seminar deals with basic questions in social and political philosophy such as the following: What is a good state or a good government? How does politics relate to ideas of a good life? Is there an inescapable tension between politics and morality? Can one justify State authority? What is the nature and role of power and liberty in all this? How should benefits and burdens be distributed in a society? What is justice? What, if any, are the moral limits of markets? We will discuss both classical and contemporary approaches. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - V Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for PPE. Spring 2027. Baumann.
This seminar covers the central debates in Indian Philosophy spanning from the beginning of the Common Era up until the 12th century. Topics include the following: the sources of knowledge, skepticism about philosophy, the nature of persons and consciousness, the existence of God, the meaning of words and sentences, and moral motivation. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - H, L, V Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for ASIA.
PHIL 139Phenomenology, Existentialism, and Poststructuralism2
In this course, we will examine the themes of reality, truth, alienation, authenticity, death, desire, and human subjectivity as they emerge in contemporary European philosophy. We will consider thinkers such as Nietzsche, Husserl, Heidegger, Derrida, Irigaray, and Deleuze to place contemporary themes of poststructuralist thought in the context of the phenomenological and existential tradition out of which they emerge. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - H, L, V Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for INTP, GMST Spring 2027. Lorraine.
This seminar focuses on debates and major questions in Euro-Western epistemology as well as pre-modern Indian epistemology. Topics include the problem of skepticism, the nature (and sources) of knowledge, and topics in social epistemology, such as testimonial knowledge and peer disagreement. One of our main tasks is to see whether we can make progress on unresolved questions by bringing different philosophical traditions into conversation with each other. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - L Humanities. 2 credits Fall 2026. Picascia.
In this seminar, we will examine in-depth philosophical approaches to the theory and practice of law. We begin with the classical theoretical questions. We cover the foundations of law as explained through legal positivism, natural law, and critical legal theory. We examine the roles of lawmakers, citizens, and judges. We then move to questions with a more practical dimension. We discuss the foundation for criminal law and punishment as well as issues of racism and sexism in law. Other topics include individual rights, paternalism, policing, privacy, and technology. This seminar is intended for Seniors and Juniors, with priority given to honors students taking it as an honors preparation. Others should contact the instructor for permission to enroll. PHIL distribution - V Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for PPE. Fall 2027 TBD.
A thesis may be submitted by majors in the department in place of one honors paper, on application by the student and at the discretion of the department. Requires a department faculty member sponsor 2 credits.
