With the consent of the major advisor, a student with an overall 3.5 grade-point average (GPA) or higher and a GPA of 3.7 or higher in courses in the major may apply for admission to the honors program. Students in this program must complete a graduate seminar in the Department of Philosophy and write an acceptable honors thesis, for which four units of credit will be given under PHILOS H195.
Minor Program
To declare the minor, students should contact phildept@berkeley.edu to obtain a minor completion form.
In addition to the University, campus, and college requirements, listed on the College Requirements tab, students must fulfill the below requirements specific to their major program.
General Guidelines
One of the 12 courses may be taken pass/no pass.
No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs with the exception of minors offered outside of the College of Letters & Science.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 must be maintained in both upper and lower division courses used to fulfill the major requirements.
For information regarding residence requirements and unit requirements, please see the College Requirements tab.
One of the following courses may be taken on a Pass/No Pass basis.
Three courses total. Two must be upper division and one may be either upper division or lower division.2,3
1
You may satisfy this requirement without taking PHILOS 100 by presenting evidence that you received an A or an A+ in at least two out of the first three eligible philosophy courses that you have taken at Berkeley. Here are the eligible philosophy courses: PHILOS 25A; PHILOS 25B; any upper division philosophy course except PHILOS 140A or PHILOS 140B
2
One elective may be a course offered in another department, provided the course is approved by the undergraduate adviser.
Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements.
General Guidelines
All minors must be declared before the first day of classes in your Expected Graduation Term (EGT). For summer graduates, minors must be declared prior to the first day of Summer Session A.
All upper-division courses must be taken for a letter grade.
A minimum of three of the upper-division courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements must be completed at UC Berkeley.
A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required in the upper-division courses to fulfill the minor requirements.
Courses used to fulfill the minor requirements may be applied toward the Seven-Course Breadth requirement, for Letters & Science students.
No more than one upper division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.
All minor requirements must be completed prior to the last day of finals during the semester in which the student plans to graduate. If students cannot finish all courses required for the minor by that time, they should see a College of Letters & Science adviser.
All minor requirements must be completed within the unit ceiling. (For further information regarding the unit ceiling, please see the College Requirements tab.)
Electives: three additional upper division philosophy courses
12
College Requirements
Undergraduate students must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.
For a detailed lists of L&S requirements, please see Overview tab to the right in this guide or visit the L&S Degree Requirements webpage. For College advising appointments, please visit the L&S Advising Pages.
All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley and must be taken for a letter grade.
The American History and American Institutions requirements are based on the principle that all U.S. residents who have graduated from an American university should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.
All undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass this campus requirement course in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses are plentiful and offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.
College of Letters & Science Essential Skills Requirements
The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer/data science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course taken for a letter grade.
The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work taken for a letter grade.
In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing, and critical thinking the College of Letters and Science requires two semesters of lower division work in composition in sequence. Students must complete parts A & B reading and composition courses in sequential order by the end of their fourth semester for a letter grade.
College of Letters & Science 7 Course Breadth Requirements
The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship. Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.
Unit Requirements
120 total units
Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units
Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department
Residence Requirements
For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters & Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes at Cal for four years, or two years for transfer students. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you graduate early, go abroad for a semester or year, or want to take courses at another institution or through UC Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to meet an L&S College adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.
Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.
Senior Residence Requirement
After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your B.A. degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.
You may use a Berkeley Summer Session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the college.
Modified Senior Residence Requirement
Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), Berkeley Summer Abroad, or the UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.
Upper Division Residence Requirement
You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding UCEAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.
Student Learning Goals
Mission
The Undergraduate Student Learning Initiative (USLI) is a campuswide project that has been under development at Berkeley since Fall 2007. This initiative is designed to promote and facilitate learning for undergraduates across campus. In connection with this initiative, the Philosophy Department has articulated the following goals for our undergraduate majors.
The primary goal that we expect our undergraduate philosophy majors to achieve is to become capable of engaging with the main topics and issues in contemporary academic philosophy and with the historical tradition by which contemporary philosophy is informed. Students who graduate from our program should be able to think both analytically and creatively about philosophical issues and texts. They should be able to analyse and raise objections to philosophical views and arguments that are presented to them, and to develop and defend their own views on philosophical topics. They should be able to do this both in writing and in oral discussion with other students and with instructors. Achieving these objectives requires that students acquire more general skills in writing, reading, and oral argument: they need to be able to organize their ideas, express them clearly both in writing and in speaking, and construct plausible arguments in their defense.
Learning Goals for the Major
This primary goal includes the following more specific goals:
A broad general understanding of the work of major figures in the history of philosophy, including Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and Kant.
A deeper and more detailed understanding of the work of at least two historically important philosophers.
Familiarity with the most important topics in a range of areas which are typically regarded as lying at the center of contemporary philosophical thought, including metaphysics, theory of knowledge, philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language.
Familiarity with the most important topics in ethics and the related field of political philosophy.
Familiarity with formal logic, including both the ability to understand the logical symbolism used in many contemporary philosophical texts, and to carry out logical proofs and derivations within a formal system.
The general capacity to think analytically and creatively about philosophical texts and issues.
The general capacity to express philosophical ideas and defend them effectively in argument, both in writing and orally.
Assessment
Students’ attainment of these goals is measured by assessment of their performance in the courses required for the major. All philosophy undergraduate courses, with the exception of those in logic, require students to write several essays over the course of the semester; many of them also require a final exam where the questions also take the form of short philosophical essays. These essays are evaluated by the instructor with an eye both to the student’s mastery of the specific subject matter covered by the course, and to the student’s mastery of more general skills in philosophical thinking and writing. A higher standard of thinking and writing is required for upper division than for lower division courses. More ambitious students have the option of taking graduate seminars as electives, where the standard for philosophical writing is higher still.
In logic courses, students’ competence in formal logic is evaluated through assessment of their performance in weekly problem sets and examinations (typically including a midterm and a final).
All of our courses, again with the exception of those in formal logic, require students to engage in oral philosophical discussion, typically during sections taught by graduate student instructors. In many courses, students’ contributions to discussion are assessed as part of the overall assessment of their performance in the class. We recognize it as a shortcoming in our program, however, that our courses are often too large to allow much discussion, and as a result, we are not confident that all of our students do in fact become proficient in this aspect of the primary goal of the program. We think it very important that students have the opportunity to develop their skills in oral discussion of philosophical issues, and we are hoping to be able to introduce as a requirement that students take one undergraduate seminar which offers ample opportunity for discussion with a faculty member and with their peers. So far, the small size of the faculty compared with the large size of enrollment in philosophy classes has prevented us from doing this, but we hope that faculty size will increase to a degree that will make this change in the program feasible.
Curriculum
Students are required to take 12 courses overall, including a number of required courses; these required courses are selected and designed with reference to the specific goals from the numbered list above, as follows:
Goal 6: All of our courses, except for those in formal logic
Goal 7: All of our courses (except for those in formal logic), but especially PHILOS 100, which is a dedicated course in philosophical writing
The goals described in this statement will be communicated to our undergraduate students by posting a prominent link to this statement on our department website, on the same page that is used to inform students about the course requirements for the philosophy major.
Major Map
Major maps are experience maps that help undergraduates plan their Berkeley journey based on intended major or field of interest. Featuring student opportunities and resources from your college and department as well as across campus, each map includes curated suggestions for planning your studies, engaging outside the classroom, and pursuing your career goals in a timeline format.
Use the major map below to explore potential paths and design your own unique undergraduate experience:
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Training in writing expository prose in conjunction with reading philosophical texts. Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement. Reading and Composition Through Philosophy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: R1A offered by any department, or an equivalent course
Requirements this course satisfies: Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session
Introduction to the philosophy of mind. Topics to be considered may include the relation between mind and body; the structure of action; the nature of desires and beliefs; the role of the unconscious. The Nature of Mind: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2021 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2016, Fall 2013
Philosophical issues as expressed in poetry, drama, and the novel. This course will compare and contrast the Greek, Medieval, and modern worlds, as reflected in their greatest literature, with special emphasis on the role of the community in reconciling conflicts between sub-groups in society and the individual's ability to understand and control his own life. We will also follow man's realization that the changing answers to these questions are themselves self-interpretations. Man, God, and Society in Western Literature: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
Christian, agnostic, and atheistic existentialism as expressed in the works of Dostoyevsky, Melville, Kafka, Antonioni, Goddard, etc. Existentialism in Literature and Film: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2022 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 1999, Summer 1996 10 Week Session
This course is an introduction to key issues in feminist philosophy. The first part of the course focuses on building up a toolbox of important feminist concepts. In the second unit of the course, we will consider several major approaches to thinking about sex- and gender-based oppression. Finally, we will bring our knowledge of those approaches to bear on a number of special topics. Throughout the course, we will focus on the ways in which questions about the nature, status, rights, and abilities of women intersect with questions about race, class, sexuality, coloniality, and disability. Introduction to Feminist Philosophy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2015
A comparative study of topics in Chinese and Western ethical traditions. Topics include love, compassion, benevolence; rituals, filial obligations, the individual and the family; pride, shame, guilt; conscientiousness, courage, wisdom; trustworthiness, forms of integrity; concepts of the self; self-cultivation; human nature, destiny, the cosmic order; the concept of morality, morality and tradition. The course will conclude with a discussion of metaethical issues concerning the confrontation between rival ethical traditions and methodological issues in the study of comparative ethics. Comparative Ethics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2019, Spring 2016
A survey of basic issues in contemporary philosophy of religion, exploring arguments about God's existence, the status of religious experiences and beliefs, how souls might interact with bodies, and the relationship of God to morality. Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session
Syntax, semantics, and proof theory of sentential and predicate logic. Introduction to Logic: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students can remove a deficient grade in PHILOS 12A by passing PHILOS W12A. Students who pass PHILOS W12A receive no credit for passing PHILOS 12A.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Summer 2023 8 Week Session, Summer 2022 8 Week Session
Intended as a first course in logic for students with no previous exposure to the subject, the course treats symbolic logic. Students will learn to formalize reasoning in symbolic languages with precisely defined meanings and rules of inference. Symbolic logic is by nature a mathematical subject, but the course does not presuppose any prior coursework in mathematics—only an openness to mathematical reasoning.
The course concentrates on three systems of symbolic logic: propositional logic (or sentential logic); syllogistic logic; and predicate logic (or first-order logic). Students from philosophy, mathematics, computer science, and linguistics will find important connections between symbolic logic and their other coursework. Introduction to Logic: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students can remove a deficient grade in PHILOS W12A by passing PHILOS 12A. Students who pass PHILOS 12A receive no credit for passing PHILOS W12A.
Hours & Format
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of web-based lecture and 4 hours of web-based discussion per week
Online: This is an online course.
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 1997 10 Week Session
This course addresses the nature of ethical motivation and agency, with special attention to the individual's role in a business organization. Topics include theories of ethical motivation; individual character and organizational culture; personal integrity; corporate agency; corporate responsibility to society. Business Ethics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
A tour of metaphysical, epistemological, and ethical issues raised by AI examining questions like: What is intelligence? What is agency? How do we know if machines have either of these? What’s the difference between an AI making predictions, yielding explanations, and understanding? What exactly would it take for a machine to understand natural language as human beings do? On the ethical side, questions like: If an algorithm manifests biased behavior, whose fault is it? How applications of AI threaten privacy or manipulate? Do basic questions of morality need to be settled so that we can program autonomous robots and vehicles? Finally, we consider if a superintelligent AI is a thing to look forward to, a grave threat, or a sci-fi fantasy. Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2002 10 Week Session, Summer 2001 10 Week Session, Summer 2000 10 Week Session
This course is an introduction to some of the traditional questions in metaphysics--the study of what there is in the world and how what there is is structured. Topics will include free will and determinism, the mind-body problem, and personal identity. If time permits, we will also examine arguments for the existence of God. Introduction to Metaphysics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Prior to 2007
In any culture, the way we act implies some view of what it is to be a person, and indeed what it is to be a particular kind of person, e.g., black or white, male or female, citizen or non-citizen. This view determines what roles and privileges are available to specific individuals and how these individuals will think of themselves and evaluate their actions and obligations. We will focus on works of philosophy, literature and film which have had a powerful and lasting impact on our culture. Concepts of the Person in Novel, Drama, and Film: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2022, Fall 2016
The teachings of Confucius (6th to 5th century B.C.) have had a profound influence on Chinese and East Asian cultures, and have attracted significant interest throughout the world. In what ways are they still of relevance to life in the twenty-first century? The course will consider the contemporary implications of Confucius’ teachings for such topics as: family, rituals, life and death, fate, contentment and anxiety, anger and resentment, courage, respectfulness, modesty and humility, trustworthiness, learning, self-cultivation, semblances of virtue. In addition to reading selected passages from the Analects, we will also consider commentaries by later Confucians and read contemporary philosophical articles on the relevant topics. Confucius for Today: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2021 First 6 Week Session
In this introductory survey of Arabic philosophy, we will focus on the philosophical works of al-Kindi, al-Razi, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), al-Ghazali, and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) producing during the “Islamic Golden Age,” traditionally dated from the 9th to the 12th century CE. Introduction to Arabic Philosophy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012
The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment is limited to 15 freshmen. Freshman Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session
The history of ancient philosophy with special emphasis on the Presocratics, Plato, and Aristotle. Ancient Philosophy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session
The history of modern philosophy from Descartes through Kant. Modern Philosophy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2014
Study of various fields of philosophy of special interest to freshman. Topics will vary from semester to semester and will be individually announced. Freshman seminars are restricted to fifteen students each. Freshman Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final Exam To be decided by the instructor when the class is offered.
Terms offered: Spring 2019, Spring 2014
Sophomore seminars are small interactive courses offered by faculty members in departments all across the campus. Sophomore seminars offer opportunity for close, regular intellectual contact between faculty members and students in the crucial second year. The topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 sophomores. Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: At discretion of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 5 weeks - 3-6 hours of seminar per week 10 weeks - 1.5-3 hours of seminar per week 15 weeks - 1-2 hours of seminar per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-5 hours of seminar per week 8 weeks - 1.5-3.5 hours of seminar and 2-4 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Berkeley Connect is a mentoring program, offered through various academic departments, that helps students build intellectual community. Over the course of a semester, enrolled students participate in regular small-group discussions facilitated by a graduate student mentor (following a faculty-directed curriculum), meet with their graduate student mentor for one-on-one academic advising, attend lectures and panel discussions featuring department faculty and alumni, and go on field trips to campus resources. Students are not required to be declared majors in order to participate. Berkeley Connect: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
The course is designed to acquaint students with the techniques of philosophical reasoning through detailed study of selected philosophical texts and through extensive training in philosophical writing, based on those texts. Should be taken as early as possible after declaring the major. Philosophical Methods: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Two courses from 2, 4, 25A, 25B. Restricted to students in the major
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 1 hour of tutorial per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
The fundamental concepts and problems of morality examined through the study of classical and contemporary philosophical theories of ethics. Ethical Theories: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 1971
This course aims to introduce you to a range of philosophical debates in clinical and population-level bioethics. Among the topics in clinical bioethics that we will discuss are: abortion; physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia; pre-commitment in bioethics; genetic enhancement; and the Non-Identity Problem. In population-level bioethics, questions we will discuss include: the concept of disability; the measurement and valuation of health; cost-effectiveness and disability-discrimination; Bioethics in a Time of Pandemic: Quarantine, Triage, Drug Trials; health inequalities and justice; personal and social responsibility for health; personal and social responsibility for health; standards of care in clinical trials in the US and abroad. Bioethics: Clinical and Population-Level: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PHILOS 106 after completing PHILOS 106. A deficient grade in PHILOS 106 may be removed by taking PHILOS 106.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
An investigation of central issues in moral psychology, such as: free will, weakness of will, self-deception, moral motivation, emotions, virtues, moral education. Moral Psychology: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2020
This course will be devoted to in-depth discussion of a variety of problems in moral philosophy raised by real-life questions of individual conduct and social policy. Its contents will vary from occasion to occasion. Possible topics include philosophical problems posed by affirmative action, abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, terrorism, war, poverty, and climate change. Contemporary Ethical Issues: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 2 or 104, or two courses in philosophy, or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2016, Summer 2010 First 6 Week Session
A systematic examination of freedom and responsibility. The following topics will be addressed (among others): the relations between freedom of will, freedom of action, and autonomy; moral responsibility and its conditions; naturalism, determinism, and their relevance for human freedom; practical deliberation and the structure of the will; weakness and strength of will. Readings may be drawn from both historical and contemporary sources. Freedom and Responsibility: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2020, Summer 2019 Second 6 Week Session
Visual arts/literature and music. Form, expression, representation style; interpretation and evaluation. Aesthetics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Upper division courses in philosophy or consent of instructor. Majors in literature or the arts
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2013
This course is intended to allow a more focused exploration of particular topics in aesthetics than is possible in Philosophy 110. Its contents will vary from occasion to occasion. Topics may include philosophical questions arising for particular art forms such as painting, music, or dance; questions about form, expression, representation, and emotion in aesthetic experience; or the ideas of particular aesthetic movements or schools of thought. Special Topics in Aesthetics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2012, Spring 2007, Spring 2004
A survey of the major political philosophers, including some or all of Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Bentham, Mill, and Marx. History of Political Philosophy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: One course in philosophy
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
This course is designed to deal with a variety of topics in political philosophy. Its contents will vary from occasion to occasion. Possible topics include problems in liberal theory; justice, desert, and responsibility; communitarianism, nationalism, and cosmopolitanism. Special Topics in Political Philosophy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 115 or equivalent
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
This course explores philosophical questions of race, ethnicity, and citizenship, with special attention to the experiences of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, and indigenous peoples of the United States. Topics include the meaning of “race,” “ethnicity,” and “citizenship,” border control and immigration, reparations for past wrongs, discrimination and affirmative action, civic obligation and group solidarity, and the right to vote. The Philosophy of Race, Ethnicity, and Citizenship: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2021, Summer 2014 Second 6 Week Session
This course will introduce students to a range of historical and contemporary feminist issues. Feminism and Philosophy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2022, Spring 2021
This course explores, from a philosophical perspective, ethical questions arising from collecting, drawing inferences from, and acting on data, especially when these activities are automated and at a large scale. Topics include: bias, fairness, discrimination, interpretability, privacy, paternalism, freedom of speech, and democracy. Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Moral Questions of Data Science: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Prior coursework in philosophy will be helpful, but is not required
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2021
An advanced introduction to contemporary metaphysics, focusing on the ideas of objectivity, existence, naturalness, identity, time, causation, and possibility. Metaphysics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023
This course is an introduction to various philosophical issues which arise in physics, concerning the nature of motion, laws, forces, space, time, and probability. The first half of the course will be concerned with classical mechanics; the second half will introduce special relativity and quantum mechanics. Questions to be discussed include: Are there instantaneous velocities? Are the laws of physics true, or are they just predictively useful approximations? Are forces like gravity real, or are they just mathematically convenient fictions? Is Newtonian mechanics really deterministic? Is space a thing (and what would that even mean)? What makes time different from space? In what sense does time have a direction? Is the present special? Philosophy of Physics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: No formal requirements; solid high-school physics and at least one philosophy class are recommended
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PHILOS 126 after completing PHILOS 126. A deficient grade in PHILOS 126 may be removed by taking PHILOS 126.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2004
Science is often regarded as preeminently rational. Yet recent work in philosophy, history and sociology of science suggests that scientific knowledge is no more rationally established than other sorts of knowledge, and that scientists' convictions are driven more by party loyalty and ego than by a pureminded pursuit of truth. This course will consider the case for and against the rationality of science. It will also consider the recent controversy concerning "scientific" creationism. Rationality and Irrationality in Science: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2023, Fall 2022
A survey of main topics in the logic of science and of other issues coming under the general heading of philosophy of science. Philosophy of Science: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2014, Spring 2002
An in-depth discussion of one or a few special issues in, or approaches to, the philosophy of science. Details of current topics are available in the departmental guide of each semester in which the course is given. Special Topics in the Philosophy of Science: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2023
Mind and matter; other minds; the concept "person." Philosophy of Mind: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2020
An introduction to central topics in the philosophy of language, for example the nature of linguistic meaning, the relation of meaning to truth and reference, knowledge of language, the relation of language to thought, pragmatic aspects of linguistic communication, and skepticism about linguistic meaning. Some previous background in philosophy and logic is required. Philosophy of Language: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 12A and one other Philosophy course, or consent of the instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2015, Fall 2011
How is the meaning of a whole sentence determined by the meanings of its parts, and by its structure? This question is addressed in empirical semantic theories for natural language. The character and content of such theories has been a central concern both of the philosophy of language and of recent linguistics, and it is the central focus of this course. Form and Meaning: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Eight units of philosophy courses and 12A (or equivalent)
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session
Language as social behavior. Language compared to other sign systems. The foundations of semantics, truth, meaning, reference. Issues of logical form in belief sentences, indirect discourse, sentences about causality, events, actions. Relations between thought and language. Theory of Meaning: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: One course in logic or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021
This course will cover central central questions and debates in the philosophy of perception, examining from various angles the idea that sensory perception is a way of being aware of and obtaining objective knowledge about the world – indeed, that it is in some sense the way of doing so. Students will read primary texts on these issues, and they will practice analyzing arguments and comparing philosophical views. They will also train their argumentative essay writing skills. Class meetings will be partly lecture-based, but there will be time for discussion and other activities as well. Philosophy of Perception: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: One previous course in philosophy is recommended
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
This course deals with the ontology of society and thus provides a foundation for the social sciences. The main questions discussed are: 1) What is the mode of existence of social reality? 2) How does it relate to psychological and physical reality? 3) What implications does social ontology have for social explanations? Philosophy of Society: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2019
Major concepts, results, and techniques of modern logic. Basic set theoretic tools. Model theoretic treatment of propositional and first-order logic (completeness, compactness, Lowenheim-Skolem). Philosophical implcations of these results. Intermediate Logic: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2022, Fall 2020
Major concepts, results, and techniques of modern logic. Turing machines, computability theory, undecidability of first-order logic, proof theory, Godel's first and second inompleteness theorms. Philosophical implications of these results. Intermediate Logic: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Philosophy 12A or equivalent
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2014, Summer 2013 10 Week Session, Spring 2013
An exploration of how game theory and rational choice theory shed light on traditional philosophical problems; and of new paradoxes and problems introduced by these theories. Philosophy and Game Theory: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: One course in philosophy
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2021
The course aims at introducing students to the basic topics in philosophy of logic. Among the topics to be treated are the notions of validity, truth and truth functionality, quantification, and necessity. Philosophical Logic: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2020, Spring 2018
An introduction to the logical study of modality in its many forms: reasoning about necessity, knowledge, obligation, time, counterfactuals, provability, and other modal notions. Covers core concepts and basic metatheory of propositional modal logic, including relations to first-order logic; basics of quantified modal logic; selected philosophical applications ranging from epistomology to ethics, metaphysics to mathematics. Modal Logic: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Philosophy 12A or equivalent: or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2023
Individuals in a group often have conflicting preferences between alternative courses of action, e.g., concerning the choice of a leader for the group, the choice of public policies,
and so on. Moreover, actions often affect individuals differently: some may gain while others may lose, and the magnitudes of gains and losses may be unequal for different individuals.
These observations lead to two of the basic questions of Social Choice Theory. First, what are good methods of group decision making in the face of conflicting preferences? Second, can we evaluate the overall social welfare of some alternative course of action in terms of the welfare of each individual in the group under that alternative? Social Choice Theory: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Philosophy 12A (or equivalent) or consent of instructor
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PHILOS 144 after completing PHILOS 144. A deficient grade in PHILOS 144 may be removed by taking PHILOS 144.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2019
Foundations of mathematics: logicism, intuitionism, formalism. Set theoretical parardoxes, definition of numbers, problems of continuum. Philosophy of Mathematics: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2020
Different approaches to the foundations of probability; inductive confirmation of scientific theories. Probability and Induction: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2020, Fall 2018
This course is conceived in analogy with Philosophy 129 (Special Topics in Philosophy of Science). It is supposed to allow the class to focus on more specific problems in philosophy of logic or mathematics than can be treated in a broad introductory course such as Philosophy of Mathematics (Philosophy 146) or Philosophical Logic (Philosophy 142). Special Topics in Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2004, Summer 1997 10 Week Session, Spring 1996
An examination of early Chinese thought via a study of representative thinkers and texts. Topics include: pre-Ch'in Confucianism and Taoism, development of Confucian thought in Han dynasty and of Taoist thought in the Wei-Chin dynasties, development of Buddhist thought. Early Chinese Thought: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2019, Fall 2018
The course focuses on certain central topics in Chinese philosophy, though a survey of the history of Chinese thought is also included. The topics emphasized vary from occasion to occasion, and may include: the Confucian ethical tradition; classical Chinese philosophy; a comparative study of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddism. Chinese Philosophy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2022
An examination of philosophy in the Islamic world in the 9th–12th centuries CE, covering topics in metaphysics, natural philosophy, epistemology, and the philosophy of religion. Arabic Philosophy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PHILOS 154 after completing PHILOS 154. A deficient grade in PHILOS 154 may be removed by taking PHILOS 154.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2014
A study of some of the major philosophical texts from the medieval period with a focus on issues in metaphysics and epistemology. Topics may include universals, individuation, the nature and existence of God, faith and reason, skepticism, freedom, language, human nature and human cognition. Medieval Philosophy: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2023
This is an introduction to Buddhist philosophy, extending from its origins (as preserved in the early sūtra literature), down through its evolution into multiple competing philosophical traditions (Abhidharma, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, Pramāṇavāda, and so on). We will explore Buddhist approaches to issues in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, language, and ethics. One theme running through the course will be radical skepticism; we will explore how Buddhist philosophers questioned not only the existence of an enduring or essential self but also the existence of an external (mind-independent) world, and how their analyses impacted their understandings of meaning in language, their accounts of the nature and function of consciousness. Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: There are no formal requirements, but a prior course in either philosophy or Buddhist studies is recommended
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for BUDDSTD C158 after completing BUDDSTD 158. A deficient grade in BUDDSTD C158 may be removed by taking BUDDSTD 158.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Formerly known as: Philosophy C158/Buddhist Studies C158
Terms offered: Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2015, Fall 2013
The course is designed to deal with a variety of topics in Greek philosophy. Its contents will vary from occasion to occasion. Possible topics are: the close study of one or more of Plato's dialogues, the reading of one of Aristotle's texts, stoicism, scepticism, and neo-platonism. Special Topics in Greek Philosophy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Philosophy 25A or equivalent
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022
An intensive introduction to Descartes’s views on physics, metaphysics and epistemology through examination of Descartes’ early works on method, physics and physiology. This includes an in-depth study of the Meditations, focusing on both Descartes’ epistemological project and his anti-scholastic metaphysics supplemented by readings from the Objections and Replies, the Principles, and several important pieces of secondary literature. Issues discussed include the method of doubt, the Cartesian circle, Descartes’ mode of presentation in the Meditations, the creation and ontological status of the eternal truths, the status of the human being, the nature of substance, mind-body dualism and Descartes' physics as presented in the Principles. Descartes: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2020
This course will be a detailed examination of several central works of the 17th century philosopher G.W. Leibniz, with an emphasis on his metaphysical views. Topics will include Leibniz’s views on the relation between mind and body, the nature of space and time, the relation between our representations of the world and the world as it is in itself, the nature of substance and material reality, the relation between God and creation, the nature of inter- and intra-substantial causality, the nature of ideas, and the unity of organic entities. Leibniz: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2022, Spring 2020
In this course, we will trace the development of Heidegger’s philosophical work from his early attempt to work out a “fundamental ontology” to his late projects of formulating a “history of Being” and of elaborating a new, “poetic” way of thinking. Based on close readings of selected texts including *Being and Time*, *The Origin of the Work of Art*, and “The Question Concerning Technology,” we will analyze key concepts such as “Being” and “beings,” “temporality” and “historicity,” or “enowning” and“enframing.” Led by these texts, we will explore how Heidegger seeks to reconceive subjectivity,intersubjectivity, cognition, and language by dissociating his own approach from the philosophical tradition. Heidegger: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2006, Fall 2002
This is a course on the philosophy of Maurice Merleau Ponty (1908-1961). Our focus will be on his treatment of perception, consciousness, and embodiment, with an eye to his relevance to contemporary discussions of these phenomena in philosophy and cognitive science. This class is for philosophy majors; History of Modern Philosophy (25B) or an equivalent course is a prerequisite. It will help to have taken Philosophy of Mind (132), Philosophy of Language (133), Theory of Meaning (135), Philosophy of Perception (136), or Kant (178). Philosophy graduate students and students in other departments are welcome to take the class with the permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites: History of Modern Philosophy (25B) or an equivalent course is a pre requisite. It will help to have taken Philosophy of Mind (132), Philosophy of Language (133), Theory of Meaning (135), Philosophy of Perception (136), or Kant (178)
Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for PHILOS 186 after completing PHILOS 186. A deficient grade in PHILOS 186 may be removed by taking PHILOS 186.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2017, Spring 2015
A close reading and extended discussion of central parts of Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations. Later Wittgenstein: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
The course’s specific content will vary from occasion to occasion but will focus on the work of a single philosopher, or several significantly linked philosophers, active before the second half of the twentieth century. Special Topics in the History of Philosophy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Summer 2008 Second 6 Week Session
Backgrounds of phenomenology and existentialism. Husserl and Merleau-Ponty. Phenomenology: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2021 Second 6 Week Session
Backgrounds of phenomenology and existentialism. Husserl and Merleau-Ponty. Phenomenology: Read More [+]
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2020, Fall 2018
The course is designed to deal with a variety of topics in recent European philosophy. Its contents will vary from occasion to occasion. Possible topics include: further work in phenomenology and existentialism, the study of a particular text by an important figure in contemporary European philosophy, current French and German philosophy. Special Topics in Recent European Philosophy: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Fall 2023
A seminar-style exploration of some topic in philosophy. The students and insturctor will investigate the topic in a collaborative way, through discussion rather than lecture. Topics vary from semester to semester. Enrollment is limited to 15 undergraduate philosophy majors. Proseminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Philosophy majors who have taken at least two upper-division philosophy courses
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
The department will designate a tutor, under whose guidance the student will seek to satisfy the thesis requirement of the Honors Program. Philosophy Tutorial: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Students in Honors Program
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of tutorial per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 0 hours of tutorial per week 8 weeks - 0 hours of tutorial per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Spring 2024, Spring 2023
A collaborative writing workshop. Students in the honors program will develop their thesis, which they will have started to write in the fall in Philos H195. Other students will develop a paper from a previous course into a form suitable for a writing sample for applying to graduate school. Students will present drafts, followed by comments by an assigned respondent, and open discussion. As time permits, philosophical background for the work in progress may be read and discussed. Senior Seminar: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Philos 100 and senior standing. Students in the honors program must have taken, or be taking, H195. Other students must have consent of the instructor. Preference will be given to students in the honors program
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Terms offered: Spring 2025, Fall 2024, Spring 2024
Berkeley Connect is a mentoring program, offered through various academic departments, that helps students build intellectual community. Over the course of a semester, enrolled students participate in regular small-group discussions facilitated by a graduate student mentor (following a faculty-directed curriculum), meet with their graduate student mentor for one-on-one academic advising, attend lectures and panel discussions featuring department faculty and alumni, and go on field trips to campus resources. Students are not required to be declared majors in order to participate. Berkeley Connect: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of discussion per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Terms offered: Spring 2024, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2023
Enrollment restrictions apply; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section in this catalog. Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read More [+]
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Philosophy/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
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