Below is a list of upcoming graduate courses with full descriptions and other specific information. Below that is a list of all graduate-level courses offered by the Department. A full listing of graduate level courses is also available at the OSU Course Catalog. For a complete listing of courses offered in recent, current, and upcoming semesters, see the OSU Master Schedule.
Upcoming Graduate Courses
Autumn Semester 2025
5212 - Seminar in Ancient Philosophy - Aristotle
Instructor: Colin Smith
LEC: TR 9:35:00 AM-10:55:00 AM
in person
Aristotle's revolutionary significance in the history of philosophy, science, theology, and culture is difficult to overstate. He enacted breakthroughs in all the major philosophical subfields with his scientifically rigorous inquiry. His work had enormous influence on medieval, Renaissance-era, and post-Enlightenment thinking; but it also provides tools for understanding the world in ways that are quite different from, and offer critical resources for, our own thinking today. In this course, we will survey Aristotle’s most important works. We’ll begin by studying texts on language and logic like Categories and Posterior Analytics before turning to his major metaphysical writing: Physics, De Anima, and Metaphysics. We’ll conclude with a five-week study of Aristotle’s ethical and political writings. A central goal throughout will be to understand the unity of Aristotle’s thought, addressing recurrent themes like the distinction between activity and potency (often called "actuality" and "potentiality"), the connections between language and ontology, virtue ethics’ rootedness in metaphysical principles, and the central ontological function of nous (“mind” or “intelligence”).
Prerequisites/Restrictions: 3210 or 6 cr hrs at the 2000 level or above in Philos coursework, or Grad standing in Philos, or permission of instructor.
5550 - Advanced Logical Theory
Instructor: Neil Tennant
LEC: TR 11:10:00 AM-12:30:00 PM
in person
In 1931 Kurt Gödel proved his two famous incompleteness theorems: the truths of the language of arithmetic cannot be axiomatized; and no consistent theory of arithmetic can prove its own consistency. In 1936 Alonzo Church proved that logical theoremhood in the language of mathematics is not mechanically decidable. These are known as the major ‘limitative theorems’ of mathematical logic. They shattered the Leibnizian dream of a calculus ratiocinator, a mechanizable method of determining truths expressed in a characteristica universalis, or universal language. And they place inviolable limits on what can be known a priori by computational methods. PHIL 5550 will study these limitative theorems. Their proofs involve arithmetical coding of syntax (so-called ‘Gödel-numbering’) and the Cantorian method of diagonalization. Their philosophical ramifications include arguments from famous writers that human minds transcend all possible machines, and that we cannot know with a priori certainty that mathematics is consistent.
Prerequisites/Restrictions: 2500 and 5500. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs or 3 completions.
5750 - Advanced Theory of Knowledge
Instructor: Abe Roth
LEC: WF 9:35:00 AM-10:55:00 AM
in person
The class starts by getting some epistemological concepts and concerns on the table with a look at several papers on internalist and externalist notions of epistemic warrant or justification. The main focus of the course, however, will be on epistemic issues as they arise in social situations where individuals relate to one another and with institutions. We will look at some literature on testimony, trust, and the epistemology of groups. A concern will be to reconcile practical and moral considerations regarding how to act with epistemic norms concerned with knowledge and truth. Recent literature in epistemology speaks of wronging, injustice, and accountability to one another. To what extent can properly epistemic sense be made of these notions? Or do they inevitably reflect a compromising of epistemic standards, something that must be done to get on with our (social) lives?5750
GE: None.
Prerequisites/Restrictions: 2500, and 6 cr hrs in Philos at or above 3000-level; or Grad standing; or permission of instructor.
8001 - Training Seminar
Instructor: Chris Pincock
SEM: - TBA
in person
This course is designed to provide professional training for all first- and second-year graduate students that will enable them to develop the skills required for success in research, teaching and service.
Prerequisites/Restrictions: Grad standing in Philos.
8100 - First-Year Seminar
Instructor: Justin D'Arms and Tristram McPherson
SEM: T 12:45:00 PM-3:30:00 PM
in person
This course introduces new graduate students to essential skills in reading, discussing and writing philosophy, in a small seminar setting designed to allow all students to participate actively and get personalized feedback. This year, the seminar will discuss a wide range of philosophical topics, in a way that helps to introduce students to the work and interests of several of our OSU faculty.
Prerequisites/Restrictions: First year of Grad standing.
8200 - Seminar in History of Philosophy
Instructor: Lisa Downing
SEM: W 4:00:00 PM-6:45:00 PM
in person
Locke: Mechanism, Materialism, Metaphysics
We will read Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding, with special attention to his relation to mechanism, his defense of the epistemic possibility of thinking matter, and, more broadly, his metaphysical views. Some of these issues will be brought out by considering Locke's relation to his predecessors and contemporaries (e.g. Descartes, Boyle, Newton). We will also consider some recent secondary literature interpreting Locke on these topics.
Prerequisites/Restrictions: Grad standing in Philos, or permission of instructor.
8750 - Seminar in Theory of Knowledge
Instructor: Jeremy Fantl
SEM: T 4:00:00 PM-6:45:00 PM
in person
The Role of Context in Contemporary Epistemology
One traditional strain in epistemology has it that certain details of your context are irrelevant to what you or I know and what you or I should believe. What matters in epistemology (according to this strain) is evidence and evidence only. It doesn’t matter what is important to you, what sort of inquiry you’re engaged in, what you happen to be thinking about, who you’re friends with, what commitments you’ve made, or what is morally important. The standards for knowledge in philosophy classrooms are the same as the standards for knowledge when bird-watching, when casually watching t.v., or as the member of a jury in a courtroom. We will explore various ways that, contrary to this position, those aspects of context can affect epistemological claims, as well as responses on behalf of the traditional strain. In particular, we will look at how and whether your practical stakes, your friendships, the moral consequences of your beliefs, and your promises or other commitments might affect your claims to knowledge and justified belief.
Prerequisites/Restrictions: Grad standing in Philos, or permission of instructor.
8800 - Seminar in Philosophy of Mind
Instructor: Jada Wiggleton-Little
SEM: R 4:00:00 PM-6:45:00 PM
in person
What does it mean to say that X typically motivates us to act? Certain states like moral reasons, urges, desires, pain, and other affective experiences are considered intrinsically motivating. However, there are debates as to how and why such states have such a significant motivational force. This course examines the nature of motivation by surveying how motivation as a phenomenon is characterized in philosophical texts and texts in experimental psychology. Starting with Hume’s theory of motivation, the course will also discuss Kant’s theory of motivation, desire and non-desire-based views of affective experiences, and cognitivist and non-cognitivist views of moral motivation.
Prerequisites/Restrictions: Grad standing in Philos, or permission of instructor.
Spring Semester 2026
5241 - 18th Century Phil.: Kant
Instructor: Lisa Shabel
TR 12:45-2:05PM
5310 - Metaethics
Tristram McPherson
TR 2:20-3:40PM
5440: Race, Education and Citizenship
Instructor: Winston Thompson
M 4:30-7:15PM
5500 - Advanced Logic
Chris Pincock
WF 11:10AM-12:30PM
5530 - Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics
Stewart Shapiro
TR 9:35-10:55AM
8300 - Value Theory
Instructor: Dana Howard
T 4-6:45PM
8650 - Philosophy of Science
Instructor: Richard Samuels
R 4-6:45PM
8800 - Philosophy of Mind
Instructor: Declan Smithies
W 4-6:45PM
8900 - Placement Seminar
Instructor: Tristram McPherson
[does not meet in person]
8999 - Dissertation Seminar
Instructor: Declan Smithies
W 12:25-3:30PM
Complete Listing of Philosophy Graduate Courses
5010S Teaching Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
Design a set of philosophy lessons and team-teach some of these lessons to secondary school students.
5210 (601.03)--Ancient Philosophy: Studies in Ancient Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
Variable content; special topics in ancient Greek philosophy, including value theory, logic, metaphysics and natural science in pre-Socratics, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle the Hellenistic schools or neo-Platonism.
Prereq: 301 or 10 cr hrs of Philos at the 200 level; or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 10 cr hrs.
5211 (601.01)--Ancient Philosophy: Plato
3 Credit Hours
A survey of central philosophical themes in one or more Platonic dialogues.
Prereq: 301 or 10 cr hrs of Philos at the 200 level; or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5212 (601.02)--Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle
3 Credit Hours
A survey of central philosophical themes in one or more Aristotelian treatises.
Prereq: 301 or 10 cr hrs of Philos at the 200 level; or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5220 (602)--Studies in Medieval Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of a major philosopher, school or philosophical problem of the medieval period; topics vary.
Prereq: 302 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 15 cr hrs.
5230 (603)--Studies in 17th-Century Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of a major philosopher or philosophical problem of the rationalist period; topics vary from quarter to quarter.
Prereq: 303 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or written of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 15 cr hrs.
5240 (604.02)--Studies in 18th Century Philosophy: Selected Problems or Topics
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of one or more important themes in Kant's philosophical writings.
Prereq: 303, or 304, and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor
5241 (604.01)--Studies in 18th Century Philosophy: Kant
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of one or more important themes in Kant's philosophical writings.
Prereq: 303, or 304, and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5260 (606)--Studies in 20th-Century Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of one or more central movement in 20th-century philosophy; topics vary.
Prereq: 15 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above, or grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 15 cr hrs.
5261 Phenomenology and Existentialism
3 Credit Hours
Early existentialist ideas of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche; Husserl's phenomenological method and critical analysis of works of philosophers such as Heidegger, Jaspers, Sartre, Beauvoir, and others.
5300 (631)--Advanced Moral Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of major issues within moral philosophy such as: the foundations of morality; objectivity in ethics; morality, reason and sentiment; virtues and vices.
Prereq: 431 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above or grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor.
5400 (630)--Advanced Political and Social Philosophy
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of issues in political and social philosophy, including democracy, civil disobedience, anarchism, totalitarianism, nature of the state, etc.
Prereq: 230 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 200 level or above; or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor, and English 110 or 111 or equiv.
5410 (638)--Advanced Philosophy of Law
3 Credit Hours
An examination of the nature and function of law and of such problems as the relation of law to morality and the justification of punishment.
Prereq: 338 and 10 cr hrs of Philos coursework at the 200 level or above; or grad standing; or equiv or permission of instructor.
5420 (625)--Philosophical Topics in Feminist Theory
3 Credit Hours
An analytical study of selected philosophical issues arising out of feminist theory, such as the nature of autonomy, or the relation between gender and knowledge.
Prereq: 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above; or grad standing; or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 10 cr hrs.
5450 (640)--Advanced Aesthetic Theory
3 Credit Hours
Basic issues in philosophy of art: the definition of art; meaning, truth, and representation in art; the nature and basis of criticism; the criteria of interpretation of works of art.
Prereq: 15 cr hrs of Philos course work at 200 level or above; grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 641.
5500 (650)--Advanced Symbolic Logic
3 Credit Hours
Introduction to the metatheory of first-order logics and languages: axiomatic development of propositional and predicate logic; model theory; soundness, completeness, and Lowenheim-Skolem theorems.
Prereq: 250
5510 (652)--Nonclassical Logic
3 Credit Hours
Study of selected systems of nonclassical logic, such as entailment systems, modal, many-valued, epistemic, deontic, imperative, erotetic, tense, and free logics.
Prereq: 650. Repeatable to a maximum of 10 cr hrs.
5530 Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics
Analysis of basic concepts used in logic and in philosophical claims about logic and mathematics, such as proposition, logical truth, mathematical objects, and necessity.
5540 Advanced Philosophy of Rational Choice
Advanced study of the principles and methods of the philosophy of rational choice with applications in the theory of knowledge, ethics, and social and political philosophy.
Prereq: 2500 or 2540; or enrollment in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Major; or Grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5550 (750)--Advanced Logical Theory
3 Credit Hours
Topics include formal arithmetic, recursive functions, Turing machines, Godel's incompleteness theorems, Church's thesis, arithmetical truth, logical paradoxes, and higher-order logic.
Preq: 250 and 650. Repeatable to a maximum of 15 hours.
5600 (673) - Advanced Philosophy of Language
3 Credit Hours
Basic problems and results in the philosophy of language, concentrating on theories of reference, theories of meaning, and theories of language-use (speech-acts, implicature, etc.).
Prereq: 250 and 10 credit hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 473); or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5650 (655)--Advanced Philosophy of Science
3 Credit Hours
A study of the nature and structure of scientific concepts, laws, and theories; appraisal of methodologies, presuppositions, and frames of reference in science.
Prereq: 250 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 455); or 250 and grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor.
5700 (663)--Advanced Metaphysics
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of major metaphysical problems: categories, universals, substance and process, causality and law, space and time, metaphysical presuppositions of knowledge.
Prereq: 250 or 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 463); or grad standing; or permission of instructor.
5750 (660)--Advanced Theory of Knowledge
3 Credit Hours
An intensive examination of major epistemological problems: the possibility, origin, foundation, structure, methods, limits, types, and validity of knowledge.
Prereq: 250 and 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 460); or grad standing; or permission of instructor.
5800 (667) - Advanced Philosophy of Mind
3 Credit Hours
Classical and contemporary approaches to the nature of mind, mind-body, other minds, intentionality, and other problems.
Prereq: 15 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above (preferably 467); or grad standing in Philos; or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for 767.
5830 (612)--Introduction to Cognitive Science
3 Credit Hours
Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary study of the nature of human thought; psychological, philosophical, linguistic, and artificial intelligence approaches to knowledge representation.
Prereq: Permission of instructor or a total of 12 cr hrs from at least two of the following areas: Cptr Inf, Linguist, Philos, and Psych. Not open to students with credit for CptrInf 612, Linguist 612, or Psych 612 or 794 (Sp Qtr 1989) or 794A (Wi Qtr 1990). Cross-listed in Computer and Information Science, Linguistics, and Psychology.
5840 (620)--Advanced Philosophy of Cognitive Science
3 Credit Hours
In-depth examination of the influence of results in cognitive science upon the way in which philosophers approach fundamental issues about the nature of the mind.
Prereq: 467 or permission of instructor.
5850 (670) - Philosophy of Religion
3 Credit Hours
A study of religious concepts and problems; the idea and nature of God, of humans, their relation to the world and human destiny.
Prereq: 10 cr hrs of Philos course work at the 300 level or above; or grad standing; or permission of instructor.
8001 --Graduate Training Seminar
1-3 Credit Hours
This course is designed to provide professional training for all first- and second-year graduate students that will enable them to develop the skills required for success in research, teaching and service.
Prereq: Grad standing in Philos. Repeatable to a maximum of 5 cr hrs or 2 completions. This course is graded S/U.
8100 (700) - First-Year Seminar
4 Credit Hours
A topically variable introduction to advanced philosophical methodology.
Open only to first-year philosophy grad students.
8200 (801)--Seminar in the History of Philosophy
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8300 (830)--Seminar in Value Theory
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8500 (850)--Seminar in Logic
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8600 (873)--Seminar in Philosophy of Language
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8650 (855)--Seminar in Philosophy of Science
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8700 (863)--Seminar in Metaphysics
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8750 (860)--Seminar in Theory of Knowledge
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8800--Seminar in Philosophy of Mind
1-4 Credit Hours
Preq: Grad standing in Philos or permission of instructor. Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs.
8900--Placement Seminar
1-3 Credit Hours
Prereq: Grad standing in Philos. Repeatable to a maximum of 9 cr hrs or 3 completions. This course is graded S/U.
8999 --Dissertation Research in Philosophy
1-9 Credit Hours
Research for dissertation purposes only.
Prereq: Repeatable to a maximum of 30 cr hrs or 30 completions. This course is graded S/U.