2nd Courses in Philosophy

Second courses in Philosophy are designed for non-majors who would like to pursue philosophical questions beyond their introduction to philosophy. These courses typically focus on a sub-field of philosophy, to enable students to focus in on areas of interest in a way which is not possible in the typical introduction to philosophy.

We offer courses across every major field of philosophy; among the most commonly offered courses have been courses in the philosophy of science, in ethics and political philosophy, and in the philosophy of religion. All of the courses listed below satisfy the University Philosophy Requirement.

Any course inquiries should go to the DUS, Alex Jech.

Fall 2026 Courses

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 01 (15780)
TBD
9:30-10:45 TTH

A general introduction to philosophy, which may cover introductory topics in either topically or historically, with a focus on introducing students to some of the perennial problems and texts of philosophy. Specific course content varies by semester and by instructor. See https://philosophy.nd.edu/courses/1st-courses-in-philosophy/ for further details of specific sections offered this semester.

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 02 (15781)
Rodriguez
8:30-9:20 MWF

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 03 (15782)
TBD
11-12:15 TTH

Introduction to Philosophy
20101 04 (15839)
TBD
12:30-1:45 TTH

Introduction to Philosophy: Philosophy of Math
20104 (19778)
Bays
3:30-4:45 TTH

This course will be an introduction to philosophy with a special focus on issues at the intersection of philosophy and mathematics and in the philosophy of mathematics. Topics to be discussed may include the role that mathematics has played in the history of philosophy and the role philosophy has played in the history of mathematics, the nature of the infinite, the relationship between mathematics and science, and the role of beauty in mathematics.

God and the Good Life
20111 (14804))
Christy
11-11:50 MW

Must be enrolled in one of the following Sustained Dialogue Sections 20111-11-20.

Should you practice a religion? What do you owe other people? What would it take for your life to be meaningful? And how should you decide what to believe when it comes to big questions like these? In God and the Good Life, we're searching for answers. We'll read the best philosophical arguments addressing these questions. We'll share our reactions to the proposals in blogs and social media editorials. We'll come together as a large group to debate real world case studies that bear on these questions, hearing periodically from guest speakers making headlines in current debates about religion, morality and meaning. And we'll meet in small Sustained Dialogue groups to discuss our religious and moral identities and develop virtuous friendships (to borrow Aristotle's terminology). If you are excited about developing philosophical skills in an intense, creative community format---this is the course for you. This course fulfills the first philosophy requirement. Learn more about GGL at our course website: godandgoodlife.org.

Theories of Sexual Difference
20205 (19779)
Kourany
2-3:15 MW

What kinds of differences separate men and women? Are these differences natural or are they socially produced, and are these differences beneficial to us or are they limiting? Finally, how might we go about dealing with the differences, and would this constitute progress (a more egalitarian society with happier, more fulfilled people) or the reverse? These are the questions we shall pursue in this course, and we shall pursue them systematically, devoting attention even to the male/female sex difference itself and the current debates over intersexuals, transsexuals, and transgendered persons. Our goal will be to develop a clear and well-justified philosophical outlook on sex/gender difference, drawing on work within the natural and social sciences as well as philosophy, and within such areas as feminist theory and men’s studies.

Augustine's Confessions
20206 (19780)
D. Cory
11-12:15 MW

This course in Augustine's Confessions offers a path for students to continue in philosophy through a deep encounter with a key text in the history of its development. Some key themes will be the tnesion between divine presence and divine transcendence, the metaphysics of evil, the emergence of the will as a philosophical theme, the limitations of human language to express truth, the relationship between the intellectual and the moral life, the role of friendship in the moral life, the nature of time, memory, and the effect of embodiment on our moral and intellectual welfare. Above all, we will explore the idea that a human life is a confession or a proclamation of what one most deeply believes is true and food. Students will be introduced to other intellectual movements that form the background for Augustine's writings, especially stoicism, Neoplatonism, and various forms of gnostic Christianity, but the primary focus will be on deep textual engagement with St. Augustine's most famous work. As a core text in the histories of both philosophy and theology, which plays a formative role in the Catholic intellectual tradition, the Confessions are an especially suitable subject matter for a second philosophy course, since Augustine introduces many problems and distinctions that become foundational in both disciplines.

Philosophy of Love
20221 (20024)
A. Mathew
11-12:15 MW

This course is an exploration of the nature of love and its place in a good lofe. We'll start by asking what love is: is it a union (or at least a desire for union) with another, or a special kind of concern for another, or a way of seeing another's value? We'll then turn to a central debate about what justifies loving someone: is love justified by a person's qualities, by the shared history of a relationship, by the value of persons themselves, or is love ultimately beyond such justification? Then, we'll turn to love's ethical significance. We'll consider whether love for particular others is in tension with the ethical ideals of fairness and impartiality, as well as the possibility of love being at the centre of all ethics. We'll explore a few different kinds of love (romantic, familial, and friendship), reflect on ways love can sometimes go wrong, and ask whether love is essential to living a meaningful life.

Aristotle's Natural Philosophy
20227 (20008)
Crivelli
2-3:15 MW

The course will focus on the first four books of Aristotle’s Physics, a text which shaped the way of understanding the physical world for many centuries (including the whole of the Middle Ages). The course will begin with a brief overview of Aristotle’s theory of science and of the theory of deduction that lies at its foundation and will then proceed to analyse Aristotle’s treatment of some concepts that are important for our understanding of the physical world: monism, becoming, causality, teleology, chance, change, place, the infinite, void, and time. The course will be a combination of upfront lectures by the instructor and presentations of important articles or chapters of books which will be offered by students. Active contribution to the class discussion will be of the greatest importance and will contribute to the final evaluation of the student’s performance in the course. The evaluation will also be based on three written essays (but every presentation offered to the class by the student will exempts him or her from writing one of the essays).

Metaphysics
20228 (19781)
DeRosset
9:30-10:45 MW

Critical survey of important topics in metaphysics, such as identity, ontology, modality, free will, and grounding.

19th Century Philosophy
20230 (20009)
Huddleston
12:30-1:45 TTH

This course offers an overview of several of the key figures and trends in 19th Century Post-Kantian European Philosophy. Philosophers to be studied include: Hegel, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. Topics include: the possibility of metaphysics after Kant, the aspirations of philosophical systematicity, the nature of the self, the status of morality, philosophical optimism/pessimism, the move toward increasing secularity, and the impending threat of nihilism.

Authenticity
20256 (20293)
Crampton-Hays
TBD

Philosophy is, centrally, the study of how to live a good life. Yet almost all of us have had occasion to think and talk about this question in some form before ever entering the philosophy classroom. In our ordinary, popular conception of the good life, one dominant theme is authenticity. We often hear that to live a good life one must be true to oneself, and make decisions in a way that accords with one's true self. But for all its ubiquity, the concept of authenticity is quite philosophically puzzling. What does it mean for one's motives, values, etc. to be true to oneself? Is the idea that each person ought to act in the way that is true to themself compatible with the demands of morality, which we tend to think of as universally binding? Does following the ideal of authenticity lead us to close ourselves off from other people or deny our social nature in some problematic way? In this course, we will explore all of these questions by reading a mix of twentieth century Anglophone moral philosophy and nineteenth century continental philosophy. We may also look at some relevant pieces of literature along the way.

Ethics
20401 01(15812)
Rodriguez
9:25-10:15 MWF

This course will examine principal questions and debates in ethics, such as the nature of good, different ethical framworks (virtue, consequentialism, deontology), the nature of moral motivation, and particular univeral or contemporary moral problems.

Ethics
20401 02(15813)
Rodriguez
10:30-11:20 MWF

Philosophy of Law
20408 (20154)
Hannahan
12:30-1:45 TTH

Carved into the marble façade of the United States Supreme Court building are ten figures whose thought, practice, and legislation have shaped the Western legal tradition and the human aim to govern communities through law more generally: Hammurabi, Moses, Solon, Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, Demosthenes, Cicero, Julian, and Gaius. Taken together, they represent nearly three millennia of arguments about what law is, where it comes from, and what it owes to those who live under it. The first two thirds of the semester will provide an overview of these “figures on the wall”, treating them as entry points into a set of enduring philosophical questions. With these figures as our touchstones, the course will shift its attention in the last few weeks to contemporary approaches to the problem of legal interpretation. We’ll examine varieties of formalism (textualism, originalism in some of its flavors) and pragmatism, with particular attention paid to what is at stake in the choice of interpretive method—not just as a fine-grained legal question but as one rooted in concepts of law, morality, and politics, shaped for better or for worse by the figures on our wall.

Leadership & Virtue
20425 (16592)
Jenkins/Brennan
2-3:15 M, F

What is effective leadership? What insights might philosophical texts and the experience of seasoned leaders give us? In this course, we will read and discuss the writings of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas on ethics and virtue. As a counterpoint, we will read Machiavelli's The Prince, which seems to have been written in reaction to a virtue-centered approach to leadership. A key component of the course will be to hear from accomplished leaders in various fields-business, education, military, and non-profit organizations-to test our philosophical reflections against the actual experiences of successful leaders. Students will be asked to read the assigned texts thoughtfully, engage in class discussion, and write several short reflection papers and one longer paper.

Aristotle's Ethics
20429 (19782)
Connell
2-3:15 TTH

This course will concentrate on the ethical theory set out in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. It includes the study of topics such as: methodology, the good life, virtue, character, the mean, moral responsibility, practical wisdom, justice, friendship, weakness of will, moral education and the contemplative life.

Philosophy and Film
20440 (19784)
Roche
12:30-1:45 TTH

Film and philosophy can be studied together. On the one hand, films often give rise to philosophical questions, for example, what are the arguments for and against the idea of justice as the advantage of the stronger? On the other hand, if we have rich philosophical categories, for example, on the nature of tragedy, we can ask deeper and more precise questions of films. The course will juxtapose films by directors, such as Ford, Hitchcock, Eastwood, and Allen, with works by philosophers, including Plato, Hegel, and Nietzsche, among others. The goal will be three-fold: (1) to interpret the films as films; (2) to weigh philosophical arguments; and (3) to enrich our understanding of both realms, film and philosophy, by bringing the two spheres into conversation with one another. Likely topics include knowledge, identity, evil, power, courage, love, and providence. Students will learn to analyze film as a distinctive art form. Like theater, film is a visual,
temporal, and linguistic medium, but film differs from theater insofar as it is defined by camera or shot, which frames our sight; montage or editing, which allows film to be spatially and temporally discontinuous; and mise-en-scène, the totality of expressive content in the filmed image–from setting, props, and costumes to gestures, facial expressions, and lighting. Together these three elements bring forward not only a distinctive art form but also an unusually capacious
and creative ontology.

Philosophy of Public Policy
20453 (20289)
P. Wu
9:30-10:45 TTH

People seem to disagree starkly about which problems we collectively face and how we should solve them. We will consider some of these issues, such as immigration, inflation, and education, and we will do our best to determine what, if anything, we should do about them. We will focus on the contemporary US, but the discussion may have international ramifications. The aim of the course is to help students make up their own minds about these topics, and to understand why others might disagree.

Ancient Platonism
20454 (15606)
Christy
2-3:15 TTH

This course will explore the rich philosophical tradition inspired by the works of Plato, which was the source of a distinctive and highly influential set of interrelated ideas about God, human nature, the structure of reality, and happiness. We will explore Plato's treatment of these topics in dialogues like the Phaedo, Republic, and Timaeus, in connection with relevant background material from Plato's philosophical predecessors (particularly from the Pythagorean movement and from Parmenides of Elea). We will then trace the impact of Plato's ideas in the centuries following his death, with attention to their development by later "Neo-Platonic" philosophers like Plotinus and lamblichus, by Christian thinkers like the Origen of Alexandria and Gregory of Nyssa, and within lesser known philosophical and religious movements from antiquity.

Like all ancient philosophical traditions, Platonism was not just a collection of abstract doctrines, but a way of life aimed at leading its adherents to happiness and flourishing. Accordingly, we will seek to understand not just what Platonist philosophers believed, but how they actually lived their lives. In addition to in-depth reading and discussion of primary texts, this will involve trying out for ourselves some of the lived practices central to the Platonist tradition.

Emotion and Interpersonal Relationships
20456 (20298)
Y. Liu
9:30-10:45 MW

This course examines the emotions we experience when we care deeply about others and our relationships with them. The first half of the course explores what it means to value an interpersonal relationship, such as our relationships with friends, family, and romantic partners. The second half turns to discuss specific emotions that arise within these relationships, including gratitude, pride, hope, anger, shame, and grief. Major course assessment includes an in-class exam, an in-class presentation, and a final paper.

Philosophy and Logic of Games
20615 (19785)
Hamkins
3:30-4:45 TTH

Shall we have a game? The course will explore the philosophy and logic of games, exploring all things games. We shall begin with some elementary game theory and decision theory, including elementary probability theory, covering mixed strategies, Nash equilibria, the prisoner's dilemma, and Tit-for-Tat, and then eventually the fundamental theorem of finite games, game trees, the hypergame paradox, and many examples of finite games and their strategies, such as Nim and other games. The latter part of the course will delve into infinitary issues, including determinacy and nondeterminacy, connections with the philosophy of mathematics, Conway games, and the surreal numbers as games. It will be a highlight of the class to cover the analysis of various infinite games, including infinite chess, infinite draughts, infinite Hex, infinite Wordle, infinite Sudoku, and more.

Philosophy of Space and Time
20625 (20291)
Gonzalez
2-3:15 MW

This course explores fundamental questions about the nature of space and time, including the following. Could there be space and time if there were no things? Why (do we think that) time flows in only one direction? Are space and time dependent on our mind? What is the connection between space, time and the meaning of life?

Philosophy of Religion
20801 (16594)
S.Dumont
5:00-6:15 TTH

This course will examine principal questions in the philosophy of religion relating to the nature and existence of God, religious beliefs, religious experience, divine hiddenness, religious pluralism and exclusivism, immortality, the relationship between God and ethics, and other questions.

The Philosophical Thought of John Paul II
20809 (20292)
Ronge
TBD

The aim of this course is to explore the philosophical thought of John Paul II, with an emphasis on his philosophy of the human person. The first part of the course will cover important background information from his two primary streams of influence: Thomism (the thought of Thomas Aquinas) and phenomenology (the study of human experience). The remainder of the course will include a look at a few of his philosophical essays and an extended treatment of his Theology of the Body.

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