{"id":8982,"date":"2022-06-27T13:26:56","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T17:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/?page_id=8982"},"modified":"2026-02-06T13:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:08:10","slug":"first-year-seminars-fysm-2022-23-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/undergraduate-studies\/undergraduate\/first-year-seminars-fysm-2022-23-2\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Year Seminars (FYSM) 2022-23"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n            <div class=\"cu-textmedia flex flex-col lg:flex-row mx-auto gap-6 md:gap-10 my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 max-w-5xl\">\n        <div class=\"justify-start cu-textmedia-content cu-prose-first-last\" style=\"flex: 0 0 100%;\">\n            <header class=\"font-light prose-xl cu-pageheader md:prose-2xl cu-component-updated cu-prose-first-last\">\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold !mt-2 mb-4 md:mb-6 relative after:absolute after:h-px after:bottom-0 after:bg-cu-red after:left-px text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] pb-5 after:w-10 text-cu-black-700 not-prose\">\n                        First-Year Seminars (FYSM) 2022-23\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                                \n                            <\/header>\n\n                    <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<p>First-year Seminar (FYSM) courses are smaller classes (with a maximum of 30 students) designed to give students the unique opportunity to discuss and research topics of interest in a core subject area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While most university students have to wait until their third or fourth year of study before having the chance to participate in a more intimate seminar setting, as a Carleton University Bachelor of Arts student, the engaging seminar experience is available to you at the first-year level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"First Year Seminars\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YvPTubuDblg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"fall-2022\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fall 2022<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/musicaljosh1-200x200-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/musicaljosh1-200x200-1.jpg 200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/musicaljosh1-200x200-1-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>FYSM 1210 A:&nbsp; Special Topics in Philosophy [0.5 credit]<br>\nInstructor: Josh Redstone<br>\nFall Term<br>\nWednesdays\/Fridays from 1:00-2:30 PM<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>\u201cMinds and Machines<\/strong><strong>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever wondered what the mind is? Have you ever asked yourself: \u201cIs my mind something special, ineffable, and mysterious? Or is my mind more like a machine, like a computer?\u201d Philosophers have been asking questions about the mind since antiquity, when thinkers like Plato and Aristotle argued that thinking, perceiving, and acting owes to the possession of a <em>rational soul<\/em>. As the centuries passed, other thinkers began to explore another possibility: that the human being \u2013 both the body and the mind \u2013 is a kind of <em>natural machine<\/em>. Over the coming weeks, you will gain an understanding of the mind \u2013 and hone your reading, writing and critical thinking skills \u2013 by considering some classic philosophical works concerning the nature of minds and machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"160\" height=\"159\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/TBA-seminar-160x159.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/TBA-seminar-160x159.jpg 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/TBA-seminar-240x239.jpg 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/TBA-seminar-400x398.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/TBA-seminar-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/TBA-seminar-360x359.jpg 360w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/TBA-seminar.jpg 493w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We shall begin by learning about the aforementioned philosophers\u2019 thoughts about the soul: an immaterial entity that is essentially <em>you<\/em>. As we proceed, we will encounter an opposing view: that the human being \u2013 and by extension the mind \u2013 is just an intricate, natural machine. For example, we will read the work of some 17<sup>th<\/sup> materialist thinkers like Thomas Hobbes and Julien Offray de la Mettrie, who rejected the idea of an immaterial soul and argued that the mind and body are machines. We will also read the work of thinkers whose position lies between these two, like Ren\u00e9 Descartes, who believed the body was an intricate machine controlled by the soul. We will continue our survey up to the 20<sup>th<\/sup> century, where we will examine the works of figures like Alan Turing, Hilary Putnam, John Searle and Daniel Dennett, who sought to understand the mind using the tools of philosophy in addition to those of computer science, neuroscience, psychology, and the like. As we proceed through the seminar, we shall also tackle questions that are intimately tied to discussion about minds and machines, namely ones that concern the nature of free will, consciousness, agency, and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/musicaljosh1-200x200-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/musicaljosh1-200x200-1.jpg 200w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/musicaljosh1-200x200-1-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>FYSM 1210 B:&nbsp; Special Topics in Philosophy [0.5 credit]<br>\nInstructor:&nbsp; Josh Redstone<br>\nFall Term<br>\nMondays\/Wednesdays from 8:30-10:00 AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>&#8220;Consciousness&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is consciousness? This is a question that philosophers have grappled with for as long as they have been doing philosophy! Consciousness is, on the one hand, familiar to all of us since we are conscious beings. On the other hand, it is perhaps one of the most mysterious and intriguing phenomena in the known universe. In everyday language, consciousness is variously defined as being awake and aware, or as the capacity to experience, or as subjective experience, as a state of mind, and so on. But how have philosophers answered the question: what is consciousness? Over the coming weeks, you\u2019ll gain an appreciation of some of the answers that have been provided to this question \u2013 as well as an appreciation of many other questions related to the mysteries of consciousness \u2013 by surveying the interdisciplinary field of <em>consciousness studies<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our learning journey will begin with a look at <em>why<\/em> consciousness is such a perplexing phenomenon for philosophers and scientists to tackle. We\u2019ll examine whether consciousness represents something truly mysterious, or whether we can understand how conscious experience works and why human beings have it with the tools of philosophy and the cognitive sciences. As we proceed, we\u2019ll learn about various theories of consciousness, our conscious experiences of the world and of the self, and the relationship between subjective conscious experience and physical events in the brain. As we make our way further into this fascinating area, we\u2019ll also learn about the unconscious mind, agency and free will, altered states of consciousness, the evolution of consciousness, and whether artificial consciousness is possible. Along the way, you will have the opportunity to develop your reading, writing and critical thinking skills, and to engage in some very interesting (and perplexing!) thought experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"winter-2023\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Winter 2023<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"240\" height=\"218\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/np_Plants-growth-in-the-underground_0VqQXb_free-e1671027889868-240x218.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/np_Plants-growth-in-the-underground_0VqQXb_free-e1671027889868-240x218.jpg 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/np_Plants-growth-in-the-underground_0VqQXb_free-e1671027889868-160x145.jpg 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/np_Plants-growth-in-the-underground_0VqQXb_free-e1671027889868-360x326.jpg 360w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/np_Plants-growth-in-the-underground_0VqQXb_free-e1671027889868.jpg 365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>FYSM 1210 A: Special Topics in Philosophy [0.5 credit]<br>\nInstructor: Melanie Coughlin<br>\nWinter Term<br>\nMondays\/Wednesdays from 4:00-5:30 PM<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;<strong>What we argue about: Uprooting Current Debates using the History of Philosophy&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These days, it seems we are always arguing about <strong>tyranny<\/strong>, <strong>suffering<\/strong>, and\/or <strong>identity<\/strong>. Why is that? And what have great minds had to say on these topics? Come dig into the history of philosophy, and throw new light on issues we (still) fight about today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Debate Topics:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump envy? Reading from Plato\u2019s Republic<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COVID life? Reading from Avicenna\u2019s The Metaphysics of the Healing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Feminazis? Reading from Wollstonecraft\u2019s A Vindication of the Rights of Women<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oil and gas? Reading from Hegel\u2019s Phenomenology of Spirit<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Monument destruction? Reading from Nietzsche\u2019s The Advantages and Disadvantages of History for Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Identity politics? Reading from Collins\u2019s Black Feminist Thought<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not your Halloween costume? Reading from Lugones\u2019s Pilgrimages\/Peregrinajes<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHelen Keller is over\u201d party? Reading from Barnes\u2019s The Minority Body<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By the end of this course, you will have learned to present your own position within a debate of your choice with skills for successful argumentation and communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/200\/musicaljosh1-200x200-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">FYSM 1210 B: Special Topics in Philosophy [0.5 credit]<br>\nInstructor: Josh Redstone<br>\nWinter Term<br>\nTuesdays\/Thursdays from 10:00-11:30 AM<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cPhilosophy of Music\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Music is a universal human practice: every culture on Earth has some kind of musical tradition, and many people across these cultures enjoy listening to, writing, playing, or performing music. While the word \u201cmusic\u201d comes from the ancient Greek <em>\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae<\/em> (mousik\u00e9, meaning \u201cthe art of the muses\u201d), music is prehistorical, as evidenced by flutes and drums found at paleolithic-era archeological sites. You undoubtedly have a favorite style of music, or a favorite musician, and you may even play a musical instrument. But have you ever asked yourself, \u201cWhat <em>is<\/em> music?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the coming weeks, we\u2019ll try to answer this question by exploring how philosophers, musicians and scientists have answered this question. Our learning journey will feature the works of thinkers like Pythagoras, Plato, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and others. We will begin by learning about fundamental elements of music such as pitch, timbre, harmony, melody, tempo, rhythm, and dynamics. Then, we will read and discuss what the above-mentioned philosophers have written about music: what music is, what music isn\u2019t, and how it is related to other forms of art. Along the way we\u2019ll also learn about the history of music, what musicians have to say about music, and what science can tell us about music\u2019s effects on the mind and body. Of course, we will also use examples of music from all kinds of styles and genres to illuminate our inquiry. We will encounter all sorts of interesting questions pertaining to music that span metaphysics, mind, ethics, and aesthetics. Is music just \u201corganized sound\u201d? How is music related to the emotions? What is the role of the mind in enjoying music and performing music? Is music similar to language, or to mathematics, and if so how? Are there styles of music or musical compositions than are \u201cbetter\u201d than others? What features of music contribute to its aesthetic properties? Are some musical styles or compositions morally \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d? We\u2019ll explore all of these questions, and more, as we learn about the philosophy of music together!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First-year Seminar (FYSM) courses are smaller classes (with a maximum of 30 students) designed to give students the unique opportunity to discuss and research topics of interest in a core subject area. While most university students have to wait until their third or fourth year of study before having the chance to participate in a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":335,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cu_dining_location_slug":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_page_type":[],"class_list":["post-8982","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8982"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9600,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8982\/revisions\/9600"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/philosophy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_page_type?post=8982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}