2025 Summer Courses in Philosophy
Enrollment is open for UCLA summer courses. Current UCLA Students can enroll at MyUCLA. Visiting students can register at summer.ucla.edu.
Session A: June 23 – August 1
- When, and why, are we morally required to obey the law? Are we ever required to disobey the law – and, if so, why and how?
- How should a society deal with crime? We will study the debate between advocates of prison reform and advocates of prison abolition.
- How should the state treat reproductive freedom, parental rights, and parental obligations?
- What, if anything, should the state do to promote gender equality?
- Do we have a right to somewhere to live? What implications would such a right have with respect to property, homelessness, and immigration?
*ONLINE COURSE*
Instructor: Hannah Widmaier
We’ll begin by considering some big questions: How should a society be structured in order to be just? And what is social justice to begin with? This will set us up to pursue and explore a number of particular, and particularly acute, issues about social justice:
*ONLINE COURSE*
Instructor: Alex Pelaez
Can machines think? If so, how would we know? What about other human minds—how can we be sure that others have subjective experiences like our own? And what about our own minds—what and how do we even know about them? These questions drive the trajectory of this course as we investigate some of the most fascinating puzzles in the philosophy of mind.
We’ll make two key features of the mind especially salient—its ability to compute and its capacity for subjective experience—and we’ll investigate the tension that arises when we try to account for both of them. In Module 1, we explore the similarities and differences between computing machines and human minds, introducing core philosophical terminology and techniques for reconstructing and analyzing arguments. As we consider whether machines can think or understand, we’ll also confront deeper epistemological questions: How can we know whether others—human or machine—have minds? This skeptical stance sets the stage for Module 2, where we follow Descartes’ method of working from the ground up to argue that minds exist. We’ll analyze three key arguments in favor of dualism and grapple with strong objections, including challenges to the coherence of the mind-body distinction. In Module 3, we turn to physicalist theories of the mind as an alternative to dualism, exploring what makes them intuitive, plausible, or compelling, and we will consider whether they can fully capture the subjective, first-person nature of consciousness.
Can machines think—or even have minds? How would we know? This course dives into the philosophy of mind, exploring the tension between the brain’s computational power and the mystery of subjective experience. We’ll debate whether AI can truly think, analyze classic arguments for and against dualism, and evaluate physicalist theories of consciousness. Along the way, we’ll confront deep questions about intelligence, skepticism, and what it means to have a mind.
Syllabus TBA
Instructor: Seungtaek Lee
In this course, we will learn a new language: symbolic logic. This very simple yet powerful language has proven extremely helpful for identifying, analyzing, and evaluating arguments in ordinary languages like English, Farsi, or Korean. Compare the following two arguments: ‘If Amy stole the car, then Brie is innocent; Amy stole the car; therefore, Brie is innocent’ vs. ‘If Amy stole the car, then Brie is innocent; Brie is innocent; therefore, Amy stole the car’. The first argument is good reasoning, but the second is not—the possibility of a third suspect remains. To figure this out, we don’t need to know who Amy and Brie are or what has actually happened. This is because the goodness or badness of an argument is determined by its logical structure rather than its specific content. Symbolic logic allows us to perspicuously represent these structures, avoiding the ambiguities and complexities of ordinary languages: ‘P → Q; P; ∴ Q’ vs. ‘P → Q; Q; ∴ P’. Hence, throughout this course, we will explore such questions as: What are logical structures? How do we distinguish good arguments from bad ones? How do we translate ordinary language sentences into symbolic logic? How do we prove or disprove the goodness of an argument? By the end of the course, you will be equipped with essential tools for any rational inquiry, from academic research to everyday reasoning—and perhaps even for life.
*ONLINE COURSE*
Instructor: Samuel Pensler
This course is a philosophical inquiry into the nature, justification, and limitations of democratic government in the current political moment. Over the last decade, authoritarian-nationalist popular political movements have swelled in many countries, especially in established constitutional democracies. This ascendancy has largely taken place not by revolution but through the very democratic institutions these movements threaten to upend, such as fair elections and a free political discourse in which denizens enjoy broad freedom of communication, protest, and the press.
What do we, as citizens, stand to lose if our democratic rights and institutions are undermined or disappear? How compelling are the reasons in favor of upholding and strengthening democracy? Students enrolled in this course will pursue such questions– questions that, as democratic citizens, we must face.
*ONLINE COURSE*
Instructor: Kyle Scott
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the role of law and legal institutions in society. We begin with fundamental questions about the nature of law, justice, and legal interpretation, focusing on key debates in natural law and legal positivism. From there, we examine the role of constitutional, criminal, and tort law in society through a range of theoretical and applied perspectives. The course concludes with an examination of critical approaches to law, including feminist jurisprudence, critical legal studies, and intersectionality. Students will engage with classic and contemporary texts, legal case studies, and pressing questions about rights, punishment, and the limits of state legitimacy. This course invites participants to critically evaluate how laws shape, and are shaped by, broader social, political, and ethical systems.
Session C: August 4 – September 12
*ONLINE COURSE – ASYNCHRONOUS LECTURES*
Instructor: Khalilah Walters
Course Description TBA
Syllabus TBA
*ONLINE COURSE*
Instructor: Sare Ghorbani Khaledi
There are key questions in life. What does it mean to live a good life? How should we treat others? What makes an action right or wrong? How do we balance the demands of duty and the pursuit of happiness? What is virtue, and why be virtuous?
This course introduces the foundational theories of ethics through close engagement with classical texts by Aristotle, Kant, and Mill. We will explore how these philosophers approach these questions and consider the implications of their theories for contemporary issues like abortion, animal rights, and global poverty.
Through readings, discussions, and written assignments, you will develop the analytical tools to critically evaluate ethical arguments and articulate your own moral perspectives. No prior background in philosophy is required—just a willingness to think deeply and engage with challenging ideas! I look forward to the journey with you.
Syllabus TBA