Introduction to Philosophy, HKU SPACE CCPH-4001

There are altogether 6 topics in this course. The lecturer will use the 3-hr weekly lecture to teach whereas the tutor will meet you in four 1.5 hours tutorials to help you with the group presentation and perform discussion with you.

Assessment

Oral Presentation: a group of at most three students will give a 15-20 mins presentation on the views and background of a philosopher from an approved list of important philosophers. 25%

Essay: 500-800 words individual essay on a philosophical topic approved or assigned by the lecturer. 25%

Tutorial Participation: students will need to perform discussion with each other, under the tutor’s guidance.10%

2-hr Exam: consisting of MCQs, short questions and essay-type question. 40%

Essay question:

“It is not to be supposed that young men and women who are busy acquiring valuable specialized knowledge can spare a great deal of time for the study of philosophy, but even in the time that can easily be spared without injury to the learning of technical skills, philosophy can give certain things that will greatly increase the student’s value as a human being and as a citizen. It can give a habit of exact and careful thought, not only in mathematics and science, but in questions of large practical import. It can give an impersonal breadth and scope to the conception of the ends of life. It can give to the individual a just measure of himself in relation to society, of man in the present to man in the past and in the future, and of the whole history of man in relation to the astronomical cosmos. By enlarging the objects of his thoughts, it supplies an antidote to the anxieties and anguish of the present, and makes possible the nearest approach to serenity that is available to a sensitive mind in our tortured and uncertain world.”

“[A]lmost all of us must sometimes wonder: Why are we here? Where do we come from? Traditionally, these are questions for philosophy, but philosophy is dead. Philosophers have not kept up with modern developments in science. Particularly physics. Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.”

The first quotation is from Bertrand Russell in the 1940s; the second quotation is from Stephen Hawking 70 years later. Please write your evaluation, as a student in HKU SPACE, of their divergent views on philosophy.

Please carefully think about your arguments before you write your essay. A good philosophical/argumentative essay does not depend on the number of “points”. (Please read the guides of writing essays available on this webpage for more details.)

Submit your essay through the assignment link on SOUL before the specified deadline (14/3/2025). You can see the similarity score when you submit. So, you can always resubmit with a better version before the deadline. Quotation and reference are not required; but if you quote or refer, please follow the instructions on style guides such as MLA or APA.

Course outline:

What is Philosophy

The theme of this introductory topic is how philosophical questions are different from those being asked in other subjects.

Metaphysics and Reality

The nature of the world is explained in terms of the contrast between appearance and reality, with an emphasis on the nature of dream.

Person and Identity

The identity and nature of humanhood is explained.

Religion and God

The philosophical foundation and the epistemological problems of religion are explored.

Freedom and the Will

Notions of personal and metaphysical freedom are analyzed, with emphasis on the implications of free will.

Truth

Philosophical ideas of truth are elaborated, with reference to its formalism and connection to the ideas of beauty and goodness.

Tips on revising:

1. You have around a month to write the essay. Always try to give an honest and coherent view instead of quoting here and there from lecture notes or books. Also check the link TIPS ON WRITING ESSSAY about writing college essay and grading information. Late submission and plagiarism are things you should always avoid.

2. The presentation topic is something you choose to do and so should not pose a problem for you. Note that oral presentation is different from writing: fluency and engaging the audience are the two most important aspects. Arguably, it is quite impossible to say that the presenter plagiarizes unless she just reads out other's work. There are so many philosophers worthy of your attention. Try to choose one whom you know fairly well and is related to other courses. We don't restrict your choice to Western philosophers. So, you can pick Mencius or Confucius if your knowledge of Chinese philosophy is good enough. Here is a short list of philosophers picked by previous students: Aristotle, Plato, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Buddha, Marx, Descartes, Berkeley, Hume, Kant, Locke, Spinoza, Leibniz, Russell, Wittgenstein. Please note that the presentation must be in English even though you have picked a Chinese philosopher.

3. Although you are given pptx and many learning links, the key to really learning philosophy is to read the original work: please make sure that you (try to) read the 10 essays/excerpts for the whole course. Although you might have been conditioned to get summary (including textbook and Wikipedia) to prepare for DSE, such a method will defeat the whole purpose of studying philosophy. What and how the philosophers writes matter, not her views in summary. If you disagree, ask whether you would have really enjoyed and appreciated the Marvel movies if you only read the plots on the Wikipedia. Remember that if someone finds philosophy useless and time-consuming, she can always avoid it for the rest of her life.

Tutorial Schedule:

You have been assigned 4 tutorials. Please check your own timetable for the exact time and venue:

Wednesday Tutorials: 5/3, 26/3, 9/4, 23/4 (CT03, CT05, CT07, CT08)

CT08 10AM KEC504

CT07 1130AM KEC504

CT05 4PM KEC 606

CT03 530PM KEC 606

Thursday Tutorials: 6/3, 20/3, 3/4, 17/4 (CT01, CT02, CT04, CT06)

CT02 10AM KEC1004

CT01 1PM KEC606

CT06 230PM KEC709

CT04 4PM KEC709

Tutor email: Mr. Kum lykum@hkuspace.hku.hk Miss Chan ws.chan@hkuspace.hku.hk

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Lecturer email: tkyming@hkuspace.hku.hk

Grading Guide for Essay Writing: click Harvard guide: click

Rubric for Oral Presentation: click Sample: click

Revision Guide: Click

Sample Exam Paper: click

Sample Short Essay and Comments: Click

APA Style Guide: Click

Aims and Objectives:

This course will provide students with a general understanding of philosophy as an academic discipline and as a method of intellectual enquiry. It will also introduce students to a variety of philosophical problems that arise from reflection on the nature of human existence. These problems are drawn from the many sub-disciplines of philosophy such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, religion, and mind, etc. Sample problems include: the mind/body problem, the problem of evil, the problem of knowledge, the problem of free will, and the problem of personal identity, etc. Students will be guided to examine different philosophical approaches to these problems, and to develop their ability to think and make reasoned judgments about such problems independently and critically.

Recommended Text: Ming, Thomas. 2006. Twenty Problems in Philosophy. McGraw-Hill. Book Link (The book is out of print but is available in the HKU library)

There are many introductory texts on Western philosophy, apart from my Twenty Problems. Two very popular, simple and well-written books are Simon Blackburn's Think and Thomas Nagel's What Does it All Mean? These two books, however, do not cover every topic in this course (Nagel's book has Chinese translation). If you want a fun book on the history of Western philosophy, you should read the bestselling novel Sophie's World. Undergraduate students in good universities are usually required to read many journal articles, which are the products of philosophical research. You can have access to most philosophical journals via the library link on SOUL.

Please note that I will not print out the PowerPoint or notes for you. All announcements concerning the course will be posted on this website instead of SOUL.

Contact and consultation: If you have questions or want to make an appointment with me please email me directly at tkyming@hkuspace.hku.hk Thomas Ming

Please note that the College has a strict policy on plagiarism. If you are not sure what plagiarism is, consult the College webpage or ask your lecturer/tutor.

TIPS ON READING PHILOSOPHY

TIPS ON WRITING ESSSAY

PowerPoint and Other Resources

1.What is Philosophy and Who is Socrates?

PowerPoint: Socrates

Core reading:

1. Euthyphro

Play an online game

Play another online game

A Complete Course on Critical Reasoning and Logic from Oxford

2.Dream and the Matrix

PowerPoint: Dream and Matrix

Core reading:

1. The Matrix of Dreams

2. The Butterfly Dream of Zhuang Zhou

3.Personal Identity

PowerPoint: Personal Identity

Core reading:

1. Thomas Reid on Personal Identity

2. The Self and the Future

Play an online game

Play another online game

4.How can We Know God?

PowerPoint: God

Core reading:

1. Theology and Falsification

Play an online game

5.Free Will and Moral Responsibility

PowerPoint: Free Will

Core reading:

1. Freedom and Necessity

2. Free will and PAP

Play an online game

6. Truth

PowerPoint: Click

Core reading:

1. Nietzsche on Truth and Lies

Supplementary materials:

Many useful interviews with philosophers: Interviews Closer to Truth

Films with philosophical themes

https://mubi.com/lists/essential-movies-for-a-student-of-philosophy

Interviews with philosophers

http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/index/interviews/

You can download podcast on the history of western philosophy by Peter Adamson at Philosophy Without Gaps (You can see how he explains a philosopher's views in a succinct way.)

Film on Pascal’s wager

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F_LUFIeUk0

Film on simple logic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp9SjZkc6bw

Yale philosophy course on death

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2J7wSuFRl8&list=PLE0D425F951001F57

Talks on contemporary philosophy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n-6WkJ3yqM&list=PL860F383A97061BAD

Websites for the sample aptitude test in HKSARs: HKSAR

Videos related to the six topics

On Euthyphro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrZn2UKxIow