Courses 2019-20

Introduction

If you would like to learn more about why you should study philosophy, you can read this page first.
Introductory courses – The department offers two general introductory courses in philosophy (PHIL1012 and PHIL1034). There are no prerequisites. These courses will normally be offered every year in different semesters. This is a requirement for all philosophy majors and minors. Normally they should be taken in either the first or second year of study. These two courses are also strongly recommended for students who do not intend to major or minor in philosophy.
PHIL1068 is an introduction to formal logic. It is suitable for students of all levels.
All senior-level courses (except the capstone courses) fall into one of four groups according to their main focus. Philosophy majors are strongly encouraged (but not required) to take courses from each of these groups to ensure that they are exposed to a wide range of philosophical ideas.
- Group 1: Knowledge and reality
- Group 2: Mind and language
- Group 3: Moral and political philosophy
- Group 4: History of philosophy
Philosophy majors are also required to take a capstone course. See this page.
Some courses listed below are marked with [*]. These are intermediate-level “survey” courses which are particularly suitable for second and third-year students, or students with very little background in philosophy.
For course descriptions, see the official syllabus on the Arts Faculty website.

Students wishing to major in Philosophy must complete 72 credits of courses, including:

Either PHIL1012 or PHIL1034 (6 credits);
12 credits of introductory courses taken from any Arts programme(s), which may include additional credits in 1000-level Philosophy courses;
54 credits of Philosophy courses from among those at the 2000-, 3000-, and 4000-levels, including PHIL3920 or PHIL4810 or PHIL4920 (capstone experience).

Students wishing to minor in Philosophy must complete 36 credits of courses, including:

All courses are one-semester courses worth 6 credit units unless stated otherwise.
Timetable

PHIL1034: Ethics and politics, East and West: an introduction to philosophy – Dr. Fraser
PHIL2260 Seminar in mind and language – Dr Atkins (group 2)
PHIL2080 Marxist philosophy – Prof Ci (group 3)
PHIL2480 Confucianism and the modern world – Prof Ci (group 3)
PHIL2027 Political philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Prof Cook (group 4)
PHIL2110 Knowledge – Prof Deutsch (group 1)
PHIL2435 Traditional Chinese political thought – Dr Fraser (group 3)
[*] PHIL2245 Philosophy and emotions – Dr Lau (group 2)
PHIL2100 Paradoxes of decision – Dr McCarthy (group 1/3)
PHIL2900 Formal epistemology – Dr McCarthy (group 1)
PHIL2045 Subjectivity – Dr Wildish (group 4)
PHIL2355 Theories of justice – Dr Chin (group 3)
Common core: CCCH9025 Humanity and nature in Chinese thought – Prof Hansen
Common core: CCHU9005 Food and values – Dr Lau
Common core: CCHU9021 Critical thinking in contemporary society – Prof Cook