Courses 2020-21

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 (being upated)

PHIL1012 Mind and knowledge: an introduction to philosophy – Prof Deutsch
PHIL2100 Paradoxes of decision – Dr McCarthy (group 1/3)
[*] PHIL2120 Topics in analytic philosophy – Dr Lau (group 1)
PHIL2220 The mind – Dr. Kwok (group 2)
PHIL2225 The philosophy of artificial intelligence – Prof Cappelen (group 2)
PHIL2360 Political philosophy – Prof Ci (group 3)
PHIL2362 Liberal democracy – Prof Ci (group 3)
PHIL2410 Mind and language in Chinese thought – Prof Fraser (group 2)
PHIL2451 Philosophers’ views of China in early-modern Europe – Prof Cook (group 4)
[*] PHIL2800 Buddhist philosophy – Dr Chaturvedi (group 4)
Common core: CCHU9005 Food and values – Dr Lau
Common core: CCHU9021 Critical thinking in contemporary society – Dr Sterken

PHIL1034: Ethics and politics, East and West: an introduction to philosophy – Prof Fraser
PHIL1068 Elementary logic – Dr Nado
PHIL2000 Tools for Philosophers – Dr Sterken (group 1)
PHIL2011 Aristotle – Prof Cook (group 4)
PHIL2015 Classical Indian philosophy – Dr Chaturvedi (group 4)
PHIL2040 Nietzsche – Prof Ci (group 4)
PHIL2115 Skepticism and relativism – Dr. Kwok (group 1)
PHIL2230 Philosophy and cognitive science – Dr Kwok (group 2)
PHIL2310 Theories of morality – Dr McCarthy (group 3)
PHIL2315 Value theory – Dr McCarthy (group 1/3)
[*] PHIL2450 Zhuangzi – Prof Fraser (group 4)
PHIL2610 Philosophy of language – Dr Johnson (group 2)
PHIL2651 Bad language: the philosophy of non-ideal language use – Prof Cappelen (group 2)
Common core: CCCH9025 Humanity and nature in Chinese thought – Prof Hansen
Common core: CCHU9021 Critical thinking in contemporary society – Prof Cook
Common core: CCHU9051 Mysteries of the human mind – Dr Chaturvedi