Philosophy

This course investigates questions that are both central to political philosophy and of current political importance. They include: What does it take for a society to be just? How can we come to own natural resources? and more. 

The aim of this course is to familiarize the student with some of the cornerstones of modern logic: the completeness of first-order logic, Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, and Church and Turing’s results on undecidability. Proofs of these results are presented in some detail, including quick introduc)ons to basic model theory, primi)ve recursive and recursive func)ons, Peano arithme)c, and the method of ‘arithme)za)on’ of metalogic, on which the incompleteness and undecidability results rely. The philosophical implica)ons of these results, and the techniques used to prove them, are also discussed, and the intui)ve ideas behind the technical construc)ons are emphasized.

This course examines the historical precedence to some of the philosophical issues with reference to ancient Greek Philosophy. Three philosophers will be examined, with major emphasis on Plato and Aristotle. The focus will be mainly on metaphysical and epistemological aspects as discussed by those major classical philosophers.

This course takes a comparative perspective to look into early Chinese and Daoist philosophy. It starts with textual reading, follows with comparative ideas, including freedom and fate, illness and death, disabilities and social exclusion, war and peace, tolerance and toleration, language and social practices, etc. It focuses on group discussions, and research methodology.

This course examines some ethical questions concerning such issues as: medical paternalism, eugenics and designer babies, organ donation, experimentation on humans and animals, and refusal of medical treatment.

This course offers a critical analysis and introduction to the fundamental concepts of feminist theories including citizenship, body, mind, rights, equality, freedom, patriarchy, and the sex/gender system.

This course examines philosophical issues about food and its relation to ethics, objectivity, and values. Topics include moral issues such as the debate about animal rights, world hunger, the use of genetic engineering in agriculture, and the justification of health policies about food and drugs. It also looks at the relationship between food and art, and the objectivity of taste. 

This course offers an introduction to critical thinking and problem-solving. Topics include: theoretical foundations of thinking; the human brain and decision-making; models of thinking; phases of the analysis process and the creative process; parallels and divergences; creative and critical problem-solving; proactivity and innovation.

This course introduces students to a variety of philosophical thinking from around the world. It prompts students to explore some key questions and concepts in philosophy across different religious traditions and time periods. The religious traditions to be explored in this course may include, but are not limited to: Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.