Philosophy

This course explores philosophical reflections on the structure and purpose of the university and the role of philosophy within that institution as put forward by German philosophers in the 19th century, while also providing a critical perspective on the subsequent history of the university through the 20th century until today. Students read key texts by philosophers such as Kant, Schelling, Fichte, von Humboldt, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Marx, Heine, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, to trace how ideas relating to university reform changed and were implemented in the course of the last two centuries, also in light of the most recent European university reform: the Bologna Process in 1999.

This course examines how philosophers and linguists answer questions such as: a) what is a language; what makes linguistic expressions meaningful; what can logic tell us about the grammar of natural languages; are human beings born with a universal grammar; what is the difference between what we mean and what we convey when we say something; and how does a metaphor work.

This course is designed to discuss modern science research that is related to people's minds and thoughts and how this research influence the arguments of various philosophical views including idealism and materialism. This course also discusses about the mechanism to study our mind and brain and how meditation affects our minds, even cure some diseases.

Whether animals of different species have consciousness, concepts, representation, communication, and cultural abilities is not only an open question, but also closely related to people's daily curiosity and animal ethical practices. Through the study of this course, students are expected to master the methodology of philosophy of science and achieve a reflective balance between the transcendental thinking of philosophy of mind and the empirical evidence of cognitive science.