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Philosophy
- What kind of world do we live in?
- Is there a God?
- Is there an external world?
- What kind of life should we live?
- Do human beings act freely?
- Where do moral obligations come from?
- How do we construct a just society?
- Where does knowledge come from and what are the limitations of our knowledge?
- Do the results of quantum mechanics force us to view our relations to objects differently?
- Do animals have rights?
- What is the justification for using military force?
- Is euthanasia morally wrong?
- What kind of research ethics should medical professionals observe in their research?
Curriculum Structure
To graduate, students must complete two categories of requirements, totaling at least 128 Academic Units (AUs):
A. Major Requirements (66 AUs)
B. Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC)
- Common Core (17 AUs)
- Foundational Core (10 AUs)
C. Broadening & Deepening Electives (35 AUs)
| Curriculum Structure | AY2024-2025 Intake | ||||||
| A. Major Requirements | B. Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC) | C. Broadening & Deepening Electives (BDE) | Total (AUs) | |||
| Core | Prescribed Electives | FYP or Two HY4000 level courses | Common Cores | Foundational Cores | ||
| 22 | 36 | 8 | 17 | 10 | 35 | 128 |
Duration of study
The curriculum is designed as a four-year course. Well-prepared students can complete the degree in three and a half years.
A. MAJOR REQUIREMENTS (66 AUs)
The requirements for a Philosophy major consist of 3 components:
A1. Philosophy Core Courses (22 AUs)
A2. Philosophy Prescribed Electives (36 AUs)
A3. Graduation Project (FYP) or 2 HY4000 level courses (8 AUs)
(The two HY4000 level courses are for those who are not eligible to do FYP.)
A1. Philosophy Core (Compulsory) Courses (22 AUs)
| Course Code and Title | AUs |
| HY1001 Introduction to Philosophy | 3 |
HY1002 Symbolic Logic (Previous title - Logic and Paradoxes) | 4 |
| HY2002 Moral Philosophy | 3 |
HY2003 Introduction to Chinese Philosophy | 3 |
HY2005 Political Philosophy (Previous title - Justice, Society, and the State) OR HY2010 Ancient Philosophy (Previous title - Ancient Philosophy: The Examined Life) | 3 |
HY2012 Early Modern Philosophy (Previous title - Modern Philosophy: Reason and Experience) OR HY3011 Philosophy of Mind (Previous title - Minds and Machines) | 3 |
HY3010 Philosophy of Science OR HY3012 Philosophy of Technology OR HY3018 Epistemology | 3 |
- Philosophy major must take ONE of HY2005 Political Philosophy OR HY2010 Ancient Philosophy
- Philosophy major must take ONE of HY2012 Early Modern Philosophy OR HY3011 Philosophy of Mind
- Philosophy major must take ONE of HY3010 Philosophy of Science OR HY3012 Philosophy of Technology OR HY3018 Epistemology
A2. Philosophy Prescribed Electives Courses (36 AUs)
| Category A: Prescribed Electives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Choose 7 courses – At least FOUR (4) from HY4000 level courses | AUs | |
| HY2008 | Environmental Ethics | 3 |
| HY2015 | Philosophy of Well-Being | 3 |
| HY2016 | Friendship | 3 |
| HY2025 | Medical Ethics | 3 |
| HY2026 | Business Ethics | 3 |
| HY2027 | Popular Culture and Philosophy | 3 |
| HY2028 | Food Ethics | 3 |
| HY2903 | Introduction to Chinese Philosophy | 3 |
| HY2905 | Political Philosophy | 3 |
| HY2910 | Ancient Philosophy | 3 |
| HY2912 | Early Modern Philosophy | 3 |
| HY3001 | Existentialism | 3 |
| HY3002 | Philosophy of Medicine | 3 |
| HY3003 | World Religions | 3 |
| HY3004 | Reason and Faith | 3 |
| HY3014 | 19th Century Continental Philosophy | 3 |
| HY3015 | 20th Century Continental Philosophy | 3 |
| HY3019 | Consequentialism | 3 |
| HY3020 | Deontology | 3 |
| HY3021 | Philosophy of Race and Gender | 3 |
| HY3022 | Comparative Philosophy: East and West | 3 |
| HY3024 | Virtue Ethics | 3 |
| HY3025 | Philosophy and Literature | 3 |
| HY3910 | Philosophy of Science | 3 |
| HY3911 | Philosophy of Mind | 3 |
| HY3912 | Philosophy of Technology | 3 |
| HY3918 | Epistemology | 3 |
| HY4002 | Knowledge and Reality | 4 |
| HY4003 | Advanced Epistemology | 4 |
| HY4005 | History of Analytic Philosophy | 4 |
| HY4006 | Philosophy of Physics | 4 |
| HY4007 | Aesthetics | 4 |
| HY4008 | Advanced Moral Philosophy | 4 |
| HY4009 | Value Theory | 4 |
| HY4010 | Neo-Confucianism | 4 |
| HY4011 | Moral Psychology | 4 |
| HY4013 | Language and Being | 4 |
| HY4015 | Philosophical Methodologies | 4 |
| HY4021 | Practical Rationality | 4 |
| HY4023 | Metaethics | 4 |
| HY4024 | Metaphysics | 4 |
| HY4025 | Ethics and Public Policy | 4 |
| HY4026 | Social Epistemology | 4 |
| HY4027 | Perception | 4 |
| HY4037 | Kant | 4 |
| HY4038 | Science, Technology, and Lifeworld | 4 |
| HY4039 | Ethics of War | 4 |
| HY4040 | The Meaning of Life | 4 |
| HY4041 | Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics | 4 |
| HY4042 | Imagination | 4 |
| HY4044 | Intercultural Philosophy: Chinese and Continental | 4 |
| HY4110 | Special Topics in Philosophy of Science | 4 |
| HY4111 | Special Topics in Ethics | 4 |
| HY4112 | Special Topics in Philosophy | 4 |
| HY4113 | Special Topics in Chinese Philosophy | 4 |
| HY4114 | Special Topics in Logic | 4 |
| HY4116 | Phenomenology | 4 |
| HY4118 | Independent Study I | 4 |
| HY4119 | Independent Study II | 4 |
| HY4120 | Special Topics in Philosophy of Science II | 4 |
| HY4121 | Special Topics in Ethics II | 4 |
| HY4122 | Special Topics in Philosophy II | 4 |
| HY4123 | Special Topics in Chinese Philosophy II | 4 |
| HY4124 | Special Topics in Logic II | 4 |
| HY4130 | Special Topics in Philosophy of Science III | 4 |
| HY4131 | Special Topics in Ethics III | 4 |
| HY4132 | Special Topics in Philosophy III | 4 |
| HY4133 | Special Topics in Chinese Philosophy III | 4 |
| HY4134 | Philosophical Issues of Confucianism | 4 |
| Category B: Interdisciplinary Prescribed Electives | ||
| Choose 4 courses | AUs | |
| HC3002 | History of Chinese Thought | 3 |
| HA1001 | Introduction to International Relations and Foreign Policy | 3 |
| HA1002 | Introduction to Political Theory | 3 |
| HA2005 | Contemporary Political Theory | 3 |
| HA2011 | Cost-Benefit Analysis in Public Policy | 3 |
| HA3001 | Political Analysis of Public Policy | 3 |
| HA3020 | Justice | 3 |
| HA3022 | The Origins of Modern Political Theory | 3 |
| HA4013 | Advanced Topics in Democratic Theory: Democracy & Division | 4 |
| HA4019 | Methods in Political Theory | 4 |
| HA4033 | Political Theory and Psychoanalysis | 4 |
| HA4041 | Film & Political Theory | 4 |
| HG1001 | Mind and Meaning | 3 |
| HG2002 | Semantics and Pragmatics | 3 |
| HG2012 | Cognitive Linguistics | 3 |
| HG2023 | Language and Gender | 3 |
| HG4011 | Language and the Brain | 4 |
| HG4015 | Psycholinguistics | 4 |
| HG4044 | Language Evolution | 4 |
| HH1002 | Asia-Pacific in Global History: Pre-1800 | 3 |
| HH2007 | Health and Illness in History | 3 |
| HH2021 | Race, Gender, Class and Colonial Power | 3 |
| HH3013 | Comparative History of Race Science | 3 |
| HH3016 | History of Madness | 3 |
| HH3032 | Science and Religion in History | 3 |
| HH4005 | Culture and Heritage: Perspectives from History | 4 |
| HL1001 | Introduction to the Study of Literature | 3 |
| HL2006 | Modernism | 3 |
| HL2007 | Contemporary Literature and Culture | 3 |
| HL2024 | Approaches to Literature | 3 |
| HL3001 | Film Theory | 3 |
| HL3002 | Film, Politics, and Ethics | 3 |
| HL3003 | Film & Literature | 3 |
| HL3012 | The Discourse of Love | 3 |
| HL3016 | Gender and Sexuality Studies | 3 |
| HL3038 | Theatre of the Absurd | 3 |
| HL4010 | Feminist Studies | 4 |
| HL4028 | Science and Literature | 4 |
| HL4042 | Being Human in Film and Literature | 4 |
| HL4043 | Postmodernism | 4 |
| HP2600 | Cognitive Psychology | 3 |
| HP3201 | Evolutionary Psychology | 3 |
| HP3402 | Social Cognition | 3 |
| HP3601 | Human Memory | 3 |
| HP3901 | Cultural Psychology | 3 |
| HS1001 | Person and Society | 3 |
| HS1003 | Social Problems in a Global Context | 3 |
| HS2003 | Economy and Society | 3 |
| HS2004 | Culture, Self, and Identity | 3 |
| HS2019 | Sociology of Science and Technology | 3 |
| HS3011 | Power, Politics and the State | 3 |
| MH1300 | Foundations of Mathematics | 4 |
| MH2500 | Probability and Introduction to Statistics | 4 |
| PH2101 | Quantum Mechanics I | 3 |
| PH3101 | Quantum Mechanics II | 3 |
A3: HY4099 Graduation Project (FYP) or TWO (2) HY4000 level courses (8 AUs)
You can find more information about FYP here. FYP is compulsory for students with a CGPA of 3.90 and above. Those within holding band of 3.75 - 3.89 are allowed to opt-in to do FYP. Students who are not eligible for FYP must read TWO (2) additional HY4000 level courses to fulfil the 8 AUs requirement. To obtain a Honours (Highest Distinction) or Honours (Distinction), students have to read and complete FYP.
B. OTHER REQUIREMENTS (62 AUs)
- ICC-Common Core (17 AUs)
| Course Title | AUs |
| Inquiry and Communication in an Interdisciplinary World | 2 |
| Navigating the Digital World | 2 |
| Ethics & Civics in a Multi-Cultural World | 2 |
| Career and Entrepreneurial Development for the Future World | 2 |
| Science & Technology for Humanity | 3 |
| Sustainability: Society, Economy & Environment | 3 |
| Healthy Living & Well-being | 3 |
- ICC-Foundational Core (10 AUs)
| Course Title | AUs |
| Effective Communication II | 2 |
| Digital Literacy II | 3 |
| Internship | 5 |
- Broadening & Deepening Electives (35 AUs)
There are no restrictions on the selection of courses to make up broadening & deepening electives. Students can choose any of the following:
- Complete a 2nd Major.
- Complete a Minor in another discipline.
- Earn AUs under an International Exchange programme.
- Any course offered by any School as long as the pre-requisites are satisfied.
