INTRODUCTION |
The word ‘philosophy’ comes from ancient Greece, where it meant ‘the love of wisdom’. Philosophy investigates the world and our knowledge of it, and approaches these issues systematically and at a high level of generality and abstraction, The characteristic, though not exclusive, methods that philosophers use in such investigations include reasoning and conceptual clarification as well as careful attention to examples, whether actual or imagined, that may be relevant in particular debates. Many problems discussed in philosophy have a close connection with everyday moral problems or topics discussed in science, which shows that the widespread picture of philosophy as an abstract, dry and irrelevant is misleading. |
AIMS |
The Honours Degree Programme in Philosophy at Lingnan is designed to provide students with an introduction to contemporary philosophy and to acquaint them with the history of the discipline. Lingnan’s philosophy programme places an emphasis on training students to do philosophy, that is, to become skilled at understanding, responding to, and developing philosophical arguments. Lingnan philosophy students learn about both Eastern and Western philosophical traditions and become familiar with the topics that define central areas in philosophy, such as logic, philosophy of language, ethics, and the theory of knowledge. The programme trains students to engage in informed reflection and argumentation on a wide range of philosophical questions. |
LEARNING OUTCOMES |
The BA (Hons) Philosophy targets two main outcomes:
- Students who study philosophy successfully will have a foundational knowledge of philosophical traditions, arguments, and problems that will enable them to pursue further studies in philosophy in Hong Kong or overseas;
- The study of philosophy enhances a variety of skills having applications both within and outside of the university or other educational institutions. These skills fall into three broad types:
- analytic and critical thinking abilities, such as the ability to recognize assumptions and conceptual relations, and the ability to gather and organize information; critical thinking involves the ability to detect ambiguity, vagueness, inconsistency, and argumentative fallacies;
- interpretative and comprehension skills, such as the ability to understand difficult texts and extract key arguments and issues; and
- communicative skills, including the ability to write and speak on complex topics with clarity and precision.
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PROGRAMME STRUCTURE |
The philosophy major requires 9 required courses and either 7 elective courses (21 credits) or 5 electives (15 credits) in conjunction with a final year project (6 credits). The 9 required courses are ethics: east and west, introduction to philosophy, deductive logic, 2 courses in the history of philosophy, 2 courses to be chosen from a list of core philosophy courses, and 2 courses in ethics and political philosophy. Regarding electives, the department has identified five elective profiles. Students are free to either specialize in a single profile or choose courses from multiple profiles. These profiles are: Aesthetics, Chinese Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, Ethics and Practical Philosophy, Philosophy of Natural and Human Sciences, and Special Topics. |
CAREER POTENTIAL |
Traditionally philosophy graduates go into education or the media as specialised cultural workers valued for their knowledge of central cultural traditions. However, there has been an increasing trend in the last fifteen years in the United States and Europe for corporations to hire philosophy graduates for fast track positions as problem solvers. In addition to giving students the knowledge they need to fill relevant positions in publishing, journalism, or teaching, the present programme emphasises the development of analytical ability and critical and creative thinking, preparing students to fulfil with distinction such positions as problem solvers. |
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENT |
English Language: |
Level 3 |
Chinese Language: |
Level 3 |
Mathemathics: |
Level 2 |
Liberal Studies: |
Level 2 |
One Elective Subject: |
Level 2 |
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ALLOCATION OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAMME |
Please visit this link for the major allocation criteria: http://www.ln.edu.hk/arts/ug_4-year/allocation_2014.php |
OVERALL PROGRAMME STRUCTURE |
SECOND TO THIRD YEARS |
Course Code |
Course Title |
No. of Credits |
1st Term |
1st/ 2nd Term |
2nd Term |
Total |
|
2 History of Philosophy Courses |
|
6 |
|
6 |
|
2 Core Philosophy Courses |
|
6 |
|
6 |
|
2 Ethics and Political Philosophy Courses |
|
6 |
|
6 |
Total number of credits in second to third years: 18 |
SECOND TO FOURTH YEARS |
Course Code |
Course Title |
No. of Credits |
1st Term |
1st/ 2nd Term |
2nd Term |
Total |
|
^ 3 Cluster Courses |
|
9 |
|
9 |
|
8 Free Electives # |
|
24 |
|
24 |
|
5 Programme Electives |
|
15 |
|
15 |
Total number of credits in second to fourth years: 48 |
FOURTH YEAR |
Course Code |
Course Title |
No. of Credits |
1st Term |
1st/ 2nd Term |
2nd Term |
Total |
PHI4301 |
Directed Research Project or 2 Programme Electives |
|
6 |
|
6 |
Total number of credits in fourth year: 6 |
Minimum credits for Honours Degree: 120 |
(R) denotes required course(s).
* Students are assigned to take CCC8011 Critical Thinking: Analysis and Argumentation and CCC8012 The Making of Hong Kong in the first year, and CCC8013 The Process of Science and CCC8014 China in World History in the second year (or the third year for those designated as Year 3 students upon admission). Unless with the approval of the Director of Core Curriculum and General Education, students are not allowed to drop these assigned courses in the designated year.
# For students admitted via faculty-based admission, they will study 3 free electives in Year 1 and PHI1002 Introduction to Philosophy, PHI1003 Ethics: East and West, and PHI3101 Deductive Logic in Year 2 (unless they have already completed these subjects); and 6 free electives from Year 2 to Year 4.
^ Students are required to complete 5 Clusters courses in total. For details, please see the Core Curriculum Section.
* International students or non-Cantonese speakers can choose one course among the Core Philosophy Courses, Ethics and Political Philosophy, or other programme elective courses to substitute PHI2112/PHI2116. The course chosen from the Core Philosophy Courses and the Ethics and Political Philosophy courses in this way do not count to fulfill the other requirements below. Approval of Academic Advisor is required.
** International students or non-Cantonese speakers can choose one course from those Programme Elective courses profiled as Ethics and Practical Philosophy, or from the relevant Special Topics courses to substitute PHI3102/PHI3232. Approval of Academic Advisor is required for choice of courses in the Special Topics list as substitutes for the required course in the tradition.
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Last updated: 20.09.2018 |