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.

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.

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 emphasizes the development of analytical ability and critical and creative thinking, preparing students to fulfil with distinction such positions as problem solvers.