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2017　Basics of Philosophy

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Academic unit or major
Graduate major in Nuclear Engineering
Instructor(s)
Saito Masaki  Natagaki Shoji 
Class Format
Lecture     
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
Intensive (North No.2, 5F-523)  
Group
-
Course number
NCL.U607
Credits
1
Academic year
2017
Offered quarter
2Q
Syllabus updated
2017/5/10
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
English
Access Index

Course description and aims

This is one of the advanced global liberal arts courses of global nuclear safety and security agents.
Typically, there are no definite answers in philosophy. However seemingly cogent and enticing, they are in all likelihood tentative and open to further questioning. This situation is not to be deplored, because it means we can pose a new question from the place we have reached. This kind of radicalism is a characteristic of philosophical way of thinking. In this sense, philosophy does not mean one discipline among many, but an intellectual orientation which is common to every science.
The instructor will focus on some polemical topics of contemporary philosophy in this course. He hopes students can get a sense of radical way of thinking through them.

Student learning outcomes

To understand and improve the skills to criticize many kinds of social issues from a philosophical viewpoint

Keywords

realism vs anti-realism, scientific knowledge, mind, other, justice, utilitarianism, distribution

Competencies that will be developed

Specialist skills ✔ Intercultural skills ✔ Communication skills Critical thinking skills ✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

To ask you to present your own remarks based on the content of lecture and discuss them with each other in the last part of every class.

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Introduction Understand what the philosophical way of thinking is in general.
Class 2 Epistemology 1: scientific recognition and philosophy Examine scientific knowledge from a philosophical viewpoint
Class 3 Epistemology 2: realism vs anti-realism Understand the relationship between scientific knowledge and the nature
Class 4 Philosophy of mind 1: other’s mind Explain the theory of mind
Class 5 Philosophy of mind 2: philosophy of mind reading Explain philosophical and psychological argument about understanding others' minds
Class 6 Philosophy of justice 1: the limitation of utilirarianism Explain utilitarianism and the theory of justice
Class 7 Philosophy of justice 2: consideration for the social vulnerability Understand a philosophical argument on justice of distribution
Class 8 Review Make sure of the level of understanding and self-evaluate your achievement for classes 1–7.

Textbook(s)

No text book required. Handouts will be distributed.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

Baggini and Fossil, Philosopher's Toolkit, Blackwell. ISBN： 1405190183

Assessment criteria and methods

Class discussion (30%), Term paper (70%)

Related courses

  • NCL.U608 ： Basics of Culture and Civilization
  • NCL.U613 ： Arts and Human

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

None

Contact information (e-mail and phone)    Notice : Please replace from "[at]" to "@"(half-width character).

saito.masaki[at]nr.titech.ac.jp

Office hours

E-mail in advance

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