人生在世，俯仰於天地之間，對於眼見耳聞之諸多現象，不論是攸關自然或者攸關人事，不免會感到驚異而發問求知。在追求理解的過程中，若不以眾人視為理所當然的想法或觀念為滿足，而能追根究底地問下去並且提出進一步的批判與反省，此時的提問與求知便構成了哲學的思考活動。哲學的思考與科學的思考或是數學的思考有所不同。它不像科學那樣以實驗的設計來尋求解答；它也不像數學那樣以嚴格的證明來找出答案。哲學思考的方式在於分析概念、釐清論題、提出論證、設想可能的反對論證等等。本課程的目的即在於介紹一些基本的哲學問題，這些問題大抵如下：

（1） 我們能夠認知外在的世界嗎？
（2） 我們能夠認知他人的心靈嗎？
（3） 何謂知識？知識的來源為何？
（4） 真的有無法化約為「物」的「心靈」嗎？
（5） 今日之我與昨日之我是否為同一個個體？
（6） 我們有自由意志嗎？
（7） 上帝是否存在？
（8） 上帝的善與世間的惡是否有衝突？
（9） 生命有意義嗎？若有，意義何在？若沒有，該如何過活？
（10） 有理由害怕死亡嗎？
（11） 為什麼我應該成為有道德的人？
(12) 有客觀的道德判準嗎？怎樣的行為才是對的行為？
（13） 何謂因果關係？
（14） 何謂自然定律？
(15) 何謂科學說明？科學能夠揭露隱於經驗現象背後的實在嗎？

The phenomena that we perceive in our daily life often leave us with a feeling of wonder. Such a feeling prompts us to philosophize in order to make sense of them. It is worth noting that philosophy is quite distinct from empirical sciences in the sense that conducting experiments is not part of its methodology. Philosophy is distinct from mathematics as well insofar as it does not see rigorous proofs as the only solution to any questions under scrutiny. However, it does not follow that philosophers are less demanding than scientists or mathematicians. Quite the reverse. When philosophers seek to make sense of the natural world and the human life, they are never content with people’s common sense. They even tend to undermine people’s taken-for-granted opinions, and to show how questionable they are. In fact, philosophers may go so far as to accept nothing until they figure out why there’s something rather than nothing. In this sense, philosophical inquiry can be arguably said to be more fundamental, even more radical than empirical/mathematical sciences. Indeed, philosophy might be characterized by the way philosophers seek to make sense of the natural world and the human life. To put it bluntly, the way to philosophize consists in analyzing concepts, clarifying theses, putting forward arguments, conceiving counter arguments and pre-empting them, etc.
In this course, we will explore some core issues in philosophy. More specifically, we address the following questions:
(1) Can we have any knowledge of the external world?
(2) Can we have knowledge of other minds?
(3) What is knowledge? What are the sources of knowledge?
(4) Is mind/soul irreducible to brain events?
(5) Can there be a personal identity relationship between the current and the past “me(s)”?
(6) Do we have free will?
(7) Does God exist?
(8) Is a benevolent God incompatible with a world where evil happens?
(9) Does human life have any meaning?
(10) Is it rational to fear death?
(11) Why should I be moral?
(12) Is morality objective? Can our moral judgments be justified?
(13) What is the nature of causality?
(14) What is law of nature?
(15) How do scientists explain the observed phenomena? Does science aim to reveal the reality hidden behind the appearances?