2020 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
Essence of Humanities and Social Sciences36:Philosophy
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Daisuke Harashima
- Class Format
- Lecture (Zoom)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Wed (Zoom)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.S432
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2020
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
What is living intelligence? Do we know? Do our science and technology access it? Philosophy means love of wisdom, in which this course is a modest lesson. We can see, for example, artificial intelligence research as an instance of our attempts to approach it, for it seeks for intelligence through constructing thinking machines. This course helps students to appreciate this philosophy.
There are two topics: 1) inference, which regards knowing as logical process, 2) ordering of reason, understanding and sensation, which has been the ground for our modern scientific and technological worldview.
Course description and aims
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) understand the philosophical question of living intelligence as love of wisdom
2) understand the artificial intelligence research as a means of philosophy
3) acquire a basic knowledge of the three modes of inference (deduction, induction, and abduction)
4) acquire a basic knowledge of the modern ordering of reason, understanding and sensation.
Keywords
Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, Inference, Deduction, Induction, Abduction, Reason, Understanding, Sensation
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
Conducted generally in lecture style.
Towards the end of class, students are given exercise problems related to what is taught on that day to solve (short papers).
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction | Appreciate the question of living intelligence. |
| Class 2 | Inference (1) : Deduction | Understand the three modes of inference and its application to science and technology. |
| Class 3 | Inference (2) : Induction | Understand the three modes of inference and its application to science and technology. |
| Class 4 | Inference (3) : Abduction | Understand the three modes of inference and its application to science and technology. |
| Class 5 | Intelligence (1) : Reason | Understand the modern ordering of reason, understanding and sensation, and its relationship with science and technology. |
| Class 6 | Intelligence (2) : Understanding | Understand the modern ordering of reason, understanding and sensation, and its relationship with science and technology. |
| Class 7 | Intelligence (3) : Sensation | Understand the modern ordering of reason, understanding and sensation, and its relationship with science and technology. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
None required.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Toru Nishigaki. Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. Chuokoron-Shinsha. (Japanese)
Yukio-Pegio Gunji. Tennen Chino. Kodansha. (Japanese)
Yuji Yonemori. Abduction. Keiso Shobo. (Japanese)
Kunihisa Morita. Kagakutetsugaku Kogi. Chikumashobo. (Japanese)
Megumi Sakabe. European Seishinshi. Iwanami Shoten. (Japanese)
Course materials are provided during class.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Based on writing assignments: short papers (60%) + term paper (40%)
Related courses
- LAH.H101 ： Philosophy A
- LAH.H201 ： Philosophy B
- LAH.H301 ： Philosophy C
Prerequisites
No prerequisites.