2021 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
Philosophy C
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Takamitsu Yamamoto
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-6 Mon (W323) / 5-6 Thu (W323)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.H301
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2021
- Offered quarter
- 3Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
You may have an image of philosophy as learning what the great philosophers of the past, such as Plato, Descartes, and Weil, thought. Philosophy, on the other hand, is an activity that anyone can try and engage in.
So, how can we try philosophy for ourselves? To do so, you need to read and consider what philosophers have thought and written.
For example, in order to be able to cook or program by yourself, you need to practice and repeat trial and error. In the same way, you need training in order to do philosophy.
In this lecture, we will read the texts and try to train ourselves in philosophy.
Course description and aims
The goal of this course is that you will be able to:
1) understand what philosophy is.
2) learn how to read philosophical texts.
Keywords
philophy, history of philosophy, question, encyclopedia, humanities, reading
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
This class consists of lectures and discussions between instructer and students.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Prologue: Overview | Understand the aim of this lecture and class flow. |
| Class 2 | How to read | Understand how to read philosophical texts. |
| Class 3 | Reading 1 | Read the specified pages of text 1. |
| Class 4 | Reading 2 | Read the specified pages of text 1. |
| Class 5 | Reading 3 | Read the specified pages of text 1. |
| Class 6 | Review the text 1 | Review the text 1. |
| Class 7 | Reading 4 | Read the specified pages of text 2. |
| Class 8 | Reading 5 | Read the specified pages of text 2. |
| Class 9 | Reading 6 | Read the specified pages of text 2. |
| Class 10 | Review the text 2 | Review the text 2. |
| Class 11 | Reading 7 | Read the specified pages of text 3. |
| Class 12 | Reading 8 | Read the specified pages of text 3. |
| Class 13 | Reading 9 | Read the specified pages of text 3. |
| Class 14 | Review the text 3 | Review the text 3. |
| Class 15 | Epilogue: Review | Review the lecture. |
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.
Course materials are provided during class.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Reading notes (50%), and Contribution to the lecture (comments, question, etc. 10%)
Related courses
- LAH.H101 ： Philosophy A
- LAH.H201 ： Philosophy B
- LAH.S432 ： Essence of Humanities and Social Sciences36:Philosophy
Prerequisites
None required.
Other
The texts are follows:
Epictetus, The Discourses
Rene Descartes, Discourse on the Method
Natsume Soseki, Theory of Literature
Alan M. Turing, "Computing Machinery and Intelligence"
Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition
Ito Asa, Echics of Hands (Te no Rinri)
The texts will be decided based on the number of students and their preferences.