MPHIL01

Life’s Big Questions: Philosophy for Future Thinkers

Though philosophy is for everyone at every age, it is extremely important for high school students who are ready to explore the world and form their self-identity. Philosophy is about one central question: how to live our life? This question can be examined on two related aspects: what is the world we live in, and what is the proper way to live our life? When described in philosophical terms, the former inquiry concerns science, metaphysics, and epistemology; the latter inquiry concerns the value theory, self-identity, and social justice. 

Philosophy asks big questions, which are deep but accessible to ordinary people. This course will center on some key questions in philosophy and carefully examine them in a logical and clear manner. We’ll introduce classical and contemporary theories on these issues but will focus on developing students’ own understanding of and reasoning about these issues.

This course is designed for high school students in grades 9-12 with advanced reading and writing skills, who have a strong interest in the humanities or social sciences, especially those  who are considering applying to a pre-law program for college.Students who wish to participate in writing competitions (such as John Locke Institute Essay Competition, or various Ivy high school essay contests from Harvard, Columbia,etc.) will also benefit from it.

Course Outcomes:

Student will…

✔️ Obtain a better understanding of certain important problems in philosophy

✔️ Develop skills of philosophical reading, reasoning, and writing

✔️ Complete a final paper with 1000-1500 words

Sample Topics: (We’ll select one/two topics of shared interest from the following as the theme of this class)

▶︎ What is a good life? Does traditional Chinese philosophy offer a way of good life, especially in contemporary American society?

▶︎ What is justice? What is a good society or a state? Whether affirmative action (or DEI in general) is just or not? 

▶︎ What defines body norms? Or, social norms in general (including sex, gender, marriage, and family norms)? How should an individual choose their norms?

▶︎ What is critical thinking? How can we become a better critical thinker? 

▶︎ Do we have free will? Or, is everything, including our action, either determined already, or just random chaos? 

▶︎ Can machines have a mind? Can the best machine intelligence we have today be considered to have a human level of intelligence? 

▶︎ Do we (I) live in a dream, or a Matrix-like simulation? How do we know? Can we know? 

▶︎ Who am I? Am I the same person as the one twenty years or  later? Why or why not? 

▶︎ Does God exist? Can we know it?

About the Professor

Professor Sun is a tenured professor at California State University, with over 20 years of teaching experience. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Connecticut, along with an MA and a BA in Philosophy from Beijing University. 

Professor Sun focuses his research on the Philosophy of Science, Chinese Philosophy, and Philosophy of Mind. He is also well-versed in Epistemology, Metaphysics, Modern Philosophy, and Logic. 

Professor Sun is a prolific author, and has made significant contributions to his field of studies. He has served as President of the Association for Chinese Philosophers in America and Secretary of the International Society of Chinese Philosophy.