Academics

College of Humanities

Introduction

Philosophy has the longest history in all academic subjects. It provides logical analyses of and concepts of various issues of the world and gives the understanding of human being as a whole.

Thus, the logical mode of thought as secondary order, the foundation of knowledge and science, essence of existence, standards of value and behavioral norms, as well as the meaning of history, religion and art are usually studied in philosophy. Society and culture are rapidly being changed and traditional academic fields are being subdivided, which in turn makes us hold to explore the objective and universal truth as secondary order. In this respect, we are in need of studying philosophy, which is the basic subject to enhance logical and critical thinking, as well as to develop desirable views of the world and values for mankind.

Students can train their skills for logical thinking at the Department of Philosophy and they also learn to establish a reasonable and harmonious perspective on life and the world. Graduates from the Department of Philosophy can go to graduate school to become college professors, researchers, and teachers of ethics and philosophy and may also choose various occupations throughout our society such as in culture, religion, politics, education, public service, companies, etc. The special cultural code in modern society called knowledge, information and creativity is providing more and more opportunities for students majoring in philosophy. For example, students majoring in philosophy traditionally used to be active in academics, art, press and publishing, but now the demand for philosophers is growing in all aspects of society including advertisement, planning, foreign affairs, politics, etc.

History

The Yeungnam University Department of Philosophy, which was first established in the southern side of Hangang in 1947, graduated many students that have been active in various parts of society. We have graduated professors who have been teaching philosophy and other subjects at universities around the nation (over 50), principals at secondary schools, educators, poets, theatre writers, ministers and leaders of broadcasting and conventional companies. Both undergraduate and graduate school students are still pursuing academics and research.

This department provides Eastern and Western philosophical traditions and wisdom, which is the greatest intellectual inheritance for mankind, while also studying the various types of modern philosophy, which is crucial for understanding the modern society we live in. We are striving to train students with analytical and comprehensive decision-making abilities that can actively respond to the future society, while establishing a new set of values through this.

Job Fields

The future for the intellectual who are trained upon philosophical reasoning is open in the modern industrial society that requires creative and all-inclusive intellect in fields such as academic and education, press, religion, publishing, public corporations, advertising, as well as in HR and training for private businesses, public services, politics, etc.
Instructor certifications: 12 selected for philosophy courses, Logical writing teacher certification as needs.

Faculty

sorted by the position and Korean name

Curriculum

Department Of Philosophy
  • 1-1,2
    CurriculumThis table demonstrates the curriculum accroding to academic year.
    1- 1
    CONVERGENCE- AND INTEGRATION-BASED THINKING AND WRITING
    The ability of analyzing and solving problems is emphasized as one of the conditions for survival in the 21st century and one of the core elements of creative capabilities. This course was designed to cultivate convergence- and integration-based creative capabilities, which are integrated problem-solving capabilities to collect, analyze and process knowledge and information by reinforcing the ability of analyzing and solving problems, recreate it in a synthetic fashion, and express it effectively through speech and writing. The course will help the students cultivate their synesthesia thinking and communication skills based on sympathy with other human beings, understanding of the community, and positivity or Gongseong that is sought after by Yeungnam University. Its ultimate goals are to promote the students' creative knowledge development and reinforce their writing capabilities consistently through "convergence- and integration-based thinking and writing as a problem-solving approach."
    1- 1
    PHILOSOPHY FOR HUMAN RELATIONSHIP
    This lecture aimed at gaining a wisdom helpful in social life and communication searching about positions of human relations and cases of philosophical thinkers in East and West. Personal life exist with different personal relations. This is the inevitable aspects of life of humans that live in a society. Therefore the success of a human relationship is important enough to say in success of life. In this lectures, We reflect on the contents of a human relationship. And then investgating an example of a good human relationship - examples in the Chinese classics and the Buddhist scriptures, Examples in the Western classics and modern example of our society and so on - about what is the Good relationship and how they can maintain.
    1- 1
    PRACTICAL ENGLISH
    The aim of the course is to help students develop basic English verbal skills in real life situations. The course will be co-taught by Korean and Native English instructors. Korean instructors will provide students with basic English structure, vocabulary, and expressions, and students will be encouraged to practice speaking English utilizing basic English structures. Students will further practice expressing themselves in English with native English instructors.
    1- 1
    SEMINAR FOR ACADEMIC LIFE
    1. Summary of the course This course is to assist university freshmen in CRM designing to adapt university life well through the instruction and counselling of supervising professor. (This course is composed of self analysis, personality type test, career research, instruction for the success of university life, career plan and direction setting, CRM designing method and CRM designing. The course should be teaching in classes of the students by supervising professor.) 2. Course objectives This course is to motivate the students before the mid term exam and provide students with self analysis, personality type test (MBTI or TCI) and career research (YAT test). Also, this course shall has a plan to instruct the students to enhance the efficiency of university life through career and time management. In addition, this course is to make a chance for the students to have practical assistance to university life by providing study method, report designing strategy and the information on academic system and various kinds of internal programs of the university. After the mid term exam, the students will be instructed to set the direction of career designing through continuous counselling of supervising professor and the students will be able to establish CRM designing and execution plan.
    1- 1
    ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
    A systemic examination of philosophical problems in ancient and medieval Western philosophy, including pre-Socratic philosophers, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Hellenistic philosophers, and Patristic and Scholastic philosophers. This course will provide solutions to questions of how they have answered philosophical questions and what reasons they have given for their answers.
    1- 2
    PHILOSOPHY AS STORYTELLING
    The subject deals with philosophical questions and world views raised by philosophy through applying to a variety of practical circumstances which we often face in daily life, rather than approaching it through philosophical issues through formal and difficult jargons. From such process, students themselves can also contemplate and reflect on different kinds of philosophical problems in life. For instance, the following questions can be derived from Oriental and Occidental Philosophies. "What is a happy life?" "True is what I am aware of?" "Cyber itself can have a personality?" "For what do we live a good life?" "What is a nation?" "Imaginary fact can be more realistic than reality?"
    1- 2
    SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION AND SERVICE
    This course is to cultivate community sense as members of society and the global village for students in order to develop the basic knowledge required as global citizens. Especially, this course is to foster the spirit of cooperation, sharing, service, and creativity and study the social contribution and leadership to solving the challenges the global community faces. As a liberal arts course, it is centered to nurture a leader having the global capability to contribute to community development through learning the knowledge and the case on the value & logic of social responsibility focused on environmental preservation, social contribution, and good governance(ESG). This course aims to foster a generous mind, learn knowledge and technology and build the capacity to contribute to building a society towards a safer and happier world through the study of theory and practice.
    1- 2
    SOFTWARE AND AI
    Software and AI (Artificial Intelligence) course aims to educate the basic concepts of software and computational thinking to use them in various applications. It allows students of various majors to experience the core technologies of the 4th industrial revolution, such as big data, machine learning, and AI. It also introduces various applications of AI so that students can easily apply these technologies to their field of study. This course classifies the lecture types into three categories, and adjust the lecture difficulty according to the student's academic ability.
    1- 2
    HISTORY OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
    This course deals with the origin and development of Chinese philosophy, such as Pre-ch'in hundred school, Han-T'ang Buddhism, Sung-Ming Neo-Confucianism, Ching philosophy and contemporary Neo-Confucianism.
  • 2-1,2
    CurriculumThis table demonstrates the curriculum accroding to academic year.
    2- 1
    INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL CHINESE(OR EASTERN) PHILOSOPHY
    An introduction to ancient Chinese philosophical literatures and practice in the translation of the Chinese sentences and passages into Korean, for the purpose of providing students with the proper understanding of Chinese philosophy as a whole.
    2- 1
    READINGS IN WESTERN PHILOSOPHY CLASSICS
    This course is an introductory survey of ancient philosophy from the pre-Socratic, Plato, and Aristotle to Hellenistic philosophers - philosophers after Aristotle in the classic period, including the Stoics, Epicureans, and Skeptics - and Patristic and Scholastic philosophers, concentrating on the translation of their philosophical works into Korean.
    2- 1
    CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHY IN ANCIENT CHINA
    An introductory survey of the origin and development of ancient confucianism, with emphasis on such chief thinkers as Confucius, Mencius, and Hsun-Tzu.
    2- 1
    ETHICS
    A systemic study of important ethical theories, such as Eudaemonism, virtue ethics, Utilitarianism in normative ethics, and some theories in metaethics. This course will also compare Eastern ethical theories with Western ethical theories, and examine the metaphysical foundations of ethics.
    2- 1
    THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE
    An introduction of some major problems of epistemology, with emphasis on the understanding and evaluation of the problems. This course treats such question as the nature and scope of knowledge; the source of knowledge in perception, memory and reasoning; the nature of evidence and its relation to knowledge; the problems of other minds; the nature and justification of inductive reasoning; causality and its explanation. And study of what various philosophers have said about them.
    2- 2
    CRITICAL THINKING AND WRITING FOR MORALS(ETHICS)
    It is for the study of ethics and for the discussion on ethical issues fundamental and necessary to learn basic theories of reasoning and argument. Here it is intended to master basic theories of reasoning and argument and to acquire the ability to apply logical rules to all cases thorough diverse exercises.
    2- 2
    READINGS IN EASTERN PHILOSOPHY CLASSICS
    Study of classical confucian literatures, focusing on the translation of those literatures into Korean.
    2- 2
    HISTORY OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY
    An introductory survey of chief thinkers and schools in the early Buddhism, and an investigation of the development of Buddhist philosophy in East Asia.
    2- 2
    INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC
    An introduction to the principles of correct reasoning, whether deductive or inductive, and the rule-following language. The emphasis is on improving the skills of logical thinking.
    2- 2
    MODERN WESTERN PHILOSOPHY
    An examination of philosophical issues in Continental Rationalism, English Empiricism, and German Idealism from Kant to Fichte and Schelling.
  • 3-1,2
    CurriculumThis table demonstrates the curriculum accroding to academic year.
    3- 1
    PHENOMENOLOGY AND ANALYTICS
    This course is dealing with the fundamental characters and meanings of phenomenology and hermeneutics which provided the contemporary sciences with philosophical methodology. We will be discussing the central themes and conceptions of main philosophers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Ponty, Sartre, Dilthey, Gadamer and Levinas.
    3- 1
    SYMBOLIC LOGIC
    A general introduction to modern symbolic mathematical logic. The main subjects : propositional logic, predicate logic, resolutions logic, proofs theory, basic concepts of artificial intelligence.
    3- 1
    TEACHING METHODOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHY
    This course studies educational theory of the philosophy, its historical background, its purpose, and analyzes recent secondary school teaching processes.
    3- 1
    CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHY
    An introductory survey of the backgrounds, contents, main problems and development in recent German and French philosophies, such as philosophy of life, existentialism, marxism, hermeneutics, critical theory, structuralism, and post-modernism.
    3- 1
    HISTORY OF KOREAN PHILOSOPHY
    Survey of the development of Korean philosophy from ancient to recent years.
    3- 1
    TAOIST PHILOSOPHY
    An examination of philosophical issues in philosophies of Lao-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu, and Neo-Taoism.
    3- 2
    APPLIED ETHICS
    This course covers issues of current ethical and political interest, typically including the distribution of scarce resources, war, right to personal and sexual privacy, surrogate motherhood, and korean version of affirmative action. In addition to clarifying their own views students will encounter differing philosophical perspectives on such issues, and develop their abilities to evaluate and construct arguments for position on these topics. This course is highly recommended for the students who want to enter Law School.
    3- 2
    LOGICAL THINKING AND WRITING FOR PHILOSOPHY
    It is for the study of philosophy fundamental and neccessary to learn basic theries of reasoning and argument. Here it is intended to master basic therories of reasoning and argument and to acquire the ability to apply logical rules to all cases thorough diverse exercises.
    3- 2
    METHOD & RESEARCH OF PHILOSOPHY TEACHING MATERIALS
    Introduction to methods and techniques employed in investigation and reporting educational problems. Suggested for all candidates in education for undergraduate degrees. In addition, this course deals with methodological issues and problems in education.
    3- 2
    MODERN EAST ASIAN THOUGHTS
    This subject aims to lecture Modern Thoughts of East Asia. Each area in their modern age, try to do their best in their situation to accepts Western, imported or traditional thoughts widely, but sometimes highly critical of these, for taking their's own course of rebuilding new ideas. In there, therefore, a many unique thoughts differ from traditional types are created by a group of intellectuals, progressive or conservative, who are longing for escaping from the predicament. Understanding this subject is a required subject to complete just our Contemporary East Asian Thoughts.
    3- 2
    METAPHYSICS
    An intensive study of some main problems in metaphysics, especially universals and particulars, the mind-body problem, personal identity, the categories of the real, appearance and reality, the necessary and the possible, etc.
    3- 2
    MODERN CHINESE PHILOSOPHY
    This course considers epistemology, metaphysics, ethics of Neo-Confucian thinkers from 11th century to 16th century, and the development of their philosophy in East Asia.
  • 4-1,2
    CurriculumThis table demonstrates the curriculum accroding to academic year.
    4- 1
    CONTEMPORARY EASTERN PHILOSOPHY
    This course purports to examine for the 20th century East-Asian Philosophy such as Contemporary Neo-Confucianism, Chinese Marxism, 20th century Korean Confucianism and its Western Philosophical Interpretation, Modern Japanese Philosophy, and Western Philosophical Interpretation of Eastern Philosophy. Also this course aims at the reading and analysis of the texts for the 20th century Contemporary Eastern Philosophy not only in its trend of thought, background, content, characteristics and the sameness or differences of its various schools, but also in its relationship with Modern or non-Eastern philosophies.
    4- 1
    CONTEMPORARY FRENCH PHILOSOPHY
    This course is dealing with the central theories of contemporary french philosophy that plays a leading role in the discourses of main issues in the field of science, culture and art. We will be discussing the logic of thinking and persepectives of contemporary french philosophers such as Sartre, Ponty, Levinas, Lacan, Foucault and Derrida.
    4- 1
    EAST ASIAN THOUGHTS AND POPULAR CULTURE
    An introduction to the popular culture has interacted with east asian thoughts such as aesthetics, art and literature, mass media, anthropogeography, sexuality, meditation etc.
    4- 1
    PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
    A critical study of important theories of philosophical anthropology, such as philosophy of life, phenomenology and existential philosophy. This course will also survey thoughts of major philosophical anthropologists, such as M. Scheler, H. Plessner, A. Gehlen and E. Cassirer.
    4- 1
    PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
    An introduction to philosophical issues in the foundation of natural science. They include the relation between philosophy and science, the distinction between good scientific reasoning and bad scientific reasoning, scientific knowledge, metaphysical theories of science, scientific explanation, etc.
    4- 1
    MORAL PSYCHOLOGY IN PHILOSOPHY
    This course is designed to understand the main issues in moral psychology discussed by moral philosophers. It will provide students with an analytic explanation of the issues including the question of what is moral psychology, the relationship between moral psychology and moral philosophy, moral psychology and moral knowledge, well-being and the good life, moral motivation, desires and reasons, and the relationship between sentimentalism and rationalism.
    4- 2
    ANALYSIS OF PHILOSOPHY ARTICLES
    Two aims of this course are as follows. First, it provides students with opportunities to analyze philosophical essays. In this process, students will enhance their abilities to understand philosophical arguments and offer possbile objections to the arguments. With the help of these experiences, students will pursue their writing on philosophicla topics that attract their attention, which will be the second aim of this course.
    4- 2
    PHILOSOPHY OF ART
    This course examines the nature of beauty, imagination, creativity, representation, expression: A systematic examination of philosophical problems related to art criticism.
    4- 2
    PHILOSOPHY OF CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
    In this course, we will analyze and discuss various philosophical issues in the philosophy of culture and technology. Most of our time will be spent on understanding and discussing philosophical theories which can be employed to analyze cultural phenomena and the problems that might result from the recent developments in Robotics, AI, and genetic engineering.
    4- 2
    PHILOSOPHY OF I-CHING OR BOOK OF CHANGES
    Study of selected issues in I-ching or Book of Changes, such as concept of changes, 64 hexagrams, hexagrams Qien and Kun, yin-yang, philosophy of ten wings and its interpretations.
    4- 2
    PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
    An introduction to the concept and object of philosophy of religion, the relationship between philosophy and religion, the development of philosophy of religion, the existence of God, free will, the origin of good and evil, and the relation between religion and morality.
    4- 2
    SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
    This course purports to deal with the different political and social theories in western Philosophy, such as the theory of social contract of Hobbes, Locks Rousseau in modern philosophy and the dispute between liberalist and communitarianist in current philosophy, and so to analyse and critically examine for the proper relation between society and individuals.

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