Discussion topics - 2025

 

Term 1 discussion topics
Class	Dates	Discussion Topics
1	5/2/2025	Introduction, Etiquete, political vs philosophical discussion
2	12/2/2025	Political discussion and philosophical discussion, Penrose's three worlds
3	19/2/2025	Introduction to philosophy - PPPD blog post
4	26/2/2025	Logical reasoning - arguments
5	5/3/2025	Logical reasoning - arguments
6	12/3/2025	Logical reasoning - hidden assumptions, analogical arguments, components for strong arguments
7	19/3/2025	Critical thinking - valid patterns, fallacies
8	26/3/2025	Philosophy of friendship - Plato's Lysis
9	2/4/2025	Philosophy of friendship - Plato's Lysis

Term 2 discussion topics
Class	Dates	Discussion Topics
1	23/4/2025	Philosophy of friendship - Plato's Lysis
2	30/4/2025	Philosophy of friendship - Plato's Lysis
3	7/5/2025	Philosophy of friendship - Plato's Lysis
4	14/5/2025	Meaning of life
5	21/5/2025	Meaning of life
6	28/5/2025	Meaning of life
7	4/6/2025	Meaning of life - Explore possible answers
8	11/6/2025	Meaning of life - Explore possible answers
9	18/6/2025	Confucianism - the great learning
10	25/6/2025	Lunch at Blackburn Hotel

Term 3 discussion topics
Class	Dates	Discussion Topics
1	23/7/2025	Confucianism - the great learning
2	30/7/2025	Confucianism - the great learning
3	6/8/2025	Confucianism - the great learning
4	13/8/2025	Confucianism / Monty Hall paradox & other puzzles
5	20/8/2025	Monty Hall paradox & other puzzles
6	27/8/2025	Monty Hall paradox & other puzzles / Philosophy of politics and power
7	3/9/2025	Philosophy of politics and power
8	10/9/2025	Philosophy of politics and power
9	17/9/2025	Philosophy of politics and power

Term 4 discussion topics
Class	Dates	Discussion Topics
1	8/10/2025	Philosophy of politics and power - Machiavelli
2	15/10/2025	Philosophy of politics and power - Machiavelli
3	22/10/2025	Philosophy of politics and power - Machiavelli / Foucault
4	29/10/2025	Philosophy of politics and power - Foucault
5	5/11/2025	Philosophy of politics and power - Foucault
6	12/11/2025	Philosophy of politics and power - Foucault
7	19/11/2025	Philosophy of politics and power quiz, review of some 2025 topics

First class of 2026

Welcome all to the 

Philosophy Phor Phun Discussion class

of 2026 

Welcome

Emergency evacuation procedure

Medical emergency procedure

Get to know each other

The PPPD blog

Planned topics for term 1

What is Philosophy?

What is Philosophy? - First Lecture of the Semester - Prof. Jeffrey Kaplan

Some questions?

Machiavelli

POLITICAL THEORY - Niccolò Machiavelli by The School of Life

Some questions:

1. The video above says: "We're often appalled by how sly and dishonest many politicians are, but we shouldn't be. In moods like this we need to remember and read the works of Niccolo Machiavelli." Do you agree?
2. Helen asked whether there are any notable examples of countries where politicians who have adopted a Machiavellian approach achieved success. Her question suggests that such examples may not be immediately obvious. If political strategies based on Machiavellian principles are indeed effective, why then are these approaches not more widely adopted?  See answer from Bing co-pilot here.
3. Why do politicians and leaders, in many countries, adopt a mostly ethical approach to their politics?

Machiavelli's 'The Prince': Summary & Analysis by Dr Aidan

Some questions

1. What types of power were discussed in the videos above?  How are these powers used?
2. For Machiavelli, the ends justify the means.  What limits how far such means can be applied?

The Philosophy of Politics and Power

 

1. Introduction: What is Political Philosophy? by YaleCourses

Political Philosophy

The above YouTube video provides an introduction to political philosophy.

Our discussion in class will be based mainly on chapter 4, The Philosophy of Politics and Power, of the book 'Philosophy for Busy People: Everything You Really Should Know' by Alain Stephen.  Please see the file via the link below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16Clo8yLxVRk6DRQKhv7Eq6wPQMkFWyYh/view?usp=sharing

Philosophy of Power

Chapter 2.5: Michel Foucault, Power by Leiden University - Faculty of Humanities

The above YouTube video gives an introduction to the Philosophy of Power.  

Chapter 4 from the above book discusses Foucault on Power and Knowledge.  I plan to discuss that in class as well.

Some Questions

Plato's Republic

1. Plato/Socrates outlines a three part hierarchical structure of the human soul, which they believe is immortal.  The soul, as believed by Plato/Socrates, is equivalent to what we now consider to be the mind.  Do you think that the tripartite soul is an accurate depiction of the human mind?
2. Should the choice of a political system be based on an assumed best way of managing the human mind, which is a biological system?  Is a society analogous to the human mind?

Foucault on Power and Knowledge

1. In the above video, Dr Victor Gijsbers from Leiden University said in order to understand Foucault, he makes a distinction between two types of powers.  What are they?  Are there other types of power?  If so, why does Dr Gijsbers focus on these two types?
2. Are there hierarchies of power in societies?  If so, how does that relate to Foucault's concept of power?
3. According to Foucault, how does knowledge relate to power?
4. Do you agree with Foucault that there are 'regimes of truth' and no absolute truth?

Monty Hall Problem - Numberphile

 Sleeping Beauty Paradox - Numberphile

Monty Hall paradox and other puzzles

Please find below the link to the PDF file of the document with the Monty Hall paradox and other puzzles.  This document is an extract from the book "There Are Two Errors in the the Title of This Book" page 90 - 96:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cnIY9g3V0-hPXZPryyddaR6Z0eU5OqrP/view?usp=sharing 

The Great Learning - resources

 

What did Confucius want you to learn? The Great Learning 大學 Part 1

Overview of The Great Learning

Please find below the link of the PDF file of Overview of The Great Learning:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RL_ie3wC06Ntb9EZqRe1b6pbj5ibDGV9/view?usp=sharing

The text - Professor A. Charles Muller translation

Please find below the link of a PDF file of the A. Charles Muller translation of The Great Learning.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11NFbsdeCdwoiHuw8RdrRoDMgmElzNrva/view?usp=sharing

The James Legge translation on the Chinese Text Project website

Please find below the link to the Chinese Text Project web page with the James Legge translation. 

https://ctext.org/liji/da-xue

Translation in Chinese 

Chinese translation: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h8WiqDgNXmAaCm8eE0uGi1Ze6icqTjQvvRiOYQFngys/edit?usp=sharing

My YouTube videos playlist on The Great Learning

2507 大學 the great learning

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAsFBvw8jjvaS7Si_2JjKT3hUwsbw5XO0&si=RHxBtEPkQBzJav_P

Confucianism - Great learning

 

見賢思齊焉；見不賢而內自省也 - 論語, 里仁篇， 第十七章

When we see men of worth, we should think of equalling them;

when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves
-  The Analects, chapter 4.17.

Confucius

Confucius (孔子, Kǒngzǐ), born Kong Qiu (孔丘) 551 BCE in the state of Lu ( 魯, modern-day Shandong, China), was a profoundly influential Chinese philosopher, teacher, and political thinker during the Spring and Autumn period [1]. 

He is best known for founding Confucianism, a system of thought that emphasises moral integrity, social harmony, respect for elders, and the importance of education and ritual [2].

Rather than claiming to invent new ideas, Confucius saw himself as a transmitter of ancient wisdom. His teachings, preserved in the Analects, advocate for virtues like ren (仁 benevolence), yì (義 righteousness), li (禮 ritual propriety), and xiao (孝 filial piety), which he believed were essential for cultivating both personal character and just governance [3].

His legacy has shaped Chinese civilisation for over two millennia and continues to influence East Asian cultures and ethical thought around the world. 

References:

1. Britannica - Confucius: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Confucius

2. English: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius

    Chinese: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AD%94%E5%AD%90

3. World History Encyclopedia - Confucius: https://www.worldhistory.org/Confucius/

Four Books and Five Classics

The Four Books and Five Classics are authoritative and important books associated with Confucianism, written before 300 BC. They are traditionally believed to have been either written, edited or commented by Confucius or one of his disciples. Starting in the Han dynasty, they became the core of the Chinese classics on which students were tested in the Imperial examination system.

The Four Books (四書; Sìshū) are Chinese classic texts illustrating the core value and belief systems in Confucianism. They were selected by intellectual Zhu Xi in the Song dynasty to serve as general introduction to Confucian thought, and they were, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service examinations. 

The Four Books are:

• Great Learning《大學》
• Doctrine of the Mean 《中庸》
• Analects《論語》
• Mencius《孟子》

The Five Classics (五經; Wǔjīng) are five pre-Qin Chinese books that form part of the traditional Confucian canon. Several of the texts were already prominent by the Warring States period. Mencius, the leading Confucian scholar of the time, regarded the Spring and Autumn Annals as being equally important as the semi-legendary chronicles of earlier periods. During the Western Han dynasty, which adopted Confucianism as its official ideology, these texts became part of the state-sponsored curriculum. It was during this period that the texts first began to be considered together as a set collection, and to be called collectively the "Five Classics".

The Five Classics are:

• Classic of Poetry《詩經》
• Book of Documents《尚書》
• Book of Rites《禮記》
• I Ching (Book of Changes)《周易》
• Spring and Autumn Annals《春秋》

References:

English:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Books_and_Five_Classics

Chinese: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B%E4%B9%A6%E4%BA%94%E7%BB%8F

Great Learning

The Great Learning or Daxue was one of the "Four Books" in Confucianism attributed to one of Confucius' disciples, Zengzi. The Great Learning had come from a chapter in the Book of Rites which formed one of the Five Classics. It consists of a short main text of the teachings of Confucius transcribed by Zengzi and then ten commentary chapters supposedly written by Zengzi. 

The "Four Books" were selected by the neo-Confucian Zhu Xi during the Song dynasty as a foundational introduction to Confucianism. 

References:

English: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Learning

Chinese: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%A6%AE%E8%A8%98%C2%B7%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%B8

The text - Professor A. Charles Muller translation

Please find below the link of a PDF file of the A. Charles Muller translation of The Great Learning.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11NFbsdeCdwoiHuw8RdrRoDMgmElzNrva/view?usp=sharing

The James Legge translation on the Chinese Text Project website

Please find below the link to the Chinese Text Project web page with the James Legge translation. 

https://ctext.org/liji/da-xue