人生在世，俯仰於天地之間，對於眼見耳聞之諸多現象，不論是攸關自然或人事，不免會感到驚異而發問求知。在追求理解的過程中，若不以眾人視為理所當然的想法為滿足，而能追根究底問下去並且提出進一步的批判與反省，此時的提問與求知便構成了哲學的思考活動。哲學的思考與科學的思考或是數學的思考有所不同：它並非如同科學以實驗設計來尋求解答；它也不像數學以嚴格證明來找出答案。哲學思考的方式在於提出主張、分析概念、釐清論題、建構論證、評估論證的效力等等。本課程的目的即在於介紹一些基本的哲學問題，涵蓋範圍包括知識論、形上學、倫理學等。
The phenomena we perceive in our daily life often leave us with a feeling of wonder. Such a feeling prompts us to philosophize in order to make sense of them. Far from confining itself with common sense, philosophy tends to undermine whatever people take for granted, and challenges us to find out the ultimate truth. Unlike empirical sciences, philosophy does not explore our world by means of hypotheses and experiments. Unlike mathematics, philosophy does not seek truth exclusively in terms of rigorous proofs. Philosophical thinking consists in making claims, analyzing concepts, making explicit theses, putting forward arguments, and evaluating the validity of arguments. This course aims to explore some core issues in philosophy, ranging from epistemology, through metaphysics, and to ethics.