CUHK Philosophy Department

24/09/2026

Tang Chun-I Visiting Professorship Public Lecture

Title: Causation Science and Everyday Life

Speaker: Prof. Christopher Hitchcock (J. O. and Juliette Koepfli Professor of Philosophy, Caltech)

Date: 28 September 2026 (Monday)

Time: 4:30pm-6:30pm

Venue: Cho Yiu Hall (No online broadcast)

Joining the Face-to-Face Talk (Please register by 24 September 2026): https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13739649

For inquiries, please email to [email protected]

Abstract:
Causation is a concept that plays a central role in the sciences, in law, in ethics, and in everyday life. Philosophers have been trying to offer analyses of the concept of causation for hundreds of years. In this talk, I want to highlight a particular challenge for this project. One the one hand, we investigate causal relationships using scientific methods—controlled experiments, mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, etc.—and incorporate them into our scientific image of the world. On the other hand, empirical evidence from psychology shows that when people make causal judgments, they are influenced by things like expectations, moral values, social rules, actors’ intentions, and other subjective and pragmatic factors. This raises the question of how one concept can answer to both descriptions: How can it be an objective part of the world described by science and also dependent on norms and expectations? I resolve this tension by showing how ordinary causal ascriptions serve a function such as an executive summary or an index (such as the consumer price index).

Conducted in English
All are welcome

16/09/2026

問對錯，傾哲學 💬
中大哲學文學碩士（兼讀）2027-28年度現正接受報名！

如果你工作多年，開始懷疑「做得好」不等於「想得通」；
如果你剛退下來，終於有時間問一直沒時間問的問題；
如果你畢業不久，而那些問題一直沒有離開你；
如果你只是想，認真地把一件事想清楚——
這個課程，就是為你而設。

📚 東方哲學、西方哲學、應用哲學，跨範圍自由選修
🌙 兼讀制，每週兩晚上課，一般兩年完成
🗣️ 粵語授課為主
✨ 跟隨哲學教授學習
✨ 培養深入的分析能力與豐富的想像力，裨益各行各業

📌 截止報名日期
第一輪：2026年12月31日
第二輪：2027年2月28日

🔗 課程詳情及報名：
https://phil.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/zh/postgraduate/part-time-ma/news/

【報讀前，先來傾傾】
💻 網上課程分享會（Zoom）
9月30日（三）晚上7:30 – 9:00
10月21日（三）晚上7:30 – 9:00
2027年2月17日（三）晚上7:30 – 9:00

🎤 哲學講座｜好青年荼毒室 × 陶國璋教授
11月28日（六）下午5:30 – 7:00

🏫 課程分享會｜嘉賓：月巴氏、李文莉小姐
12月12日（六）下午2:30 – 4:00

🎤 哲學講座｜好青年荼毒室 × 劉保禧博士
2027年1月16日（六）下午2:30 – 4:00

📍 以上實體活動均於香港中文大學舉行

📝 活動登記（或掃描海報上的 QR Code）：
https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13739337

🌟 校友故事：
https://phil.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/zh/ma-alumni-story/

歡迎聯絡我們: [email protected]

#香港中文大學 #哲學 #哲學文學碩士 #兼讀碩士

15/09/2026

[Author Meets Critics]
Book: Absolute Dialetheism: Hegel, Schelling and the End of Alterity – Gregory S. Moss
Date: 3 October 2026 (Sat)
Time: 20:00pm – 24:00 (HKT)

Livestream on YouTube Channel “Thinking the Absolute”:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkIjtv5MRWV5wHlFXpDy-AA

Participants (in alphabetical order):
Edgar Maraguat - University of Valencia
Myriam-Sonja Hantke - EKO-Center for Japanese Culture
Gregory S. Moss - The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Benjamin Norris - Rowan University
Brook Ziporyn - University of Chicago

Discussions will be in English

Organized by
The Edwin Cheng Foundation Asian Centre for Phenomenology
The Society for Systematic Philosophy
For inquiry:
Tel: +852 3943 7135 | Email: [email protected] |
Website: https://www.phil.arts.cuhk.edu.hk
Facebook: CUHK Philosophy Department
Instagram: cuhkphilosophy

14/09/2026

[Postponed] Today’s Departmental Seminar has been postponed to Nov 16 (Mon) as the speaker is currently unwell.

Title: Can We Develop a Scientific Theory That Is Both Precise and Broad? Yes, and the Cost Is Far Lower Than Expected
Speaker: Prof. Huang Liqiang (Professor, Department of Psychology, CUHK)
New Date: 16 November 2026 (Monday)
Time: 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. (Hong Kong Time)
Venue: Room 220, Fung King Hey Building

Registration: Please register using the following link by 15 Nov 2026:
https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13740486

Those who had planned to attend today's seminar are warmly invited to join us on the new date.

[Departmental Seminar]
Topics: Can We Develop a Scientific Theory That Is Both Precise and Broad? Yes, and the Cost Is Far Lower Than Expected
Speaker: Prof. Huang Liqiang (Professor, Department of Psychology, CUHK)

Date: 14 September 2026 (Mon)
Time: 4:30pm-6:30pm HK Time
Venue: Room 220, Fung King Hey Building (Limited seats. Registrations will be handled on a first come, first served basis.)

Face-to-face Only
Register by 13 Sep 2026
Link: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13740486

Enquiries:
Tel: 3943 7135
Email: [email protected]

Abstract:
Scientists often face a frustrating trade-off between precision and breadth: a model that is realistic and precise usually works only in narrow contexts, whereas a more general model tends to lose accuracy or detail. Here, I argue that, at least in some cases, an optimal balance can be achieved. Specifically, I advocate a Comprehensive Exploration (CE) approach, which relies on large-scale benchmark datasets and on the search for an optimally, moderately complex model through exploratory and iterative model building. In a case study on visual working memory, a CE model with only 57 parameters outperformed a large neural network with more than 30,000 parameters. This finding suggests that it is possible to achieve both precision and breadth with only moderate complexity.

Delivered in English.
All are welcome.

09/09/2026

[Departmental Seminar]
Topics: Confucian Power as Responsibility
Speaker: Prof. Kim Sungmoon (Chair Professor, City University of Hong Kong)

Date: 21 Sep 2026 (Mon)
Time: 4:30pm-6:30pm HK Time
Venue: Room 101, Fung King Hey Building (Limited seats. Registrations will be handled on a first come, first served basis.)

Face-to-face Only
Register by 20 Sep 2026
Link: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13740488

Enquiries:
Tel: 3943 7135
Email: [email protected]

Abstract:
Confucianism is commonly understood as a philosophical, ethical, and political tradition that centers around virtue. Little attention, however, has been paid to the idea of power in the Confucian context—what it means, how it should be exercised, and how it is to be conceptualized in contemporary philosophical terms. In this talk, I provide a comprehensive philosophical analysis of power in the Confucian political tradition by investigating how power was conceptualized from the perspective of virtue politics, generating two competing accounts of power (i.e., political power and moral power), and how the Confucians’ struggles with the ruler’s political power led them to transform moral power into an active exercise of responsibility that defies a simple causal reasoning. The account of Confucian power as responsibility can explain why ideas that lie at the heart of the Western political tradition, such as the separation of powers and constitutionalism (or republicanism), were given far less attention in Confucian political theory while inviting us to rethink meritorious government and active citizenship in the contemporary East Asian context that is increasingly troubled by structural injustice.

Delivered in English.
All are welcome.

08/09/2026

【佛學與愛情｜「情愛性事」講座系列第二講】⁣
林夕在千禧年代前後開始經營佛LINE，「嘗試用佛家精神，SOLVE戀愛的問題」（林夕語）。
他這類詞作帶來了一個有趣的問題：佛學與愛情如何相融？有所謂「佛系愛情」嗎？
這次講座將以林夕歌詞為線索，探討佛學如何理解愛情。

日期｜2026年9月26日（星期六）
時間｜下午2:30-4:00
地點｜誠品銅鑼灣店9F FORUM
講者｜黃頌傑（香港中文大學哲學系博士）
主持｜劉保禧（香港中文大學哲學系高級講師）

粵語主講
即場參與，無須報名

【「情愛性事」講座系列】⁣
情慾性愛是我們的日常經驗。無論種族階級、男女老幼，都有大大小小的欲望，都要面對形形式式的規範。流行文化已經有太多情情愛愛的討論，可是我們很少探討情愛與性事的哲學基礎。情慾的事，或者我們說得太多，做得太多，但想得不夠多。

香港中文大學哲學系將於2026年8月至11月，在銅鑼灣誠品書店舉行一連四講的講座系列「情愛性事」。是次講座系列將會探討四個關於情愛性事的課題，展示哲學如何思考這些課題。藉此我們可以重新思索：情與性，在我們的人生中，究竟有何地位？

主辦｜香港中文大學哲學系
查詢｜
電話｜3943 7135
電郵｜[email protected]
Instagram｜

誠品網站｜
https://meet.eslite.com/hk/tc/artshow/202608170094
登記活動提醒｜
https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13738994

#中大哲學
#哲學

07/09/2026

香港中文大學-哲學文學碩士迎新2026

感謝各位新同學及老師參與 2026 年 9 月 4 日舉行的哲學文學碩士（MA in Philosophy）迎新活動！

透過今次迎新活動，大家不但能更深入了解課程安排及學習資源，更能認識來自不同背景的同學，建立珍貴的友誼和學術交流網絡。

我們衷心感謝：
劉創馥教授（哲學系系主任）
Saulius Geniusas 教授（哲學系研究院學部主任）
孟繁麟教授（哲學文學碩士課程主任）


感謝所有老師和同學分享寶貴的意見，令活動得以順利舉行。

期待未來與大家一起度過充實而精彩的學習時光，一同展開新學年的旅程，並在哲學探索的道路上共同成長。

歡迎加入哲學系大家庭！


CUHK - MA in Philosophy Orientation 2026

A big thank you to all our new students and MA teachers who joined the MA in Philosophy Orientation on 4 September 2026.

We hope the orientation provided a valuable opportunity to learn more about the programme, meet fellow students, and start building meaningful friendships and academic connections.

Our sincere thanks to:
Prof. Lau Chong-fuk, Chairman of the Department of Philosophy
Prof. Saulius Geniusas, Graduate Division Head of the Department of Philosophy
Prof. Mang Fan-lun Franz, Programme Director of the MA in Philosophy

We would like to thank all the teachers and students for their valuable sharing and enthusiastic participation.

We look forward to an inspiring and rewarding year ahead with you and begin this exciting academic journey together! Welcome to the Philosophy community!

07/09/2026

Tang Chun-I Visiting Professorship Departmental Seminar

Title: Causal Models for Philosophy

Speaker: Prof. Christopher Hitchcock (J. O. and Juliette Koepfli Professor of Philosophy, Caltech)

Date: 12 October 2026 (Monday)

Time: 4:30pm-6:30pm

Venue: Room 220, Fung King Hey Building (No online broadcast)

Joining the Face-to-Face Talk (Please register by 8 October 2026): https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13739649

For inquiries, please email to [email protected]

Abstract:
Philosophers have adopted a variety of formal tools for use in philosophical projects. The early twentieth century saw philosophers turn to the new field of mathematical logic to address fundamental questions in philosophy; in the middle of the twentieth century many philosophers began to make use of probability theory; later in the twentieth century, decision theory found its way into philosophical theorizing. I will make a case for adding causal models, particularly structural equation models and graphical causal models, to the philosophers’ tool kit. It has been widely noted that causation is an ingredient in many concepts of interest to philosophers, which has often been used to motivate traditional “analyses” of causation. I will argue that causal models are often more useful tools than traditional analyses for shedding light on these philosophical concepts. I will support this claim with two illustrations: the Doctrine of Double Effect in ethics, and the propensity interpretation of probability.

Conducted in English
All are welcome

04/09/2026

[Departmental Seminar]
Topics: Can We Develop a Scientific Theory That Is Both Precise and Broad? Yes, and the Cost Is Far Lower Than Expected
Speaker: Prof. Huang Liqiang (Professor, Department of Psychology, CUHK)

Date: 14 September 2026 (Mon)
Time: 4:30pm-6:30pm HK Time
Venue: Room 220, Fung King Hey Building (Limited seats. Registrations will be handled on a first come, first served basis.)

Face-to-face Only
Register by 13 Sep 2026
Link: https://cloud.itsc.cuhk.edu.hk/webform/view.php?id=13740486

Enquiries:
Tel: 3943 7135
Email: [email protected]

Abstract:
Scientists often face a frustrating trade-off between precision and breadth: a model that is realistic and precise usually works only in narrow contexts, whereas a more general model tends to lose accuracy or detail. Here, I argue that, at least in some cases, an optimal balance can be achieved. Specifically, I advocate a Comprehensive Exploration (CE) approach, which relies on large-scale benchmark datasets and on the search for an optimally, moderately complex model through exploratory and iterative model building. In a case study on visual working memory, a CE model with only 57 parameters outperformed a large neural network with more than 30,000 parameters. This finding suggests that it is possible to achieve both precision and breadth with only moderate complexity.

Delivered in English.
All are welcome.