Short Courses in Philosophy
The Department of Philosophy offers the following short courses that's available to the general public:
1. Philosophy for a Happy and Meaningful Life
In this course, we’ll embark on an adventure to discover what happiness is, how we can generate meaning in our lives, and what we can do in our pursuit of it. We’ll begin by tapping on the timeless wisdom of great thinkers from ancient times, and we will examine how their ideas evolved over the centuries into our present times. We’ll uncover ways in which the pursuit of happiness and meaning influences our life decisions, so that we can develop our own personal philosophy of happiness and what it means to live a meaningful life.
Topics Covered
- The Meaning of Happiness
- Happiness as a Change of Mindset
- Happiness as a Change of Self
- Examining Our Criteria for Meaning and Happiness
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, learners will be able to :
- Appreciate the various philosophical schools of thought on how happiness is achieved
- Develop one's own personal philosophy on what it means to be happy, and what one needs to do to achieve it
Date: TBC
Time: TBC
Venue: TBC
Medium of Instruction: English
This course is offered as a collaboration between NUS, the National Silver Academy (NSA), and the Council for Third Age (C3A).
Leaners who are at the age of 50 and above during the year of course can enjoy up to 50% of course fee subsidy, subject to a maximum of $500 per course.
Full Course Fees w/o Subsidies: SGD$360 (before GST) / SGD$392.40 (after 9% GST)
Course Fees after National Silver Academy Subsidy (50% off): SGD$180 (before GST) / SGD$212.40 (after 9% GST)
The Facilitator
Jonathan Y. H. Sim is Associate Fellow with the NUS Teaching Academy, and Lecturer with the Department of Philosophy, at the National University of Singapore. He teaches the Philosophy of Computing and Data Analytics and Chinese philosophy to both undergraduates and working professionals. For his passion in teaching and his effective teaching methods, Jonathan won the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (FTEA) in 2019, 2021, and 2022. Jonathan is working with various government agencies, offering insights as a philosopher on various national issues. He has also been invited to share his insights on education to various media outlets in Singapore and across the Asia Pacific region.
