PHILOSOPHY & INTELLECTUAL HISTORY
DIVERGING TRADITIONS
OF THOUGHT
Does justice require treating everyone identically, or does it sometimes demand recognising difference? Should individuals prioritise personal autonomy or social harmony? How do we balance rights and responsibilities?
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These questions occupy Western political philosophy, Confucian thought, Daoist reflection, and other Asian intellectual traditions. Yet the answers they each provide differ dramatically; not because one tradition reasons correctly whilst others fail, but because they began from different premises about human nature and social life.
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Over seven days in Hong Kong, you will explore how diverse philosophical traditions approach fundamental questions about ethics, politics, and human flourishing. This programme develops both historical understanding and philosophical skills: understanding what scholars thought whilst critically assessing the answers they provided.
INTELLECTUAL HISTORY MATTERS
Ideas have lasting consequences. Confucian emphasis on hierarchy and ritual shaped governance across Asia for centuries, and continues to influence contemporary attitudes toward authority and collective good. Western emphasis on individual rights and freedom produced different political institutions which privilege autonomy over harmony. Understanding how these competing frameworks operate helps to explain how societies organise themselves, and how people within them think about justice and legitimacy.
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After a week in Hong Kong, you will recognise that seemingly universal claims about human nature, justice, and legitimate authority often rest on culturally specific premises. That doesn't make philosophy arbitrary; it makes careful reasoning even more essential.
CURRICULUM AND APPROACH
Our curriculum explores classical Chinese thought (including, but by no means limited to, Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, Laozi, Zhuangzi), Western political philosophy, and the intellectual histories that shaped both traditions. We will examine concepts such as virtue, harmony, autonomy, rights, duty, and legitimacy.
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Teaching combines morning lectures introducing key texts and thinkers with precepts: small group discussions in groups of six to nine students.
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The aim is not to determine which tradition got it "right", but to understand why different answers emerged and assess their strengths to help you develop your own reasoned positions.
​FACULTY
Unusually among academic summer schools, we pride ourselves on our faculty of world-class academics, chosen not only for their preeminence in their fields of study, but also for their ability to present persuasive arguments for surprising conclusions.
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You will learn from philosophers, historians, and scholars of Asian thought drawn from leading universities in Britain, America, and Asia. To take full advantage of the scholars available to you, we would encourage you to sit next to the professors at meals. Many of them will share their email addresses with students so you can keep in touch in the months and years to come.
WHAT WILL I GET FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?
You will develop the capacity to understand philosophical arguments rooted in premises that you might initially reject. When someone claims that social harmony matters more than individual rights, or that ritual propriety cultivates virtue, you will be able to engage with their reasoning rather than dismiss it as foreign or strange.
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This intellectual flexibility proves valuable far beyond philosophy. Recognising that your own assumptions about human nature, justice, and legitimate authority rest on culturally particular foundations makes you a more careful thinker about any complex question. You will learn to ask not only "is this argument valid?", but "what would have to be true for this conclusion to follow?".
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If you are applying to study philosophy, politics, international relations, or Asian studies, this programme provides valuable preparation. If your interests lie elsewhere, but you recognise that understanding different intellectual traditions matters in an interconnected world, you will find the programme equally valuable.
HOUSING
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Accommodation is in shared rooms with ensuite bathroom. Male and female students will stay in different rooms. Students will also be living with people of the same age. ​​
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Free WiFi.​​​​​
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All meals are provided throughout the programme.
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HONG KONG
Hong Kong combines multiple histories in a remarkably small space. Colonial architecture meets contemporary development; traditional temples sit beside global financial centres. From Victoria Peak overlooking the harbour, to the densely layered streets of Kowloon, the city merges dramatic geography with architectural density.
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During your free time, you will have opportunities to explore temples, traditional markets, and the harbour – experiencing layers of cultural inheritance (British, Cantonese, cosmopolitan) compressed into extraordinary vertical density.
