University Curriculum—Recent Philosophical Reflections and Practical Implementations

Abstract

Philosophers Martha Nussbaum and Alasdair MacIntyre have recently made a discussion on the university curriculum. MacIntyre formulated the problem in the following way: “a surprising number of the major disorders of the latter part of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first century have been brought about by some of the most distinguished graduates of some of the most distinguished universities in the world”. The problem is that these universities give inadequate general education. The situation even seems to be getting worse as Nussbaum is concerned about the direction that curriculum design has recently taken in some parts of the world. In this article, however, I will cite a few examples of university curriculum design that give some promising solutions to the problems posed by philosophers. Especially the new Common Core Curriculum of the University of Hong Kong offers possibilities that might lead the way to a new and more responsible manner of designing a university curriculum.