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better, and explore their own objections to even very important thinkers. We
encourage our students to be critical, and I think that is a good way of teaching.
Q: In China, philosophy teachers focus mainly on imparting knowledge. What do you
think of such a way teaching philosophy?
A: I don't know much about the Chinese way of teaching philosophy, but according to
what you said and what my Chinese friends have told me, there is a lot of emphasis
on what is known in philosophy, what Locke said, what Kant said. Philosophy
teachers in the western tradition believe that philosophy should come alive; it is not
simply a matter of knowledge, but a matter of practice, of coming to one's own
personal judgment about what is right or wrong. We encourage our students to think
for themselves about philosophical problems, not just to memorize what
philosophers have said about those problems. So instead of focusing only on what
Kant said, for example, we will say, "Here is what Kant said. Do you think that's
right?" Then we begin a deeper discussion. Unlike some philosophers in the western
tradition, however, I believe that we cannot understand the philosophical problems
we now face unless we know a great deal about the history of philosophy. Good
teaching will also involve discussions of how to interpret what philosophers have
said.
Q: What do you think of other kind of philosophy, such as continental philosophy?
A: In the United States, analytical philosophy is very dominant in the universities.
The main alternative point of view is what we call continental philosophy, which is
western European philosophy since Kant. Analytical philosophers have a difficult
time talking with continental philosophers. I studied continental philosophy quite a bit
as an undergraduate and I found it very interesting, but in the end I was unable to
develop it in a way that I found useful. And I found analytical philosophy more
rewarding. But I do think there is some value in continental philosophy.
Q: Thanks. You know in China, there are more and more students applying for
American universities for further education, could you give us your opinion of the
most important qualification of a student, especially in humanities?
A: I don't really know much about other humanities, but in philosophy I have been
involved in Graduate School admissions for many years. I think the most important
thing of all, especially for Chinese applicants, is to have a very well-written paper that
shows real talent in philosophy. If you apply to an analytical philosophy department,
your writing sample should show skill in understanding analytical philosophy, it
should show that you can write in a very clear, professional style of English, and that
you can read and understand articles in the professional philosophy journals. The
GRE is also important, but it is not as important as the writing sample.
Q: Thank you! I think your advice will be very helpful to philosophy students who
want to apply to graduate programs in philosophy at American universities. But still it
is a really difficult task.
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