Singapore

Over the last hundred years or so, philosophers and linguists have made great strides in understanding linguistic meaning and communication. This course will provide a broad overview of some of the major developments on this front. We’ll tackle topics such as:

- The Nature of Meaning. Humans have a remarkable ability to invest noises and written marks with meaning. How is this possible? What makes a particular word – say, my use of the word “cats” – mean what it does (namely, cats), rather than something else (e.g., dogs), or, for that matter, nothing at all?
- Demarcating Sense and Nonsense. Some uses of language seem to be altogether meaningless. Can we develop any sort of useful criterion for distinguish meaningful language from meaningless language? If so, can we use it to adjudicate whether various philosophical claims are meaningful?
- The Semantics/Pragmatics Distinction. Sometimes we mean something (in a suitably broad sense of meaning) without directly saying it (e.g. sarcasm). What is the relationship between what is said and what is meant but not said?
- Language Acquisition. At any early age, humans acquire the ability to produce and understand a potentially infinite variety of new sentences – that is, sentences they’ve never previously encountered. How is this possible? What’s the best explanation for this extraordinary ability?
- Language and Thought. Does language shape the way we think? If so, in what sense?

An introduction to classical logic. The first half of the course introduces propositional logic, using the techniques of truth-tables and trees. The second half of the course extends the use of trees to predicate logic and basic modal logic. Emphasis is placed on applying the techniques to philosophical arguments, and on philosophical questions raised by the study of logic.

This module examines the ethical dimensions of everyday life in Singapore. It focuses on moral encounters and dilemmas that arise in our pursuit of ‘happiness, prosperity, and progress’. We will explore how the tools of moral reasoning and engagement apply to local concerns, such as inequality, meritocracy, multiculturalism, immigration, and marriage. This will challenge us to clarify moral values transformed by social and technological changes, combine moral principles with practical constraints, and balance other interests with our own. We will also consider how moral dialogue can be cultivated in Singapore’s multicultural society, so as to manage diverse traditions and divergent values.

The objective of this module is to give an elementary introduction to probability theory for science (including computing science, social sciences and management sciences) and engineering students with knowledge of elementary calculus. It will cover not only the mathematics of probability theory but will work through many diversified examples to illustrate the wide scope of applicability of probability. Topics covered are: counting methods, sample space and events, axioms of probability, conditional probability, independence, random variables, discrete and continuous distributions, joint and marginal distributions, conditional distribution, independence of random variables, expectation, conditional expectation, moment generating function, central limit theorem, the weak law of large numbers. This module is targeted at students who are interested in Statistics and are able to meet the prerequisite. It is an essential module for Industrial and Systems Engineering students.

This is a module on the calculus of functions of several real variables, applications of which abound in mathematics, the physical sciences and engineering. The aim is for students to acquire computational skills, ability for 2- and 3-D visualisation and to understand conceptually fundamental results such as Green’s Theorem, Stokes’ Theorem and the Divergence Theorem. Major topics: Euclidean distance and elementary topological concepts in Rn, limit and continuity, implicit functions. Partial differentiation, differentiable functions, differentials, chain rules, directional derivatives, gradients, mean value theorem, Taylor’s formula, extreme value theorem, Lagrange multipliers. Multiple integrals and iterated integrals, change of order of integration, applications, Jacobian matrix, change of variables in multiple integrals. Line integrals and Green’s theorem. Surface integrals, Stokes’ Theorem, Divergence Theorem.

This module introduces students to the basic concepts and the methods of statistics. A computer package is used to enhance learning and to enable students to analyse real life data. Topics include descriptive statistics, basic concepts of probability, sampling distribution, statistical estimation, hypothesis testing, linear regression. This module is targeted at students interested in Statistics who are able to meet the prerequisite. It is also an essential module for students in the following programmes: Industrial and Systems Engineering (FoE); E-Commerce (SoC); Project & Facilities Management and Real Estate (SDE).

To introduce precise definitions of a limit, continuity, the derivative and the Riemann integral.
To develop competence in computational techniques of calculus.
To highlight applications of differentiation and integration.
To provide an introduction to first-order differential equations.

The objective of this module is to develop the learning capabilities and hone the problem solving skills of talented students at a mathematically deeper and more rigorous level. The contents of this module will consist of those in the regular module (MA2202 Algebra I) and the following additional topics: Group action, group representations, Sylow theorems etc..

Advertising is an inescapable element in modern society. It is therefore vital for students to examine, understand, and analyse the implications and ramifications of advertising on society.

This module critiques the effects of advertising. Specifically, it deconstructs the role of advertising as practiced by commercial, non-commercial and a variety of other entities to persuade us to adopt products, services, ideas, and ideologies. In doing so, we highlight negative and positive advertising effects from communicative, psychological, cultural, sociological, and political perspectives. Various social and ethical implications of advertising on society in general, and on various vulnerable populations, such as children, minorities, and women, in particular are also discussed. The module promotes approaches to manage advertising influences through active citizen participation to achieve a more enlightened society.

This module introduces students to articulatory phonetics, which is concerned with how speech sounds are produced, and phonology, which is concerned with the organization of speech sounds in a linguistic system. We will learn about the human speech apparatus in detail, and the mechanisms that are involved in speech production. Starting with examples from English, we will explore phonological patterns from a crosslinguistic perspective, and learn how to provide formal analyses for these patterns. The module teaches conceptual tools that will allow students to analyse the phonology of English and other languages.