UGFN1000

In Dialogue with Nature

與自然對話
Term Paper Guidelines

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 Topic 1
Text 3 claims that the eighteenth century became “the age of
faith in science” (Cohen par. 62). Do you agree that we are
still in the age of faith in science? Support your arguments by
referring to at least THREE texts of this course.
文本三形容十八世紀成了「對科學充滿信心的時代」
(Cohen par. 62) ，你認為我們現在仍處於「對科學充滿信
心的時代」嗎？請最少從本科三個文本舉出論據支持你
的論點。

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 Guiding questions
Text 3 claims that the eighteenth century became “the age of faith in science”
(Cohen par. 62). Do you agree that we are still in the age of faith in science?
Support your arguments by referring to at least THREE texts of this course.
•“Science”: modern science
•(What does the “faith in science” mean?)
•Why do we have faith in science? What have this faith come from? Is it justified?
Any concrete examples? (Why do we believe scientific explanations more than
other kinds of explanations?)
•Why do we lose faith in science (if applicable)? Is it justified? Any concrete
examples?
•The examples come from
–Our textbook (at least 70%)
–Other sources, e.g., recent news on climate change, COVID-19 vaccination (optional)
•What are your arguments? (What are the scope and the limitations of science?)
Do you agree that, in all aspects, or only some aspects? To a certain extent? Why?
•At least THREE texts of this course. Text 3a+3b: One text

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 Topic 2
Do you agree that modern science has devalued human
existence? Support your arguments by referring to at least
THREE texts of this course.
你同意現代科學貶低了人的價值嗎？請最少從本科三個
文本舉出論據支持你的論點。

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 Guiding questions
Do you agree that modern science has devalued human existence? Support
your arguments by referring to at least THREE texts of this course.
•What are the sources of the values of human existence (in the past)? For
example, religions, uniqueness, philosophy, etc.
•Are these sources still reliable under the examination of modern science? Any
concrete examples?
•Your arguments are supported by the examples and the perspectives from
–Our textbook (at least 70%)
–Other sources, e.g., religions, philosophy, biology, psychology (optional)
•What are your arguments? (What are the scope and the limitations of
science?) Do you agree that, in all aspects, or only some aspects? To a certain
extent? Why?
•At least THREE texts of this course. Text 3a+3b: One text

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 Topic 3
Imagine that you could invite Qibo (the mythological Chinese doctor and
Huangdi’s minister in Huangdi Neijing) and James Watson to discuss their views
on the nature of life (i.e. how they understand life). With reference to at least
THREE texts of this course, write an imaginary dialogue between the two. You
may also invite one or two other key figures* mentioned in our textbook to join
the conversation as well.
(*The key figures are Plato, Aristotle, Newton, Darwin, Carson, Poincare, Kandel,
Needham, Sivin and Euclid.)
假設你能邀請華生 (James D. Watson) 和岐伯（《黃帝內經》中的人物，傳
說中上古時代的名醫、黃帝的大臣）來討論他們對生命本質的看法（亦即「
如何理解生命」），試以本科最少三個文本為基礎，為兩人撰寫一篇虛擬對
話。你亦可多邀請一至兩位本科課本提及過的重要人物 * 參與討論。
(* 重要人物有柏拉圖、亞里士多德、牛頓、達爾文、卡森、龐加萊、坎德爾
、李約瑟、席文和歐幾里得。 )

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 Guiding questions
• Imagine that you could invite Qibo… and James Watson to discuss their views on the nature of life (i.e. how they
understand life)…write an imaginary dialogue between the two. You may also invite one or two other key figures*…
• Discuss their views on the nature of life (i.e. how they understand life)
– Compare and contrast the views of modern science and traditional Chinese medicine
– How would the characters explain their views and most importantly, comment others’? Agree or disagree with other(s)? Why? Dialogue!
• Required characters
– Qibo 岐伯 as a representative of traditional Chinese medicine
– James Watson as a representative of modern science
• How did Watson understand life? From Text 5 and the tutorial discussion
• Optional characters
– One or two other key figures* mentioned in our textbook: Plato, Aristotle, Newton, Darwin, Carson, Poincare, Kandel, Needham, Sivin and
Euclid
– You!
• You can assume that all of the characters have read our textbook
• If you’d like to compare Chinese science with modern science but don’t prefer to write a dialogue, you may consider
proposing a new topic (See Topic 4)
• At least THREE texts of this course. Text 3a+3b: One text

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 Topic 4
Free topic. Please write a term paper which includes the ideas
of at least THREE texts in the course. The three texts must be
from at least TWO parts. Part I refers to Texts 1-3, Part II
refers to Texts 4-6, and Part III refers to Texts 7-11. For those
who choose to write on a free topic, it is compulsory for you
to submit an outline.
自定題目。學期論文需取材自最少三篇文本，而三篇文
本需最少來自課程的其中兩個部分，第一部分包括文本
一至三，第二部分包括文本四至六，第三部分包括文本
七至十一。自定題目的同學必須提交論文大綱。

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• Choose one of the topics and write a paper of 1300-1500
words in English or 1900-2300 words in Chinese
• Word count
• Use the term paper template to write your paper and also
observe the grading guideline
– If you would like to receive comments, please indicate “I would
like to receive comments” before the word count
• 若論文書寫語言為中文，則較冷僻的人名、地名及技
術名詞的中譯須附有英文原名。
– 斐勞波諾斯 (John Philoponus)
– 亞里士多德 [ 不用英文原名 ]
– Similarly  Chhun Chhiu Fan Lu 《春秋繁露》

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• Can I borrow ideas from my reflective journal?
– Acceptable only for a small proportion of your term paper
– Please paraphrase and add a proper citation. Don’t copy and
paste. Otherwise, it may lead to the penalty of a zero mark for
your term paper
• Can I use the materials from the lecture and
tutorial PowerPoints?
– Yes but please use the textbook first. Add a proper citation.
Otherwise, it may lead to the penalty of a zero mark for your
term paper

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• 通識教育學生論文獎
• For reference only!
• Have your ideas before
reading them
• Read the “irrelevant”
papers! VeriGuide!
• Good but not perfect!
• 下一屆通識教育學生論
文獎… You!
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 Outline submission
• Format of the term paper outline:
– 1 page only. It should NOT be a complete draft of your term paper
– Point forms or short paragraphs
– Self-contained. Let me know what you will write about!
• Be careful to online resources (e.g. Darwin and Chinese science)
• Topics 1-3: optional
• Topic 4 (free topic): compulsory
• The filename should be in this format
– Outline_Class_Your_Name_QuestionNo.doc
(e.g., Outline_ZT01_Chan_Tai_Man_Peter_Q2.doc).
• Submit to eLearn only
• Brief feedback will be provided
• Due date: 14 Apr 2022 (Thu) 23:59

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 Term paper submission
• The filename should be in this format
– Paper_Class_Your_Name_QuestionNo.doc (e.g.,
Paper_ZT01_Chan_Tai_Man_Peter_Q2.doc).
• Submit to VeriGuide only
• VeriGuide
– Assignment number: 2
– Course code: UGFN1000ZT01, UGFN1000ZT02,…
• *** No plagiarism! ***
• *** Due date: 1 May 2022 (Sun) 23:59 ***
– On 2 May 2022: Result will be one sub-grade lower
– On 3 May 2022: Result will be two sub-grades lower
– On 4 May 2022: Result will be three sub-grades lower, and so on

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End

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