This course aims to introduce the major thinkers in the West who have significant influence in shaping the Western mind. These thinkers are selected according to their comprehensiveness of their thought about understanding of human nature, culture, art, history and the meaning of human existence and their significance in Western intellectual history. It will introduce to the students the contents of their thought by outlining their major ideas and by reading selected texts. It helps students to understand how these thinkers tackle the big issues concerning humanities, i.e. their views about man, human history, art, culture and the meaning of life, and their relation with the modern world. It aims at introducing the major figures of Western thought as factors which shape the Western intellectual universe, and thus provides a solid basis for humanities and cultural studies.