What makes music valuable? Can music be appreciated only for its beauty? What is the significance of music in human life? This course offers students a chance to explore the values of music through a philosophical approach. At the same time, it allows them to better appreciate the tradition of western classical music. To prepare for this, students will first be taught the basic vocabularies of music criticism including rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, form, instrumentation and so on. This allows them to talk about, express and share their views on particular works in an intelligent manner. After that, students will be introduced to a selection of musical works from the western tradition with reference to human values. An underlying theme of the course is that music is not merely sounds that are pleasant to the human ears; significant human values such as expression, innovativeness, a sense of identity and social criticisms are often embodied in musical works. No previous training in music (theory or performance) is needed.