Introduction to Ancient Chinese Wisdom Traditions

Catalog description

This course is a introduction to early Chinese thought. The word "thought" is used instead of "philosophy" or "religion" because the Chinese intellectual tradition did not distinguish between philosophy and religion. We will examine how philosophical, religious and literary elements are all uniquely deployed in texts such as the Analects of Confucius, the Dao De Jing and other classics. Our approach will involve analysis of language, arguments, cultural context and authorial intent.