Introduction to Chinese Philosophy

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to classical Chinese philosophy. We will focus on three major philosophy traditions in the pre-Qin period China: Confucianism, Mohism, and Daoism. Many of the ideas in these three traditions have shaped the last two thousand years of Chinese—and to a large extent, Eastern Asian—culture. We will read primary texts as well as some secondary literature. The primary texts include: The Analects, Mengzi, and Xunzi from the Confucian tradition, Mozi from the Mohist tradition, and The Daodejing and Zhuangzi from the Daoist tradition. We will discuss issues in ethics, political philosophy, epistemology, and metaphysics in classical Chinese philosophy. We will also discuss the relevance of classical Chinese philosophy to contemporary philosophy and psychology. Pre-requisites: None Fulfillment: CORE HPC or IPC; GCS Chinese History, Society, and Culture; Humanities Introductory course.