Asian Philosophy

Catalog description

This course is an examination of the main questions found in the Asian philosophical traditions. Students read Indian, Chinese, and Japanese philosophers, with a special emphasis on Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Questions are centered in ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. Topics include: (right) conduct and virtue; the nature of reality, mind, and self (e.g., what is a self, what is a person?); the Middle Way; individual and social well-being; and the notions of interdependent arising, emptiness, and enlightenment. Conceptual connections are made with Western philosophical traditions. CGER CP-CW Civics & Perspective: Cultures of Our World. Offered Alternate Years.