Ph 112 Ancient Chinese Philosophy
We will study the two main streams of thinking in Ancient China: Confucianism and Daoism. In the course of our study, we hope to discover for ourselves the pearls of wisdom of the Confucian and Daoist sages of old, who lived approximately two millennia ago. To aid us in entering their world, we will begin our course with a survey of Ancient China – its rich history, culture, arts. From this historical and cultural background, we will move on to a study of the above-mentioned philosophical traditions. In this study, we will engage the main texts of Confucianism (The Analects, The Book of Mencius, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean), and Daoism (the Daodejing [道德經] and Zhuangzi [莊子]) – to allow the ancient texts to speak to us and to discover for ourselves, in our own time and realities, the wealth of timeless wisdom therein. At different points of our course, we will view a number of movies and documentaries, which will help us witness the Confucian and Daoist values in practice and to provide us with the visual experience of the Chinese life-world. We will also learn and practice the Shibashi (18-movement Taijiquan) as a means of harmonizing our minds and bodies.
Click on the link below for course syllabus
[SY 2004 - 2005, First Semester]
Click on the link below for course syllabus
[SY 2004 - 2005, First Semester]