Eastern Perspectives on Ethics

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course will draw on a rich set of historical texts and contemporary scholarship in Eastern ethical thought to shed light on a range of topics and concepts in normative theory. We will read material by Confucius and his followers Mengzi and Xunzi, as well as some of their main rivals. We will study the two chief works of Daoism (i.e., the Chuang Tzu and the Dao De Jing). And we will explore classics of Buddhism (e.g., the Dhammapada) and Hinduism (e.g., the Bhagavad Gita). We will situate critical readings of these classics with some analog and competing views from the Western ethical tradition. When paired with the work of contemporary scholars (such as Erin Cline, Bryan Van Norden, David Wong, Amy Olberding, Philip Ivanhoe, David Hall, and Roger Ames), we will hope to clarify questions such as, what can an account of human nature tell us about how to live? What is virtue? How should we think of suffering and the role of reason in the good life? Students will be evaluated on the basis of attendance/participation, weekly reading responses, and two (4-5 pg.) peer-workshopped papers.