Cultivating the Self

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course is an exploration of self-cultivation throughout different periods of philosophical history. Figures and traditions to be covered include classical Confucians (Kongzi, Mengzi, Xunzi), ancient Greeks (Plato, Aristotle), Romans (Stoics), Buddhists, and Medieval and Enlightenment Europeans (Aquinas, Kant). We’ll conclude by considering how philosophy is and is not part of current discussions of self-cultivation.