This course is designed to give students a thorough introduction to early (pre-221 BCE) Chinese thought, its contemporary implications, and the role of religion in human well-being. Part 2 builds upon Part 1 by exploring late Warring States thinkers such as the Confucian Mencius, the Daoist Zhuangzi, and the return to externalism in the form of Xunzi—who believed Mencius betrayed the original Confucian vision—and his former student Hanfeizi, a “Legalist” thinker who helped lay the foundations for the autocratic system that unified the Warring States into China’s first empire. We will conclude with some reflections on what it means to study religious thought, and the thought of other cultures, in a modern, globalized world. Part 2 can be taken as a stand-alone course, but will be more comprehensible and rewarding with the background provided in Part 1.
See also: Chinese Thought: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science - Part 1

What you'll learn:

• Legalism and the origins of the imperial Chinese state

• How to analyze philosophical and religious arguments and debates

• Alternative models of ethics, the self, and the individual-society relationship

• The universality and contemporary relevance of basic ethical dilemmas

• The power of spontaneity, and the tensions involved in attaining it

• Religion or spirituality and the role of meaning in human well-being

Taught by Prof. Edward Slingerland, Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, where he also holds adjunct appointments in Philosophy and Psychology. Revolving enrollment. Please enroll HERE.