PHI320: Asian Thought

Instructor: Richard W. Anderson Spring Term 2006

e-mail: andersri27@verizon.net Linfield College

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will consist of a close reading of four classic texts from South and East Asia that each discusses a particular way of viewing reality, the good society, and/or the making of a good moral/ethical person. We will begin with a text by the 8^th century C.E. Indian philosopher Shankara which presents a classic statement of advaita vedanta (i.e., non-dualist worldview—monism). We will then read the classic Confucian text which is named after the author – Mencius. This text was written about 2300 years ago and presents an ideal for human behavior and the creation of a good society that has had a tremendous impact on all of East Asia. We will then move on to a Chinese text that was fundamental in the development of Chan/Zen Buddhist thought – the Daoist classic written by Chuang Tzu about 2300 years ago. In this text (Wandering on the Way) we will encounter the term/concept of “Dao” (the Way which is of fundamental importance in East Asian thought, and the ideal of “non-action” (wu-wei) as the proper way to interact with others and nature. And finally, we will investigate one of the seminal texts of the Mahayana (particularly Chan/Zen) Buddhist tradition entitled The Diamond Sutra and grapple with its presentation of the concepts of “emptiness” (sunyata) and “interdependent arising” (pratitya samutpada). At the end of this course you should have a very good grasp of some of the basic terminology and concepts of Asian thought, be able to compare and contrast the different ideas/ideals with each other, and have a clearer understanding of what makes Asian thought “different,” in some respects, from a more Western worldview.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Swami Prabhavananda & Christopher Isherwood, trans., Shankara’s Crest-Jewel of

Discrimination (Viveka-Chudamani)

David Hinton, trans., Mencius

Victor H. Mair, trans., Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parable of Chuang

Tzu

Mu Soeng, trans., The Diamond Sutra: Transforming the Way We Perceive the World

ATTENDANCE & DISCUSSION: You will be allowed to miss two classes without penalty. For every absence after that your final grade will be lowered one full grade. All students are expected to do the assigned readings ahead of each class, and to come to class prepared to discuss these readings. Informed discussion will comprise 20% of your final grade.

PAPERS: You will write four short papers (6-8 pages) on the four assigned texts. The specific topic(s) of each paper will be for you to write a summary, in clear concise English, of the main ideas of the text citing examples from the text to support your statements. The due dates are listed below. Each paper will be worth 20% of your final grade (total 80%). The papers must be typed (12 point font) and double-spaced. Late papers will be penalized one full grade.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Academic work is evaluated on the assumption that the work presented is the student’s own, unless designated otherwise. Anything less is unacceptable and is considered academically dishonest. Any student found to be engaging in such activities is subject to disciplinary action. Further definitions of academic dishonesty may be found in your Student Handbook in the Academic Policies chapter. In this class the most important point to note is that all writing is assumed to be your own UNLESS you clearly mark passages cited from other sources with quotation marks (“x”) and then cite the source being used (Hane, 27).

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students with documented disabilities who may need accommodation, who have any emergency medical information the instructor should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible.

ASSIGNED READINGS:

Feb 15 – Introduction to course

Feb 22 – Hinduism and Vedanta

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedanta

March 1 – Shankara’s thought

**Shankara, Crest Jewel, pp. 1-57

March 8 – Shankara continued

**Shankara, Crest Jewel, pp. 57-139

PAPER #1 on The Crest Jewel is due March 15

March 15 – Confucianism and Mencius

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHPHIL/MENCIUS.HTM