PHIL 391W - Early Chinese Philosophy [GEWI]
This course is an in-depth study of the major Chinese philosophical texts, which were seminal with regard to the subsequent 2000 years of Chinese thought and culture and which are still relevant to contemporary philosophical concerns. Possible texts include: Sunzi’s Art of War, the Yijing, Confucius’ Analects, Laozi Daodejing, Zhuangzi, Mencius and Xunzi.
Credit 3 hrs May not be repeated for additional credit
Grade Mode Normal (A-F) Course Rotation Winter (odd yrs.)
Students will complete frequent, short writing assignments tied to daily reading assignments, and two of those short writing assignments will be expanded into longer term papers. In the writing assignments, students will pose and answer questions regarding the content of the readings. Students will have the opportunity to also present these questions and answers orally in class and will choose from among these issues for development into standard analytic expository essays, which will also be presented in summary form orally in class.
Historically, there are many kinds of philosophical writing, from analytical essays, to aphorisms, to dialogues, but only one kind is generally accepted in academic circles today: defending a thesis. There are many kinds of these, such as interpreting a concept, refuting an argument in print elsewhere, offering a new perspective on a controversy or concept, and problematizing a generally accepted viewpoint or presupposition. In this class, students will work on the process of developing and defending a thesis.
Notes -
Previously listed as Philosophy of Early China
Updates Course Rotation added 1/2015; 2/11/11; effective Fall 2011
Winter 2025 Course Sections
Fall 2024 Course Sections
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