Chinese Philosophy PHIL-344-25 (Spring, 2005), 3 Credits, TR 10-11:15, ALT 323

Tongdong Bai (bai@xavier.edu; 513-745-2017; ML 4443) Office hours (TR 11:20-12:50 (no appointment is needed), TR 3:45-5:45pm (by appointment only), or other time by appointment, Hinkle 224)

Required texts:

1) Wing-tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese philosophy. Princeton: Princeton U. Press, 1969. (SB)

2) Confucius, The Analects of Confucius. Tr. by Roger T. Ames and Henry Rosemont Jr. New York:

Random House, 1999. (AC)

3) Chuang Tzu, The Book of Chuang Tzu. Tr. by Martin Palmer et al. London, Penguin, 1996. (CZ)

4) Han Fei Tzu, Han Fei Tzu, Basic Writings. Tr. by Burton Watson. New York, Columbia U. Press.

(HFZ)

Text on reserve:

Mencius, Mencius. Tr. by D. C. Lau. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, revised edition. (M)

Suggested Text:

Fung, Yu-lan. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. New York, The Free Press, 1948.

Course Description: Chu Hsi says: “…there is only one moon in the sky but when its light is scattered upon rivers and lakes, it can be seen everywhere. It cannot be said that the moon has been split.” Is there a Chinese philosophy, a Chinese way of the love of (Chinese?) wisdom, independent of philosophy, the love of wisdom (Wisdom?) in general? There are stereotypes (opinions) about Chinese philosophy, and this course will be a struggle towards the truth, the truth of Chinese philosophy in particular and the truth of philosophy in general (e.g., Why do we bother to philosophize? Are there universal moral values?). As for the materials covered, it is impossible to “finish” Chinese philosophy in one semester (in fact, it is impossible to finish any serious book in one semester), and it does not make much sense to “run” through a summary of all Chinese philosophy in this time, so that you might learn only a little bit about everything. Therefore, this course will focus on some early classics of three main philosophical schools in Chinese philosophy: Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), and (to a much lesser extent) Legalism. Other schools will be introduced only in comparison with and in contrast to these three main schools. Some later developments will be mentioned, but only a few very short passages of the later developments will be discussed in class.

Grading: 1) Essays: Each essay is no shorter than 2.5 pages and no longer than 4 pages, double-spaced, printed, and stapled; its font size is not bigger than 12. No late essays will be accepted. No separate midterm and final exams. There will be study questions for each essay, but you will have the complete freedom to choose your own topic as long as it is discussed by the relevant philosopher(s) and is covered in class. In each essay, you will be expected to show how you wrestle with one point or one set of points (e.g., why does Confucius claim “the wise enjoy water; the humane enjoy mountains” (6.21 of Analects)) which are either in the required texts or in the relevant discussions in class. The use of examples, primary text(s), and texts from relevant literature to challenge or support the point in question is encouraged. Grades will depend upon how clearly and accurately you express yourself and represent others’ ideas, and how deeply your discussions go. In short, your grade depends upon how much blood (effort) you have put into reading and thinking.

2) Absence: In addition to not coming to a class meeting at all, coming to the meeting 30 minutes late or leaving it 30 minutes early, or constantly chattering in class will also be counted as being absent. The absence from a class immediately before or after a break (such as the Spring Break) will be counted as two absences.

3) The final grade will be a simple average of the grades of all your written essays (4 or 5 in total, depending on whether you choose to write the optional essay, essay #4). Your final grade will be lowered by 1/3 of a letter grade (for example, from F+ to F; OK, seriously, for example, from B+ to B) for every 4 unexcused absences. Your participation in class discussions will also affect your grades, although not in an explicitly quantitative way. Any evidence of plagiarism will be handled according to university policy. You are required to keep every paper till your final grade is given.

Schedule:

01/11, 13, & 18 Introduction.

01/20, 25, 27, 02/01, 02/03, & 02/08 Confucius’s The Analects. (Reading: AC, esp. selections in SB, as

well as The Great Learning and The Doctrine of Mean (both in SB)).

02/15, 17, 22, 24, 03/01, 03, & 08 Mencius (Reading: M, esp. selections of Mencius in SB; as well as The

Great Learning and The Doctrine of Mean (continued, both in SB)). Essay 1 (on the

Analects) is due on 02/17.

03/10 Hsün Tzu (Reading: selections of Hsün Tzu in SB).

03/15, 17, 29, 31, & 04/05, Lao Tzu (Reading: The Lao Tzu in SB). Essay 2 (on Mencius) is due on

03/17.

04/07 & 04/12 Han Fei Tzu (selections from HFZ). Essay 3 (on Lao Tzu) is due on 04/12.

04/14, 19, 21, 26, & 28 Chuang Tzu (Reading: CZ, esp. selections in SB). Essay 4 (Optional, on any

topic from Confucius, Mencius, or Lao Tzu you haven’t written an essay on) is due on 04/21.

05/03 1:00-2:50, Final Exam Time, ALT 316 (TIME AND LOCATION CHANGED!!!). Essay 5 (on

Chuang Tzu) is due.