Comparative Philosophy: China and the West

During the first week of the course, we will do a close reading of two of the early dialogues of Plato: the Euthyphro and the Phaedo. In Plato, we will discover much that resonates with the common sense, the cultural assumptions, and the worldview we associate with Western culture. We will explore the vocabulary of Plato's metaphysical realism and its influence on the Western philosophical narrative. In particular, we will concern ourselves with the beginnings of Western moral theory.

The remaining 3 weeks of the course will be given over to Plato's "Chinese cousin", Confucius, reading representative texts of the Confucian and Daoist traditions. You will gain different perspectives – looking beyond Chinese philosophical traditions and texts literally, and apply cultural context and nuances to understand its true meaning. We will use several sources – the Book of Changes, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Tang Junyi on Chinese natural cosmology – to establish a lens through which to read these canonical texts.

We will read from the Lunyu 论语, the Zhongyong 中庸, the Xiaojing孝经, and the Daodejing 道德经 not just as "Chinese philosophy," but as integral to world philosophy. It can be argued that Confucius has influenced the lives of more people than any other historical human being. In particular, we will develop a Confucian ethical theory called "role ethics."

Students may take this course concurrently with the Chinese Politics and Public Policy course offered by Peking University.

Peking University will also offer an optional Chinese Language Course to those who are interested.  It will be taught by experienced teachers from the International College of Chinese Language Studies (PKU) and offered to the students with primary Chinese level.

Senior undergraduate and graduate students.

The class meets 3 times for a total of 8 hours per week. This course will be conducted in English.

Students will be given a reading assignment and a question for each session. The first 10 minutes of the class will require a written response to this question on Monday and Wednesday. On Friday for 3 weekends, students will be given a take-home question, and will be required to submit a 1000-1250 (4-5 pages) paper on the first class of the following week. Classroom assignments are worth 5 points each (8 X 5 = 40) and the take-home are worth 20 points each (3 X 20 = 60), making a total of 100 points.

There are no prerequisites. By the end of the course, students will acquire an ability to make objective cultural comparisons by assessing the underlying assumptions of the Platonic tradition and the classical Chinese narrative. They will develop a philosophical vocabulary that distinguishes metaphysical realism from an early Chinese process cosmology.

The course will be delivered by lectures and panel discussions, workshops, and group debates. The course runs from July 5 to July 27, and will include 8 hours of class time per week. For the days involving no teaching, students will carry out research project assignments studying either individually or with the group for about 2 hours work per day.

Assessment

• Participation in class activities 10%
• Workshop project and presentation 30%
• 1 research essay of 2000 words 35%
• Debate 25%

Zhongguanyuan Global Village http://www.pkugv.com/

Tuition fee: RMB10,000
The tuition covers a package of up to 2 academic courses and 1 optional Chinese language course, and a series of cultural visits in Beijing.
 

Accommodation: RMB100-150/day
 

Estimated text books: Reading material will be provided
 

Estimated living expenses: RMB1000-1500