Chinese Philosophy PHIL-344-01 (Spring, 2006), 3 Credits, TR 11:30-12:45, ALT 322

Tongdong Bai (bai@xavier.edu; 513-745-2017; ML 4443) Office hours (TR 14:20-15:50, 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, Confucius: The Analects. Tr. by D. C. Lau. London: Penguin, 1979. (AC)

3) Chuang Tzu, The Inner Chapters. Tr. by A. C. Graham. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2001. (CZ)

Text on reserve:

Mencius, Mencius. Tr. by D. C. Lau. London: Penguin, 1970. (M)

Suggested Text:

Fung, Yu-lan. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. The First Free Press Paperback Edition. New York: The Free Press, 1966.

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 3 pages and no longer than 4.5 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 posted on our course page on MYXU at least a week before the paper is due (go to your MYXU accountàMy CourseàSelect our courseàFiles, you are also encouraged to use the Message Board, Chat, and Email functions there), 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 explain one point (e.g., why does Confucius claim “the wise enjoy water; the humane enjoy mountains” (6.21 of Analects)) that the philosopher(s) in question makes, try to point out possible difficulties and misunderstandings associated with this point, and try to make clarifications and defend this point as best as you can. 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 you explain and how carefully and deeply you examine this point. In other words, grades will depend on how much 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 once. The absence from a class immediately before or after a break (such as Easter) will be counted as two absences.

3) Your participation in class discussions will 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.

4) The final grade will be a simple average of the grades of the essays you have written (4 or 5 in total, depending on whether you choose to write Essay 4; I will give you a number grade for each essay). This average will be lowered by 1/3 of a letter grade for every 4 unexcused absences or 6 excused ones. We will use the plus-minus grading system for your final grade. This is how the absence-adjusted average is converted to your final grade: 3.85-4.0 = A; 3.5-3.85 = A-; 3.15-3.5 = B+; 2.85-3.15 = B … 0.5 or lower = F. If your average is exactly the lower limit of a letter grade, you will not be given this grade, but the lower one.

Schedule:

01/10, 12, & 17 (3): Introduction.

01/19, 24, 26, 31, 02/02, & 02/07 (6): Confucius’s The Analects. (Reading: AC, esp. selections in

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

02/09, 14, 16, 21, 23, 03/07, & 09 (7): Mencius (Reading: selections of Mencius in SB and some

passages in M; as well as The Great Learning and The Doctrine of Mean (continued, both

in SB)). Essay 1 (on the Analects) is due on 02/16.

03/14, 16, & 21 (3): Hsün Tzu and Han Fei Tzu (Reading: selections of Hsün Tzu and Han Fei

Tzu in SB). Essay 2 (on Mencius) is due on 03/21.

03/23, 28, 30, 04/04 & 04/06 (5): Lao Tzu (Reading: The Lao Tzu in SB). Note: Class does

NOT meet on 03/23, and a make-up meeting will be arranged.

04/11, 18, 20, 25, & 27 (5): Chuang Tzu (Reading: CZ, esp. selections in SB). Essay 3 (on Lao

Tzu) is due on 04/11. Essay 4 (Optional, on any topic from any philosopher before

Chuang Tzu you haven’t written an essay on) is due on 04/25.

05/02 10:30-12:20, Final Exam Time, ALT 322, Essay 5 (on Chuang Tzu) is due.