Osher Lifelong Learning Wilmington class on the Eastern Intellectual Traditions

1. Great Minds of the Eastern
Intellectual Tradition(s)
First Semester
Fall 2012

2. The Course

3. D'OÙ VENONS NOUS / QUE SOMMES NOUS / OÙ ALLONS NOUS
Where Do We Come From?
What Are We?
Where Are We Going?

4. Religious and Philosophical
Questions
‘Religious’
! Who?
! Why?
Philosophical
! What?
! How?

5. Nuances
Philosophy Love of wisdom
zhé xué 哲学 Wise study (coined)
Darśana दश#न Vision (of ultimate reality)

6. Basic questions
 What’s what? (Nature of reality.)
 What’s good? (Value)
 What do we know (or what’s true)?

7. Reality
Western Indian Chinese
Why is there something rather than nothing?
✔
Is there anything that does not change?
✔ ✔ ✔
Which is more basic, Being or Non-Being?
✔
Does God exist? If so, why evil?
✔ ✔

8. Value
Western Indian Chinese
What is art and other questions in aesthetics
✔
What are the basic standards of morality (ethics)?
✔ ✔ ✔
What is the purpose of government? What is the
relationship of the individual and the state?
✔ ✔ ✔

9. Knowledge (epistemology)
Western Indian Chinese
What are the scope & limits of knowledge?
✔ ✔ ✔
Can the truth be known at all?
✔ ✔ ✔

10. Methods
Western Indian Chinese
Perception
✔ ✔ ✔
Inference
✔ ✔ ✔
Intuition
✔ ✔
Authority
✔ ✔

11. Some General Differences
West East
Analysis Synthesis
Plurality of things Unity of things
Differences Harmony
Logic Language – aphorisms
Individual Family, society
Seeks the TRUTH Recognizes many views

12. Language Differences
Are they influential?
! Inflection or not
! Writing systems
! Categories

13. Stages
Hellenic India China
Religion to
philosophy
Hesiod
Pre-Socratics
Vedas
Founders Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Vedas
(Upanishads)
Confucius
Laozi
Reactions -
Expansions
First stages
Neoplatonists
Stoics
Jainism
Buddhism
“Hundred
schools”
Mencius
Sunzi

14. How do you think?
! Which two of these words are most
closely related?
 Panda, monkey, banana
! Cultural differences in student responses
 Americans favored common categories –
panda and monkey
 Chinese favored relationships – monkey
and banana