Chinese Thought
Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science - Part 1
This course is designed to give students a thorough introduction to early (pre-221 BCE) Chinese thought, its contemporary implications, and the role of religion in human well-being. Important themes to be discussed include the ideal of wu-wei or “effortless action,” the paradox of how one can consciously try not to try, mindfulness techniques and self-cultivation, models of the self and society, rationality versus emotions, trust and human cooperation, and the structure and impact of different spiritual and political ideals.
This period of Chinese history witnessed the formation of all of the major indigenous schools of Chinese thought (Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism and Legalism), which in turn had an impact on the development of East Asian cultural history that is still felt today. We will also explore parallels with Western philosophical and religious traditions, the relevance of early Chinese thought for contemporary debates in ethics, moral education, and political philosophy, and the manner in which early Chinese models of the self-anticipate recent developments in the evolutionary and cognitive sciences.
This course provides a full university semester’s worth of material broken into two parts. Each part of the course will last 5 weeks, with a week-long break in between. For each part, there will be four weeks worth of new material. The fifth week will be reserved for review and completion of the final exam.
Part 1 introduces the basic philosophical, religious and scientific concepts that will be drawn upon throughout the course, and then goes on to cover early Shang and Zhou religious thought, the Analects of Confucius, the Daodejing (a Daoist text attributed to Laozi), the utilitarian thinker Mozi, the newly discovered and very exciting Guodian texts, and the momentous philosophical changes that occurred in the mid Warring States period.
See also: Chinese Thought: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Science - Part 2
What you'll learn
- An empirically-grounded framework for studying other cultures and cultural history
- The origins of early Chinese culture and religion
- Early Confucianism, Daoism and Mohism
- The mid-Warring States “language crisis” and “physiological turn”
- How to analyze philosophical and religious arguments and debates
- Alternative models of ethics, the self, and the individual-society relationship
- The universality and contemporary relevance of basic ethical dilemmas
- The power of spontaneity, and the tensions involved in attaining it
- Religion or spirituality and the role of meaning in human well-being
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Rating | 4.9★ based on 14 ratings |
---|---|
Length | 5 weeks |
Effort | 5 weeks, 4–6 hours per week |
Starts | On Demand (Start anytime) |
Cost | $49 |
From | University of British Columbia, UBCx via edX |
Instructor | Edward Slingerland |
Download Videos | On all desktop and mobile devices |
Language | English |
Subjects | Humanities Art & Design |
Tags | Art & Culture Humanities Philosophy & Ethics |
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What people are saying
comprehensive further reading lists
There were also comprehensive further reading lists and links provided.
fit into western concepts
Professor Slingerland and his team managed to lead the students to a great understanding of how ancient philosophers and schools of thought built the very fundament for China and Asia today, and how modern science shows that they fit into Western concepts as well.
made arcane texts accessible
The videos were excellent, very well produced with good graphics, Prof. Slingerland made arcane texts accessible, understandable and relevant to the modern world.
cognitive/neuro sciences could support
Here, the idea was to look at the philosophies and see if modern cognitive/neuro sciences could support or refute them.
complicated things simple without
I loved its depth and the breadth: making complicated things simple without dumbing them down.
chinese scholarship offered here
I have no basis to judge the Chinese scholarship offered here.
john van maanen
But the content would be still more riveting (from my perspective) if it explored a few of the fascinating resonances with contemporary management thinking (such as Tom Malone on Collective Intelligence, Ed Schein on Culture, John van Maanen on Organizational Socialization, Donald Schön on Reflective Practice, Pearce and Littlejohn on Moral Conflict, and so on).
most learners take
Most learners take this course because of an interest in China.
contemporary management thinking
exactly 100 pages
This course was challenging in that a lot of material was covered (I have exactly 100 pages of notes!)
examined similar/other social
After taking this course, I examined similar/other social psychology courses related to the subject of the soul (psyche) and I found they pale in comparison.
several guest lecturers
The explanations were clear, several guest lecturers came in to speak to specific topics, and each week included a video responding to discussion forum posts, answering questions, etc.
Careers
An overview of related careers and their average salaries in the US. Bars indicate income percentile.
Lecturer in Chinese $42k
Guest Chinese Teacher $44k
Chinese Studies Instructor $45k
Teacher (Mandarin Chinese) $49k
Chinese Content Writer $50k
Mandarin Chinese Interpreter $56k
Lecturer of Chinese Language $56k
Owner Chinese Teacher $61k
IT Specialist (Bilingual Chinese) $67k
Assistant Chinese Tutor $71k
Chinese Localization Specialist $93k
Assistant Chinese Instructor $118k
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Rating | 4.9★ based on 14 ratings |
---|---|
Length | 5 weeks |
Effort | 5 weeks, 4–6 hours per week |
Starts | On Demand (Start anytime) |
Cost | $49 |
From | University of British Columbia, UBCx via edX |
Instructor | Edward Slingerland |
Download Videos | On all desktop and mobile devices |
Language | English |
Subjects | Humanities Art & Design |
Tags | Art & Culture Humanities Philosophy & Ethics |
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