Schedule of Classes and Readings

Greek Sessions

China Sessions

Monday

Wednesday

Jan. 11

Introduction

Authority, Reason, and Knowledge in Greece -- Socrates in the Euthyphro

G: 1-3, 45-51

Jan. 18

-- Martin Luther King Jr. Day --

-- No Class --

Confucius and the Way of Seeking Knowledge

C: 7-37, 47-55, 111-25

Jan. 25

Lao-zi and the Daoist Way

C: 65-72, 194-204

Heraclitus and the LOGOS

G: 7-24, 32-36

Feb. 1

Parmenides: Reason, Unchanging Reality, and Illusion

G: 37-40

Mo-zi: The Role of Reason in China

C: 78-88, 233-246, 250-52

Feb. 8

Knowing, Acting, and Life -- Socrates in the Apology, the Crito, and the Phaedo

G: 52-71

Feb. 15

Skepticism, Relativism, and Humor -- the Daoism of Zhuang-zi

C: 72-77, 205-232

Feb. 22

The Ethical Relativism of the Sophists and Plato's Quest for Ethical Absolutes in The Republic

G: 25-31, 41-42, 91-167 (selections)

Mar. 1

Ethical Absolutes in theConfucian Thought of Mencius

C:  57-60, 126-46 (selections)

Midterm Exam

Mar. 8

Nurturing the Perfect Person:  Mencius, the "Inner Enterprise," and The Great Learning

C: 126-46 (selections), 184-193, 272-82

Mar. 15                                                               SPRING BREAK

Mar. 22

Nurturing the Virtues in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

G: 168-216 (selections)

Mar. 29

Cultivation of Personal Constancy -- the Epicurians and Stoics

G: 217-238 (selections); H: selections

Apr. 5

Overcoming Human Nature and Taking Control of Human Potential -- Xun-zi's Confucianism

C: [Monday] 60-63, 148-161; [Wednesday] 162-183

Apr. 12

Fate and Limits of Human Endeavor, Greece

G: 217-238 (selections); H: selections

Fate and Limits of Human Endeavor,  China

See Check-in Page

Apr. 19

Emotions, Desire, & Wisdom, Greece

See Check-in Page

Emotions, Desire, & Wisdom, China

See Check-in Page

Apr. 26

Review of Greek & Chinese Thinkers

See Check-in Pages

Final Exam:  Friday, May 7, 8:00-10:00 A.M., Ballantine Hall 347