Monday, December 5

Reading:  "The Doctrine of the Mean"

Monday, we'll be considering "The Doctrine of the Mean," a companion text of the "Great Learning" (both initially appeared as chapters in the Records of Ritual, a text compiled c. 200-100 B.C.).  "The Doctrine of the Mean" links the ethical vision of the "Great Learning" to a metaphysical portrait, with Tian and man playing reinforcing roles in a way that seems to alternate between Mencian and Xunzi-like views.  It also is clearly and interestingly influenced by early Daoism.  For these reasons, "The Doctrine of the Mean" is one of the most intriguing and philosophically rich texts in the Chinese philosophical corpus. 

The introduction to your online reading will generally orient you, but because this is a relatively lengthy text, the key is figuring out which portions are critical, so that the others will fall into place.  What this translation presents as Section VI is probably where the most critical ideas lie.  To make your reading of the entire text easier, key portions are presented in boldface type.  If you focus on these (scanning the other sections to see how the argument runs), you'll be able to see the main themes that we will explore.

In class, I'll begin by drawing your attention to some basic problems of ontology faced in modern philosophical discussions, and then explore how "The Doctrine of the Mean" may relate to these ideas.