PHIL 630 Seminar on Chinese Philosophy: Mengzi & Xunzi

Course Description

This seminar examines the thought of the two most influential classical Confucian philosophers after Kongzi (“Confucius”): Mengzi and Xunzi. Through a careful reading of selections from primary texts and influential secondary work, we will examine the debate that ensued from Mengzi’s claim that humans have innate moral tendencies and Xunzi’s claim that humans are born in a state of moral blindness. We will explore the intersection of human nature, moral psychology, and virtue ethics in the work of these two philosophers. Among other issues, we will examine their accounts of why some people fail to become good, the metaphors they use to express and develop their theories of human nature and self-cultivation, and their respective views of relationship between moral psychology and political philosophy, including Xunzi’s account of the state of nature and the origin of morality. No knowledge of classical Chinese is required. All readings are in translation.