Phil-1010: Kai
(1.) For Puett, what are 'as if rituals', and what do they have to do with living well? How are they different from 'rote' custom? [Puett and Gross-Loh, p. 36-42; PPT, Confucius on Transformative Ritual, S5)
(2.) Confucius famously suggests that it does not matter if dead ancestors are actually present at ritual sacrifices to them; what matters is that the participant enter fully into the ritual (Analects, 3.12). How does Puett interpret this passage (Puett, sec.: 'The as if world', pp. 30-36)? In particular, what is the point of sacrifices to dead ancestors if they aren't literally present at the ritual to them? [PPT, Confucius on Transformative Ritual, S5]
(3.) For Puett, what is the "mentality of 'the true self'"? What is his critique of this mentality, and in what sense is Confucius' philosophy an alternative to it? [Puett & Gross-Loh, pp. 42-45; PPT, Confucius on Transformative Ritual, S2]
(4.) Confucius argues that one should observe the 3 year period of mourning prescribed by ritual when a parent dies. What is his main rationale for this ritual? (Analects, 17:21, RCCP, p. 50; PPT, 'Confucius on Filial Piety', S3))
(5.) According to Confucius, what is 'filial piety', and what does it entail? In what sense is it the 'root' of goodness? [Analects, 1.2, 2.8, 4.18; PPT, Confucius on Filial Piety, S3)
(6.) For Confucius, what is 'reciprocity'/'sympathetic understanding' (shu)? What is it's most important principle? [PPT, Confucius on Filial Piety, S6; See Analects 15:24]
(7.) According to contemporary philosopher Jane English, what obligations do adult children have to their parents? [PPT, Confucius on Filial Piety, S4; V: Family Obligations]
(8.) Based on the Family Obligations video and class lecture, what is 'contractarianism'? How might this principle apply, for English, to the moral obligations of adult children to their parents? [PPT, Confucius on Filial Piety, S3; V: Family Obligations]
Laozi
(9.) In the Puett and Gross-Loh reading, what Laozian theme does their example of Napolean's invasion of Russia and the Russian's response illustrate? [Puett and Gross-Loh, p. 100-105; PPT, Intro the Laozi, S4)
(10.) Based on the lecture and texts, according to Laozi, what are 'rigid binaries', and how do they 'depend on one another'? (PPT, Introducing the Laozi, S3, Daodejing, Ch. 2, 3, 11; Puett & Gross Loh, 'False Distinctions' section, pp. 93ff).
(10b) Based on the lecture and texts, according to Laozi, in what way are 'rigid binaries' (or 'false dichotomies') misleading? (PPT, Introducing the Laozi, S3, Daodejing, Ch. 2, 3, 11; Puett & Gross Loh, 'False Distinctions' section, pp. 93ff).
(11.) What is the 'hedonic treadmill'? How is the 'hedonic treadmill' related to Laozi's vision of the good life/thriving? [V: Slingerland on Desires of the Eye and the Hedonic Treadmill' ; PPT, 'The Laozian Critique of Confucius, S5-6]
(12.) Based on the Slingerland, what are the 'desires of the belly' for Laozi, and how do they differ from the 'desires of the eye'? How is this distinction related to Laozi's view of the good life? [V: Slingerland on the Desires of the Belly'; PPT, 'Introducing the Laozi, S5-6]
(12b.) What is Laozi's basic critique of the Confucian way? (PPT, 'Introducing the Laozi, S6-7; Daodejing, Ch. 18)
Mencius
(13.) Know, and be able to distinguish, empirical, conceptual, and normative claims, and how these distinctions apply to Mencius' account of our moral nature ([PPT, 'Mencius on Moral Sprouts', S3-4; note, we also discussed this in connection with Laozi and the hedonic treadmill]
(14.) According to Slingerland, how are some of human beings' basic moral tendencies analogous to 'sprouts' for Mencius? I.e., how does the 'sprout' analogy work in Mencius' account of human nature? [V: Slingerland, 'Mencius Human Nature is Good and Moral Sprouts']
(15.) What moral sprout is supposed to be illustrated by the child-falling-in-a-well thought experiment? What Confucian virtue is supposed to be developed through this sprout? [Mencius, 2A6; PPT, 'Mencius on Moral Sprouts', S8; V: Slingerland: 'Evidence for Moral Sprouts -Mencian']
(16.) Mencius tells the parable of a starving beggar who rejects food. What moral sprout / confucian virtue is this story supposed to illustrate? [Mencius, 6A10; PPT, 'Mencius on Moral Sprouts', S8; V: Slingerland: 'Evidence for Moral Sprouts -Mencian']
(16.b) For Mencius, how does the sprout of deference explain the origin of the practice of burying the dead? [Mencius, 3A5; PPT, 'Mencius on Moral Sprouts', S7; V: Slingerland: 'Evidence for Moral Sprouts -Mencian']
(16.c) According to Mencius, if human nature is basically good, how do some human beings become 'petty' (or bad) while others become good? What explains moral differences between people if people have the same basic nature? [Mencius, 6A15; PPT, 'Mencius on Moral Sprouts', S7; V: Slingerland: 'Evidence for Moral Sprouts -Mencian']
Zhuangzi
(17.) Slingerland analyzes an extended passage from the Zhuangzi (Sec. 2, pp. 32-3 of Watson trans.) that distinguishes ‘great understanding’ from ‘little understanding’. On his reading, what is the difference between these? What is 'petty understanding'? [V: Slingerland, 'Fallenness - Getting rid of human essence; PPT, 'Introducing Zhuangzi,' S2, 8]
(18.) Zhuangzi (sec. 2, p. 41-42 of Watson trans) tells the parable of Lady Li, a woman who was taken captive and sent to live in a palace. He uses this parable to challenge what idea? [PPT, 'Introducing Zhuangzi,' S3]
(19.) How does Slingerland interpret the Zhuangzi parable about the monkeys who protest a change in their diet? (see Zhuangzi sec. 2., p 36; V: Slingerland, 'Undergrowth in the Head').
(20.) How does the story about Huizi / Zhuangzi and the gourds go? According to Slingerland, how does illustrate the notion of 'undergrowth in the head'? (Zhuangzi, pp. 28-9 of Watson trans; V: Slingerland, 'Undergrowth in the Head')
(21.) At the end of sec. 2 (pp. 44 of Watson trans), Zhuangzi tells a famous parable about a dream he had about butterfly. According to the text, what is the key puzzle that the parable presents? [PPT, 'Introducing Zhuangzi,' S4]
(21b) According to Slingerland, how does the story about Butcher Ding illustrate Zhuangzi's notion of wu-wei? [Slingerland: 'Skill Stories in the Zhuangzi'; PPTX, Zhuangzian wu-wei, S: 3; RCCP, pp. 225-226)
(22.) According to Ch. 18 of the Zhuangzi, how does Zhuangzi react to the death of his wife? What is his explanation of this reaction? (RCCP, p. 247)
(23.) Sec. 6 of the Zhuangzi tells an extended story about four friends (RCCP, pp. 237-8). How does this story go, and what general moral does it illustrate? [RCCP, pp. 237-239; PPT, 'Ethical Vision in Zhuangzi', S3]
(24.) In Ch. 6, Zhuangzi tells about the 'True People of Old' (RCCP, pp. 235-6). What are they like (i.e. what traits), and what general moral are they intended to illustrate? [PPT, 'Ethical Vision in Zhuangzi', S3]
(25.) Zhuangzi (Ch. 19) tells a parable about an archery contest. How does parable go, and what general moral is it intended to illustrate? (RCCP, p. 248; PPT, 'Ethical Vision in the Zhuangzi', S2]
Xunzi
(26.) In the lecture video on 'Xunzi and the Return to Externalism', Edward Slingerland offers an interpretation of what Xunzi's claim that 'Human nature is bad' means. According to this interpretation, what does Xunzi's claim mean, i.e. in what sense is human nature 'bad'? [PPT, 'Xunzi, Human Nature is Bad', S4]
(27.) According to Xunzi in 'Human Nature is Bad,' human nature is bad. Generally speaking, if they are not good by nature, how, then, do people become good? What makes them good? (RCCP, 298-9; PPT, 'Xunzi, Human Nature is Bad', S5]
(28.) In the reading on 'Human Nature is bad', Xunzi illustrates what it means for a capacity to be 'natural' by talking about how the eyes naturally see, and the ears naturally hear. How does this analogy go? How does it illustrate what it means for a capacity to be 'natural'? (Natural as opposed to what?). [RCCP, 299-300; PPT, 'Xunzi, Human Nature is Bad', S4
(29.) According to Dr. Joseph Henrich, what is 'cumulative cultural evolution', and how do his examples illustrate it? According to Slingerland, how is this concept relevant to Xunzi? (video, 'Xunzi on the Origins of Confucius Culture', PPT, "Xunzi, Human Nature is Bad," S6).
(30.) According to Xunzi, where do rituals and standards come from? What is their origin? [PPT, 'Xunzi, Human Nature is Bad', S5]
(31.) Xunzi makes an analogy based on the claim that a specialist in one trade (farming) could have just as easily acquired a different one (e.g. carpentry) with different training. What is the purpose of this analogy? what is it supposed to illustrate? [RCCP, p. 303; PPT, 'Xunzi, Human Nature is Bad', S5]
(32.) In the video, 'The Perennial Debate: Mencius vs Xunzi', Slingerland argues that the dispute between Mencius/Xunzi about human nature is a specific version of a more general debate. How so? What is the more general debate, and how does the Mencius/Xunzi debate illustrate it? [V: 'The Perennial Debate']
Dostoyevsky's, 'The Grand Inquisitor'
(34.) According to the biblical story that Dostoyevsky's short story is based on, what are the three 'temptations' of Christ? [PPT, 'Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor', S4]
(35.) How does the Grand Inquisitor interpret Christ's refusal to turn stones into bread? I.e., for him, what is the broader significance of this refusal? [PPT, 'Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor', S5]
(36.) What is the Grand Inquisitor's main critique of Jesus' refusal of the three temptations? (Alternatively, how has the church 'corrected' Christ's teachings?) [PPT, 'Dostoyevsky's Grand Inquisitor', S5]
Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Lightman
(37.) According to Dienstag, for Schopenhauer, what is the primary source of suffering in human life? What is Schopenhauer's main solution to the problem of suffering? [PPT, 'Nietszche on Eternal Return', S17-18]
(38.) According to Dienstag, what is Nietzsche's basic response to the problem of suffering, and how does it differ from Schopenhauer's? [PPT, 'Nietszche on Eternal Return', S17, 19]
(39.) According to Alan Lightman and Nietzsche, what is eternal return? i.e., what is the basic idea behind it? [PPT, 'Nietszche on Eternal Return', S20]
(40.) What is the main challenge/question/imperative behind Nietzsche's 'greatest weight' thought experiment? How does it challenge other views of human redemption/salvation, such as heaven? [Nietzsche, 'The greatest weight'; PPT, 'Nietszche on Eternal Return', S21]
(41.) What does Nietzsche's claim that 'God is dead' mean? In what sense have 'we' human beings brought about the death of god? (Nietzsche, #125 and 343 from selections; PPT Nietzsche on Nihilism and Eternal Return, S15]
(42.) What is nihilism? For Nietzsche, how is it related to 'the death of god'? [PPT Nietzsche on Nihilism and Eternal Return, S15-16, 26]
(42.b) For Nietzsche, what is the 'revaluation of all values'? How is it related to the 'death of God'? PPT Nietzsche on Nihilism and Eternal Return, S16]
Nagel
(43.) Know, and be able to explain, the ‘traditional arguments’ for life’s absurdity and why Nagel rejects them. As well, for Nagel, what is insightful about these arguments, in spite of being unpersuasive (Nagel, 716-8; PPT, S3, 5)
(44.) What is the philosophical sense of the absurd, and how does it differ from ordinary absurdity? (718-9; PPT, S4-5)
(46.) According to Nagel, why can’t one escape the sense that human life is absurd by devoting oneself to a 'higher cause', i.e. a cause greater than oneself (such as God, country, or justice)? (Nagel p. 721, PPT, Nagel on The Absurd, S6)
(47.) According to Nagel, why can't the moon or a mouse be absurd?(Nagel, p. 725; PPT, 'Nagel on the Absurd,' S7)
48. Nagel considers escaping absurdity either by avoiding reflection or 'abandoning one's earthly, individual life.' How are these strategies related? Why, for Nagel, are they unlikely to succeed? [Nagel, pp. 725-6; PPT, 'Nagel on the Absurd, S7]
Wolf - The Meanings of Lives
(49.) For Wolf, what is the difference between asking about the 'meaning of life' and about the 'meaning in life'? How are the questions related? (Wolf, pp. 1-2; 15; PPT, Wolf on the Meanings in Lives, S2, S8)
(50.) Know, and be able to explain, what Wolf’s examples about ‘the Blob’, ‘Useless’, and ‘Bankrupt’ are supposed to show? (Wolf, pp. 3-5; PPT, Wolf on the Meanings in Lives, S4)
(51.) How does Wolf define a meaningful life? (Wolf, p. 5; PPT, Wolf on the Meanings in Lives, S3-4)
(52.) According to Wolf, how is living a meaningful life related to living a morally good one, and in what sense might individuals have an obligation to pursue a meaningful life? (Wolf, pp. 7-9; PPT, Wolf on the Meanings in Lives, S5-6)
(53.) What is Wolf's argument for the claim that one can be mistaken about whether one's life is meaningful? (Wolf, p. 7 & p. 9; PPT, Wolf on the Meanings in Lives, S5)
(54.) According to Wolf, what is ‘practical solipsism’, and what role does this idea play her view of living a meaningful life? (Wolf, 10-12; PPT, Wolf on the Meanings in Lives, S7)