Course description

Great thinkers have existed around the world and across time. Their ideas have been an integral part of social, economic, cultural, and political life. Their philosophical and literary contribution has not simply been the isolated speculation of a few remarkable individuals but has extended much further: they have shaped their communities historically and continue to form our contemporary global society and culture. This course takes a cross-cultural historical look at some of the most influential philosophical and literary traditions such as the ancient Greek, Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Mayan. In each tradition the course examines various original writings on the following questions: how should we organize our social, economic, cultural, and political life? What is the place of humans in the grand, cosmological scheme of things? And how should one live one's life? Some of the writings we review include those of Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Sun Tzu, the Brahmanical tradition, the Buddha, as well as the The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Popol Vuh.

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