electiveHQ

What is the self? What is the nature of reality? How should we respond to human suffering? Eastern philosophy provides answers to such questions that differ quite radically from the Western worldview (and Western philosophy). In this course, we focus for the most part on Buddhism, which asserts that we see ourselves and the world through a veil of ignorance. Buddhism holds, in particular, that the individual sense of self is an illusion, and it promises that a full and permanent liberation from psychological suffering and unease is possible. The Buddhist tradition prescribes ethical conduct and meditation practices as prerequisites for the liberation from suffering or for enlightenment. This course will also provide short introductions to Confucianism and Daoism. The themes will be developed mainly in a conceptual rather than historical manner, and some of the lectures will feature short meditations and guided contemplations of conscious experience.