Ethics of Funerals Group Discussion
This activity supports a discussion of the different views of the early Confucians and Zhuangzi on the ethics of funeral practices by priming students’ interest and engagement using a group discussion activity.
Care of the Dead
The early Chinese philosophers argued heatedly about how to care for the dead. In this unit, three of the most distinctive views of the period are presented. These can be treated together but also easily break apart for smaller lessons or units with other materials.
Virtues and Moral Rules
Introduction
Can a morally great / virtuous person choose the right thing to do in every situation all by herself, or does she need to follow moral rules as guides?
Texts and Courses
Primary Texts
Mengzi 4A1.1-10
Perfect Rituals
Introduction
The activity helps motivate the Confucian focus on the relationship between ritual activity (li) and ethics.
Background Information
Motivation
Students (and more than a few philosophers) tend not to think of everyday social interactions as the paradigmatic realm of ethics, but for the early Confucians, small-scale social interactions were of central ethical importance.
Logistics
This is best done as a group activity, but could be done as an individual or pair activity.
Individuality (Confucianism)
Introduction
This activity helps students question widespread beliefs (in western cultures) about individuality and independence. It helps illustrate the Confucian emphasis on community and the importance of our relations to others.
Early Chinese Philosophy
Introduction
The Deviant Philosopher provides individual primers for particular schools of early Chinese philosophy. However, there are basic questions someone new to teaching any of these materials may have. The purpose of this more global primer is address some of these general questions and additionally provide sufficient background information and tips useful to philosophers new to early Chinese philosophy. Our goal in what follows, then, is simply to give philosophers some basic information that can help one feel more confident in wading into unfamiliar waters.
Early Confucianism
Introduction
Early Confucianism is typically identified with the Confucian philosophers active during the period leading up to and during the Warring States era in China (6th – 3rd century BCE). The most familiar and discussed figures in this period are Confucius himself, Mengzi, and Xunzi. The period in which these philosophers lived was extraordinarily violent, chaotic, and troubling. Philosophical inquiry thus betrays an atmosphere of crisis, reflecting concerns about what had gone wrong, both politically and morally, and how it might be repaired.