Request for New Course
EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
REQUEST FOR NEW COURSE
DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL: __HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY_____COLLEGE:
CAS
CONTACT PERSON: _____BRIAN BRUYA_________________________________________________________________________
CONTACT PHONE:
01-886-2-8369-3278
CONTACT EMAIL:
BBRUYA@EMICH.EDU
REQUESTED START DATE: TERM_FALL_____YEAR___2013___
A. Rationale/Justification for the Course
This course is proposed as part of the new Philosophy Master’s Program and will train students in the methods
and methodologies of comparative philosophy. Comparative philosophy is the study of issues and methods of
comparing complex ideas across languages, periods, traditions, and cultures. Because such ideas rarely match
one-to-one, entire semantic webs must be taken into account, which raises questions of general
commensurability. Issues of commensurability give rise to questions of interpretation and the ability of a single
interpreter to understand the expressed thoughts of another. Issues of interpretation give rise to questions of
relativism—what, if anything, counts as solid ground for deciding on the accuracy of interpretations? These
methodological issues are crucial for higher-level philosophical research, which routinely involves the use of
terms that require non-trivial interpretation. In addition to addressing methodological issues, students will
engage in the practice of comparative philosophy, interpreting texts from traditions near to and distant from
contemporary philosophy.
B. Course Information
1. Subject Code and Course Number:
Phil. 590
2. Course Title: Comparative Philosophy
3. Credit Hours:
3
4. Repeatable for Credit? Yes______
No___X___
If “Yes”, how many total credits may be earned?_____
5. Catalog Description (Limit to approximately 50 words.):
In this course, students explore methodological issues of comparative philosophy, for example, commensurability,
interpretation, and relativism. Students will read comparative works that consider ideas from diverse traditions such as
Daoism, Advaita Vedanta, Platonism, Modern philosophy, and contemporary philosophy.
6. Method of Delivery (Check all that apply.)
a. Standard (lecture/lab) X
On Campus
X
Off Campus
b. Fully Online
c. Hybrid/ Web Enhanced
7. Grading Mode:
Miller, New Course
Sept. 09
Normal (A-E)
X
Credit/No Credit
New Course Form
8. Prerequisites: Courses that MUST be completed before a student can take this course. (List by Subject Code, Number and Title.)
9. Concurrent Prerequisites:
Code, Number and Title.)
Courses listed in #5 that MAY also be taken at the same time as a student is taking this course. (List by Subject
10. Corequisites: Courses that MUST be taken at the same time as a student in taking this course.
(List by Subject Code, Number and
Title.)
11. Equivalent Courses. A student may not earn credit for both a course and its equivalent. A course will count as a repeat if an equivalent
course has already been taken. (List by Subject Code, Number and Title)
12. Course Restrictions:
a. Restriction by College. Is admission to a specific College Required?
College of Business
Yes
No
X
College of Education
Yes
No
X
b. Restriction by Major/Program. Will only students in certain majors/programs be allowed to take this course?
Yes
No
X
If “Yes”, list the majors/programs
c. Restriction by Class Level Check all those who will be allowed to take the course:
Undergraduate
Graduate
All undergraduates_______
All graduate students_X___
Freshperson
Certificate
Sophomore
Masters
Junior
Specialist
Senior
X
Doctoral
Second Bachelor__X______
UG Degree Pending_____
Post-Bac. Tchr. Cert._____
Low GPA Admit_______
Note: If this is a 400-level course to be offered for graduate credit, attach Approval Form for 400-level Course for Graduate
Credit. Only “Approved for Graduate Credit” undergraduate courses may be included on graduate programs of study.
Note: Only 500-level graduate courses can be taken by undergraduate students. Undergraduate students may not register for
600-level courses
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New Course Form
d. Restriction by Permission. Will Departmental Permission be required?
Yes
No
(Note: Department permission requires the department to enter authorization for every student registering.)
13. Will the course be offered as part of the General Education Program?
Yes
No
X
X
If “Yes”, attach Request for Inclusion of a Course in the General Education Program: Education for Participation in the Global Community
form. Note: All new courses proposed for inclusion in this program will be reviewed by the General Education Advisory Committee. If this
course is NOT approved for inclusion in the General Education program, will it still be offered? Yes
No
C. Relationship to Existing Courses
Within the Department:
14. Will this course will be a requirement or restricted elective in any existing program(s)? Yes
No
X
If “Yes”, list the programs and attach a copy of the programs that clearly shows the place the new course will have in the curriculum.
Program
Required
Program
15. Will this course replace an existing course? Yes
Restricted Elective
Required
No
Restricted Elective
X
16. (Complete only if the answer to #15 is “Yes.”)
a. Subject Code, Number and Title of course to be replaced:
b. Will the course to be replaced be deleted?
Yes
No
17. (Complete only if the answer #16b is “Yes.”) If the replaced course is to be deleted, it is not necessary to submit a Request for
Graduate and Undergraduate Course Deletion.
a. When is the last time it will be offered?
Term
Year
b. Is the course to be deleted required by programs in other departments?
Contact the Course and Program Development Office if necessary.
Yes
No
c. If “Yes”, do the affected departments support this change?
Yes
No
If “Yes”, attach letters of support. If “No”, attach letters from the affected department explaining the lack of support, if available.
Outside the Department: The following information must be provided. Contact the Course and Program Development office for
assistance if necessary.
18. Are there similar courses offered in other University Departments?
If “Yes”, list courses by Subject Code, Number and Title
Yes
No
X
19. If similar courses exist, do the departments in which they are offered support the proposed course?
Yes
No
If “Yes”, attach letters of support from the affected departments. If “No”, attach letters from the affected department explaining the lack of
support, if available.
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D. Course Requirements
20. Attach a detailed Sample Course Syllabus including:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Course goals, objectives and/or student learning outcomes
Outline of the content to be covered
Student assignments including presentations, research papers, exams, etc.
Method of evaluation
Grading scale (if a graduate course, include graduate grading scale)
Special requirements
Bibliography, supplemental reading list
Other pertinent information.
NOTE: COURSES BEING PROPOSED FOR INCLUSION IN THE EDUCATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE GLOBAL
COMMUNITY PROGRAM MUST USE THE SYLLABUS TEMPLATE PROVIDED BY THE GENERAL EDUCATION
ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THE TEMPLATE IS ATTACHED TO THE REQUEST FOR INCLUSION OF A COURSE IN THE
GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM: EDUCATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY FORM.
E. Cost Analysis (Complete only if the course will require additional University resources.
Fill in Estimated Resources for the
sponsoring department(s). Attach separate estimates for other affected departments.)
Estimated Resources:
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Faculty / Staff
$_________
$_________
$_________
SS&M
$_________
$_________
$_________
Equipment
$_________
$_________
$_________
Total
$_________
$_________
$_________
F. Action of the Department/School and College
1. Department/School
Vote of faculty: For ____6______
Against _____0_____
Abstentions _____0_____
(Enter the number of votes cast in each category.)
Richard Nation
Department Head/School Director Signature
10 September 2013
Date
2. College/Graduate School
A. College
College Dean Signature
Date
B. Graduate School (if Graduate Course)
Graduate Dean Signature
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New Course Form
G. Approval
Associate Vice-President for Academic Programming Signature
Date
Syllabus
Philosophy 590 – Comparative Philosophy
Professor: Brian Bruya
Course Description
Philosophy 590 is a course on the methods and methodology of comparative philosophy. Methodology is the
study of the possibility, use, and limits of methods. Insofar as we will be studying the methodology of comparative
philosophy, we will be focusing on the possibility and the limitations of adopting and comparing complex ideas across
languages and cultures. As such, we will consider in detail cultural and linguistic commensurability, hermeneutics, and
relativism. With regard to method, we will be learning how to engage and interpret complex philosophical ideas that
originate outside of the contemporary idiom. We will consider their conceptual and linguistic genealogies and learn
profitable ways of comparing them to similar ideas of different origin.
Objectives:
In Philosophy 590, students will:
• Gain an understanding of basic issues of commensurability in comparative philosophy
• Gain an understanding of basic issues of hermeneutics in comparative philosophy
• Gain an understanding of basic issues of relativism in comparative philosophy
• Learn how to work with non-contemporary philosophical ideas and their semantic webs
• Learn how to work with foreign-language primary sources in translation
• Learn how to compare philosophical ideas across periods and cultures
Required Texts
Larson, Gerald James and Eliot Deutsch (eds.). Interpreting Across Boundaries: New Essays in Comparative
Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.
Kuhn, Thomas S.. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970
Coursepack
Required Work
1. Research presentation. Twice during the semester, each student will present a summary of an article found
through independent research as a case study in comparative philosophy. The summary will present the overall
argument of the article with a demonstrated sensitivity to the comparative issues we have covered in class, not to
exceed 7 minutes. 10% of the overall grade each.
2. Research paper. 15 pages. Each student will write a paper of original scholarship relevant to the material
covered in class, demonstrating and understanding of the comparative issues covered in class. 80% of the overall
grade.
Points Letter Points
0
F
70
72
68
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Letter
CC
D+
Points
80
82
78
Letter
BB
C+
Points
90
92
88
Letter
AA
B+
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Academic Honesty
Don't misrepresent yourself with respect to any graded material in the course, and of the insights you provide in
your writing, attribute them appropriately. If they belong to someone else, use quotation marks around their exact
wording or use your own wording while stating that So-And-So said it. If the insights are your own, there is no need to
say so—unattributed insights will be assumed to be yours. Dishonesty that may reflect in any way on your grade is not
only frowned upon but is discouraged through the strongest possible use of sanctions, up to and including dismissal
from the university. If you are not sure what to attribute in your writing or how to make an attribution, the EMU
Library provides a nice resource for you to learn more about how to work with sources. It's your responsibility to
understand what you may and may not do. "I didn't know" is not a valid excuse.
Plagiarism.org presents an interesting fact: "A poll conducted by US News and World Reports found that 90%
of students believe that cheaters are either never caught or have never been appropriately disciplined"
(http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_facts.html; accessed 5/4/12). Just to let you know, I catch someone cheating just
about every semester. Those students automatically fail the course and are reported to the Office of Student Conduct
and Community Standards.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
If you wish to be accommodated for your disability, EMU Board of Regents Policy 8.3 requires that you first
register with the Disability Resource Center in 240 EMU Student Center. You may contact the Center by telephone
(734.487.2470). Students with disabilities are encouraged to register with the Center promptly as you will only be
accommodated from the date you register with them forward. No retroactive accommodations are possible.
F and J International Students
The Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) requires F and J students to report the following to
the Office of International Students, 229 King Hall within ten (10) days of the event:
• Changes in your name, local address, major field of study, or source of funding.
• Changes in your degree-completion date
• Changes in your degree-level (ex. Bachelors to Masters)
• Intent to transfer to another school
Prior permission from OIS is needed for the following:
• Dropping ALL courses as well as carrying or dropping BELOW minimum credit hours
• Employment on or off-campus
• Registering for more than one ONLINE course per term (F-visa only)
• Endorsing I-20 or DS-2019 for re-entry into the USA
Failure to report may result in the termination of your SEVIS record and even arrest and deportation. If you have
questions or concerns, contact the OIS at 487-3116, not your instructor.
Schedule
Week 1 What is Comparative Philosophy?
Staal, Fritz. "Is There Philosophy in Asia?" In Larson, Interpreting Across Boundaries. 27 pgs
Nakamura, Hajime. "The Meaning of the Terms 'Philosophy' and 'Religion' in Various Traditions." In Larson,
Interpreting Across Boundaries. 15 pgs
Krishna, Daya. "Comparative Philosophy: What It Is and What It Ought to Be." In Larson, Interpreting Across
Boundaries. 13 pages
Cua, A. S. "Reflections on Moral Theory and Understanding Moral Traditions." In Larson, Interpreting Across
Boundaries. 14 pages
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Weeks 2-3 Commensurability
Whorf, Benjamin, "The Relation of Habitual Thought and Behavior to Language." In Language, Thought, and Reality.
18 pages
Quine, W.V. "Main Trends in Recent Philosophy: Two Dogmas of Empiricism." 23 pages
Davidson, Donald. "On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme." 15 pages
Potter, Karl. "Metaphor as Key to Understanding the Thought of Other Speech Communities." In Larson, Interpreting
Across Boundaries. 18 pages
Kuhn, Thomas. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 210 pages
Radiolab, "Words." http://www.radiolab.org/2010/aug/09/
Weeks 4-5 Hermeneutics
Von Uexkull, Jakob. "A Stroll through the World of Animals and Men." In Schiller, Instinctive Behavior. 75 pages
Dilthey, Wilhelm. "The Rise of Hermeneutics." In Hermeneutics and the Study of History. 14 pages
Gadamer, Hans-Georg. "On the Universality of the Hermeneutic Problem" in Philosophical Hermeneutics. 15 pages
Deutsch, Eliot. "Knowledge and the Tradition Text in Indian Philosophy." In Larson, Interpreting Across Boundaries. 9
pages
Smart, Ninian. The Analogy of Meaning and the Tasks of Comparative Philosophy." In Larson, Interpreting Across
Boundaries. 10 pages
Chan, Wing-tsit. "Chu Hsi and World Philosophy." In Larson, Interpreting Across Boundaries. 35 pages
Week 6 Relativism
Plato: Theatetus, selection.
Feyerabend, "Notes on Relativism." In Farewell to Reason. 12 pages
Rorty, Richard, "Pragmatism, Relativism, and Irrationality." 22 pages
Rosemont, Henry, Jr. "Against Relativism." In Larson, Interpreting Across Boundaries. 35 pages
Scharfstein, Ben-Ami. "The Contextual Fallacy." In Larson, Interpreting Across Boundaries. 14 pages
Weeks 7-8 Examples
Preston, Beth. "Biological and Cultural Proper Functions in Comparative Perspective." In Krohs, Functions in
Biological and Artificial Worlds: Comparative Perspectives. 13 pages
Burik, Steven. "Thinking, Philosophy, and Language: Comparing Heidegger, Derrida, and Classical Daoism." In The
End of Comparative Philosophy and the Task of Comparative Thinking: Heidegger, Derrida, and Daoism. 53
pages
Loy, David. "The Deconstruction of Dualism." In Non-Duality: A Study in Comparative Philosophy. 59 pages
Shaner, David Edward. "Science and Comparative Philosophy." In Shaner, et. al., Science and Comparative
Philosophy: Introducing the Philosophy of Yuasa Yasuo. 76 pages
Yuasa, Yasuo, "Contemporary Science and an Eastern Body-Mind Theory." In Shaner, et. al., Science and
Comparative Philosophy: Introducing the Philosophy of Yuasa Yasuo 47 pages
Yuasa Yasuo, "A Cultural Background for Traditional Japanese Self-Cultivation Philosophy." In Shaner, et. al., Science
and Comparative Philosophy: Introducing the Philosophy of Yuasa Yasuo 36 pages
Week 9 Practice
Plato, Last Days of Socrates, selections
Confucius, Analects, selections
Week 10 Practice
Berkeley, Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous, selections
Shankara, Crest-Jewel of Discrimination, selections
Week 11 Practice
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Hume, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, selections
Zhuangzi, Inner Chapters, selections
Weeks 12-14 Non-Western Philosophy as an Avenue to Better Contemporary Philosophy
Bruya, "Rehabilitation of Spontaneity" 43 pages
Jullien, Detour and Access, selections
Jullien, The Propensity of Things, selections
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Bibliography
Allan, Sarah. The Shape of the Turtle: Myth, Art, and Cosmos in Early China. Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1991.
----------. The Way of Water and the Sprouts of Virtue. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997.
Berkeley, George (Roger Woolhouse, ed.). Principles of Human Knowledge and Three Dialogues Hylas and
Philonous. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.
Bodde, Derk. Chinese Thought, Society, and Science. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991.
Bruya, Brian. "Emotion, Desire, and Numismatic Experience in René Descartes Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming." Ming
Qing Yanjiu, 2001.
----------. "The Rehabilitation of Spontaneity: A New Approach in Philosophy of Action." Philosophy East and West,
Vol. 60, No. 2 (April, 2010), pp. 207-250.
Burik, Steven. The End of Comparative Philosophy and the Task of Comparative Thinking: Heidegger, Derrida, and
Daoism. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2009.
Cheng, Chung-ying. "A Model of Causality in Chinese Philosophy: A Comparative Study" in New Dimensions of
Confucian and Neo-Confucian Philosophy. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991.
Confucius (Roger T. Ames and Henry Rosemont, Jr., trans.). The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation.
New York, Ballantine Books, 1998.
Davidson, Donald. "On the Very Idea of a Conceptual Scheme." Proceedings and Addresses of the American
Philosophical Association, Vol. 47 (1973-1974), pp. 5-20.
Dilthey, Wilhelm (R.A. Makkreel and F. Rodi, eds.). Hermeneutics and the Study of History, Vol. IV. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1996.
Eifring, Halvor (ed.). Love and Emotion in Traditional Chinese Literature. Leiden: Brill, 2004.
Feyerabend, Paul. Farewell to Reason. London: Verso, 1987.
Gadamer, Hans-Georg (David E. Linge, trans.). Philosophical Hermeneutics. Berkeley: University of California Press,
1977.
Geaney, Jane. On the Epistemology of the Senses in Early Chinese Thought. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press,
2002.
Graham, A. C. Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Philosophical Literature. Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1990.
Hall, David L. and Roger T. Ames. Anticipating China. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995.
Hall, David L. and Roger T. Ames. Thinking from the Han. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998.
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Hume, David. An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Jullien, Francois (Janet Lloyd, trans.). The Propensity of Things: Towards a History of Efficacy in China. New York:
Zone Books, 1999.
Jullien, Francois (Sophie Hawkes, trans.). Detour and Access: Strategies of Meaning in China and Greece. New York:
Zone Books, 2000.
Krohs, Ulrich and Peter Kroes (eds.). Functions in Biological and Artificial Worlds: Comparative Perspectives.
Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 2009.
Kuhn, Thomas S. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970.
Kupperman, Joel. Learning from Asian Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Larson, Gerald James and Eliot Deutsch (eds.). Interpreting Across Boundaries: New Essays in Comparative
Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.
Loy, David. Non-Duality: A Study in Comparative Philosophy. Amherst, NY: Humanity Books, 1997.
Marks, Joel and Roger T. Ames, eds. Emotions in Asian Thought: A Dialogue in Comparative Philosophy. Albany,
NY: State University of New York Press, 1995.
Needham, Joseph and Wang Ling. Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 2: History of Scientific Thought. London:
Cambridge University Press, 1969.
Needham, Joseph and Wang Ling. Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 4: Physics and Physical Technology, Part I:
Physics, Sec. 26. London: Cambridge University Press, 1962.
Needham, Joseph and Lu Gwei-djen. Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 6: Biology and Biological Technology,
Part VI: Medicine, Sec. 44. Ed. Nathan Sivin. London: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Plato (Hugh Tredennick and Harold Tarrant, trans.). The Last Days of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo.
New York: Penguin Books, 1993.
Plato (John McDowell, trans.). Theaetetus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1973.
Quine, W.V. "Main Trends in Recent Philosophy: Two Dogmas of Empiricism." The Philosophical Review, Vol. 60,
No. 1 (Jan., 1961), pp. 20-43.
Rorty, Richard. "Pragmatism, Relativism, and Irrationalism." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Association,
Vol. 53, No. 6, August, 1980, pp. 717-738.
Schiller, Claire H. (trans. and ed.). Instinctive Behavior: The Development of a Modern Concept. New York:
International Universities Press, 1957.
Shaner, David Edward, Shigenori Nagatomo, and Yuasa Yasuo. Science and Comparative Philosophy. Leiden: E.J.
Brill, 1989.
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Shankara (Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, trans.). Crest-Jewel of Discrimination: Timeless
Teachings on Nonduality. Hollywood: Vedanta Press, 1975.
Slingerland, Edward. Effortless Action: Wu-wei as Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual Ideal in Early China. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Whorf, Benjamin (John B. Carroll, ed.). Language, Thought, and Reality: Selected Writings. Cambridge, MA:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1956.
Zhuangzi (A. C. Graham, trans.). Inner Chapters. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2001.
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