English Program in Chinese Culture：
Chinese Philosophers Mencius and Xunzi
Syllabus
Professor: Ellie Hua Wang
2014 Fall
I. Overall Description
What is human nature? What is a good life? What are the answers early Confucian
philosophers offer to these questions? Are these answers unique and different from the
ones western philosophers have offered? If so, how are they different? These are the core
questions that concern us in this course.
Specifically, in this course we introduce the philosophical views of early Confucian
thinkers Mencius and Xunzi. The thoughts of Mencius and Xunzi are both developed
from that of Confucius, but they are very different in several respect. Our focus will be on
their ethical views, with special attention to the important concepts in their views such as
xin 心, xing 性, qing 情, ren 仁, li 禮, and yi 義. We will discuss and compare their
meaning, and the role they play in their respective views as well as in Confucian
philosophy. We will also consider some challenges to these two views and their (potential
and actual) replies to these challenges. To further our appreciation of these two ethical
views, we will compare them with western philosophical views including Aristotelian
virtue ethics, Hume’s moral psychology, Hobbes’ moral psychology, and feminist care
ethics.
II. Required Text
Kim-chong Chong, Early Confucian Ethics: Concepts and Arguments. Chicago: Open
Court, 2007.
JeeLoo Liu, An introduction to Chinese philosophy: from ancient philosophy to Chinese
Buddhism. Blackwell Publisher, 2006
Wing-Tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton University Press,
1963.
III. Objectives
1. Acquire basic understanding of Mencius’ and Xunzi’s ethical views and the major
concepts at play.
2. Compare these two ethical views, and compare them with several other ethical
theories.
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3. Learn to read philosophical text closely, discuss philosophical issues, form good
arguments, and think critically.
4. Learn to express ideas, communicate, and explain concepts in English.
IV. Course Requirement
1. Quiz
2. Question sheet, discussion sheet, and participation
3. Midterm exam
4. Group presentation
(10%)
(30%)
(30%)
(30%)
No work can be turned in late unless in cases of emergencies or with
permission beforehand.
1. Quiz
To make sure students follow up with the material before each class, starting from the
second week of the semester, there will be brief in-class quizzes almost every week.
2. Question sheet, discussion sheet, and participation
Question sheet: To facilitate learning and participation in discussions, starting from
the second week of the semester, each week students need to write down one question
about the reading assigned for that week with some initial discussion on this question.
This sheet will need to be emailed to our assistant at or before 5pm on Wednesdays.
Discussion sheet: To further understanding of the material, in the discussion sections
students will work on a discussion sheet, and turn it in at the time assigned.
Participation: Discussion is an important way to help yourself and others understand
the material. Students’ participation in class discussions are required and highly
encouraged.
3. Midterm exam (11/06, subject to change)
4. Group presentation (1/8 and 1/15, subject to change)
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