Philosophy 7: Asian Philosophy (Spring 2019) Paper Guidelines
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Paper #3: Chinese Philosophy You may choose to write about either Confucianism (A) or Daoism (B). (A) Confucianism: Kongzi (Confucius) or Mengzi (Mencius) Choose something central to the Confucian texts we read: something that interests you, or confuses you, or arouses wonder in you, etc.—something that you care about. Whatever you choose, you must confine your essay to one of our authors’ texts: either Confucius’ Analects or Mencius’ Mengzi. You may choose anything you like but you may only write within the context of one of the two thinkers.
and Analyze and explain it as thoroughly and precisely as you can, staying close to the text of the author you choose (using its terminology, following its reasoning, etc.). This point is important: refer to, quote, paraphrase, and cite Confucius’ or Mencius’ text—his words, his terms, his explanations, his examples, etc.—to aid your explanation of the idea. The closer you stay to the text, the clearer your explanation will be. You may choose one from the following two options: 1) an idea or concept (e.g., Virtue [de], Benevolence [ren], “sympathetic understanding” [shu], the gentleman [junzi], the rectification of names, the “sprouts and hearts” of Virtue, the inherent goodness of human nature in Mencius, the Confucian model of virtuous/benevolent government, etc.) or 2) a passage from a particular text: The Analects or the Mengzi. (B) Daoism: Laozi or Zhuangzi Choose something central to the Daoist texts we read: something that interests you, or confuses you, or arouses wonder in you, etc.—something that you care about. Whatever you choose, you must confine your essay to one of our authors’ texts: either Laozi’s Daodejing or Zhuangzi’s Zhuangzi. You may choose anything you like but you may only write within the context of one of the two thinkers.
and Analyze and explain it as thoroughly and precisely as you can, staying close to the text of the author you choose (using its terminology, following its reasoning, etc.). This point is important: refer to, quote, paraphrase, and cite Laozi’s or Zhuangzi’s text—his words, his terms, his explanations, his examples, etc.—to aid your explanation of the idea. The closer you stay to the text, the clearer your explanation will be.
Philosophy 7: Asian Philosophy (Spring 2019) Paper Guidelines
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You may choose one from the following two options: 1) an idea or concept (e.g., nonaction [wu wei], The Way [Dao], the sage [sheng], the pivot of the Dao, the status of language in Daoism, the Daoist model model of virtuous/wu wei government, “lodging in the usual” in Zhuangzi, etc.) or 2) a passage from a particular text: The Daodejing or the Zhuangzi. Remember that these specific texts are notoriously opaque and mysterious, and their purpose seems to be, quite explicitly in some cases, to effect an experiential change in thinking on the part of the reader. So, if you choose this option, give yourself time to let the let the text affect you and wash over you. It is common that the sense of particular passages vacillates and shifts as one reads them again and again. So try—without trying, of course (i.e., in a wu wei manner)—to give yourself ample room to maneuver within the text’s mysterious spaces, as Zhuangzi’s butcher’s blade maneuver’s freely within the heavenly contours of the ox’s carcass. I want you to try to capture the essence of what you choose. You might imagine that what you are trying to do is teach someone what the idea/concept or passage means within the context of Confucianism or Daoism. I am looking for in-depth and detailed analysis/explanation. *If you choose option 1 (idea/concept): all of the ideas we have learned interpenetrate. You won’t be able to talk about one concept without talking about others. Paper Details Due Date Thursday, April 25th on Canvas by MIDNIGHT Paper Length 2.5 – 3.5 full pages of text (“full” counting from the place on the page that your first paragraph begins, not the top of the piece of paper) Paper Format Double-spaced 12-point font (use a standard font, of your choice, but nothing difficult to read, please) 1” margins Terminology Make sure your paper utilizes terminology and concepts appropriate to the thinker you choose (and REMEMBER, even though Laozi and Zhuangzi, or Confucius and Mencius, belong to the same tradition, that does NOT mean that each uses or intends each concept of the tradition in the same way. REMEMBER that you are writing within the context of the THINKER/TEXT first, and the TRADITION second, as it were).
Philosophy 7: Asian Philosophy (Spring 2019) Paper Guidelines
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Philosophical writing and reflection needs to be attentive to the specific weight that concepts have, and work that concepts do, within a particular philosopher’s thinking or text. You are expected to show this kind of attention as you write about these thinkers and texts here. Part of philosophical scholarship—the first step, really—is being able to express what a philosopher says, in his/her own words. That is what you are being asked to do here. Your interpretations come much later. *In the case you use them, know that foreign language terms are always italicized (e.g.: junzi, shu, De, ren, wu wei, Dao, etc.). AND please use the Pinyin transliteration style (see RCCP, or Google it). Textual Evidence/Citations I expect you to use the primary text, which means: offer quotes from the original text (not the introductions) that support your explanation. Please simply cite parenthetically within the body of your text (no footnotes), using the following model: For Confucius: (book #.chapter #) e.g.: (3.1)* For Mencius: (book#part#chapter#) e.g.: (6B2)* For Laozi (chapter #) e.g.: (41) For Zhuangzi (chapter #, RCCP page #) e.g.: (2, 216). *The text we are reading (RCCP) uses these forms, so if you get confused, look there. There is no need to include the book titles within you parenthetical citations. Since most students seem to be completely oblivious when it comes to in-text, parenthetical citations, here is a paradigm to follow, in terms of grammar and punctuation: …Mencius argues, “Yeah, you would save that little kid, too” (2A6). [not a real quote]. The quotation marks designate only the quoted text, and the period goes at the end of the sentence, after the parentheses. This is a rule that far too many students do not know and/or follow. (And periods and commas go inside double-quotation marks). **YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE OR CITE OUTSIDE SOURCES** Final Comments I will be grading these papers with an eye toward their presentation, which includes grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation, etc.
Philosophy 7: Asian Philosophy (Spring 2019) Paper Guidelines
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Likewise, I am looking for you to strive to articulate yourself clearly and with precision. Admittedly, this is not an easy task when it comes to philosophical issues—it takes practice and effort. I don’t expect any of you to be the next Confucius, but I am looking to see genuine effort to really grapple with the text, make important connections, follow the movement of its thinking, and attempt to offer an explanation that goes beyond a superficial reading. The point of this assignment is to help you strive toward comprehension of the material. That begins with understanding what is being said in the text you are reading. If you struggle with writing, seek help at the University Writing Center: https://pennstatelearning.psu.edu/tutoring/writing Make sure you hand in a proofread, polished, college-level essay! Good luck writing!