Free About 1 hr0 learners Rev. 2026-10-11 0

Is a good society built mostly on good laws, or on good habits learned at home? Chinese thinkers argued about that more than two thousand years ago, and the argument still sounds familiar. In India, around the same time, others asked whether there is any lasting self at all, and gave answers that still unsettle readers.

This course takes those conversations on their own terms: Confucius and his rivals, the strange humor of Zhuangzi, the Buddha's diagnosis of suffering, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. It is also frank about where each tradition has been criticized, and about why the label “Eastern” hides as much as it shows.

Levels

  1. 1 1. What “Eastern Philosophy” Means 5-question quiz
  2. 2 2. Confucius and the Analects 5-question quiz
  3. 3 3. Mencius and Xunzi on Human Nature 5-question quiz
  4. 4 4. Daoism: Laozi and Zhuangzi 5-question quiz
  5. 5 5. Mohists and Legalists 5-question quiz
  6. 6 6. Buddhism 5-question quiz
  7. 7 7. Indian Philosophy Beyond Buddhism 5-question quiz
  8. 8 8. Later Developments and East-West Dialogue 5-question quiz

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