The take home exam is due on Friday April 29, 2022 by 6:00 PM. It must be submitted electronically on D2L (a submission folder will be created shortly). A late penalty of 5% per 24-hour slot as of 6:01PM on Friday April 29, 2022 will be applied, but exams submitting after 11.59PM on May 2 will not be accepted.
Part I: Short Answer Questions (35%)
Answer any seven of the following ten questions in one short paragraph. Make sure to provide textual evidence in support of all of your claims – text title and page number must be provided for any direct citation or paraphrase:
- Why does Confucius think “filial piety and obedience to elders” is so fundamental? What relation are these principles supposed to bear to the core virtue of ren ¾ or ‘benevolence’?
- In what sense is the Daoist sage supposed to be infant-like? How does this relate to the broader worldview propounded in the Daodejing?
- In the Chāndogya-Upaniṣad, Uddalāka Āruṇi addresses this famous line to his son, “That’s how you are, Śvetaketu.” What is Āruṇi saying exactly? And how does this connect to the Upaniṣad-s’ broader teachings?
- What does the Buddha think is required, according to the opening sections of the Mahavāgga, for a person to be “freed”?
- In his Gāthā-s, Zarathustra equates the good with truth, evil with falsehood. Explain/elaborate.
- What are the principal differences between the accounts of world’s creation according to Genesis, chapter1 versus chapter 2?
- What element does Heraclitus think represents the basic ‘material’ of which the cosmos is constituted? How does this connect to his broader worldview?
- Parmenides writes: “Never shall this prevail, that things that are not are” (Text 16). What reasoning supports this, and where does this idea in turn lead him?
- What, according to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, is the difference between ‘instrumental’ goods and the ‘final’ good? What reason does he give for regarding happiness as the latter?
- What is royal road to achieving tranquility according to Epictetus’s Discourses? And how is what traveling this road require similar to what the athlete or musician have to do to be successful?
Part II: Essay (65%)
Choose one of the following essay topics:
- “The life of true philosophy is the only one to look down upon offices of state; and access to power must be confined to men who are not in love with it; otherwise rivals will start fighting. So whom else can you compel to undertake the guardianship of the commonwealth, if not those who, besides understanding the principles of government, enjoy a nobler life than the politician’s and look for rewards of a different kind?” (Plato, The Republic, Chapter VII). Discuss, situating Plato’s claim in the broader context of his ‘Allegory of the cave’ under its metaphysical and political aspects.
- “Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things, but to fulfill them” (Gospel of Matthew 5:17). Discuss, making sure to relate Jesus’ message to the ethical principles laid down in the Hebrew Bible (though you may go significantly beyond doing just this).
- “[A]lways working, ever at rest” (Augustine, The Confessions, Chapter IV). Discuss, establishing parallels with similar ideas either in the Daodejing, inthe Bhagavad- Gītā, or in both of these texts.
Further Instructions for the essay: standard essay format (introduction-body-conclusion); provide your sources wherever appropriate (viz., when attributing a particular view/doctrine/claim to a school/author, not only when you use direct citations); referencing volume title and page number suffices (no bibliography or detailed reference is required); minimum 1,000 words, maximum 1,350 words (provide word count); do not cite sources external to the course readings.
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