2021-2022 Pierce College Catalog 
    
    Oct 06, 2024  
2021-2022 Pierce College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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PHIL 220 Introduction to Eastern Philosophy (5 credits)



Distribution Area Fulfilled Humanities; General Transfer Elective
Course Description
An introductory survey of the main philosophies in India, China and Japan. Helps students understand the philosophical similarities between these systems, especially as they relate to self, reality, value, knowledge and religion.

Student Outcomes
1. Examine the historical development of each of the traditional Asian and Indian philosophies in order to demonstrate understanding as to how later theories both differed from, and built upon, earlier theories in that tradition.
2. Identify the problems that exist in distinguishing reality from perceived reality and how these problems are addressed by philosophers.
3. Distinguish between the different ways that Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Hinduism view reality and how they reconcile the ideas of the “One” and the “many.”
4. Describe what constitutes knowledge and compare the different ways knowledge can be obtained.
5. Determine whether or not a distinction between religion and philosophy exists in the eastern philosophical traditions.
6. Examine the four noble truths and the concept of Jen (Ren) in order to evaluate how these concepts influence ethics.
7. Demonstrate understanding of the role that virtue plays in the ethical systems of these philosophies.
8. Compare and contrast the different descriptions of self in Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Hinduism.
9. Define the term “nothingness” and explain its relationship to the self.
10. Evaluate eastern attitudes on death, reincarnation and their view of the afterlife.



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