I enjoyed the last session very much.So much information to cover, and I felt like we were rushing a bit when conversations segued into other topics. Oh well, even if the class were every week, I don't think it would be enough time to cover all of the possible information. I appreciated the historical overview, as it filled in some gaps from Professor Ye's lecture from the Saturday session. Professor Dube's explanations/definitions of many of the key terms, again, was helpful to me because it put the philosopies in context.

This class was very helpful. I have a much better sense of the differences between the four major schools of thought that I did not gain from the reading (as a mathemetician, my brain doesn't seem to "catch" these kinds of things readily).

The team role plays in class helped, and Clay's questions to the teams were a good way to get the class to express themselves about the different schools of thought. Also, Clay's lecture prior to the team role plays helped provide good background concerning why Chinese society evolved in ways that facilitated the appearance and spread of the major schools of thought.

I hope that the class will cover major philosophical influences in the other East Asian countries that are the focus of the class. Although I don't have a strong interest in philosophy, I am curious to see similarities and differences in whether and how other East Asian societies have been influenced by philosphers.

To the Honorable and Inimitably Fearsome Inspector General Yee:

Sir:

My father is a wicked and evil old man. Mind you, as legalist, I don't hold that against him--it's only natural for him to wish to indulge his desires, and it would be hypocritical of me to hold him to a higher standard than that to which I hold myself--at least, that is, until he runs afoul of the laws.

Take the time my father experimented with the creation of chimeras. As you are no doubt aware, the savage and carnivorous eel-osaur which he carelessly introduced into Cherry Blossom Lake created quite a bother, but since he released it before the adoption of the most excellent Law Against the Introduction of Monsters into Freshwater Bodies, it is hardly something for which we can hold him accountable.

But, regrettably, my father's interests have, of late, turned to the subject of alchemy, and I must report with at least a modicum of sadness that old Chen, who had been taking Father's special blend of lead and mercury, has passed away. Alas. And, poisoning, is, of course, already specifically against the law. Was it a mistake? You might imagine so, but I should also add that Father has lately, and with tactless haste, married the surprisingly young and toothsome widow of old Chen.

I suppose you will feel obligated to take some action in this case. To promote respect for the law, I ought also to convey that Father is currently residing his modest island home, which is in the middle of Cherry Blossom Lake. Moreover, I feel called upon to mention that the savage eel-osaur, which still infests its waters, has, of late, reputedly begun to obey Father's commands. Personally, I should not like to make the journey to investigate Father's natural but unfortunate iniquity in more detail, but this is why I am merely a humble public servant. A word to the wise--their cries grow louder just before they attack.

Sincerely,

Po

Ms. "K" and Classmates:

Given the very nature of philosophy, its abstraction makes it difficult to internalize. I am still struggling with the concept of "shadows on a cave wall." However, the Chinese philosophers seem to be a bit easier to understand(perhaps this reveals my ignorance), and I can say that I have a "nodding acquaintance" with the basic tenets of the various philosophies we covered. thanks to the reading and the follow-up lectures/explanations by Mr. Dube("Clay"). This having been said, Daoism/Taoism is still somewhat of a mystery within an enigma. I am also a bit "fuzzy" on the distinction between a "Religion" and a "Philosophy", and this begs the question of whether Buddhist belief is religious or philosophical. Hashing this out could open a real can of worms. If I understand correctly, religious belief contains aspects of the supernatural or spiritual, I think.

Walter Banta

As a Daoist, I am reluctant to answer this question as it constitutes a demonstration of knowledge, which only assure that I know not. The display of knowledge itself may be taken as some form of leadership. I assure you, I have no desire to lead.

My father has chosen a path. I do not see a law as broken because there is no law but nature, and my father followed his nature, therefore no law was broken. I will not write to the constable, I will not proceed to the court, I will not visit my father in prison. Any of these actions would facilitate further action; however, my inaction will result in the lack of action of others. The sages have told us that the more we aspire to, the less we have. Therefore, I will continue in my simple life, according to my own nature, and watch for my father.

According to my school, the Mohists, I should take two actions. First, I should report my father's violation to the government because Mohists believe in a strong government.

A government can not be strong without social order, and compliance with significant laws must exist in order to maintain social order. Without social order, government would have to spend too much time and resources on policing and clashes with civil (and perhaps criminal) unrest. Mohists place a premium on the usefulness of one's behavior to Chinese society. Violating significant laws is not useful, in Mohist's eyes, because valuable governmental resources would have to be diverted to policing individuals who have the individual capacity to behave properly. Therefore, in order to keep the government strong, by avoiding wasting resources on unnecessary law enforcement, I would report my father so that larger numbers of individuals are discouraged from engaging in the same behavior and causing sub-optimal use of government resources.

The second action I would take, however, is to petition the government to assign my father to productive use to atone for his violation of a significant law. Incarcerating my father in a way that would cause him to lose his vitality would also waste resources (namely, his ability to contribute to Chinese society).

Undoubtedly, my has some combination of intellect, physical capacity, and experience that could help the government operate more efficiently than the country would without his participation in society. Incarcerating my father in a way that would prevent him from doing anything would actually drain China's resources because the government would have to provide others to care for him (by providing food and housing, for example). Instead, by putting my father to work in some way, he can actually contribute to China's functioning rather than detract from it. Thus, assigning my father to participate in some sort of productive activity would make his punishment useful to China instead of taking utility away from China.

This is a question addressed to Prof. Dube
All of the textbooks in our school describe Daoism as a philosophy/religion that focuses almost entirely on becoming one with nature. It mentions very little about "the Dao" meaning anything else. I was wondering in i am focusing too much of my lessons on the nature aspect of Daoism. Do you have any suggestions.
thanks
tobie