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CCOG for PHL 210 Spring 2024

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Course Number:
PHL 210
Course Title:
Introduction to Asian Philosophy
Credit Hours:
4
Lecture Hours:
40
Lecture/Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Introduces the non-dualistic philosophies of India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, which offer a complementary approach to Greco-Euro-American traditions in logic, ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics. Prerequisites: WR 115, RD 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement test scores. Audit available.

Addendum to Course Description

The course is designed to outline philosophical principles and themes central to Indian and Asian thought, and to trace the evolution of these ideas which resulted from the various cultures through which they passed. Toward this end, the course will incorporate cultural aspects of the philosophical traditions studied, which both shape and express their distinct world views.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

  • Articulate key philosophical arguments in the field of Asian philosophy.
  • Identify the influence of culturally based perspectives, values and beliefs to examine how diverse philosophical perspectives affect human experience.
  • Construct arguments on issues dealing with Asian philosophy using critical reasoning to identify and investigate philosophical theses and evaluate information and its sources.
  • Respond to arguments on issues dealing with Asian philosophy using critical reasoning to identify and investigate philosophical theses and evaluate information and its sources.

Integrative Learning

Students completing an associate degree at Portland Community College will be able to reflect on one’s work or competencies to make connections between course content and lived experience.

General education philosophy statement

Philosophy courses ask students to use critical thinking and reasoning skills in multiple ways: to identify the content, structure, and influence of beliefs, to examine how diverse philosophical perspectives affect human experience, and to construct and respond to arguments on a variety of philosophical issues. They encourage students to both create and understand their and others’ frameworks of meaning, and to use this new understanding in their own lived experience.

Course Activities and Design

The course will be conducted in both the standard classroom and distance learning settings.  It will involve lectures, discussions, and other assignments such as exams and papers.

Outcome Assessment Strategies

Assessment strategies will include some of the following:

  •  Essays in the form of inclass exams, short papers, or term papers
  • Short-answer exams
  • Student presentations
  • Group and individual projects
  • Class and small group discussions
  • Portfolios
  • Service learning projects
  • Participation in field trips
  • Attendance

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)

Course Content

Themes, Concepts, Issues

The course will focus on some or all of the following topics and issues:

  • The non-dualistic philosophies of India, China, Japan, and South East Asia
  • Comparison of the above traditions to Western traditions in logic, ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics
  • The interplay between philosophical ideas and other cultural aspects of the civilizations that give rise to them

 Competencies and Skills:

  • Students will learn to do some or all of the following:
  • Read and analyze primary and secondary source literatures from Asian traditions
  • Reflective reading, listening, thinking, writing, and speaking about Asian philosophical traditions
  • Extrapolate from philosophical ideas to situations that arise in students= own lives
  • Discuss and write about the cultural influences that have shaped their own intellectual perspectives, concepts, and values