Instruction:
This is a course work. You are to choose 3 topics to write out the 6 choices below with the instruction that follow. Each of these pieces of essay must me between 910-1200 words.
Proper citation ought to provide page number locations for cited ideas or texts. Citing the whole article will often not be specific enough, unless it is an internet source with no page numbers, in which case referring to the source without the page numbers will suffice. Internet sources must be properly cited with in-text citations and the appropriate entry in the bibliography that states the URL. All wording used from other sources must be in quotations with references provided.
When writing your essay, do not copy material from other sources without putting the words in quotations and also copying the reference information—even when making your notes for a paper. Any material that is copied from another source and makes it into your essay without giving proper credit constitutes plagiarism. Proper credit consists in putting quotation marks around borrowed wording while citing the author, or citing an author if you are using their ideas. Even if you change the wording of the quote, you ought to give credit to the original author. Failure to give credit to the original author while changing the wording also constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarism is a type of theft and deception: theft and deception do not go along with learning and personal accomplishment.
Please structure your paper with the following headings: (1) Introduction, (2) Explication, (3) Main Argument, (4) Response to Objections, (5) Conclusion. Essays without these headings are harder to read. Your grader has the right to give a paper without headings a grade of C or lower if he or she cannot make out the paper’s argument structure.
Topics to choose from:
- Compare and contrast the philosophies of mind of Early Buddhists and the Yoga Sūtra.
According to the early Buddhist, there is no self independent of the flux of nature. The Yoga Sūtra, in contrast, holds that there is such a self. Where do they differ, where do they overlap. Which account is superior?
- Compare and contrast the moral philosophy of Early Buddhism and the Yoga Sūtra with respect to their conceptions of the self. Are there ethical reasons to believe in the existence of selves over and above suffering mental states? If so, why. If not, why not.
- Summarize and critically evaluate the Tao Te Ching’s views on values. Is Lao Tzu correct that our problems come from over-thinking? Is passivity always better than determined action?
- Critically evaluate or defend the relationship between the early Buddhist conception of the self and its picture of ethics. Are Buddhists correct in thinking that a belief in karma, and hence the goodness and badness of actions, follows from their analysis of the relationship between dependent origination and the duḥkka that arises from desire? Explain.
- Compare the early and latter Buddhist philosophy by contrasting Pali Canon Buddhism with the
writings of Nagarjuna. Does Nagarjuna’s “Middle Most” philosophy lead to a different ethical perspective than the one we find in the Pali Canon in the form of the Eight Fold Path?
- Chinese Chan Buddhists debated the question of whether enlightenment can be sudden or gradual. Many came to the conclusion that it can be sudden. Is this consistent with the principle of dependent origination and the associated doctrine of karma? Explain your answer by reference to our readings.
