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2020/2021

Theoretical Philosophy Seminar

Code: 100298 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500246 Philosophy OT 3 0
2500246 Philosophy OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
David Jorge Casacuberta Sevilla
Email:
David.Casacuberta@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Teachers

David Jorge Casacuberta Sevilla

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites, beyond genuine interest in human thought in its entirety and diversity.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The objectives of the subject are to introduce the student to the major Asian schools of thought, paying attention to the main figures while reflecting on the differences and specificities of Asian thought in relation to the Western philosophies.

Competences

    Philosophy
  • Analysing and summarising the main arguments of fundamental texts of philosophy in its various disciplines.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Identifying the main philosophical attitudes in the field of aesthetics and critically applying them in the art world.
  • Placing the most representative philosophical ideas and arguments of a period in their historical background and relating the most important authors of each period of any philosophical discipline.
  • Recognising and interpreting topics and problems of philosophy in its various disciplines.
  • Recognising the philosophical implications of the scientific knowledge.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Thinking in a critical and independent manner on the basis of the specific topics, debates and problems of philosophy, both historically and conceptually.
  • Using the symbology and procedures of the formal sciences in the analysis and building of arguments.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Accurately using the specific lexicon of science history.
  2. Analysing and summarising information.
  3. Analysing historical cases about scientific facts.
  4. Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
  5. Carrying out oral presentations using an appropriate academic vocabulary and style.
  6. Communicating in the studied language in oral and written form, properly using vocabulary and grammar.
  7. Correctly drawing up a previously analysed non-regulatory text.
  8. Demonstrating a personal stance over a problem or controversy of philosophical nature, or a work of philosophical research.
  9. Distinguishing and analysing classical and current debates of the History of Art.
  10. Distinguishing and analysing representative texts of the main genres of the philosophical literature.
  11. Documenting a philosophical issue and contrasting its sources.
  12. Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
  13. Engaging in debates about philosophical issues respecting the other participants' opinions.
  14. Explaining the specific notions of the History of Philosophy.
  15. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  16. Indicating and summarising the common content of several manifestations of various fields of culture.
  17. Judging the moral impact of new technological developments on humans.
  18. Mastering the relevant languages to the necessary degree in the professional practice.
  19. Producing an individual work that specifies the work plan and timing of activities.
  20. Recognising and using the several forms of reasoning in the history of philosophy.
  21. Reflecting on their own work and the immediate environment's in order to continuously improve it.
  22. Relating elements and factors involved in the development of scientific processes.
  23. Relating several ideas of the current philosophical debates.
  24. Relating the various orders of the philosophical ideas of different authors and historical moments.
  25. Summarising the topics and arguments exposed in a classical philosophical debate.
  26. Using specialized knowledge acquired in an interdisciplinary context when debating.
  27. Using suitable terminology when drawing up an academic text.

Content

The subject analyzes the following sections:

Prof. Vallverdú

  1.      Brief introduction to the notion of "Asian thought": geography, culture, cognition.
  2.      Hinduism
  3.      Taoism
  4.      Confucianism
  5.      A taste of contemporary Japanese thinking: the Kyoto School as a global philosophical spur?



Prof. Casacuberta:

  1.      Introduction to Buddhist philosophy
  2.      Analysis of the different schools of Buddhist thought
  3.      Zen Buddhism as a philosophy
  4.      Introduction to Dogen's thought
  5.      Asian Thoughts in the 21st Century: Neuroscience, Robotics and Spirituality.

Methodology

The methodology of the course follows three methodologies:

  1. Guided activities: through master classes, discussions and analysis of the history of Eastern thought. These sessions will be supported by compulsory readings, facilitated by the teacher. These activities total approximately one third of the total work required.
  2. Supervised activities: under the supervision of the faculty will be discussed during the face-to-face sessions aspects related to the ideas presented. It is important for students to plan up-to-date and expanded monitoring of teaching content in order to make consistent and consistent contributions to the syllabus.
  3. Autonomous activities: those carried out by the student on their own account in accordance with the requirements of the subject, in order to successfully overcome it. This includes basic readings, readings of the necessary materials to prepare the exercises mentioned, study of class notes, etc. It must be said that this activity demands a daily responsibility and at the same time a coherent approach to the distribution of the resolution of teaching loads.

 

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Theoretical classes 50 2 14, 22
Type: Supervised      
Class discussions 22.5 0.9 2, 26, 8, 10, 11, 18, 12, 6, 5, 15, 13, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 1
Type: Autonomous      
Autonomous work and writing philosophical assignments 70 2.8 4, 11, 19, 12, 6, 27, 15, 7, 22, 25

Assessment

The evaluation system accountstwo different types of tasks:

1. Partial test exams (although some other modality may be followed, if the teacher considers it appropriate) in which an error rests the correct answer (2 errors = 1 correct discounted) . These exams have a weight of 50% of the scores.

2. Assignments of philosophical development of the ideas explained during classes. They are the 50% of the scores.

A student will not be evaluated if (s)he has not done at least 50% of the mentioned activities.

Only the two exams are revaluable in the indicated official period.

Reassessments can not be accessed for improving the final scores.
 
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Partial test exams (x2) 50% (25%+25%) 3.5 0.14 3, 2, 4, 10, 11, 14, 15, 21, 23, 24, 22, 25
Writing a thinking assignment (2) 50% (25%+25%) 4 0.16 3, 2, 16, 4, 26, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 14, 12, 6, 5, 27, 15, 17, 13, 20, 7, 21, 23, 24, 22, 25, 1

Bibliography

Anonymous,  I Ching.

Anonymous Mahabharata.

Casacuberta, David (2011)  (ed)  "Pensament oriental i ciències cognitives", Enrahonar. Num 47.

Deshimaru, Taisen (200) Zen verdadero: Introducción al Shobogenzo. Barcelona: Kairós

Heisig, J. W. (2001) Philosophers of nothingness: an essay on the Kyoto school, University of Hawaii Press.

Heisig, J. W., Kasulis, T. P., Maraldo, J. C., & García, R. B. (Eds.). (2016) La filosofía japonesa: en sus textos, Herder Editorial SL.

Diamond, Jared (1999) Guns, Germs and Steel. The Fates of Human Societies, NY: W.W. Norton.

Kalternmark, M. (1982) La filosofía china, Madrid: Morata.

Laozi Dao de jing.

Lloyd, G.E.R. (2002) The Ambitions of Curiosity. Understanding the World in Ancient Greence and China, Oxford: Cambridge Universy Press.

Lopez, Donald S. (2001) The story of buddhism. A concise guide to its history & teachings. San Francisco: Harper.

Loy, David (1999) No Dualidad. Barcelona: Kairós

Mongzi Els quatre llibres

Needham, Joseph (1954) Science and Civilisation in China. Oxford: OUP. 27 vol. 

Nisbet, Richard E. (2004) The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why, USA: Free Press.

Okumura, Shohaku (2010) Realizing genjokoan: the key to Dogen's Shobogenzo. Boston: Wisdom Publications.

Shibayama, Zenkei (2005) Labarrera sin puerta: comentarios zen al Mumonkan. Barcelona: La Liebre de Marzo

Siderits, Mark (2007) Buddhism as philosophy. Indianapolis:Hackett.

Tashi Tsering, Gueshe (2007) Estudio de la mente: Psicología Budista. Ciutadella: Ediciones Amara.

Tola, Fernando & Dragonetti, Carmen Leonor (1983) Filosofía y literatura de la India, Buenos Aires: Kier.

Tola, Fernando & Dragonetti, Carmen Leonor (2008) Filosofia de la India: Del Veda Al Vedanta, Barcelona: Kairós.

Uchiyama Roshi, Kosho (2005) How to cook your life: from the zen kitchen to enlightenment. Boston: Shambala.

Vallverdú, J. (2011) “The Eastern Construction of the Artificial Mind”, Enrahonar, 47: 171-185. 

Vallverdu, J. (2017) "Brains, language and the argumentative mind in Western and Eastern societies. The fertile differences between Western-Eastern argumentative traditions", Progress in biophysics and molecular biology, 131, 424-431.

Wallace, Alan (2006) The attention revolution. Boston: Wisdom Publications.