The
second response essay (three pages in length, typed and double spaced)
is due on the next day of class following the midterm exam, Tuesday the 19th. You should pick something that
interests you we have studied in ancient Greece (Heraclitus & Plato)
or ancient China (Confucianism & Daoism). Some possible topics you
may use include:
Is
truth relative (Heraclitus & Daoism) or absolute (Plato)? Is there
true objective knowledge, or is everything relative human opinion and
perspective?
Is Plato's Republic a good city? Is it possible?
Do
you favor Confucians who believe in study and civilization, or Daoists
who believe in meditation/forgetting and returning to nature?
Laozi
teaches us about how to rule correctly, while Zhuangzi has more faith
in individual development than society becoming decent. Which do you
favor?
