Confucius, 551-479 BCE             Aristotle, 384-322 BCE
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Course Description

Focusing on Confucius's The Analects and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, this colloquium will examine the philosophical and ethical underpinnings of everyday behavior in the East and the West. Through a close examination of Confucian and Aristotelian ethics we will explore some of life's fundamental questions: What does it mean to live a good life? What would virtuous people do for their parents, their friends, or themselves? Can a virtuous person be virtuous in the West as well as in the East? Does virtue matter in the pursuit of prudence, fidelity, and even material success? In this course we will try to understand the different answers that are possible to these perennial questions.

Required Reading Materials

1. The Analects of Confucius. Tr. Roger Ames and H. Rosemont. 1998.
2. Nicomachean Ethics, 2nd Ed. Tr. Terence Irwin. 1999.
3. Handouts, or websites.
4. Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual (St. Martin's, 2004, Fourth Edition). This is a reading for all Freshmen as a preparation for scholarly writing.