Exam 11: Non-Western Philosophy

Western philosophers have tended to dismiss

The Buddhist doctrine of anatman implies that

People in Mexico and South America shared the belief that time and reality had three levels:

Ancestors play a distinctive role in religious traditions in Africa and China and many islands of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia.

According to Confucius, the virtue of practicing rituals is important because

The aim of this chapter has been to make us more aware "of the peculiarities and limitations of our own ways of thinking and, especially, of how that thinking has been shaped and perhaps even distorted by the particular features of our tradition" (p. 346). These peculiarities and limitations are traced back to differences in culture, race, and ethnicity. Write an essay looking at how the nondominant traditions explored in this chapter challenge three or more of these "limited" assumptions made by Western philosophers regarding two or more of the big questions addressed in this text, including the meaning of life, the Good Life, and the nature of God, reality, self, and freedom. Be specific: how do the nondominant traditions explored in this chapter challenge assumptions that philosophers have made regarding these questions? Could the Western philosopher(s)answer any of these challenges, either by defending his assumptions or by revising them in light of the non-Western views developed in this chapter? In other words, is it possible to revise Western philosophy to eliminate its cultural, racial, and ethnic biases? How? Again, be specific.

According to the Vedas , the self that we recognize within ourselves is ultimately atman, and atman is not separate from Brahman, the fundamental reality.

Native Americans tended to view nature as

Confucius believed that true nobility and excellence in personal character depended on personal merit, not noble birth.

The oldest philosophical text is the

The project of inserting non-Western philosophy into the curriculum is challenging because the mainstream Western tradition may already have pervaded or transformed every other tradition that we might try to read.

For Daoism, wuwei involves acting nonassertively, taking one's cues from one's situation and going with the flow.

Buddhism is focused on achieving liberation from suffering and misery by experiencing an inner transformation.

According to the Indian idea of karma, every action bears fruit, leaving residues in the mind, especially the unconscious mind.

Confucius's concept of "the attunement of names" implies that using euphemisms like "collateral damage" is an attempt to avoid moral responsibility for the consequences of our actions.

In Mahayana Buddhism, a Bodhisattva

In Hindu tradition, an avatar is a god incarnating in human form. For example, Krishna is an avatar of the god Vishnu.

By advising Arjuna to approach the battle using karma yoga, Krishna is recommending that Arjuna

Which of the following is not one of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism?

Like Confucians, Daoists emphasize the importance of ritual actions.