Confucius and Mencius
Winter (9 - 13.5 hours) | This course is completed
We shall read Confucius (552-497 B.C.) and Mencius (372-289 B.C.) in the translations and commentaries by D.C. Lau published in the Penguin Classics. We will examine how the ideas of these two philosophers have influenced the political thinking of China throughout its virulent history, including the actual government of the People’s Republic of China today.
- There are two required texts for this course.
DO NOT USE Werner DO NOT USE Kleinhardt
Werner is a Professor, Emeritus, of Dartmouth College. He considers himself a skeptical humanist since he survived torture and five years of the Gulag. He graduated from the College Francais in Berlin, studied history, philosophy, political sciences, classics, and European literatures. His PhD came from the University of Hamburg. He taught at the Sorbonne before coming to Dartmouth in 1965. He is the author of several fiction and non-fiction books.