PP3ECP: Early Chinese Philosophy

Module code: PP3ECP

Module provider: Philosophy; School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Professor John Preston, email: j.m.preston@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module will introduce you to the early history of Chinese philosophy, including the early Confucian and daoist traditions. It fits into our graduated, supervised programme for developing independent-learning skills. It builds on our Part 2 provision in particular by deepening your understanding of the history of philosophy, in this case Chinese philosophy, across core areas such as moral, social and political philosophy, as well as metaphysics and epistemology. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Relate the work of renowned early Chinese philosophers to that of other such thinkers
2. Relate the work of renowned early Chinese philosophers to philosophers in the Western philosophical tradition
3. Demonstrate effective communication skills by presenting and defending your understanding of early Chinese philosophers in writing
4. Demonstrate effective oral communication skills through participation in discussion and questioning in both lectures and seminars

Module content

The module begins with an introduction to the background of the thinkers in question. This is followed by an introduction to central texts such as the Analects of Confucius, the writings of Mencius, and the critique of Confucian thinking by Mozi. In the second half of the term, we study Xunzi, Han Feizi, the Daodejing, and the writings of Zhuangzi. We will look primarily at their claims about reality, knowledge, the mind, language, and social/political organisation.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module is taught by lectures and seminars. Students are expected to attend 18 hours of lectures and 8 hours of seminars during the term in which the module’s lecture and seminar classes take place. All students are required to write two essays chosen from a list of questions supplied by the module convenor. In addition, students will be required to write a short précis of the topic for discussion in each seminar class. Students are encouraged to be active in all classes, asking questions and trying to answer the questions posed by others. A reading list and sample questions will be made available to students at the start of the course. 

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

The module will feature two hour-long pre-submission feedback sessions, in weeks prior to the two assignment deadlines. In those classes, students will be required to bring plans of the assignment-titles they have chosen to write on, and will be given feedback on those plans by the module convenor.

Reassessment

Additional costs