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Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition Taught By Professor Grant Hardy, Ph.D.

, Yale University, University of orth !arolina at "sheville #estern $hiloso$hy is a vast intellectual tradition, the $roduct of thousands of years of revolutionary thought %uilt u$ %y a rich collection of %rilliant &inds. #hen &ost of us study $hiloso$hy, 'e(re focusing only on the #estern intellectual tradition %rought a%out %y $eo$le such as "ristotle, Descartes, and iet)sche. But to understand the #estern intellectual tradition is to only get half of the story. *ust as i&$ortant, and +ust as valid a contri%ution to $hiloso$hy, is the Eastern intellectual tradition. Eastern $hiloso$hy is also the $roduct of thousands of years of thought and 'as also %uilt u$ %y a distinct grou$ of %rilliant thin,ers. "&ong these are the Buddha, !onfucius, Gandhi, and -arathustra. Their ideas de&onstrate fascinating, 'holly different 'ays of a$$roaching, understanding, and solving the sa&e funda&ental .uestions that concerned the #est(s greatest thin,ers, such as the the the the the the e/istence of God, &eaning of life, nature of truth and reality, organi)ation of govern&ent and society, significance of suffering, and roots of a 'ell0lived life.

To e/$lore Eastern $ers$ectives on these issues is to e&%ar, on an illu&inating +ourney into the heart of grand, %ut often unfa&iliar, civili)ations. It(s also a thought0$rovo,ing 'ay to understand the sur$rising connections and differences %et'een East and #est, and to strengthen your ,no'ledge of cultures that $lay increasingly i&$ortant roles in our glo%ali)ed 12st0century 'orld. Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition is an e$ic, co&$rehensive survey of the East(s &ost influential $hiloso$hers and thin,ers. In 34 lectures, a'ard0'inning Professor Grant Hardy of the University of orth !arolina at "sheville introduces you to the &en and 'o&en res$onsi%le for &olding "sian $hiloso$hy and for giving %irth to a 'ide variety of s$iritual and ideological syste&s, including Hinduis&, Daois&, !onfucianis&, 5ufis&,

and Buddhis&. By focusing on these ,ey thin,ers in their historical conte/ts, you(ll 'itness the develo$&ent of these rich traditions as they sha$ed and defined Eastern cultures through the rise and fall of e&$ires, the friendly and hostile encounters 'ith each other and 'ith the #estern 'orld, and the ra$id advance&ents of the &odern age. Eastern Philoso$hy Made !lear #hen co&$ared 'ith the #est, Eastern $hiloso$hical thought is &uch &ore ine/trica%ly lin,ed 'ith s$iritual conce$ts and %eliefs. To hel$ you &a,e sense of the unfa&iliar nature of Eastern $hiloso$hy and its strong ties 'ith s$irituality, Professor Hardy has organi)ed this course into four %asic $arts. Part 6ne traces the origins of Eastern $hiloso$hy in the cos&ological and theological vie's that arose in India and !hina %eginning around 2177 B.!., including Buddhis&, *ainis&, !onfucianis&, and Daois&. Part T'o e/$lores the fa&ous develo$ers of legalis&, Mahayana and !hinese Buddhis&, yoga, and other intellectual schools that e&erged during the age of early Eastern e&$ires and %uilt on the foundations of the $ast. Part Three focuses on the great thin,ers 'ho flourished starting in the early 21th century, &any of 'hose schools of thought8including 5i,his&, 9edanta Hinduis&, and eo0!onfucianis&8revolutioni)ed cultural notions of society, aesthetics, and faith. Part :our delves into the &odern era, 'hen the convergence of East and #est s$urred the develo$&ent of $hiloso$hical %eliefs that %eca&e even &ore $olitici)ed and %lended 'ith inde$endence &ove&ents and that reacted to ideologies such as !o&&unis& and ca$italis&. In &ost lectures, Professor Hardy focuses on t'o ,ey individuals, often ta,ing a co&$arative a$$roach to their lives, their vie's, and their legacies on various schools of thought. The result is a learning e/$erience that &a,es a see&ingly inti&idating stretch of ti&e and a diverse cast of characters a$$roacha%le and understanda%le. Throughout your chronological +ourney, you(ll s$end a &a+ority of ti&e a&ong the three &a+or countries that for& the core of the Eastern intellectual tradition, e/$loring their uni.ue $hiloso$hical the&es and s$iritual $aths. India; The conce$ts of reincarnation, cos&ic +ustice, and li%eration< a focus on logical analysis and direct insight =often achieved through yoga or &editation>< the union of religion and $olitics< and &ore. !hina; " constant a$$eal to the $ast in guiding the $resent< $ractical vie's that highlight har&ony, %alance, and social order< a ,een a$$reciation of the cycles of nature< a for& of $olitics that %alances legal constraints 'ith $ersonal ethics< and &ore.

*a$an; The ada$tation and transfor&ation of !onfucianis&< a distinct $hiloso$hy of aesthetics< a focus on grou$ identity and consensus< an o$enness to ada$tation fro& the #estern 'orld< and &ore. You(ll also travel to $laces li,e ?orea, Ti%et, and Iran, e/$loring their o'n contri%utions to the East(s grand $hiloso$hical dialogue. Meet :a&iliar8and Unfa&iliar8Geniuses 5o 'ho e/actly are the greatest &inds in Eastern $hiloso$hical thought@ #hile there are $ro%a%ly too &any to count, Professor Hardy focuses on several do)en &a+or figures 'ho have had the greatest i&$act on "sian intellectual history, and 'hose influence has often e/tended %eyond cultural %orders. AI a& confident that the great &inds 'ho have %een included in this course 'ill give you a %asic understanding of "sian intellectual history and a good foundation for further studies,A he says. "&ong the &any sages, &ystics, $oets, revolutionaries, critics, novelists, $oliticians, and scientists you encounter in Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition are so&e you &ay have heard of %efore %ut have never gotten an in0de$th introduction to. -arathustra; This ancient Persian $riest 'as the father of -oroastrianis&, a %elief syste& that s$read throughout the near East and $arts of the #est. -arathustra(s greatest insight 'as that the universe is characteri)ed %y dualis&, 'ith good and evil loc,ed in a cos&ic conflict in 'hich individuals &ust choose one side or the other. The Buddha; Born 5iddhartha Gauta&a around B43 B.!., the Buddha achieved a $rofound state of enlighten&ent after &editating under a %odhi tree. "lthough he retained classical ideas fro& Hinduis&, he shar$ly differed fro& it 'hen he taught that nothing has a soul and that any gras$ing at $er&anence ends in suffering and failure. !onfucius; " conte&$orary of the Buddha, !onfucius is the &ost significant $hiloso$her in !hinese history. He develo$ed a $rogra& for lifelong &oral gro'th that 'ould influence the culture for &ore than a thousand years. !onfucius sa' the ans'er to the increased violence and la'lessness of his society as rooted in the social standards of sages, not revelation. Gandhi; Best ,no'n for the conce$t of satyagraha =nonviolent resistance>, this Indian inde$endence fighter changed his $hiloso$hical ideas over ti&e in res$onse to $articular situations. His overarching goal, ho'ever, 'as a &ore hu&ane 'ay of life %ased on self0govern&ent, self0sufficiency, and a dee$ connection to one(s co&&unity.

Many of the great &inds in this course 'ill undou%tedly %e ne' to you, %ut des$ite their unfa&iliarity, you(ll learn that their lives and vie's held +ust as $rofound an influence on the course of Eastern $hiloso$hy and history. :our of the &any figures you(ll co&e face to face 'ith are "sho,a, the Indian ruler and Buddhist convert 'hose role in the s$read of Buddhis& is si&ilar to that of E&$eror !onstantine(s in !hristianity< Prince 5hoto,u, one of the &ost ad&ired individuals in *a$an and author of a 2C0article constitution that, unli,e the U.5. !onstitution, 'as a list of &oral in+unctions on leadershi$< Patan+ali, the Indian $hiloso$her 'ho develo$ed yoga as a &eans not for stress reduction or fle/i%ility %ut for $eo$le to esca$e life(s suffering and achieve s$iritual li%eration< and ana,, a conte&$orary of Martin Duther 'ho %eca&e the first 5i,h guru and taught that salvation co&es 'hen the soul, after cycles of reincarnation, is finally united 'ith the 6ne God. " Po'erful Gate'ay into Eastern Thought Professor Hardy is reno'ned for his e/$ertise on Eastern culture and his $assionate teaching s,ills. The University of orth !arolina at "sheville honored hi& 'ith its distinguished Teacher "'ard for the "rts and Hu&anities :aculty, and na&ed hi& to a $restigious Euth and Deon :eld&an Professorshi$. #hether he(s descri%ing the tiniest evolutionary change in *a$anese $hiloso$hical schools, unearthing the hidden $earls of 'isdo& in ancient !hinese ,oans and $oe&s, or %rea,ing do'n the co&$le/ities of the Hindu $antheon, Professor Hardy is an authoritative guide 'ho 'ill no dou%t intrigue and enlighten you. 6ften regarded as i&$enetra%le, Eastern $hiloso$hy is sur$risingly &ore accessi%le =and so&eti&es &ore fa&iliar> than you &ay have i&agined. "nd Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition is a $o'erful gate'ay into a uni.ue collection of custo&s, ideas, %eliefs, and attitudes8and the %rilliant individuals res$onsi%le for the&. "%out Your Professor Dr. Grant Hardy is Professor of History and Eeligious 5tudies and Director of the Hu&anities Progra& at the University of orth !arolina at "sheville. He earned his B.". in "ncient Gree, fro& Brigha& Young University and his Ph.D. in !hinese Danguage and Diterature fro& Yale University. Professor Hardy has received a 'ealth of a'ards and accolades for %oth his teaching and his scholarshi$. "t the University of orth !arolina, he 'on the 1771 Distinguished Teacher "'ard for the "rts and Hu&anities :aculty, and he 'as na&ed to a Euth and Deon :eld&an Professorshi$ for 177F to 1727.

He also received a research grant fro& the ational Endo'&ent for the Hu&anities, and he $artici$ated in scholarly sy&$osia at $restigious universities around the 'orld, including Harvard University and the University of Heidel%erg. Professor Hardy has 'ritten, co'ritten, or edited si/ %oo,s, including #orlds of Bron)e and Ba&%oo; 5i&a Gian(s !on.uest of History< The Esta%lish&ent of the Han E&$ire and I&$erial !hina< and the first volu&e of the 6/ford History of Historical #riting. In addition, he has 'ritten or revised a &a+ority of the articles on i&$erial !hina for the #orld Boo, Encyclo$edia

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