Topics for Paper I, PHIL213 Asian Philosophy

Due Friday, January 23, 2009, in class.

• Double-spaced, 2-3 pages. (You may use parenthetical notation to indicate page numbers for textual references.)
• Be sure to write your name; the name of the class, GTF, and section meeting time; and the title of your topic at the top of the page.
• I encourage you to discuss these topics with one another.
• I also strongly encourage you to read the essays on my Writing web pages, especially "Four Keys to Writing in the Humanities," "Paper Writing Guidelines," "Checklist for Papers," and "Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness."

Topics

1. Compare the creation account in the Rig Veda (Course Reader selection 1) with Genesis from the Hebrew Bible (see below):

Genesis (World English Bible: http://ebible.org/bible/web/Genesis.htm)

1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God's Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.

1:3 God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 1:4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 1:5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." There was evening and there was morning, one day.

1:6 God said, "Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." 1:7 God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 1:8 God called the expanse "sky." There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

1:9 God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;" and it was so. 1:10 God called the dry land "earth," and the gathering together of the waters he called "seas." God saw that it was good. 1:11 God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth;" and it was so. 1:12 The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 1:13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

Discuss both similarities and differences. In particular, discuss how they differ not only in the content of ideas but also in the ways of thinking represented by the two texts.

2. Compare Kierkegaard's account of Abraham as the"Knight of Faith" in Fear and Trembling (CR5) with Krishna's view of what Arjuna should be as the ideal warrior in the Bhagavad Gita (CR3) What are their similarities and differences, in particular with respect to the theme of attachment?

3. In the episode of Krishna and Arjuna from the Bhagavad Gita (CR3), duty to one's role in society is extolled as the path to liberation. In the episode of Krishna and the gopis (milk maidens) from the Gita Govinda, Krishna seduces the gopis to violate their duty to their husbands. Yet, he explains that he did this precisely to lead them to liberation (CR4, pp. 348-349). Are the views attributed to Krishna in these two works of literature contradictory, or can they be reconciled?