Term PaperThe specific requirements, method of evaluation, manners of support and distinctive options for your term paper that are listed here will remain consistent from the beginning of the course and the Term Paper’s due date in the last week of the semester.REQUIREMENTSThe term paper must make an argument with the following parts in approximately 2000 words:Introduction: states the main argument and explains how it will be argued;Interpretive Sub-Argument: interprets the meaning of a primary source and provides textual evidence from a primary source to support this interpretation;Evaluative Sub-Argument: evaluates the significance of a primary source and provides persuasive reasons to support this evaluation;Conclusion: re-states the main argument and its significance.Bibliography: lists all sources viewed for preparation and cited in this paper.Note: No paper can be accepted without a bibliography. The citation format is flexible, so long as references include page numbers where appropriate and online sources are listed with functioning URLs. If you do not already know a citation style, you can refer to the Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide to use its simple author-date format.EVALUATIONThe term paper is worth 42% of your final grade with 2% earned through participation in the Incentives Program’s online Workshop linked in Module 2 and the remaining 40% earned by the submitted paper itself. Every successful term paper for this course will demonstrate the skills of argumentation, interpretation and critique, as explained and trained in the workshops and assignment rubric. You can download and refer to this PDF of the term paper grading guidelines that will be used to grade your assignment. Each day of lateness without appropriate documentation (see Instructor’s Policies in the Course Outline) will deduct one gradepoint (e.g. A to A-, A- to B+, B+ to B, etc.) from the grade earned by the assignment itself.TERM PAPER TOPIC OPTIONSYou are to choose one (1) of the following topics for your term paper. The topic options cover both the geographical and the thematic scope of the course with a view to allowing you to focus on the parts of the course that interest you the most. Each topic option has an interpretive part, which asks you to say something about the philosophical position of a figure in a primary historical source, and an evaluative part, which asks you to offer a reasoned judgment of that philosophical position. The secondary source interpretation of that position indicated in the option you choose (regardless of whether the secondary source is a recent interpretation, e.g. Goodman, or a more ancient interpretation, e.g. Shankara) can be incorporated in either or both of these parts.Note: Options I-IV use sources from South Asian philosophy and Options V-VIII use sources from East Asian philosophy.Option I What ethical position does Yama propose in the Katha Upanishad? Do you agree or disagree with this position and why? In your paper, discuss the connection that Shankara draws between this ethical position and the nature of the self in his interpretation of the chariot analogy.Option II What ethical position does Yama propose in the Katha Upanishad? Do you agree or disagree with this position and why? In your paper, compare Yama’s ethical position with one (1) of the following ethical theories discussed in Goodman 2009: consequentialism, hedonism, deontology or virtue ethics.Option III What theory of self does Buddha propose in the “Setting the Dharma Wheel in Motion” and “Characteristic of Nonself” discourses? Do you agree or disagree with this theory and why? In your paper, discuss the connection that Shantideva draws between this theory of self and the ethical significance of suffering in his interpretation of the bodhisattva ideal.Option IV What ethical position does Buddha propose in the “Setting the Dharma Wheel in Motion” and “Characteristic of Nonself”? Do you agree or disagree with this position and why? In your paper, compare this ethical position with one (1) of the following ethical theories discussed in Goodman 2009: consequentialism, hedonism, deontology or virtue ethics.Option V What ethical position does Zhuangzi propose in “Section 2: Discussion on Making All Things Equal”? Do you agree or disagree with this position and why? In your paper, discuss the conceptual relationship between Zhuangzi’s ethical position and the Confucian notion of goodness (ren) described in the Analects.Option VI What theory of self does Zhuangzi propose in “Section 2: Discussion on Making All Things Equal”? Do you agree or disagree with this theory and why? In your paper, compare Zhuangzi’s theory with one (1) of the following conceptions of self discussed in Ivanhoe 2017: psychological, dualistic, extended or biological.Option VII What theory of self does Linji propose in the Record of Linji Discourses X and XII? Do you agree or disagree with this theory and why? In your paper, discuss the conceptual relationship between Linji’s theory of self and the Mahayana Buddhist notion of non-duality described in the Lankavatara Sutra.Option VIII What theory of self does Linji propose in the Record of Linji Discourses X and XXII? Do you agree or disagree with this theory and why? In your paper, compare Linji’s theory with one (1) of the following conceptions of self discussed in Ivanhoe 2017: psychological, dualistic, extended or biological.Note: These topic options will be distributed throughout the course within the summary pages at the end of the modules to which they are most relevant, so that you can think about each topic individually as you move through the course.
