Spring 2020 / Ashoka University / Foundation Course: Mind & Behaviour / FC006-1

Human Nature
Professor: Kranti Saran TFs: Jishnu Ghose,
[email protected] [email protected]
Lecture: MW 14:50–16:20, AC02-LT109 Sections: TBA
Office Hours: MW 17:00-18:00, AC02-310 Office Hours: TBA
and by appointment
Class webpage: https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/1802251

Course Description
What kind of creature are you? A human being, no doubt. But what kind of creature
is that? How should such a creature live? We will critically explore influential models
of human nature in the Indic and Western philosophical traditions and their profound
implications both for how we ought to live and our place in the social world. Read-
ings include selections from the Upanishads, Vasisṭḥa’s Yoga, Plato, Aristotle, Hume,
Freud, Mill, Railton, Śāntideva, Korsgaard, Foot, O’Neill, Frye, Kahneman, Haidt,
Milgram, Hobbes, Rawls, Bilgrami and others.

Learning Objectives
What will this course do for you? I anticipate that by the end of the course you will:

· develop a critical understanding of some of the major models of human nature

(both Indic and Western), and their implications for how we ought to live;

· understand the strengths and weaknesses of different disciplinary methodolo-

gies in the investigation of mind and behaviour;

· be able to relate the theoretical models studied to your context;

· develop better analytical writing and critical reading skills and be better at giv-
ing and taking constructive criticism.

1
Instructional Materials
Most readings are in the course-pack that you are required to purchase. For the rest,
you must purchase these books:

Śāntideva. (1995). Śāntideva: The Bodhicaryāvatāra (K. Crosby A. Skilton, Trans.).

Oxford: Oxford.

Plato. (1992). The Republic (2nd revised ed.; G.M.A. Grube, revised by C.D.C.
Reeve, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.

Aristotle. (2000). Nicomachean Ethics (2nd ed.; T. Irwin, Trans.). Indianapolis,

IN: Hackett.

Schedule of Meetings, Topics, and Readings

You are expected to complete the assigned readings for each class before we meet.

Day Date Topics and Readings

Mon. 20/1 Introduction to the course
“A Brief Guide to Logic and Argumentation,” in Rosen et al. (2015)
Optional Video: https://youtu.be/kdJ6aGToDlo
Optional Video: https://youtu.be/3P0fUHUaZcs

Wed. 22/1 The Enduring Self

“Katha Upanishad,” Olivelle (1996)

Mon. 27/1 “On the Behaviour of the Seeker,” Venkatesananda (1993)

Wed. 29/1 The non-existent Self & Caste

“Non-Self: Empty Persons,” till §3.6 Siderits (2007)
“Canonical antecedents,” pp. 17–55 (skip the footnotes), Eltschinger (2000/2012)

Mon. 3/2 The Self divided

Book IV (427a–444a) of The Republic, Plato (1992)
“The Dissection of the Psychical Personality,” Freud (1933/1966)

Wed. 5/2 First Four-Sentence Paper Due

“Of the influencing motives of the will,” Bk. II Pt. III, Sec. III
A Treatise of Human Nature, Hume (1739/1978)
Chap. 1, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman (2011)

Mon. 10/2 Morality?

“Book Six” by Mengzi, pp. 140–147 in Ivanhoe & Norden (2000)
“Human Nature is Bad” by Xunzi, pp. 284–291 in Ivanhoe & Norden (2000)

2
 Optional Video: https://youtu.be/qvmxbDomk90
Optional Video: https://youtu.be/hEgLzTtQj7I

Wed. 12/2 Second Four-Sentence Paper Due

Book II (357b–368c) of The Republic, Plato (1992)
Optional Video: https://youtu.be/-oJs5u_GAYA

Mon. 17/2 Book IV (441c–445b) & Book IX (580d-583b, 588b-592a) of The Republic, Plato (1992)

Wed. 19/2 Third Four-Sentence Paper Due

Goals, Virtues, and Character
“Virtues and Vices,” Foot (1978)
Book I, Chapter 7 of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle (2000)

Mon. 24/2 Book II, Chapter 1 and 4 & Book III, Chapter 5 of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle (2000)
Optional Video: https://youtu.be/VFPBf1AZOQg

Wed. 26/2 Fourth Four-Sentence Paper Due

“A behavioural study of obedience,” Milgram (1963)
§I & §III, “Persons, Situation, and Virtue Ethics,” Doris (1998)
“Situationism and Virtue Ethics on the content of our character,” Kamtekar (2004)

Mon. 2/3 Consequentialism

Chap. 2 of Utilitarianism, Mill (1861/2003)
Optional Video: https://youtu.be/uvmz5E75ZIA

Wed. 4/3 “Alienation, Consequentialism, and the Demands of Morality,” Railton (1984)
Optional Video: https://youtu.be/uGDk23Q0S9E

Mon. 9/3 No Class (Midterm Break)

Wed. 11/3 No Class (Midterm Break)

Mon. 16/3 Kantian Approaches and the Value of Life

“A Simplified Account of Kant’s Ethics”

Wed. 18/3 “Personhood, Animals, and the Law,” Korsgaard (2013)

“Origins and Traditional Articulations of Ahiṃsā,” Chapple (1993)

Mon. 23/3 The Limits of Reason?

“Gut Feelings,” Gigerenzer (2007)
“The Emotional Dog and its Rational Tail,” Haidt (2001)

Wed 25/3 First 500-word Paper Due

3
 “Moral Heuristics,” Sunstein (2005)

Mon. 30/3 “At the Core of Our Capacity to Act for a Reason,” Railton (2017)

Wed. 1/4 Schooling Affect

Chap. 5 & 6 of The Bodhicaryāvatāra, Śāntideva (1995)

Mon. 6/4 Chap. 8 of The Bodhicaryāvatāra, Śāntideva (1995)

Optional: “The Difficulty of Tolerance,” Scanlon (2003)

Wed. 8/4 Politics

Chap. XIII–XV of The Leviathan, Hobbes (1996)
Play the online game, “The Evolution of Trust”, https://ncase.me/trust/

Mon. 13/4 Second 500-word Paper Due

Selections from A Theory of Justice, Rawls (1971/1999)
§3, §4
Selection from Anarchy, State, and Utopia, Nozick (1974)
pp. 149–164
Optional Video: https://youtu.be/nO5me_5c8dM

Wed. 15/4 Gender

“Sexism” in Frye (1983)
“Oppression” in Frye (1983)

Mon. 20/4 Identities

“What is a Muslim?,” Bilgrami (1992)
“White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” McIntosh (1989)

Wed. 22/4 Catch-up & Wrap-up

1250-word Final Paper due at 5pm on Saturday 2nd May

How to Read the Material

The assigned material is quite dense. Plan to read it 3-4 times before class:

· First, read the opening and closing paragraphs and all section headings to get
a sense of the piece.

· Second, read it through word by word, marking it up with any questions and
comments you have, and noting passages that require a closer reading.

· Third, go back and reread the passages you marked up for special attention.

4
Student Responsibilities
· Lecture attendance: There is no attendance requirement. Because the Reading
Quiz will begin right on time at the start of class and late arrivals disturb other
test takers, the classroom doors will be locked at the start of class. If you arrive
after the doors have been locked you cannot take the quiz or attend lecture.
If you attend class, you are required to stay till the end (unless you inform me
beforehand).

· Discussion Section attendance: Attendance is mandatory. You are permitted

four excused absences, but you must inform your Teaching Fellow beforehand.

· Behaviour in the Classroom: Treat the instructor, Teaching Fellows, and your
fellow classmates with respect. Be considerate when speaking and make sure
others get a chance to voice their views too. While your participation is ac-
tively encouraged, remember that listening is as much a form of participation
as speaking. Do not confuse the volume of your participation with its value.
You are welcome to vigorously disagree, but remember not to be disagreeable!
If you are rude or disruptive, you will be asked to leave the classroom. Reading
non-class material during class is not permitted.

· Electronic Etiquette: Your phone must be off or on silent mode, and out of
sight. No laptops are permitted in class. (For those interested in some of the
research motivating this policy, see https://goo.gl/y2dphK.)

· Ever wondered how to email your professor? Here’s a useful guide: http://www.wikihow.com/Email-a-Professor

· Academic Integrity: You are expected to uphold the highest standards of aca-
demic integrity. Your work must be your own. Submitting work which you
have not composed yourself, or using another person’s ideas without due credit,
or failing to mark another person’s words with appropriate quotation marks all
constitute plagiarism. You may not recycle your own writing from other courses
for this course. The instructor reserves the right to assess penalties for violations
of academic integrity, which may include giving a failing grade for an assign-
ment, for the entire course, or referral to a University disciplinary committee.

· Work submission: All work must be submitted on time. Work that is submitted
past the deadline will be docked a full letter grade for every successive 24-hour
period after the deadline (e.g., a B+ becomes a B). If you miss a Reading Quiz,
you will not be able to make it up. It is your responsibility to ensure that files
uploaded to Canvas are not corrupted; you will be given a late penalty if the file
is unreadable.

· Students with Disabilities: Reasonable academic accommodation will be made

for students with documented disabilities. You must contact me, or Jishnu, or
Anan before our next meeting if you need such accommodation.

5
Course Requirements and Grade Distribution
Your grade will be a function of the following distribution:

Reading Quizzes 25%

Four-Sentence Paper (x4) 2.5% for each paper
500-word Paper (x2) 15% for each paper
1250-word Final Paper 25%
Class & Discussion Section Participation 10%

Reading Quizzes
There will be a short quiz on the reading assigned for that day at the start of class.
You must be physically present in class to take the quiz. The quiz aims to test your
understanding of some of the main claims and arguments covered in the reading. It
presupposes that you have carefully read and reflected on the material. No notes or
texts or any kind of study aids are allowed during the quiz. Importantly, the quiz is
cumulative: any material that we have covered till date is fair game. Your four lowest
quiz scores will be dropped from the calculation of your final reading quiz grade.

Papers
All papers must be submitted as a PDF file to Canvas by the start of class on the due
date mentioned in this syllabus. The writing assignments are a carefully structured
sequence of papers starting with short papers that are only four sentences long, to
papers that are 500-words long, culminating in a final paper that is 1250-words long.
The four sentence paper should be written on the following template:

__________ argues that _________ because __________. However, I

object that ________ because _______. One might respond to my ob-
jection by arguing that _______. I reply that ________.

More information will be distributed regarding the papers during class.

Class Participation
Class participation is not primarily about the volume of your spoken contribution.
Rather, it is about your attentive presence in a community of learning. Your class
participation grade has two components:

· Your participation during our class meetings.

· Your participation in discussion sections.

6
References

Aristotle. (2000). Nicomachean ethics (2nd ed.; T. Irwin, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN:
Hackett.

Bilgrami, A. (1992). What is a Muslim? Fundamental commitment and cultural

identity. Critical Inquiry, 18(4), pp. 821-842. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/
1343832

Chapple, C. K. (1993). Nonviolence to animals, earth, and self in Asian traditions.

In (pp. 3–20). Albany: State University of New York Press.

Doris, J. M. (1998). Persons, situations, and virtue ethics. Noûs, 32(4), pp. 504-530.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2671873

Eltschinger, V. (2012). Caste and Buddhist philosophy: Continuity of some Buddhist arguments
against the realist interpretation of social denominations (Vol. 60; R. Prévèreau, Trans.).
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. (Original work published 2000)

Foot, P. (1978). Virtues and vices and other essays in moral philosophy. In (pp. 1–18).
Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Freud, S. (1966). The complete introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. In J. Strachey

(Ed.), (p. 521-544). New York: W.W. Norton & Company. (Original work published
1933)

Frye, M. (1983). The politics of reality: Essays in feminst theory. Berkeley: Crossing Press.

Gigerenzer, G. (2007). Gut feelings: The intelligence of the unconscious. In (p. 3-19).
New York: Viking.

Haidt, J. (2001). The emotional dog and its rational tail. Psychological Review, 108(4),
814-834.

Hobbes, T. (1996). Leviathan (R. Tuck, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge.

Hume, D. (1978). A treatise of human nature (L. Selby-Bigge, Ed.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press. (Original work published 1739)

Ivanhoe, P. J., & Norden, B. W. V. (Eds.). (2000). Readings in classical Chinese philosophy.
Seven Bridges Press.

7
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Kamtekar, R. (2004). Situationism and virtue ethics on the content of our character.
Ethics, 114(3), pp. 458-491. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/381696

Korsgaard, C. M. (2013). Personhood, animals, and the law. Think, 12(34),

25âÂÂ32. doi: 10.1017/S1477175613000018

McIntosh, P. (1989, July). White privelege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Peace
and Freedom, 10-12.

Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. The Journal of Abnormal and Social
Psychology, 67(4), 371 - 378.

Mill, J. S. (2003). Utilitarianism. In M. Warnock (Ed.), Utilitarianism and On Liberty:

Including Mill’s ‘Essay on Bentham’ and selections from the writings of Jeremy Bentham and
John Austin (2nd ed.). Malden, Mass.: Blackwell. (Original work published 1861)

Nozick, R. (1974). Anarchy, state, and utopia. Basic Books.

Olivelle, P. (1996). Katha Upanisad. In P. Olivelle (Trans.), Upanishads (pp. 231–247).

Oxford: Oxford.

Plato. (1992). The Republic (2nd revised ed.; G.M.A. Grube, revised by C.D.C. Reeve,
Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.

Railton, P. (1984). Alienation, consequentialism, and the demands of morality. Phi-

losophy & Public Affairs, 13(2), pp. 134-171. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/
2265273

Railton, P. (2017). At the core of our capacity to act for a reason: The affective
system and evaluative model-based learning and control. Emotion Review, 9(4),
335-342. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073916670021 doi: 10.1177/
1754073916670021

Rawls, J. (1999). A theory of justice: Revised edition. Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1971)

Rosen, G., Byrne, A., Cohen, J., & Shiffrin, S. (Eds.). (2015). The Norton introduction to
philosophy. W. W. Norton & Co Inc.

Śāntideva. (1995). Śāntideva: The Bodhicaryāvatāra (K. Crosby & A. Skilton, Trans.).
Oxford: Oxford.

Scanlon, T. M. (2003). The difficulty of tolerance. In The difficulty of tolerance: Essays in

political philosophy (pp. 187–201). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Siderits, M. (2007). Buddhism as philosophy: An introduction. Hants: Ashgate.

8
Sunstein, C. (2005, 8). Moral heuristics. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28, 531–542.
Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org/article_S0140525X05000099 doi: 10.1017/
S0140525X05000099

Venkatesananda, S. (1993). Vasiṣṭha’s Yoga. In (pp. 21–38). State University of New

York Press.