REL 119 - The Moral Self

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirement HU and DE.
What is a “good” life? Is there a single way of being “good” or “moral?” How and on what basis are moral choices made? How is the moral self constituted? This course introduces students to the dynamic and complex nature of ethical deliberation and practice in the everyday with a focus on the moral traditions of South Asia. We will examine diverse conceptions of the moral self and the good life through a study of how morality is understood, lived, and experienced within the framework of the Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, and Islamic traditions. In particular, we will explore the role of elements like time, age, tradition, emotions, agency, the “other,” and oral and textual narratives in ethical practice and thinking, and critically examine the assumptions of secular liberal ethics. We will also consider responses from within the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions to violence. No previous study of religion, ethics, or South Asia is necessary.