Compare the folk theory of wisdom (as outlined in the Tiberius and Smartwood reading) with the various practices found in the Analects, including (but not limited to) the virtues of shu (perspective taking) and zhong (devotion or dutifulness). Are there aspects of the Analects writings on this topic that are missing from the folk account? Can one account help inform the other?
The Zhuangzi is full of metaphors of emptiness and practices of fasting or emptying the mind as part of its recommendations on how to pursue a dao. How do these notions relate to the ideas found in Siddhartha or ridding oneself of desires, or the fasting practices of the samanas? What do they share in common? Are they aimed at correcting the same human tendencies, or are these two texts dealing with fundamentally different problems?
In what ways is a preoccupation with one’s ‘face’ something good? In what ways is it bad? What specific aspects of face should we be most critical of? And how can we think of face as something that might be useful to reflect about? Can a concern with face be consistent with developing wisdom?
What is the idea of flow? How can it be found in two of the following three texts: Analects, Zhuangzi, and Siddhartha?
