Jain History, Philosophy, and Ethics
REL ST 120/PHILOS 117
SPRING 2023
Tues/Thurs 2:00-3:20pm
Humanities Hall 143
Professor: Brianne Donaldson
Email: b.donaldson@UCI.edu
DESCRIPTION: The Jain Tradition is a small but influential Indina tradition centered on nonharm to multiple life forms, the cultivation of multiple perspectives, and practices of non-attachment. In this class, we will rely on the methods of history, philosophy, and ethnography to explore Jainism in relation to its historic and textual development, arguments with rivals about what is “real,” and its multiple ethical practices related to food, human-animal-plant relations, war, tolerance, among others. We will also consider the Jain tradition’s relevance to current planetary and social issues.
Undergraduate Student Learning Outcomes
- Contextualize the development of the Jain community in relation to other rival views of the subcontinent
- Identify unique terms and concepts in Jain philosophy, ethics, and lived practice
- Connect with local Jain practitioners and communities
- Analyze a social, cultural, historical, visual, or textual aspect of Jainism in a research project with some comparison to the student’s own local and global context.
Opening Recitation
परस्परोपग्रहो जीवानाम्
Parasparopagraho jīvānām
“The function of living beings is to support one another.”
–Tattvārtha-sūtra (2nd–5th c. CE) 5.21
परस्परोपग्रहो जीवानाम्
Parasparopagraho jīvānām
“The function of living beings is to support one another.”
–Tattvārtha-sūtra (2nd–5th c. CE) 5.21