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jasperburns's review against another edition
3.0
My 3-stars has less to do with the excellent quality of the content and more to do with the inevitable nature of The Great Courses' content focusing too broadly. Breadth, of course, was the purpose of studying the entire eastern intellectual tradition, but it is truly hard to remember useful facts from traditions that span such a large amount of time and area. I'm writing this review a week after finishing it, and while I have a better general understanding of the culture and development of eastern traditions from India to Japan, it's really hard to recall specifics. I could count on one hand the number of takeaways that will stick.
The first thing that stood out to me was Hardy's discussion on Jainism since I had cursory familiarity with it and he was able to clarify some of my misunderstandings. I feel like having some knowledge about these topics prior makes this course more valuable. Conversely, maybe this breadth is useful if you plan on finding specific topics to focus on later.
The second thing was a quote from Zhuangzi they mentioned to cap off one of his chapters: "The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him?" This quote I found to illustrate well and wittily one of the topics I've been toying with recently, the interconnection between words and meaning.
Jainism and Zhuangzi were two topics of probably two dozen that Prof Hardy spoke to. He speaks Chinese and seems very literate and knowledgeable about all the topics in all the relevant countries, and the interconnected history between these philosophies. His performance speaking about them was also very good. If you have done or intend to do more thorough research on certain topics, this course might help contextualize that research. However, I think that for the casual reader depth on any specific philosophy might be more useful than such broad strokes.
View my best reviews and a collection of my mental models at jasperburns.blog.
The first thing that stood out to me was Hardy's discussion on Jainism since I had cursory familiarity with it and he was able to clarify some of my misunderstandings. I feel like having some knowledge about these topics prior makes this course more valuable. Conversely, maybe this breadth is useful if you plan on finding specific topics to focus on later.
The second thing was a quote from Zhuangzi they mentioned to cap off one of his chapters: "The fish trap exists because of the fish. Once you've gotten the fish you can forget the trap. The rabbit snare exists because of the rabbit. Once you've gotten the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can have a word with him?" This quote I found to illustrate well and wittily one of the topics I've been toying with recently, the interconnection between words and meaning.
Jainism and Zhuangzi were two topics of probably two dozen that Prof Hardy spoke to. He speaks Chinese and seems very literate and knowledgeable about all the topics in all the relevant countries, and the interconnected history between these philosophies. His performance speaking about them was also very good. If you have done or intend to do more thorough research on certain topics, this course might help contextualize that research. However, I think that for the casual reader depth on any specific philosophy might be more useful than such broad strokes.
View my best reviews and a collection of my mental models at jasperburns.blog.
andgineer's review against another edition
5.0
Очень люблю лекции от The great courses.
Они отбирают лучшее, гарантированно научное.
Конкретно эта, конечно же "галопом по европам" с одной стороны, а с другой, это колоссальный объем и море информации, которую непросто осознать, не то что запомнить.
Но безусловно интересно, чтобы иметь в голове общее представление хотя что там было на Востоке.
У многих из нас тут провал и полезен такой общий обзор.
Они отбирают лучшее, гарантированно научное.
Конкретно эта, конечно же "галопом по европам" с одной стороны, а с другой, это колоссальный объем и море информации, которую непросто осознать, не то что запомнить.
Но безусловно интересно, чтобы иметь в голове общее представление хотя что там было на Востоке.
У многих из нас тут провал и полезен такой общий обзор.
jbrito's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
persistent_reader's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this lecture series. Having very little prior knowledge of Asian History let alone its thinkers, the material was informative and interesting. This is something I would go back to in the future. I liked how the instructor wrapped up the course by giving ideas for application.
temny's review against another edition
1.0
I found only some lectures deep and interesting, most are boring and shallow. This significantly depends on the professors who reads the lecture.
lectriza's review against another edition
4.0
I wish this was longer. Made me realize how much there is to learn and how much I don't know
ben_smitty's review against another edition
5.0
Grant Hardy is super knowledgeable and respectful towards the Eastern intellectual tradition. His pronunciation of Chinese words is spot on, and his understanding of the cultural background of this topic is so vast that I wondered at times whether he was a Buddha incarnate or not.
Hardy divides the vastness of the Eastern intellectual tradition into three hotels: intellectuals from China, India, and Japan. He covers Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha, Sima Qian, Sei Shonagon, Tokugawa, Al Biruni, Gandhi, Mao Zedong, and so much more! Their ideas interrelate at certain points in history (especially through the evolution of Buddhism throughout China and Japan). He covers scientists, novelists, philosophers, religious figures, and oh my lanta I just couldn't get enough of this series.
I will definitely be reading more of Hardy (and of course, many eastern intellectuals). 5 stars all around.
Hardy divides the vastness of the Eastern intellectual tradition into three hotels: intellectuals from China, India, and Japan. He covers Lao Tzu, Confucius, Buddha, Sima Qian, Sei Shonagon, Tokugawa, Al Biruni, Gandhi, Mao Zedong, and so much more! Their ideas interrelate at certain points in history (especially through the evolution of Buddhism throughout China and Japan). He covers scientists, novelists, philosophers, religious figures, and oh my lanta I just couldn't get enough of this series.
I will definitely be reading more of Hardy (and of course, many eastern intellectuals). 5 stars all around.
professor_x's review against another edition
5.0
An absolute gem.
Professor Grant Hardy masterfully covers philosophy and religion from ancient India to the shores of Japan and everything in between. The course navigates through thousands of years of thought that weary travelers spread through the Silk Roads.
I have listened to other audiobooks that mention Eastern philosophy but this course was on another level. Each lecture is about 45 minutes long and Professor Hardy explains the intricacies of Buddhism, Daosim, and Legalism; he covers Hinduism and the ancient texts the Vedas and the Upanishads; we're introduced to Confucius and Laozi and we meet Sima Qian and Ban Zhao -- great Chinese thinkers and historians, respectively -- and Hardy walks us through all of this material marvelously.
I began to read The Analects by Confucius and plan on picking up other works mentioned in this course because of how much I enjoyed it. I also plan on reading more deeply about Buddhism and look forward to reading the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore. I will continue to read on Eastern intellect before heading into Western thought. I like it here.
Professor Grant Hardy masterfully covers philosophy and religion from ancient India to the shores of Japan and everything in between. The course navigates through thousands of years of thought that weary travelers spread through the Silk Roads.
I have listened to other audiobooks that mention Eastern philosophy but this course was on another level. Each lecture is about 45 minutes long and Professor Hardy explains the intricacies of Buddhism, Daosim, and Legalism; he covers Hinduism and the ancient texts the Vedas and the Upanishads; we're introduced to Confucius and Laozi and we meet Sima Qian and Ban Zhao -- great Chinese thinkers and historians, respectively -- and Hardy walks us through all of this material marvelously.
I began to read The Analects by Confucius and plan on picking up other works mentioned in this course because of how much I enjoyed it. I also plan on reading more deeply about Buddhism and look forward to reading the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore. I will continue to read on Eastern intellect before heading into Western thought. I like it here.
shoelessmama's review against another edition
4.0
This lecturer was fantastic and while all of the "thinkers" names probably won't stick I have definitely gained some insight from this series.
lancegliser's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
One of the most comprehensive sweeps of intellectual knowledge I've encountered. It's a gigantic tone covering an insane amount of history and counter history. Sadly they are mostly effective as rough outlines of the philosophers or scientists and question. It gives a good way to have an index of concepts, but you will be required to do your own investigations after.