Although Asian religions (Taoism, Buddhism, etc.) are becoming increasingly popular in the West, they remain largely poorly known, if only because of their nature. Are they religions, philosophies or medicines of the soul?
Unquestionably, most of them aim at the "knowledge of the world" before "the divine", standing fundamentally in a metaphysical perspective before being religious and for that matter ignoring the frame of definitions employed by the monotheistic Abrahamic religions.
The discovery of the Asian religious field is above all a journey on unknown paths of thought, according to reasoning and logic foreign to the Western sphere, but which nevertheless, have intersected, in a fortuitous way, with Western philosophical preoccupations.
The seminar will invite listeners to discover the main Asian religions and philosophies. Each session will feature a guest speaker chosen from among the leading figures in the field.
Evaluation methods: Oral exam
- Teaching coordinator: Bessis Jean-Pierre