Should Introductory Comparative ­Philosophy Courses Be Structured Around Topics or Traditions?

Abstract

Should introductory courses in comparative philosophy be organized around traditions or around topics? Will students be better served by considering Indian, Chinese, African, and Native American philosophies in depth and in sequence, or by exploring differing philosophical approaches to such topics as beauty, moral responsibility, and human nature? Each approach has reasons that recommend it, but each also brings with it serious limitations. In this essay I rehearse what I take to be the most salient arguments both for and against each approach. In the end, I conclude that, for introductory courses in comparative philosophy, an approach organized around traditions is preferable to one organized around topics.