ONLINE FIRST
published on August 1, 2024
Steven Geisz

https://doi.org/10.5840/teachphil2024723205
Teaching Texts as Teaching Taiji
Indian and Asian Philosophy on the Model of a Taijiquan Group Class
There are many ways of being a good teacher. Here, I defend a way of teaching Indian and Asian philosophy that consists mainly in reading out loud to and with students¡ªreading slowly, with lots of repetition. Such teaching is analogous to how a Taiji (i.e., ¡°T¡¯ai Chi¡±) form gets taught in group Taiji classes. This method guides students to adopt the perspectives of the text¡¯s author[s] and imaginatively to inhabit the text¡¯s philosophical space. It differs from lecturing, but it is also unlike ¡°student-centered,¡± ¡°inquiry-based,¡± and ¡°active¡± learning. Indeed, it is ¡°text-centered¡± or ¡°professor-centered¡± learning since it invites students to submit to texts and the ways the teacher models engagement with them. This method arguably de-emphasizes ¡°getting students to be able to do philosophy on their own¡± and instead emphasizes ¡°getting students to have a meaningful experience with philosophy¡± and ¡°getting students to appreciate the value of philosophy.¡±