BASC80112 - Master Sun’s Art of War

Course Description

Instructor: Stephen Walker

An iconic product of China’s tumultuous “Warring States” period, the Art of War ascribed to Sunzi (Sun Tzu) is arguably the world’s most influential text of military philosophy. Sunzi covers every aspect of command—down to fascinatingly concrete historical details—but he is most famous for his cerebral approach to tactics and his aversion to needless violence. For Sunzi, victories follow mainly from psychological manipulation of the enemy, and minimizing violence best serves the strategic interests of the state at war. His text has seen wide application in business and other fields beyond the military, and together we’ll see why: working through Sunzi will help us explore questions about the relation between morality and power, the mutual entailment of strengths and weaknesses, why people succeed and fail at their tasks, and the role of force in maintaining civilized life.