Units / ATS3326
ATS3326 · Living a meaningful life: Wisdom traditions and their contemplative practices
2026 Handbook6 credit pointsLevel 3Philosophy
Last checked: 23 Aug 2026 UTCOverview
This unit will be informative, experiential and reflective. You will use teachings and texts from a number of the world's great wisdom traditions, and their contemplative practices to help you reflect on and discuss some of life's most important questions. The wisdom traditions explored will vary across historical periods, from ancient to modern, and cultures, from east to west. You will investigate the application and relevance of these teachings and contemplative practices in daily life through direct experience to see if deep and direct insights might be gained into questions such as: • What is wisdom and is there such a thing as perennial wisdom? • What is the purpose and meaning of life? • Is there more to life than just material existence? • What values should we base our life on ? • How should we relate to each other (and why)? • What is our place in the Universe? • What is the self and what is its relationship to consciousness? • How can contemplative practices help us to answer these questions?
Offerings
| Campus | Teaching period | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Clayton | Second semester | Teaching activities are on-campus (ON-CAMPUS) |
Assessment
The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.
| # | Assessment | Type | Weight | Hurdle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Journal | Written | 30% | — |
| 2 | Interactive Oral Assessment (IOA) | Demonstration | 50% | — |
| 3 | Reflection | Written | 20% | — |
Within semester assessment: 100%
Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.
Requisites
The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.
Learning outcomes
- explain the foundations of and connections between some of the world’s wisdom traditions;
- apply contemplative practices from a variety of cultures and wisdom traditions;
- reflect on, deepen and analyse self-awareness and how it relates to understanding the self and consciousness;
- cultivate, apply and explain prosocial qualities such as compassion, altruism and common humanity;
- explain ways that wisdom traditions use to live a fuller and more meaningful life;
- explain what perennial wisdom is and how it can inform daily life and find solutions to challenges.
Workload
Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 12 hours |
| Tutorials | 24 hours |
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