Author Archives: Justin Tiwald

Episode 13 of “This Is the Way”: Family Before State

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Confucianism is well known for prioritizing familial responsibilities and love over other competing demands such as public interest or duties to the state. In this episode we explore two of the best known passages from early Confucianism that some modern scholars believe makes Confucianism morally problematic. The first passage we discuss is the “Upright Gong” passage, Analects 13.18, which has Confucius advocating mutual “covering up” of crimes by fathers and sons. The second passage is Mengzi 7A35, in which Mengzi is asked what the sage king Shun would have done if his father had committed murder. Mengzi’s answer, briefly stated, is that Shun would have given up his throne and would have fled with his father to care for him for the rest of his life.

Through these passages we explore questions about justice, consequentialist ethics, and the nature of moral dilemmas (and Confucian ways of handling them). Continue reading →

Episode 12 of “This Is the Way”: Zhuangzi on Play

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Play seems to constitute an important part of a flourishing human life. Most of us experience play through things like simple childhood games of hide-and-go-seek or more intellectual activities like chess or go. What these experiences of play have in common is that they are circumscribed in various ways to the times, places, and circumstances established by the boundaries and rules of those games. But what if the attitudes that we bring to play were applied to our lives more broadly?  In this episode we explore the concept of play as a way of life. We explore it with Professor Pauline Lee (Saint Louis University), an expert in Chinese thought, focusing on the famous “gourd passage” from Chapter One of the Zhuangzi. Continue reading →

Episode 11 of “This Is the Way”: Nonaction in the Daodejing

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The concept of wuwei 無為/无为, often translated as nonaction or effortless action, is central to classical Chinese philosophy. But what exactly is the idea and what are its practical implications? What puzzles does it raise regarding the nature of human actions, purpose, and intention? We examine these questions by focusing on some central passages from the Daodejing.
 Continue reading →

Episode 10 of “This Is the Way”: Moral Cultivation

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How do we become good? What is the process by which we acquire the virtues? We examine these question by focusing on some key concepts in Mencius’s account of moral development such as reflection and extension. This discussion also centers on Mengzi 1A7 and the famous “king and the ox” passage that has been the subject of much conversation and debate. Continue reading →

Episode 9 of “This Is the Way”: Moral Sprouts

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What is the nature and source of morality? Are human beings naturally inclined toward moral goodness? The early Confucian thinker Mencius (Mengzi) believed that human beings by nature possessed certain moral sprouts that could be nurtured and developed into robust virtues. In this episode we explore Mencius’s account of these moral sprouts, examining both philosophical and psychological justifications for their existence. Continue reading →

Episode 8 of “This Is the Way”: The Golden Rule

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Across different religious and moral traditions we often find some version of the Golden Rule. In this episode we explore the Golden Rule as formulated in the Analects and explore questions such as how fundamental it is to the Confucian ethical framework, how it is supposed to work in actual practice, and how it connects with issues about self-centeredness. We also examine how it might apply differently to ordinary people and sages, focusing on Analects 15.24 and Analects 6.30. Continue reading →

Episode 7 of “This Is the Way”: The Butcher

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Certain allegories and myths offer profound philosophical insights. In the West, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave occupies a key role in the history of philosophy with its marvelous representation of the quest for knowledge and the distinction between illusion and reality. In East Asia, Zhuangzi’s story of the butcher, “Cook Ding” has for over two millennia served as one of the memorable and stunning illustrations of the Daoist conception of the Way.

In this episode we are delighted to be joined by Professor Karyn Lai to discuss this remarkable passage from the Zhuangzi. Continue reading →

Episode 6 of “This Is the Way”: Partiality and Justice

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Episode 6 of This Is the Way is on Tao Jiang’s book. We don’t cover every one of the fascinating issues raised in the 516 pages of Professor Jiang’s volume, but we do cover some of the core topics, including (1) tensions between impartialist justice and partialist humaneness, and (2) Zhuangzi and freedom. A short description follows, with the usual supporting materials. Continue reading →

This Is the Way: nominate a passage for Richard and Justin to discuss

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Richard and Justin are planning to record an episode of This Is the Way that focuses on passages from Chinese philosophy requested by the audience. So, if there is a passage (or a very small set of passages that centers on a single theme) from any historical Chinese text that you would like to be featured on a near-future episode, please email them at chinesephilosophypodcast@gmail.com. Or you can also feel free to post a reply or send a message to either Justin or Richard through the social media platform that you use (or leave a comment on this blog post). They will consider all nominations sent to them by July 8th.

Updates on This Is the Way (the podcast series): Index Locorum, etc.

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This Is the Way is a podcast series on Chinese philosophy, hosted by Richard Kim and Justin Tiwald (me). So far, we have five episodes published, five more episodes “in the can” (the discussions have been recorded, but the recordings await sound editing), and many more episodes in the works.

Richard and I have found the response to our podcast series enormously gratifying. I can’t quite bring myself to boast about the specific numbers of downloads, etc. But I’ll just say that there is a larger listenership than we anticipated, and pretty large group of “loyal listeners” (people who appear to listen to each new episode within a month of its appearance). I hope that you who are listening are finding at lest some of the episodes informative or useful for teaching purposes.

Many thanks to those of you who have written us with suggestions, posted responses on the blog, and continued discussions on Facebook, YouTube, or X (Twitter). We still very much see the series as a work in progress and have been discussing all of the feedback that we’ve received, even if we haven’t been able to answer all of the comments and emails in detail.

Speaking of feedback, one adjustment that we’ve decided to make is to add a kind of Index Locorum for the show, which we’ll call an “Index of Historical Passages.” The idea (suggested to us by friends and colleagues) is to make it easy for instructors to find an episode on a particular passage that has come up in their teaching, or to make as the basis of a class assignment. So, for example, you won’t have to scroll through the entire back catalogue of episodes to find the one on Analects 2.4 or the one on Cook Ding — just go to the Index and it will link you directly. Since teaching is increasingly a mixed-media undertaking, we are hoping that this might be useful to teachers.

Many thanks for your support, friends, colleagues, and listeners!