Category Archives: Comparative Political Theory

New book by Jiwei Ci: Moral China in the Age of Reform

A significant new book has been published by Cambridge: philosopher Jiwei Ci‘s Moral China in the Age of Reform. The Amazon link gives on access to some of the book. Here’s what I say on the back cover:

“Jiwei Ci accomplishes two things in his splendid new book. First, he goes beyond the account of his seminal Dalectic of the Chinese Revolution (1994) to explore the causes and effects of the moral crisis that has accompanied China’s three decades of post-Mao reform. Second, he uses this analysis as the foundation for theories of freedom and human agency — theories that are deeply revealing not just of the possibilities and challenges faced by Chinese citizens, but also of the human condition more generally.”

Review of Chan, Confucian Perfectionism

This is a rich review of Joseph Chan’s important new book; the review is significant, in part, because it represents an engagement by someone from outside the Chinese philosophy world with contemporary Chinese thought. Wall is himself an advocate of perfectionism, which helps to explain why the cross-tradition engagement here is so fruitful.

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

2014.08.16 View this Review Online   View Other NDPR Reviews

Joseph Chan, Confucian Perfectionism: A Political Philosophy for Modern Times, Princeton University Press, 2014, 256pp., $35.00 (hbk), ISBN 9780691158617.

Reviewed by Steven Wall, University of Arizona

This is an unusual book. It is partly an effort to reconstruct and revive an ancient tradition of political thought, partly an exercise in comparing that tradition to western liberalism and partly a contribution to contemporary political theory. It does not fit into any well-defined disciplinary niche. Its unusual aims, in turn, present a challenge to the reviewer. Should the success of the project be assessed in terms of its fidelity to a tradition of thought that has shaped Chinese culture for over two millennia, or should it be assessed in terms of its contribution to contemporary political thought? No doubt the right answer to this question is that it should be assessed along both dimensions, but this answer does not tell us how much weight to give to each measure of assessment. My own assessment will not grapple with this problem, since I am in no position to gauge its success in remaining faithful to traditional Confucian ideas. Accordingly, this review does not offer a verdict on how well Confucian Perfectionism succeeds in its aim of staying true to Confucian political thought (leaving that judgment to others who are better placed to make it). It focuses instead on how well the view of politics that it presents hangs together and how well it contributes to an understanding of the political topics that it addresses.

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CFP: World Philosophies and War

Call for Papers

World Philosophies and War

Edited by Bassam Romaya and Eric S. Nelson

(University of Massachusetts Lowell)

Book chapters are solicited for a volume featuring global perspectives in the philosophical analysis of war. We seek papers that examine philosophical themes and perspectives on various aspects of war originating outside of the Western canon. The editors are especially interested in works that depart from or extrapolate upon existing philosophical frameworks (such as the just war tradition, war realism, etc.) commonly examined in Western philosophical literature on war. Prospective contributors may draw upon ancient sources (e.g., Sun Tzu’s Art of War) or contemporary works, literate or oral traditions, and secular or religious/philosophical schools of thought across global traditions. We seek papers that explore competing philosophies of war found in dominant world traditions such as Chinese, Indian, or Muslim, as well as the full range of disparate traditions (e.g., Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, Sikh, Confucian, et cetera) within the more dominate traditions. Submissions that draw from the cultural productions of African, Latin American, Indigenous societies, and other traditions are especially welcome.

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Job Opening: Yale-NUS looking for East Asian Political Theorist

Yale-NUS College in Singapore is looking for “one or more open rank faculty members in the fields of comparative political theory or intellectual history. We are particularly interested in candidates working in East Asian political theory.” Please see here for details: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/4173.

Angle lecture: “Neo-Confucian ‘Civil Society’?”

I will be in London next week, and among other things, giving a talk at LSE in the Political Philosophy Seminar series on Tuesday, 24 June at 4pm, in the Old Building, Graham Wallas Room (5th floor; ask for directions at reception). The title is “Neo Confucian ‘Civil Society’?” It’s open to all; please come by if you are interested!

Deparochializing Political Theory “Short Course” at APSA

You are warmly invited to participate in the upcoming short course, ‘Deparochializing Political Theory’, running the day before APSA begins. Details and link below!

To find short course info online: https://www.apsanet.org/mtgs/program_2014/program.cfm?event=1523901

To register: once logged in to myAPSA, click ‘Register for a short course’ in the 2014 APSA Annual Meeting window (SC5)

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Next Rutgers Workshop: Call for Proposals

Unlike the first two Rutgers Workshops (the speakers at which were all invited), we are adopting a different approach for the third Workshop, which will take place in the spring of 2016 (not 2015). With this amount of lead-time, we are aiming to find scholars whose work in Chinese philosophy engages directly with that of a scholar working in contemporary non-Chinese philosophy, and to build the workshop’s program from such pairs of scholars, in direct conversation with one another. Our expectation is this will enable more substantial two-way philosophical dialogue. Please read the formal Call for Proposals that follows!

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“Short Course” at APSA on Teaching Chinese and Islamic/Arab Political Thought

This should be of interest both to anyone attending the American Political Science Association meetings this coming fall, and also those of us in other fields who might want to try something similar at our own disciplinary meetings. Does the APA ever have such “short courses”? If you have any questions about the course, please contact Professor Browers.

Deparochializing Political Theory: How to Teach Chinese and Islamic/Arab Political Thought

Wednesday August 27, 1:30-5:30pm

APSA Annual Conference, Washington, DC (exact location TBA)

Michaelle L. Browers, Wake Forest University; Loubna El-Amine, Georgetown University

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