Category Archives: Confucianism

New Book: Zhang, Law and Economics of Confucianism

Taisu Zhang, The Laws and Economics of Confucianism: Kinship and Property in Preindustrial China and England, has recently been published by Cambridge.  The book is a study in comparative legal and economic history.  It asks why early modern property institutions in rural China and England went down distinctly different paths—and whether these institutional differences had any macro-level economic effects.  The book’s central thesis ties together cultural analysis with law and economics—two theoretical paradigms that have had virtually no interaction over the past several decades—but also engages the growing literature on global economic divergence.

Lambert Reviews Foust, Confucianism and American Philosophy

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

2017.09.21 View this Review Online   View Other NDPR Reviews

Mathew A. Foust, Confucianism and American Philosophy, SUNY Press, 2017, 194pp., $80.00 (hbk), ISBN: 9781438464756.

Reviewed by Andrew Lambert, City University of New York, College of Staten Island

This book seeks to further develop dialogue between the American pragmatist and transcendentalist traditions, and classical Confucian thought. Scholars have previously noted certain parallels and commonalities, but the aim here is to “expand the scope of this area of comparative philosophy beyond the typically engaged duo of Confucius and Dewey” (p. 129). As a work in comparative philosophy, the book also seeks to contribute to the ongoing debate about the status of non-Western intellectual traditions within the discipline of philosophy. Much has been written recently on this topic,[1] and this work makes its contribution by familiarizing those working in American philosophy with classical Confucian thought, and vice versa.

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Body and Cosmos in China: An Interdisciplinary Symposium in Honor of Nathan Sivin

The Department of East Asian Languages & Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania is delighted to announce an interdisciplinary symposium in honor of Nathan Sivin at Perry World House, 3803 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, on Oct. 14-15, 2017.

The symposium is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.  Just click here if you’d like to attend:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/body-and-cosmos-in-china-an-interdisciplinary-symposium-in-honor-of-nathan-sivin-tickets-37455848451.

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Forthcoming Book: Michael Sandel and Chinese Philosophy

Michael Sandel and Paul D’Ambrosio have edited a book on Chinese philosophy titled “Encountering China: Michael Sandel and Chinese Philosophy” that will come out on Harvard University Press in early January 2018. A flyer with more information is available here, and the Table of Contents follows.

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Loy Reviews Ivanhoe, Three Streams

Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

2017.06.04 View this Review Online   View Other NDPR Reviews

Philip J. Ivanhoe, Three Streams: Confucian Reflections on Learning and the Moral Heart-Mind in China, Korea, and Japan, Oxford University Press, 2016, 250pp., $74.00 (hbk), ISBN 9780190492014.

Reviewed by Hui Chieh Loy, National University of Singapore

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Olberding on the Confucian role for etiquette in resisting injustice

Amy Olberding’s “The Moral Gravity of Mere Trifles” at LSE’s The Forum. She begins:

“Some of the most heated critiques of etiquette emphasize a tension between progressive political values and conformity to polite norms. Insistence on polite rules of interaction may, so the worry goes, stifle righteous dissent, suppress critique of the powerful, and mire us all in hidebound tradition. Better to forcefully call out injustice when we see it than abide by polite rules that sacrifice moral progress to surface social accord. In these critiques, etiquette can seem an enemy of salutary change and a barrier to justice. This reasoning, the early Confucians would argue, misses much about how etiquette works and what it contributes to moral life….”

MANCEPT Workshop on Confucian Political Theory workshop (updated)

I have some updates to share on the workshop on Confucian political theory at the Manchester Centre for Political Theory. Note especially the new deadline for submissions (June 2) and the keynote speaker (Joseph Chan).

The workshop itself will run from September 9 (Monday) to September 13 (Wednesday), 2017. The venue will be in Arthur Lewis Building, University of Manchester. Thanks to co-convener Baldwin Wong of The Chinese University, Hong Kong, for the latest.

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