Category Archives: Daoism

四海为学 “Collaborative Learning“ Free Online Courses

This spring the 四海为学 Collaborative Learning Project will host two free online courses. The courses are open to anyone. No registration is required.
“The Contemporary Significance of Confucian and Daoist Philosophies” will be led by Michael Puett and Paul J. D’Ambrosio on Tuesdays at 21:00 Beijing time.
“Daoist Philosophy of Education” will be led by Geir Sigurðsson and Paul J. D’Ambrosio on Tuesdays at 18:00 Beijing time.
For more information, including links to join, please visit this website.

Episode 16 of “This Is the Way”: The Zhuangzi on Uselessness

In this episode, we talk about the theme of uselessness in the Zhuangzi, one of the great foundational texts of philosophical Daoism. What exactly determines whether something is useful or useless? Is usefulness largely or fundamentally a matter of perspective? Does the text’s apparent recommendation that we be “useless” (in some sense) entail some sort of realism or objectivism about value? We explore these themes together with our guest, Chris Fraser, a major scholar of the Zhuangzi. Continue reading →

Call for applications: Way and Being Seminar-workshop

Way and Being: Between Daoist and Pre-Socratic Approaches is a seminar-workshop designed for students engaged in or interested in research opportunities within Chinese and/or Greek philosophy. The program includes 90-minute presentations and discussions led by invited speakers on related topics. Additionally, students will have the chance to share and discuss their ideas with peers and speakers in 30-minute sessions. Students who are currently working on or planning to explore pre-Socratic philosophy and/or Daoist philosophy in their bachelor, master, or doctoral theses are particularly encouraged to apply.

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Conference: The Waves that Follow (New Books in Chinese Philosophy)

Tsinghua University will hold a hybrid conference titled “The Waves that Follow: New Books in Chinese Philosophy” from December 7 to 9, 2024. The conference invites young scholars worldwide who have published new books in the field of Chinese philosophy within the past one to two years to share fresh perspectives, new methods, and innovative research directions from their works, aiming to foster exchange and development. Additionally, senior scholars who have devoted many years to Chinese philosophy will engage in in-depth discussions on the research presented by this new generation.

Time: 8 December, 2024/ Beijing time (UTC +08:00), 8:00 – 18:30

Venue: Room 124, Humanity school, Tsinghua University
Zoom Meeting ID: 938 634 5943

Find the information on speakers and event arrangements in this pdf.

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

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.
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Fall 四海为学 “Collaborative Learning” Free Seminars

This academic year the 四海为学 “Collaborative Learning” project will be hosting 2-3 events each month. Please visit their event calendar for details.

The program is also hosting three seminars this fall, seminars are free courses that are open to anyone interested:

1. Dao and Logos: Reading the Laozi with/against Heraclitus
Led by: Dimitra Amarantidou (University of Macau) and Fabian Heubel (Academia Sinica) This course will meet on Mondays at 19:00 Beijing time. There will eight classes, starting in October 21 and ending December 9th.

2. Early Chinese Philosophy of Education
Led by: Geir Sigurðsson (University of Iceland) and Paul J. D’Ambrosio (East China Normal University)This class will meet on Tuesdays at 6:00 pm Beijing time, and starts September 24th

3. The Political Laozi
Led by: Paul J. D’Ambrosio (East China Normal University), Dimitra Amarantidou (University of Macau), and John Lombardini (College of William and Mary)This class will meet on Tuesdays at 7:45 pm Beijing time. It will begin on September 24th.

For more details and links to any of these seminars please visit: https://www.sihaiweixue.org/seminars

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

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 →

Book of Interest: Those Who Act Ruin It, A Daoist Account of Moral Attunement by Jacob Bender

Drawing on both western and Chinese philosophy, Those Who Act Ruin It shows how Daoism presents a viable alternative to established moral theories. The Daoist, critical of the Confucian and Mohist discourses of their time, provides an account of morality that can best be understood as achieving an attunement to situations through the cultivation of habits. Furthermore, Daoism’s meta-ethical insights outline how moral philosophy, when theorized in a way that ignores our fundamental interdependence, devolves into moralistic narcissism. Another way of putting this, as the Daodejing states perfectly, is that “those who act ruin it” (為者敗之). Sensitive to this problem, the Daoist account of moral attunement can ameliorate social woes and not “ruin things.” In their moral attunement, Daoists can spontaneously respond to situations in ways that are sensitive to the underlying interdependence of all things.

The author Jacob Bender is Hua-Shan Associate Professor of Philosophy at Xidian University, Xi’an.

To read the table of contents or an excerpt, or purchase the book, please click this link.

New Zhuangzi Translation: The Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi 莊子內篇匯評詮釋

John R. Williams and Christoph Harbsmeier have recently published a new translation of the inner chapters of Zhuangzi: 莊子內篇匯評詮釋 The Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi: With Copious Annotations from the Chinese Commentaries, through Harrassowitz Verlag. Wiesbaden. Hardcopies and e-copies are available through this link. (Williams notes that the press is not selling the book through Amazon, and so it is being listed there at an exorbitant price. It is more reasonably priced at the publisher’s site.)

Please read the introduction below to know more about the translation. Continue reading →