Category Archives: This is the Way (podcast)

Episode 28 of “This Is the Way”: Mencius Against Mohist Impartialism

In this episode, we continue our exploration of Mohist impartial caring (jian’ai 兼愛) by examining two of Mencius’s most influential objections: (1) the “Without a Father” Argument (Mencius 3B9) and (2) the “Two Roots” Argument (Mencius 3A5).

Along the way, we take up some important questions: Should moral values be impartial even between family members and total strangers? Is radical impartiality incompatible with being human? And should ethics be grounded in (rational) doctrine or in human nature? Continue reading →

Episode 26 of “This Is the Way”: The White Horse Dialogue—Language, Logic, and Categories in Early China

According to a speaker in a famous historical dialogue, “A white horse is not a horse.” In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Lisa Indraccolo (Tallinn University) to unpack one of the most intriguing discourses in early Chinese philosophy—the White Horse Dialogue from the Gongsun Longzi. Together, we explore what this paradoxical statement reveals about language, logic, and categorization in early China, from the connection between words and reality to the ways that set theory, semantics, and metaphysics might be used to help us understand this fascinating text. Continue reading →

Episode 25 of “This Is the Way”: Daoist Utopia

In this episode, we delve into Chapter 80 of the Daodejing, one of the most vivid portraits of Daoist social ideals. We unpack its vision of a “simple agrarian utopia,” where people live in small communities, ignore labor-saving tools, and resist the endless chase for more. Along the way, we discuss political minimalism, technological restraint, contentment in daily life, and radical localism, asking what it would mean to be satisfied even while knowing other or “better” possibilities exist. We reflect on our own consumerist culture, and probe whether Daoist utopia is naive, radical, or unexpectedly wise for our time. Continue reading →

Episode 24 of “This Is the Way”: Robber Zhi—Honor Among Thieves?

With a big assist from our guest, Stephen C. Walker, we discuss a highly unusual philosophical dialogue in classical Chinese literature, the “Robber Zhi Dialogue” (from the Miscellaneous Chapters of the Zhuangzi). This shocking story shows Confucius attempting to convince the story’s anti-hero (Robber Zhi) to give up his robber lifestyle. By the end of the story, Confucius emerges as the more naive and inauthentic of the two characters, and moral exemplars in general are called into question. Are purveyors of morality also robbers themselves?

Stephen C. Walker’s research page Continue reading →

Episode 22 of “This Is the Way”: The Good Life in the Analects

What sort of vision of the good life does Confucius recommend? In this episode, we explore one of the most intriguing passages in the Analects (11.26), where Confucius asks four disciples about their deepest aspirations. Three students offer increasingly modest political goals—from Zilu’s grand vision of governing a besieged state to Zihua’s humble wish to serve as a minor functionary in ritual ceremonies. But a fourth student, the musical Zengxi, describes something completely different: a spring day spent with friends and younger students, bathing in the Yi River, enjoying the breeze at the Rain Dance Altar, and returning home singing.
Continue reading →

Episode 21 of “This Is the Way”: Xunzi’s Way—Discovered or Invented?

This episode is our first on the classical Confucian philosopher Xunzi 荀子 (3rd century BCE), who was famous for arguing that human nature is bad and for casting doubt on the more supernatural or superstitious justifications for traditional Confucian rituals, among many other things. Since this is the first episode on an important philosopher, we spend some time in part I discussing his “big picture” philosophical worldview. In part II, we turn to the following question: does Xunzi think of the Confucian Way as something that sages discover or invent? A little reflection on this question shows that it has major implications for how we think about ethics and its foundations, and how much ethical values depend on human convention. Continue reading →

This Is the Way: Live Show in San Francisco (Pacific Division meeting of the APA)

Update (17 April): Despite what the APA app might have told you, the live session will be in the Sussex Room, which is on the 2nd floor of the hotel. Looking forward to a lively discussion today at 4:00pm PST.

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This Is the Way will record an episode in person, with a live audience, at the next meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Pacific Division)!

Time:
4:00-6:00pm
Thursday, April 17, 2025

Location:
Sussex Room
The Westin St. Francis Hotel (next to Union Square)
San Francisco, California, USA Continue reading →

Episode 19 of “This Is the Way”: Zhu Xi on the Unity of the Virtues

This episode is really about two things. First, it’s about the claim that many instantiations of one virtue necessarily come packaged with other virtues. For example, you can’t have great humaneness or benevolence in your charitable giving to other people unless you also show a certain amount of ritual respect to them. Second, it’s about the view that one virtue in particular — the virtue of humaneness or good caring (ren 仁) — is more central or fundamental than the others.  The Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200) proposes that we can understand both the unity of virtues and the central importance of humaneness (ren) by thinking about the unity of the seasons and the central importance of the spring for the other seasons. We attempt to unpack these ideas (and some of the relevant seasonal associations) as they are presented by one of the Confucian tradition’s most subtle and complicated philosophers. Continue reading →

Episode 17 of “This Is the Way”: The Mohist State of Nature Argument

In this episode, we delve into the Mozi’s “state of nature argument,” which includes a vision of human life before political order and an explanation of how humans left that state. The Mohists were history’s first consequentialists and an important and influential classical school of thought. Were they right about the foundations of political society and government? Join us as we examine the Mohists’ most influential moral and political ideas and explore how moral disagreement and self-interest shape political order. Continue reading →

Episode 15 of “This Is the Way”: Ritual in the Analects

It is indisputable that ritual is at the heart of Confucianism—buy why? In this episode we examine Analects 3.17 in which Confucius seems keen to defend a ritual sacrifice of a lamb which his student regards as excessive. We discuss this passage in light of Richard Wollheim’s paper, “The Sheep and the Ceremony” which offers a deep and illuminating exploration of this passage and the value of ritual more broadly. We examine questions about the possibility of seeing ritual as intrinsically valuable or constitutive of a good human life, and offer some suggestions about why the Confucians may have been right to place such significant weight on ritual practice. Continue reading →