Crary the Neo-Confucian? NDPR Reviews Inside Ethics

I’ve long been interested in Alice Crary’s work — her 2007 book is reviewed here — in part because of intriguing resonances between her ideas and some aspects of Neo-Confucianism that I find most attractive, such as the need to “discern patterns” in an “already moral world.” These issues come out even more strongly in her latest book, Inside Ethics, which is reviewed here. Rejecting an “ethically indifferent metaphysic” seems to me to be starting off in the right direction!

CFP: 2nd Conference on Middle Period Chinese Humanities

In 2014, the first “Conference on Middle Period Chinese Humanities” was convened at Harvard, gathering together scholars working on the period covering the Tang through the Ming dynasties in all fields. I had the good fortune to attend, and found it very stimulating — if somewhat short of philosophers. The second such conference has now been announced, to be held at Leiden University, September 14-17, 2017. Those interested in participating are asked to submit an abstract of 300 to 500 words (in English or Chinese) and a CV by October 1, 2016 to: middle.period17@hum.leidenuniv.nl. Those whose abstracts are accepted will be notified by December 1, 2016. For more information, see here.

History of Logic in China: website and book

Many folks interested in the history of logic in China probably already know about this website, but I just discovered it and thought I’d share. Also of interest is the book History of Logic in China: 5 Questions, which poses the following 5 questions to a lengthy series of specialists and presents their answers:

  1. Why did you begin working on history of Chinese logic in China?
  2. What is the best way to define your area in terms of historical period, textual sources, methodology or other factors?
  3. What is your favorite example of logical acumen by an early Chinese thinker?
  4. In your opinion what is the most difficult or problematic aspect of studying logical thinking by Chinese in the past?
  5. Which other areas of study could benefit from a better understanding of Chinese logic, or vice versa? (For example, other aspects of the history of Chinese thought, the relationship between early and later study of logic in China, or the relationship with other branches of philosophy such as the philosophy of science, ethics, etc.)

Slote Contra Self-Cultivation

In the most recent issue of the Journal of Moral Education (45:2), Michael Slote published “Moral Self-Cultivation East and West: A Critique.” Here is the abstract:

Moral Self-Cultivation plays an important, even a central role, in the
Confucian philosophical tradition, but philosophers in the West, most
notably Aristotle and Kant, also hold that moral self-cultivation or
self-shaping is possible and morally imperative. This paper argues that
these traditions are psychologically unrealistic in what they say about
the possibilities of moral self-cultivation. We cannot shape ourselves
in the substantial and overall ways that Confucianism, Aristotle, and
Kant say we can, and our best psychological data on moral education
and development indicate strongly that these phenomena depend
crucially on the intervention of others and, more generally, on external
factors individuals don’t control.

I would be very interested in hearing thoughts in response to this argument. If anyone does not have access to the article and would like a copy, please contact me via email.Hannah Pang detail

Liu Reviews Bruya, The Philosophical Challenge from China

In the current issue of Metaphilosophy (47:3), JeeLoo Liu has published a review of Brian Bruya, ed., The Philosophical Challenge from China (MIT, 2015). She gives paragraph-long summaries of each of the thirteen chapters, and then concludes with some critical remarks, which I will excerpt below.

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