Interpreting an Alien Philosophy: What Works for Me

[Dear readers: I am happy to present the following invited guest post from Dr. Elisa Freschi of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Dr. Freschi (BA +MA in Indology and Tibetology, BA in Philosophy, PhD in South Asian Studies) has worked on topics of Classical Indian Philosophy and more in general on comparative philosophy, epistemology, philosophy of religion, philosophy of language and on the re-use of texts in Indian philosophy (about which she has just finished editing a volume). She is a convinced upholder of reading Sanskrit philosophical texts within their history and understanding them through a philosophical approach. She has worked at the Austrian Academy of Sciences since September 1, 2012, with a Lise Meitner project on Epistemology of Sacred Texts in Vedāntadeśika’s Seśvaramīmāṃsā. For more information about her work see here.]

No matter whether one focuses on Classical Chinese philosophy (as probably most readers of this blog) or on Classical Indian philosophy (like myself), one works on something which is different than oneself. I will contend that this feeling is useful also if one focuses on contemporary Chinese, or Indian (or Tibetan and so on) philosophy, or on Classical, Medieval, Modern Western philosophy, since it alerts one to a key factor, namely the difference between oneself and one’s object of study.

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Call for Drafts for Journal of Chinese Humanities

Shandong University’s Journal of Chinese Humanities is an English-language extension of Wen Shi Zhe (Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy), one of mainland China’s most respected humanities journals. JOCH focuses on presenting scholarly work on various aspects of China’s traditional culture and society. It fosters international dialogue on important Chinese studies issues and provides a platform for academic exchange.

We are now accepting submissions for our next issue. The theme is “Dialogue between Civilizations.” All entries must be original works and related to China. All submissions will be reviewed by the editorial board and blind peer reviewers.

The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2014. Submissions should use Chicago style format and be between 6,000 and 10,000 words in length.

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ChinaFile: Law and Confucianism in Contemporary China

A new CHINAFILE article: “What Does China Mean by ‘Rule of Law’? It’s more Confucianism than constitutionalism.” In my view the worries expressed in this article show all the more clearly why it is important to make clear that modern Confucianism needs to be responsive to the conditions of modernity: seeing law as independent from governmental authority is not “Western,” but good modern (progressive)  Confucianism.

 

CFP: Singapore-Hong Kong Symposium on Chinese Philosophy

Inaugural Conference

13–14 March 2015

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

The Singapore-Hong Kong Symposium on Chinese Philosophy is being organized as a way to foster dialogue and interaction between scholars and students based in Singapore and Hong Kong. Submissions are invited for papers on any aspect of Chinese thought, as well as papers dealing with comparative issues that engage Chinese perspectives. Speakers will be selected through a review of abstracts. While preference will be given to scholars and advanced graduate students based in Singapore and Hong Kong, participants from any geographic area are welcome. Accommodations on campus will be provided for a limited number of speakers coming from abroad.

Please submit 1-2 page abstracts for review to SHKConf@ntu.edu.sg by November 30, 2014.

For inquiries about the conference, please contact Franklin Perkins.

Stephen Macedo on “Republic as Constitutional Democracy” in Hong Kong

Stephen Macedo has just published a really nice essay on how we might understand the nature of the Hong Kong protestors’ proposal for electing the Chief Executive in 2017. I think the term “Republic as constitutional democracy” is a good and accurate term here, especially if we take into account the fact that the recent discussion in mainland China by people who are of similar mind with HK protestors has usually been conducted under “憲政” (constitutionalism) or “共和” (republic, republicanism). I do not know how much that discussion has had on the HK protectors. It has been widely reported in Hong Kong media, including the controversy regarding  《南方周末》 2013 editorial “中國夢，憲政夢” (China Dream, Constitutionalist Dream).

Here is the whole essay:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-macedo/would-americas-founding-fathers-consider-hong-kong-election-plan-democratic_b_5953016.html?utm_hp_ref=world

 

Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy lecture by Jake Davis: “‘The scope for Wisdom’: Early Buddhism on Reasons and Persons”, Friday October 24 @5:30pm

 

THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

Welcomes: JAKE DAVIS (CUNY Graduate Center)
With responses from: CHARLES GOODMAN (SUNY Binghamton)

Please join at Columbia University’s Religion Department on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24 at 5:30PM for his lecture entitled:

“‘The scope for Wisdom’: Early Buddhism on Reasons and Persons“
ABSTRACT: The idea that meditation leads to the realization that there is no self, and that this realization motivates selfless action for the welfare of all beings, is widely understood to be a central feature of Buddhist doctrine. Continue reading →