Author Archives: Michael Ing

12th Annual Midwest Conference on Chinese Thought (CFP)

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12th Annual Midwest Conference on Chinese Thought
The University of Chicago
March 11-12, 2016

The Midwest Conference on Chinese Thought was created to foster dialogue and interaction between scholars and students working on Chinese thought across different disciplines and through a variety of approaches. Submissions are invited for papers on any aspect of Chinese thought, as well as papers dealing with comparative issues that engage Chinese perspectives.

This year’s conference will be held on Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12 at the University of Chicago. Our keynote speaker will be Chad Hansen, Chair Professor of Chinese Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Hong Kong.

Professor Hansen will discuss classical Chinese ethical naturalism, which elaborates dao (ways, paths) as its focal normative metaphor. Extending his career-long argument that Daoist texts ground normativity in emergent natural contexts, he will present a broadly Zhuangist response to the is-ought problem and moral anti-realism. Modern science does not dispel the mystery of natural ways, but only demarcates more clearly their boundaries. Natural ways include normatively-laden social practices, and seeing those practices as part of nature does not rule out our finding, choosing, constructing and following them correctly. Such a stance does render normative relativism likely and skepticism a constant threat, but this fact need neither paralyze us nor undermine our free and easy pursuit of dao in a rich and complex natural context.

Please submit a 1-page abstract to Stephen Walker at scwalker@uchicago.edu by January 15, 2016 for blind review. For more information, visit the conference website here.

Workshop on Chinese Thought (November 6 at Indiana university)

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The Department of Religious Studies and the East Asian Studies Center at Indiana University are sponsoring a workshop on Chinese thought next Friday, November 6, 2-5pm in Sycamore Hall 224.

 

Presentations:

Aaron Stalnaker, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Indiana University

“Mastery as the Fruit of Shared Practices”

 

Lionel M. Jensen, Associate Professor, Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures, University of Notre Dame

“Spirits, Flesh, and Philosophy: The Place of Zhu Xi”

 

Macabe Keliher, Jerome Hall Postdoctoral Fellow, Indiana University Maurer School of Law

“The Meanings of Li and Ritual Theory”

 

More information can be found here.

Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Early Chinese History (Indiana University)

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Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Early Chinese History

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Indiana University invites applications for a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor in early Chinese history, covering any period from the Zhou (c. 1000 B.C.E) through the Tang dynasty (c. 900 C.E.), to begin Fall 2016. All sub-fields of historical studies are encouraged to apply.

Candidates must have a doctoral degree or clear indication that the degree will be in hand at the time of appointment. Teaching load is two courses per semester. The position supports undergraduate and graduate training in Chinese studies within EALC and across allied departments. Review of applications will begin on November 1 and continue until the position is filled. Applicants should send a letter of application, CV, three letters of recommendation, a writing sample, and official transcripts of graduate studies. Interested candidates should review the application requirements and submit their application at: https://indiana.peopleadmin.com. Questions regarding the position or application process can be directed to ealc@indiana.edu or to Manling Luo, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Global and International Studies Building 2058, 355 N. Jordan Ave., Bloomington, IN 47405-1105.

Indiana University is an equal employment and affirmative action employer and a provider of ADA services. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ethnicity, color, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or identity, national origin, disability status or protected veteran status.

Ethics in Public Life: Good Practitioners in a Rising Asia

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This book by Kenneth Winston may interest some of you:

Ethics in Public Life: Good Practitioners in a Rising Asia

The topic of moral competence is generally neglected in the study of public management and policy, yet it is critical to any hope we might have for strengthening the quality of governance and professional practice. What does moral competence consist of? How is it developed and sustained? These questions are addressed in this book through close examination of selected practitioners in Asian countries making life-defining decisions in their work. The protagonists include a doctor in Singapore, a political activist in India, a mid-level bureaucrat in central Asia, a religious missionary in China, and a journalist in Cambodia—each struggling with ethical challenges that shed light on what it takes to act effectively and well in public life. Together they bear witness to the ideal of public service, exercising their personal gifts for the well-being of others and demonstrating that, even in difficult circumstances, the reflective practitioner can be a force for good.

Kenneth Winston is Lecturer in Ethics at the Harvard Kennedy School, USA and Faculty Chair of the HKS Singapore Program. He is co-editor of Prospects for the Professions in China (2011) and editor of The Principles of Social Order: Selected Essays of Lon L. Fuller (rev. ed., 2001).

For more information see here. Palgrave is also offering a 30% discount on the book through 4/30/2015. Use the coupon code PM15THIRTY.

 

11th Annual Midwest Conference on Chinese Thought (Program)

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11th Annual Midwest Conference on Chinese Thought

North Central College, Naperville, IL

May 1-2, 2015

Friday, May 1

1:00-2:30  The Virtues of Mengzi (Chair: Aaron Stalnaker)

  • Dobin Choi (State University of New York, Buffalo): “Mengzi’s Maxim on Self-Cultivation for Righteousness in 2A2”
  • John Ramsey (Scripps College): “Are the Fruit of Duan of the Same Species? Mengzian Virtues as Heterogenous”
  • Franklin Perkins (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore): “Five Conducts (Wu xing 五行), Mengzi, and the Way of Heaven”

2:30-2:45  Break

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Discussing “The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony” by LI Chenyang

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The East Asian Studies Center at Indiana University is piloting a book workshop series this year. On Wednesday, November 19 from 8pm – 10pm EST Professor LI Chenyang will discuss his lastest book, The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony. Since this is a virtual presentation, we welcome all interested scholars and students to attend. You can log in here: https://connect.iu.edu/eabwli/ . Follow directions “to enter as a guest.” (For questions about the virtual-meeting software see here.)

NPR Story about Shanghai Subway Passenger

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This story about a foreigner passing out on the subway in Shanghai caught my attention; and I thought it might interest some of our readers as well. It turns out that after fainting and falling to the floor, not a single person tried to help the foreigner. The explanations in the article seem a bit dubious; and there’s no fat villan to throw in front of the subway car, which would make for a more interesting discussion; but I’m guessing a few of you might have some thoughts on the piece nonetheless.

CFP: Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy 49th Annual Conference

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Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy
49th Annual Conference
June 19-22, 2014
SUNY Binghamton, New York

CONFERENCE THEME: UNIVERSALITY AND PARTICULARITY

Keynote Speaker: Chenyang Li, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore
Title of Keynote Presentation:  “Comparative Philosophy and Cultural Patterns.”

Deadline for Abstracts and Proposals: March 1, 2014

Co-sponsored by the Philosophy Department at SUNY-Binghamton (http://www2.binghamton.edu/philosophy/), the 49th Annual Conference of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy (http://www.sacpweb.org/) will be held at SUNY-Binghamton’s campus in the beautiful environs of upstate New York.

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