Author Archives: hagop sarkissian

Announcement: 2014 Term of the “Beijing Roundtable on Contemporary Philosophy”

 

Please find attached detailed information about the upcoming 2014 Term of the  “Beijing Roundtable on Contemporary Philosophy”  on the topic of “Mohist Logical Thought and Development of Contemporary Philosophy”

Academic Organizer: International Society for Comparative Studies of Chinese and Western Philosophy
Host & Co-sponsor: Center for Comparative Philosophy, Institute of Foreign Philosophy & Center for Analytic Philosophy, Peking University, Beijing, China
Co-sponsor: Center for Comparative Philosophy, San Jose State University, USA
Time: 28th June 2014, Saturday, 1 – 5 pm
Location: Room 227, Old Chemistry Building, Peking University, Beijing
Full information in the PDF here: 2014 Beijing Roundtable_program_2014-6-7 version

 

Daoist Philosophy: Enigmatic Texts | Thursday May 29th, 4-6pm | Segal Theatre, CUNY Graduate Center

The Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy is thrilled to co-sponsor this event, featuring several distinguished scholars. Details below:

Daoist Philosophy: Enigmatic Texts

Thursday May 29th, 4-6pm | Segal Theatre, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 5th Ave, NYC

Daoist philosophy has been highly influential in East Asian thought, and is becoming increasingly so in the West.  Yet its texts are often inscrutable. Most notably, they frequently seem to express themselves in contradictions and paradoxes. In this meeting, a number of world experts discuss how to understand this.

Participants: Continue reading →

Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy lecture by Ted Slingerland: “Trying Not to Try: Cooperation, Trust, and the Paradox of Spontaneity” on Friday, May 9 @5:30pm

THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

Welcomes: EDWARD SLINGERLAND (University of British Columbia)

With responses from: MICHAEL BROWNSTEIN (New Jersey Institute of Technology)

Please join us at Columbia University’s Religion department on Friday, May 9, 2014 at 5:30PM for his lecture called:

“Trying Not to Try: Cooperation, Trust, and the Paradox of Spontaneity”

Abstract: Many early Chinese thinkers had as their spiritual ideal the state of wu-wei, or effortless action.  Continue reading →

Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy lecture by Joseph Chan: “Confucianism and Democracy: Uneasy Marriage or Productive Partnership?” on Friday, April 18th @5:30pm

THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY
 
Welcomes: JOSEPH CHAN (University of Hong Kong)
With responses from: WARREN FRISINA (Hofstra University)
 
Please join us on Friday, April 18 at 5:30PM for his lecture entitled:
 
“Confucianism and Democracy: Uneasy Marriage or Productive Partnership?”
 
Abstract: Since the very beginning, Confucianism has been troubled by a serious gap between its political ideals and the reality of societal circumstances. Continue reading →

Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy lecture on causation in Madhyamaka philosophy THIS FRIDAY March 7th @5:30pm

THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

Welcomes: MARK SIDERITS (Seoul National University)

Please join us at Columbia University’s Religion department on Friday, March 7, 2014 at 5:30pm for his lecture called:

“Causation, ‘Humean’ Causation and Emptiness”

ABSTRACT: Continue reading →

ISCWP Newsletter, Volume 12, Issue 1

Greetings!  Many of you will have received the latest ISCWP Newsletter.  For those who are not on the ISCWP membership list, you can find out about the the society’s activities and events by following the link above and looking through recent newsletters, which are all available there.

If any readers are not members of the ISCWP and would like to join, please click here to be taken to the membership form online, where you can apply for membership.

Hagop Sarkissian
Secretary and Treasurer
ISCWP

 

Reminder: Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy lecture on Truth and Argument in Ancient Chinese Philosophy Dec 6 @5:30pm

(A reminder about this upcoming lecture this Friday, December 6.)

THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

Welcomes:

BRYAN VAN NORDEN (Vassar College)

With responses from:

TIMOTHY CONNOLLY (East Stroudsburg University)

Please join us at Columbia University’s Religion department on Friday, December 6, 2013 at 5:30 for his lecture called:

“Truth and Argument in Ancient Chinese Philosophy”

ABSTRACT:

Most informed students of comparative Chinese-Western philosophy would agree with the following four claims: 

  1. Chinese philosophy is almost always concerned with truths that have ethical and social implications, whereas Western philosophy is sometimes concerned with purely theoretical puzzle-solving.
  2. Nonetheless, historically speaking, most Western philosophers have in fact been motivated to philosophize by ethical and social concerns.  The trend toward theoretical puzzle-solving is largely characteristic of some 20th century philosophy, particularly in the English-speaking world.
  3. Aristotle invented the first form of formal, deductive logic in the West, whereas Chinese philosophers were much more interested in the complexities of ordinary language arguments.
  4. Nonetheless, philosophers in both China and the West give philosophical arguments – and sometimes structurally similar philosophical arguments – without needing to use formal logic.

Controversy remains, though, over the proper way to understand the role of “truth” in Chinese philosophy. Continue reading →

Louis CK and Mengzi

This clip (below) from Louis CK’s most recent interview on Conan made a splash on social networks.  The whole thing is pretty funny, but the first minute or so reminded me of Mencius 1A7.

Part of what prevents the king in 1A7 from becoming a genuine king in that passage is his disconnect from his subjects.  He feels the suffering of the ox and this tugs at his sprout of compassion.  By contrast, he doesn’t see the suffering of his subjects, so he feels no sympathy for them and fails to treat them benevolently.

Louis CK raises the same general issue for children today and cellphone use. Continue reading →

Columbia Society for Comparative Philosophy lecture on Truth and Argument in Ancient Chinese Philosophy Dec 6 @5:30pm

THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

Welcomes:

BRYAN VAN NORDEN (Vassar College)

With responses from:

TIMOTHY CONNOLLY (East Stroudsburg University)

Please join us at Columbia University’s Religion department on Friday, December 6, 2013 at 5:30 for his lecture called:

“Truth and Argument in Ancient Chinese Philosophy”

ABSTRACT:

Most informed students of comparative Chinese-Western philosophy would agree with the following four claims:  Continue reading →