Roundtable Discussions: The Pursuit of Wisdom: Ancient Greek and Chinese philosophy and literature

This inquiry aims to develop comparative perspectives on the pursuit of the good life in ancient Greek and Chinese philosophy and literature. It breaks new ground in the field of comparative philosophy and intellectual history, which to date presents extensive literature on comparative pictures of the good life. Yet, relatively few discussions focus on the processes necessary for attaining the good life. The innovative nature of this project lies in its focus on the processes associated with the pursuit of wisdom in the respective traditions. The attention here will be on issues concerned with practice, discipline, resources required for such pursuits, as well as their underlying epistemological assumptions.

Registration

Attendance is free but registration is essential. Please register here: https://pursuitofwisdomroundtable.wordpress.com/

Invited Speakers
Professor Rick Benitez, School of Philosophical and Historical Enquiry, University of Sydney
Mr Drago Heler, Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University
Mr Anthony Hooper, School of Philosophical and Historical Enquiry, University of Sydney
Dr Cullan Joyce, Catholic Theological College, MCD University, Melbourne
Dr Hyun Jin Kim, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne
Dr Esther Klein, School of Languages and Cultures & China Studies Centre, University of
A/Prof Karyn Lai, School of Humanities and Languages, University of New South Wales
Dr Michaelis Michael, School of Humanities and Languages, University of New South Wales
Dr Ping Wang, School of Humanities and Languages, University of New South Wales

Roundtable Dates & Times
Thurs 27 Nov 2014, 10 am – 6 pm
Fri 28 Nov 2014, 10 am – 5pm

Roundtable Venue
Morven Brown Building, Lv 2, Room 209
UNSW Kensington, Sydney, Australia

Contact
A/Prof Karyn Lai: k.lai@unsw.edu.au

SEOK, Bongrae, Embodied Moral Psychology and Confucian Philosophy
Lanham: Lexington Books, 2013, xvi + 197 pages

How can Confucian philosophy provide a useful path toward understanding the basic
processes of human moral psychology? This is the question that SEOK Bongrae’s new
book Embodied Moral Psychology and Confucian Philosophy strives to answer.
To the uninitiated, Confucian philosophy will be an unlikely resource, even an
anachronism with respect to current issues in philosophy, especially with regard to
issues in cognitive science and the philosophy of mind. However, a revival of
Confucian ideas is taking place, with articles, conferences, monographs, and edited
volumes devoted to its relevance to a variety of areas of current philosophy, both
analytic and continental. Seok’s book is a fine example from this trend. Trained in the
philosophy of mind and cognitive science at the University of Arizona, Seok has turned
to the Confucian tradition for insights that can extend our understanding of how the
human mind makes moral decisions.

Seok divides his book into two parts. The first is a background on embodied
cognition and how Confucian philosophy is a natural candidate for explorations of
embodiment. The second explores and elucidates particular aspects of Confucian moral
psychology and then brings them into dialogue with current debates in moral psychology,
specifically, with regard to the character/situationist debate. In the five chapters of
these two sections, Seok makes a convincing case for the importance of what he calls
situated Confucian virtue. …

Full review can be found here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11712-014-9411-0?sa_campaign=email/event/articleAuthor/onlineFirst

THE COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY

Welcomes: HAGOP SARKISSIAN (Baruch College)

Please join at Columbia University’s Religion Department on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14 at 5:30PM for his lecture entitled:

“On Wielding Moral Sway: Influence and Manipulation in Social Networks”

ABSTRACT: Many of us value our independence, yet none of us is an independent actor in any profound sense. Rather, we are deeply affected by others in our local and extended networks in subtle yet significant ways. What’s more, we return the favor–influencing the trajectory of others’ lives (whether we intend to or not). These facts, recently articulated in the behavioral and health sciences, raise certain questions. Do we have (previously unacknowledged) responsibilities to others if we do, in fact, continually exercise such influence on them—even if at a distance? Should we shape and mind our influence? If so, do we risk being paternalistic, even manipulative? From our perspective today, rooting out patterns of influence and then wielding them toward specific goals might seem unsavory. Nevertheless, I will argue that such strategies may make perfect sense once we become a) vividly aware of the predictable patterns of such resonant influence, and b) convinced that escaping such influence is a foolish enterprise. And whereas we are only recently coming to grips with this phenomenon, several early Confucian texts seem to take it as a fundamental orientation, which motivated an ethics centered on the notions of self-regulation, sway, and harmony. Indeed, wielding moral sway is, from this perspective, a hallmark of the virtuous person. I argue that classical Confucianism, while a tradition of thought quite distant from us, nonetheless contains important resources for understanding how we can better resonate with others and, in turn, how we can turn such resonance into human harmony.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14
5:30-7:30 pm
Rm. 101, 80 Claremont Ave, Columbia University
http://goo.gl/maps/zfUKH

UPCOMING COLUMBIA SOCIETY FOR COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY EVENTS:
Friday, December 5 – Timothy Connolly (East Stroudsburg University)

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: http://www.cbs.columbia.edu/cscp/