Mercedes Valmisa asked me to post the below information about her recently defended dissertation; congratulations, Mercedes! Her dissertation is available for download through ProQuest and Academia.edu, and anyone who is interested can also contact her to get a copy (regatular@gmail.com or mvalmisa@princeton.edu).
Changing Along with the World: Adaptive Agency in Early China
Mercedes Valmisa
Dissertation Adviser: Willard Peterson
Committee: Martin Kern, Melissa Lane, Franklin Perkins
Abstract
One of the major philosophical problems in Early China was the relationship between the person and the world, and in particular, how to act in relation to the world. This dissertation addresses the problem of agency in Early China, and pursues three main guiding questions: how to act efficaciously in different situations, how to cope with uncertainty and unpredictability in ordinary life, and how to achieve control and freedom.
