Confucian philosophers often suggest that having good and bad examples plays a critical role in moral education and motivation. How do good examples figure into our ethical education, and how do bad examples help us discover vices or shortcomings in our selves? In this episode, we discuss this wide-ranging issue in connection with the Analects of Confucius, beginning with Confucius’s famous remark that he can find a teacher in just about any social setting (even when out walking with at least two other people chosen at random). Continue reading →
Category Archives: Ethical Theory
Conference: Ethics in Chinese Philosophy
The Division of Humanities in the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is organizing the international conference, “Ethics in Chinese Philosophy,” bringing together presentations on various schools of thought within Chinese philosophy, including Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, with a focus on their distinct ethical frameworks and contributions. The conference celebrates the 35th anniversary of HKUST. It addresses how traditional Chinese ethical theories can inform and address modern challenges. Please read more or access the conference booklet for further information. Continue reading →
CFP: International Conference Ethics in Chinese Philosophy, HKUST
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the Division of Humanities is organizing a conference titled “Ethics in Chinese Philosophy,” which will take place on March 20-21, 2026 (Friday and Saturday) at HKUST. Please read more to further information about the conference and the application guidelines. Continue reading →
Episode 27 of “This Is the Way”: Mohism—Two Arguments for Impartial Caring
This episode examines the Mohist doctrine of impartial caring (jian’ai 兼愛) via two arguments in the Mozi — the Caretaker Argument and the Filial Piety Argument. We examine the arguments’ logical structure, the psychological plausibility, and practical applicability. We also discuss the importance of reciprocity and competing interpretations of “impartial caring,” from the less demanding don’t-harm-anyone interpretation to stronger equal-concern readings, setting them against the Confucian model of care-with-distinctions (graded love). We also consider what genuine filiality requires and how different moral frameworks shape familial and social practices. Continue reading →
Episode 16 of “This Is the Way”: The Zhuangzi on Uselessness
In this episode, we talk about the theme of uselessness in the Zhuangzi, one of the great foundational texts of philosophical Daoism. What exactly determines whether something is useful or useless? Is usefulness largely or fundamentally a matter of perspective? Does the text’s apparent recommendation that we be “useless” (in some sense) entail some sort of realism or objectivism about value? We explore these themes together with our guest, Chris Fraser, a major scholar of the Zhuangzi. Continue reading →
Book Discussion: Wong, Moral Relativism and Pluralism
The 四海为学 “Collaborative Learning” Project will be starting off the new academic year with a book discussion of David Wong’s Moral Relativism and Pluralism. The discussion will start at 20:00 on September 6th, Beijing time. For more details and the Zoom link please visit the event page.
Note: Zoom does not always adjust the date and time correctly, please ignore what the link says and follow our scheduled time. No pre-registration or passcode is required. Everyone in the waiting room will be let in promptly when the event begins.
For more information on the 四海为学 “Collaborative Learning” Project visit the website, and for list of our upcoming events please see the calendar.
New Book: Yuan, Confucian Ren and Feminist Ethics of Care
Lijun Yuan’s new book, Confucian Ren and Feminist Ethics of Care: Integrating Relational Self, Power, and Democracy, has been published by Rowman & Littlefield. For more information, see here.
New Book: Rošker on Li Zehou
A new book in Brill’s distinguished “Modern Chinese Philosophy” series: Jana Rošker, Becoming Human: Li Zehou’s Ethics. A desciption:
The book Becoming Human: Li Zehou’s Ethics offers a critical introduction and in-depth analysis of Li Zehou’s moral philosophy and ethics. Li Zehou, who is one of the most influential contemporary Chinese philosophers, believes that ethics is the most important philosophical discipline. He aims to revive, modernize, develop, and complement Chinese traditional ethics through what he calls “transformative creation” (轉化性的創造). He takes Chinese ethics, which represents the main pillar of Chinese philosophy, as a vital basis for his elaborations on certain aspects of Kant’s, Marx’s and other Western theoreticians’ thoughts on ethics, and hopes to contribute in this way to the development of a new global ethics for all of humankind.
More info is here.
CFP for chapters in a cross-cultural ethics textbook
The below message solicits papers for a cross-cultural textbook in ethics; please respond to Ms Rodriguez directly.
My name is Laura Rodriguez and I’m responsible for Marketing and Library Relations at Open Book Publishers., the leading Open Access publisher in the HSS in the UK. I’m contacting you further to the launch of a call for papers for What do we care about? A Cross-Cultural Textbook for Undergraduate Students of Philosophical Ethics because we believe it might be of interest for you and/or your peers.
New book: Mastery, Dependence, and the Ethics of Authority, by Aaron Stalnaker
Oxford University Press has just published my new book on early Confucian social thought, and what contemporary people might learn from it: Mastery, Dependence, and the Ethics of Authority. The publisher’s page is here. At present the cheapest way to purchase it is directly from Oxford, with a discount code for 30% off (AAFLYG6).
This comes with hearty thanks to Steve Angle and Bryan Van Norden, who were belatedly revealed as the press’s referees.
