Confucius’ remark at Analects 1.6 is often cited to show that he thought proper moral development begins with filial piety and then extends that attitude to ever-larger groups of people (ever less intensely). I shall argue that the remark does not display such a view. Confucius did not in general envision moral progress as extension.
Special Issue of the European Journal For Philosophy of Religion: Tradition, Ritual, and Heaven in East Asian Religious Philosophy
Guest Editor: Philip J. Ivanhoe
Bin Song, a graduate student at BU, writes:
We Boston Ruists will host a Ruist retreat this summer, July 1-3rd, at Boston University. Attached is the schedule, including all details of the retreat and logistics.
The initiative of this retreat was proposed by some friends in the Facebook group ‘Friends from Afar: a Confucianism group.’ I hope the retreat can be organized as a ‘middle’ sort of Ruism, aiming to propagate Ruist wisdom among ordinary American people but still not losing its scholarly virtuosity.
Anyone interested in learning more about the retreat, or in registering, should contact Bin Song (the information is on the attachment). Comments on this undertaking are of course welcome here.
A new book that may be of interest: James Flath, Traces of the Sage: Monument, Materiality, and the First Temple of Confucius (Hawaii, 2016). More information is here.
Not without shame, I’d like to mention (and thereby promote) a book that I co-edited with Jack Kline, Ritual & Religion in the Xunzi, devoted to interpretations of Xunzi as a religious philosopher. I’ll include a brief description below the fold.
People in the New York area might be interested in the following conference which, while not about China, is concerned with an area of central importance to much Chinese philosophy: namely, ritual.
Exploring Ritual in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean: Performance, Texts, and Material Culture
Friday, May 16, 2014, 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Seating is limited, please email isaw@nyu.edu to register.
This may be old news to many of you, but until recently, I was unaware of the special issue of Sophia devoted to ritual in Chinese philosophy, which contains a number of excellent articles. Read on for the Table of Contents.
I am very happy to announce the 2nd Rutgers Workshop on Chinese Philosophy, which will be held on Friday, April 11, on the topic “Xunzi on Authority.” Four scholars of Chinese philosophy will present papers, each followed by a critical commentary from a member of the Rutgers University Philosophy Department. Attendance (including lunch) is free but requires an advance RSVP so that we know how much food to get. Please read on for details!
The next session of the Columbia University Seminar on Neo-Confucian Studies (Seminar #567) will convene Friday, February 7, 2014 from 3:30 to 5:30pm in the Komoda Room of the Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University. We will have two presenters (copies of the papers are available from the organizers):
All are welcome to attend. Please join us immediately after the seminar for dinner at Columbia Cottage restaurant, which is located on the corner of Amsterdam and 111th Streets.
Michael Stanley-Baker has written an informative review of Ori Tavor’s UPenn doctoral dissertation, “Embodying the Way: Bio-spiritual Practices and Ritual Theories in Early and Medieval China.”
