Major religions and spiritual traditions articulate their own visions of utopia, and these ideals have shaped the political and social foundations of their respective civilizations. The conference Utopias and Their Pursuit: A Comparative Study of the East and West seeks to explore utopian ideals and their practical manifestations by bringing Chinese and Western thought and historical experience into dialogue. Topics include philosophical and theological accounts and critiques of utopia; policies and historical events inspired by utopian visions; and the ways utopian ideas continue to influence contemporary global discourse. Please see the conference’s full program here. The online registration link can be accessed through scanning the QR codes in these two posters.
Warp, Weft, and Way
Chinese and Comparative Philosophy 中國哲學與比較哲學
I have long been intrigued by the concept, conceptions, imagination, and dreams of utopia of one kind or another, which excludes “engineer-like/blueprint” utopias or the notion of utopia in an exclusively pejorative sense. I confess to believing, generally speaking (hence there are exceptions), “Eastern” utopias have looked back in time to a Golden Age that was somehow lost or degraded over time, while “Western” utopias (not unlike apocalyptic beliefs and phantasies) look forward temporally speaking, especially since the European Enlightenment, and thus are invariable associated with, say, perfectibility or social and cultural progress, none of which is invariable or inevitable (e.g., not subject to distortion or periods of ‘regression’). To help us think about such things, I put together this compilation several years ago (I hope there are a few folks out there who find this useful!): https://www.academia.edu/11803308/Utopian_Imagination_Thought_and_Praxis_A_Basic_Bibliography
I belatedly recalled a relevant book by Michael Nylan which, I think, is related to utopian dreams and ideas of various kinds: The Chinese Pleasure Book (Zone Books, 2018). I would love to hear from those scholars of Chinese philosophy here and “out there” who have read this book and might one way or another comment on its utopian suggestions or qualities, etc. Many thanks!