Episode 4 of “This Is the Way”: Daoist Persuasion

In the fourth episode of This Is the Way, we return to the familiar format of doing a close reading of a classical passage and connecting it to a theme. Our theme is “persuasion” and the passage is the dialogue between Confucius and Yan Hui in the Zhuangzi (ch. 4). It’s a great passage — somehow, not so widely discussed as others! But it should be of interest to anyone interested in rhetoric, the power of reasons (or lack thereof), arguments (in at least two senses of “arguments”), and the delicate games we play with our egos and the egos of others when we attempt to persuade.

Somehow, we just immensely enjoyed talking about this passage.

Continue reading →

How much historical context when teaching topically?

A colleague recently wrote to me saying that he was:

…inspired by the topical discussion in the Neo-Confucianism book you co-authored and so I decided to structure my course on Neo-Confucianism according to a thematic/topical discussion instead of the usual historical or thinker structure. However, how does one mitigate the pitfalls of sacrificing historicity? Specifically, how much context or historicity should I provide?

I would love to hear any thoughts that folks out there have, either as it relates to teaching Neo-Confucianism or any other relevant subject. Justin Tiwald and I share some thoughts here about why we prefer to teach in a thematic way, and have collected a few teaching ideas here, but I am sure there are some great ideas out there. Please share!

Master Program in Philosophy at University of Macau

The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of the University of Macau is offering a 2-year master degree program in Philosophy for admission in the academic year 2024/2025.
The Department balances Western and Chinese philosophy, with internationally renowned scholars contributing to graduate and undergraduate teaching in their areas of expertise. A shared commitment to the pursuit of wisdom through rigorous, passionate, historically-informed and innovative reasoning is nurtured through research-driven teaching and mentoring.

For details about the program and admission application, please visit the website:
ttps://fah.um.edu.mo/master-of-arts-in-philosophy/

Application for Admission:
https://grs.um.edu.mo/index.php/prospective-students/master-postgraduate-certificate-diploma-programmes/

For inquiries: (853) 8822 4768
fah.philosophy@um.edu.mo
https://fah.um.edu.mo/philosophy


Three “Collaborative Learning” (四海為學) Seminars in March/April

Reading Sunzi Bingfa

In the history of Chinese thought the Sunzi Bingfa plays many different roles. It has influenced ways of thinking about politics and warfare, but also efficacy in many arenas, and even environmental issues. The Sunzi Bingfa is also written in a way that provides a great introduction to reading classical Chinese, making it a useful text for students to read for many different reasons. In this course we will do a close reading of the Sunzi Bingfa.

Led by: Dimitra Amarantidou, University of Macau, and Paul J. D’Ambrosio, East China Normal University

This course meets from 6:00-8:30pm Beijing time, March 5, 12, 19, 26, April 2, 30, May 7, 14, 21.
Skype link: https://join.skype.com/IvuqyZhnUKjC

Concrete Humanism: Major Confucian Texts and Thinkers

Continue reading →

CFP: Special Issue on Resemblance

Call for papers: special issue on resemblance in the Asian Journal of Philosophy

Guest editors: Ben Blumson (NUS, Singapore), Malcolm Keating (Smith College, USA)

The nature of similarity (or resemblance) and our epistemic access to it have been important topics in both contemporary philosophy and historical traditions, including, for example, Indian and Medieval European philosophical traditions. This collection of papers in the Asian Journal of Philosophy brings together philosophers across these traditions working on related questions.

Continue reading →

New Book Series: East Asian Philosophy and Political Thought

A message from Sungmoon Kim:

I’m pleased to announce the launch of a new book series with Amsterdam University Press called “East Asian Philosophy and Political Thought.” As a series editor, I am joined by Ellie Wang, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at National Chengchi University, as the series’ associate editor. Please check out this link for the series web page: https://www.aup.nl/en/series/east-asian-philosophy-and-political-thought

As a series editor, my primary role will be identifying talented (young) scholars in East Asia and beyond and helping them find an intellectual platform in which their original ideas can be taken seriously and critically engaged by other scholars. I hope this will turn out to be a helpful academic venue for all of you who engage in East Asian philosophy and political thought, broadly understood. Please note that this series publishes both authored books and edited volumes that engage in East Asian philosophy and political thought, broadly defined. You can download the book proposal from our web page above.