• The Cicada catcher : Learning for life
    In Karyn Lai & Wai Wai Chiu (eds.), Skill and Mastery: Philosophical Stories From the Zhuangzi, Rowman & Littlefield International. 2019.
  •  11
    Contempt, Withdrawal and Equanimity in the Zhuangzi
    Emotion Review 15 (3): 189-199. 2023.
    The Zhuangzi, a 4th century BCE Daoist text, is sceptical about the political culture of its time. Those who debated conceptions of a good life were hostile to the views of others. They were intolerant and at times contemptuous of others who did not embody their values. In contrast to such negativity, the Zhuangzi promotes equanimity. The equanimity of the sagely person is grounded in a balance she maintains between engagement and withdrawal. Engaging critically, she problematises the lack of di…Read more
  •  6
    Classical China
    In Dale Jamieson (ed.), A Companion to Environmental Philosophy, Blackwell. 2001.
    This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction The background: correlative thinking Tian Wuxing (five elements) and yin‐yang (yin and yang) Dao Qi (stuff) Chinese Buddhism and the Buddhist view of nature.
  •  21
    Ming in the Zhuangzi Neipian: Enlightened Engagement
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 40 (3-4): 527-543. 2013.
    In this article, we present an account of ming 明 in the Zhuangzi's Neipian in light of the disagreements among the thinkers of the time. We suggest that ming is associated with the Daoist sage's vision: he sees through the debaters' attempts to win the debates. We propose that ming is primarily a meta-epistemological stance, that is, the sage understands the nature of the debates and does not enter the fray; therefore he does not share the thinkers' anxieties. The sage takes his stance at the pi…Read more
  •  46
    Chong, Kim-Chong, early confucian ethics: Concepts and arguments
    Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 8 (4): 467-470. 2009.
  •  120
    Conceptual foundations for environmental ethics: A daoist perspective
    Environmental Ethics 25 (3): 247-266. 2003.
    The concepts dao and de in the Daodejing may be evoked to support a distinctive and plausible account of environmental holism. Dao refers to the totality of particulars, including the relations that hold between them, and the respective roles and functions of each within the whole. De refers to the distinctiveness of each particular, realized meaningfully only within the context of its interdependence with others, and its situatedness within the whole. Together, dao and de provide support for an…Read more
  •  7
    The Zhuangzi offers quite a few stories that centre on performance: a bellstand maker who selects wood to create wonderful bellstands; a ferryman who steers through rough waters; a cicada catcher who uses a stick, as if it were his hand, to catch cicadas; and a wheelmaker who, in using his chisel, feels it in his hand and responds with his heart. What is the role of the stick, for the cicada catcher, and the chisel, for the wheelmaker? What do these masters know? I situate these questions within…Read more
  •  1
    The introduction sets out how the chapters in the volume draw on Eastern and Western philosophical traditions to enrich and diversify our present conceptions of knowledge. Three meanings of extension are employed across the volume’s chapters. First, the chapters challenge prevailing conceptions of knowledge in Western epistemology. Second, they propose that to have knowledge is not only to have ideas cogitating in the mind, but also to perceive, feel, act and respond by engaging mind and body in…Read more
  •  6
    Cultivating a good life in early Chinese and ancient Greek philosophy: perspectives and reverberations (edited book)
    with Hyun-Jin Kim and Rick Benitez
    Bloomsbury Publishing, Plc. 2018.
    This book engages in cross-tradition scholarship, investigating the processes associated with cultivating or nurturing the self in order to live good lives. Both Ancient Chinese and Greek philosophers provide accounts of the life lived well: a Confucian junzi, a Daoist sage and a Greek phronimos. By focusing on the processes rather than the aims of cultivating a good life, an international team of scholars investigate how a person develops and practices a way of life especially in these two trad…Read more
  •  254
    Confucius and the varifocal stance
    Behavioral and Brain Sciences 45. 2022.
    We put the bifocal stance theory (BST) into dialogue with the Confucian approach to ritual. The aim of the commentary is two-fold: To draw on BST to provide an explanatory framework for a Confucian approach to social learning and, while doing so, to show how Chinese (Confucian) philosophy can contribute to debates in cultural evolution. In response to: Jagiello, R., Heyes, C., & Whitehouse, H. (2022). Tradition and invention: The bifocal stance theory of cultural evolution. Behavioral and Brain …Read more
  •  18
    Learning from exemplars in Confucius’ Analects: The centrality of reflective observation
    with Yu-Yi Lai
    Educational Philosophy and Theory 55 (7): 797-808. 2023.
    Exemplarism – the view that exemplary people, whom we admire, are the bearers of our moral concepts – presents considerable challenges to the (widely-assumed) place of moral theory in how we learn to be moral. Exemplarism has been garnered by Amy Olberding to articulate a Confucian approach to moral learning. This paper extends Exemplarism by considering how it may be put into practice, based on a seminal Confucian text, the Analects of Confucius. To date, the majority of discussions on Confucia…Read more
  •  200
    Ming in the Zhuangzi Neipian: Enlightened Engagement
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 40 (3-4): 527-543. 2013.
    In this article, we present an account of ming 明 in the Zhuangzi's Neipian in light of the disagreements among the thinkers of the time. We suggest that ming is associated with the Daoist sage's vision: he sees through the debaters' attempts to win the debates. We propose that ming is primarily a meta-epistemological stance, that is, the sage understands the nature of the debates and does not enter the fray; therefore he does not share the thinkers' anxieties. The sage takes his stance at the pi…Read more
  •  42
    Skill and Mastery Philosophical Stories from the Zhuangzi (edited book)
    Rowman and Littlefield International. 2019.
    Skill and Mastery: Philosophical Stories from the Zhuangzi presents an illuminating analysis of skill stories from the Zhuangzi, a 4th century BCE Daoist text. In this intriguing text that subverts conventional norms and pursuits, ordinary activities such as swimming, cicada-catching and wheelmaking are executed with such remarkable efficacy and spontaneity that they seem like magical feats. An international team of scholars explores these stories in their philosophical, historical and political…Read more
  •  33
    Freedom and agency in the Zhuangzi: navigating life’s constraints
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 30 (1): 3-23. 2021.
    The Zhuangzi, a 4th century BCE Chinese text, is optimistic about life unrestrained by entrenched values. This paper contributes to existing debates on Zhuangzian freedom in three ways. First, it reflects on how it is possible to enjoy the freedom envisaged in the Zhuangzi. Many discussions welcome the Zhuangzi’s picture of release from life shaped by canonical visions, without also giving thought to life without these driving visions. Consider this scenario: in a world with limitless possibilit…Read more
  •  627
    Freedom and agency in the Zhuangzi: navigating life’s constraints
    Tandf: British Journal for the History of Philosophy 1-21. 2021.
    The Zhuangzi, a 4th century BCE Chinese text, is optimistic about life unrestrained by entrenched values. This paper contributes to existing debates on Zhuangzian freedom in three ways. First, it reflects on how it is possible to enjoy the freedom envisaged in the Zhuangzi. Many discussions welcome the Zhuangzi’s picture of release from life shaped by canonical visions, without also giving thought to life without these driving visions. Consider this scenario: in a world with limitless possibilit…Read more
  •  34
    This volume offers arguments from eastern and western philosophical traditions to enrich and diversify our present conceptions of knowledge. The contributors extend contemporary Western epistemology in novel directions, through investigating and questioning entrenched conceptions of knowledge. The cross-tradition engagement with the neurosciences, psychology, and anthropological studies is an important feature of the volumes methodological approach that helps broaden our epistemological horizons…Read more
  •  43
    Who Is a Wise Person? Zhuangzi and Epistemological Discussions of Wisdom
    with Shane Ryan
    Philosophy East and West 71 (3): 665-682. 2021.
    This essay articulates the contribution that the Zhuangzi can make to contemporary epistemological discussions of wisdom. It suggests that wisdom in the Zhuangzi involves, in part, correctly distinguishing the "heavenly" (or the naturally given) from human artifice. It is important for humanity to understand naturally given conditions (e.g., seasons, climate, forces, mortality) to grasp what is within, and what beyond, our initiatives. To enable this, we need to be openly engaged with the world,…Read more
  •  5
    Understanding Change: The Interdependent Self in its Environment
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 34 (5): 81-99. 2007.
  •  6
    New Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Chinese Philosophy
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 34 (5): 3-8. 2007.
  •  2
    Skill and Mastery Philosophical Stories from the Zhuangzi (edited book)
    Rowman and Littlefield International. 2019.
    Skill and Mastery: Philosophical Stories from the Zhuangzi presents an illuminating analysis of skill stories from the Zhuangzi, a 4th century BCE Daoist text. In this intriguing text that subverts conventional norms and pursuits, ordinary activities such as swimming, cicada-catching and wheelmaking are executed with such remarkable efficacy and spontaneity that they seem like magical feats. An international team of scholars explores these stories in their philosophical, historical and political…Read more
  •  366
    The Cicada Catcher: Learning for Life
    In Karyn L. Lai & Wai-wai Chiu (eds.), Skill and Mastery Philosophical Stories from the Zhuangzi, Rowman and Littlefield International. 2019.
    The cicada catcher focuses as much on technique as he does on outcomes. In response to Confucius’ question, he articulates in detail the learning he has undertaken to develop techniques at each level of competence. This chapter explains the connection between the cicada catcher’s development of technique and his orientation toward outcomes. It uses details in this story to contribute to recent discussions in epistemology on the cultivation of technique.
  •  782
    In the Lunyu, Confucius remarks on the implausibility—or impossibility—of a life lacking in xin 信, reliability (2.22). In existing discussions of Confucian philosophy, this aspect of life is often eclipsed by greater emphasis on Confucian values such as ren 仁 (benevolence), li 禮 (propriety) and yi 義 (rightness). My discussion addresses this imbalance by focusing on reliability, extending current debates in two ways. First, it proposes that the common translation of xin as denoting coherence betw…Read more
  •  10
    Assessing participation skills: online discussions with peers
    Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 37 (8): 933-947. 2012.
    Many tertiary-level courses assess students’ participation in tutorial or online discussions. However, in educational and pedagogical research literature, criteria for assessing students’ skills in engaging with peers remain unclear. This article describes an online assignment with a set of participation criteria and a method for assessing the quality of students’ interactions with peers. The assignment focuses on students’ ability to utilise their critical thinking skills while engaging with pe…Read more
  •  1104
    Emotional Attachment and Its Limits: Mengzi, Gaozi and the Guodian Discussions
    Frontiers of Philosophy in China 14 (1): 132-151. 2019.
    Mengzi maintained that both benevolence (ren 仁) and rightness (yi 義) are naturally-given in human nature. This view has occupied a dominant place in Confucian intellectual history. In Mencius 6A, Mengzi's interlocutor, Gaozi, contests this view, arguing that rightness is determined by (doing what is fitting, in line with) external circumstances. I discuss here some passages from the excavated Guodian texts, which lend weight to Gaozi's view. The texts reveal nuanced considerations of relational …Read more
  •  196
    Discussions of human partiality—anthropocentrism—in the literature in environmental ethics have sought to locate reasons for unnecessary and thoughtless degradation of the earth’s environment. Many of the debates have focused on metaethical issues, attempting to set out the values appropriate for an environmental ethic not constrained within an anthropocentric framework. In this essay, I propose that the fundamental problem with anthropocentrism arises when it is assumed that that is the only me…Read more
  •  233
    Since the 1940s, Western epistemology has discussed Gilbert Ryle’s distinction between knowledge-that and knowledge-how. Ryle argued that intelligent actions – manifestations of knowledge-how – are not constituted as intelligent by the guiding intervention of knowledge-that: knowledge-how is not a kind of knowledge-that; we must understand knowledge-how in independent terms. Yet which independent terms are needed? In this chapter, we consider whether an understanding of intelligent action must i…Read more
  •  390
    Ren: An Exemplary Life
    In Amy Olberding (ed.), Dao Companion to the Analects, Springer. pp. 83-94. 2014.
    This chapter discusses ren 仁, a major term in the Confucian Analects. It analyzes the range of meanings of ren across different conversations, paying special attention to its associations with other key Confucian terms such as li (禮 behavioural propriety) and zhi (知 understanding). Building on this analysis, the discussion focuses on ren in terms of how it is manifest in a person’s life. In particular, it expresses ren in terms of an exemplary life—a life lived well. The chapter also dwells brie…Read more