•  20
    Teaching (Chinese/Non-Western) Philosophy as Philosophy
    with Paul J. D’Ambrosio and Dimitra Amarantidou
    Teaching Philosophy 44 (4): 513-534. 2021.
    In this paper we argue that the approach for teaching non-Western, and specifically Chinese philosophy to undergraduate Western students, does not have to be significantly different than that for teaching philosophies from “Western” traditions. Four areas will be explored. Firstly, we look at debates on teaching non-Western philosophy from the perspective of themes or traditions, suggesting that, as an overarching guideline, it is mote discussion. Secondly, in terms of making generalizations, we…Read more
  •  1
    Early proponents of comparative philosophy believed that the dissemination of comparative methods would lead to step forward in human consciousness and contribute to a more peaceful world. Can comparative philosophy today still aspire to such goals? On the one hand, the aims of the field have narrowed, so that comparative philosophy is seen as a method of interpreting particular thinkers and texts or as a tool for addressing specific philosophical problems. On the other hand, critics argue that …Read more
  •  10
    Brahman and Dao: Comparative Studies of Indian and Chinese Philosophy and Religion (edited book)
    with Ram Nath Jha, Sophia Katz, Friederike Assandri, Nicholas F. Gier, Alexus McLeod, Yong Huang, Livia Kohn, Wei Zhang, Joshua Capitanio, Guang Xing, Bill M. Mak, John M. Thompson, Carl Olson, and Gad C. Isay
    Lexington Books. 2013.
    Although there are various studies comparing Greek and Indian philosophy and religion, and Chinese and Western philosophy and religion, Brahman and Dao: Comparatives Studies in Indian and Chinese Philosophy and Religion is a first of its kind that brings together Indian and Chinese philosophies and religions. Brahman and Dao helps close the gap on a much needed examination on the rich history of Buddhist transmission to China, and the many generations of Indian Buddhist missionaries to China and…Read more
  •  15
    Introduction: Teachers, Friends, and Truth
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 40 (S1): 8-11. 2013.
  • News and Notes
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 40 (5): 272. 2013.
  •  9
    Foundations of Confucian Ethics: Virtues, Roles, and Exemplars
    Rowman & Littlefield International. 2018.
    This book offers a side-by-side consideration of two competing interpretations of Confucius' ethical teachings in the Analects, ultimately arguing that Confucius’ ethics has important things to teach us about both our inner character traits and our social roles.
  •  6
    Teachers, Friends, and Truth
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 40 (5): 8-11. 2013.
  •  18
    The metaphysical background to early Confucian ethics
    Philosophy Compass 14 (12). 2019.
    What is the metaphysical background to early Confucian ethics? Is there a distinctive picture of reality that informs texts such as the Analects, Mencius, and Xunzi? Contemporary interpreters disagree on the answer to these questions, a division reflected not just in scholarly debates but in how early Confucian texts are introduced to larger audiences. This article will begin with a discussion of some general methodological issues involved in applying the term “metaphysics” to classical Chinese …Read more
  •  10
    Jiyuan Yu: An Appreciation
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 45 (3-4): 252-253. 2018.
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy, EarlyView.
  •  9
    Foundations of Confucian Ethics: Virtues, Roles, and Selves
    Rowman & Littlefield International. 2021.
    This book offers a side-by-side consideration of two competing interpretations of Confucius' ethical teachings in the Analects, ultimately arguing that Confucius’ ethics has important things to teach us about both our inner character traits and our social roles.
  •  28
    Fundamentals of comparative and intercultural philosophy (review)
    Contemporary Political Theory 19 (2): 157-160. 2020.
  •  8
    Under the Influence
    The Philosophers' Magazine 82 89-93. 2018.
  •  67
    Using Familiar Themes to Introduce Chinese Philosophy in Traditional Courses
    with Paul J. D'Ambrosio
    Teaching Philosophy 40 (3): 323-340. 2017.
    A number of recent scholarly works in Chinese philosophy approach Chinese texts and thinkers by incorporating them into longstanding issues and debates in the Western philosophical tradition. While the merits of this approach have received much discussion among those working in Chinese philosophy, it also has the potential to reach those outside the field whose research or teaching focuses on the debates and issues. In this article we look at the issue of using Chinese philosophy in courses on c…Read more
  •  6
    Introduction: Action in Chinese Philosophy
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 42 (3-4): 265-266. 2015.
  • . 2016.
  •  9
    Virtues and Roles in Early Confucian Ethics (review)
    In , . pp. 272-284. 2016.
    Many passages in early Confucian texts such as the Analects and Mengzi are focused on virtue, recommending qualities like humaneness, righteousness, and trustworthiness. Still others emphasize roles: what it means to be a good son, a good ruler, a good friend, a good teacher, or a good student. How are these teachings about virtues and roles related? In the past decade there has been a growing debate between two interpretations of early Confucian ethics, one that sees virtues as fundamental, and…Read more
  •  4
    Introduction: Chinese Philosophy qua Philosophy
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 40 (3-4): 377-380. 2013.
  •  125
    Friendship and Filial Piety: Relational Ethics in Aristotle and Early Confucianism
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 39 (1): 71-88. 2012.
    This article examines the origins of and philosophical justifications for Aristotelian friendship and early Confucian filial piety.What underlying assumptions about bonds between friends and family members do the philosophies share or uniquely possess? Is the Aristotelian emphasis on relationships between equals incompatible with the Confucian regard for filiality? As I argue, the Aristotelian and early Confucian accounts, while different in focus, share many of the same tensions in the attempt …Read more
  •  23
    Using Familiar Themes to Introduce Chinese Philosophy in Tradition Courses (for the Non-Specialist)
    with Paul J. D'Ambrosio and Timothy Connolly
    Teaching Philosophy 40 (3): 323-340. 2017.
    A number of recent scholarly works in Chinese philosophy approach Chinese texts and thinkers by incorporating them into longstanding issues and debates in the Western philosophical tradition. While the merits of this approach have received much discussion among those working in Chinese philosophy, it also has the potential to reach those outside the field whose research or teaching focuses on the debates and issues. In this article we look at the issue of using Chinese philosophy in courses on c…Read more
  •  55
    Learning Chinese Philosophy with Commentaries
    Teaching Philosophy 35 (1): 1-18. 2012.
    The last two decades have seen a resurgence of interest in the study of classical Chinese texts by means of the subsequent commentaries. New versions of works like the Analects and Mencius that include selected commentaries have begun to appear, making some view about the value of commentaries necessary simply for picking which edition of a text to read. In this paper, I consider the potential role of the 2000-year-old commentarial tradition in the teaching and learning of Chinese philosophy. Gi…Read more
  •  20
    Doing Philosophy Comparatively
    Bloomsbury Academic. 2015.
    Critics have argued that comparative philosophy is inherently flawed or even impossible. What standards can we use to describe and evaluate different cultures' philosophies? How do we avoid projecting our own ways of thinking onto others? Can we overcome the vast divergences in history, language, and ways of organizing reality that we find in China, India, Africa, and the West? Doing Philosophy Comparatively is the first comprehensive introduction to the foundations, problems, and methods of com…Read more
  •  134
    Perspectivism as a Way of Knowing in the Zhuangzi
    Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 10 (4): 487-505. 2011.
    A perspectivist theory is usually taken to mean that (1) our knowledge of the world is inevitably shaped by our particular perspectives, (2) any one of these perspectives is as good as any other, and (3) any claims to objective or authoritative knowledge are consequently without ground. Recent scholarship on Nietzsche, however, has challenged the prevalent view that the philosopher holds (2) and (3), arguing instead that his perspectivism aims at attaining a greater level of objectivity. In this…Read more
  •  38
    Sagehood and Supererogation in the Analects
    Journal of Chinese Philosophy 40 (2): 269-286. 2013.
    The Confucian ethical tradition emphasizes unceasing progress toward the goal of sagehood, and so it is generally opposed to the idea of supererogation, as this implies that we may be satisfied with attaining some sub-sagely level of morality. The one possible exception to this anti-supererogationist stance, however, turns out to be Confucius himself, who in the Analects appears to downplay sagehood and instead focus on the goal of junzi. Yet given that Confucius stresses ceaseless cultivation a…Read more
  • Fallibilism is a precondition for the conversation between culturally distinct philosophies that comparative philosophy tries to bring about. Without an acknowledgement that our own tradition’s claims may be incomplete or mistaken, we would have no reason to engage members of other communities. Were the early Confucians fallibilists? While some contemporary commentators have seen fallibilism as an essential characteristic of the Confucian tradition, others have argued that the tradition is char…Read more
  •  5
    Many passages in early Confucian texts such as the Analects and Mengzi are focused on virtue, recommending qualities like humaneness (ren 仁), righteousness (yi 義), and trustworthiness (xin 信). Still others emphasize roles: what it means to be a good son, a good ruler, a good friend, a good teacher, or a good student. How are these teachings about virtues and roles related? In the past decade there has been a growing debate between two interpretations of early Confucian ethics, one that sees virt…Read more