History of Philosophy: India, Africana, China

HPC 43 Chiu Wai-Wai on the Zhuangzi and Mohism

An interview on debates over language and reasoning between the Mohists and the Daoist classic, the Zhuangzi.

HPC 42. A Black and White World: the Zhuangzi on Shi-Fei Dogmatism

The Zhuangzi’s critique of dogmatic approaches to argumentation and governing the state.

HPC 41. To Speak or Not to Speak: Skepticism in the Zhuangzi

We introduce the second great classic of Warring States Daoism, the Zhuangzi, and ask whether it adopts a position of radical skepticism.

HPC 40. Antiheroes: Sunzi’s Art of War

Are the methods of warfare proposed in the famous Art of War an example of “applied Daoism”?

HPC 39. Robin Wang on Yin-Yang Thinking

An interview on the pervasive use of the yin-yang relational pair in classical Chinese thought generally, and in Daoism in particular.

HPC 38. Easy Does It: Non-Action in the Laozi

The concept of wuwei or “non-action”: does it mean that the perfect sage or political ruler simply never does anything?

HPC 37. She Stoops to Conquer: Femininity in the Laozi

How the Laozi (Daodejing) applies the lessons of complementarity to the contrast between male and female.

HPC 36. Fishing for Complements: Polarities in Daoism

The significance of the Laozi’s use of opposing pairs, which are treated as complementary rather as exclusive dichotomies.

HPC 35. Way Better than Greenwashing: Daoism on Nature

The Laozi (Daodejing) refers to the winds, the rain and the waters. We discuss how these ideas express the Laozi’s views on nature.

HPC 34. You Don’t Say! the Dao That Cannot Be Told

The first rule of dao is: don’t talk about dao. We do so nonetheless, focusing on its role in metaphysics and language.