Author: Thomas Metcalf Category: Metaphilosophy Word count: 1000 If you’ve ever wondered whether God exists, whether life has purpose, whether beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what makes actions right or wrong, or whether a law is fair or just, then you’ve thought about philosophy. And these are just a few philosophical topics. … Continue reading Philosophy
Author: Henrique Schneider Categories: Chinese Philosophy, Historical Philosophy Word Count: 997 Wu-wei (無爲, wúwéi) is a central concept in early Chinese philosophy. However, different schools of thought conceptualized the notion differently, so it is difficult to briefly capture its multiple senses and uses. Our focus here will be on one sense of wu-wei in the … Continue reading Wu-Wei: Acting without Desire
Author: Henrique Schneider Categories: Chinese Philosophy, Historical Philosophy, Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics Word Count: 998 Way, Chaos, and Order are central to (early) Chinese philosophy. The Way is not a metaphor, but a natural structure to be uncovered by thinking and action. Chaos happens when people do not find a Way. Not finding a … Continue reading How to Establish Social Order? Three Early Chinese Answers
Author: John Ramsey Categories: Historical Philosophy, Ethics, Chinese Philosophy Word Count: 959 Editor’s Note: This essay is the second in a two-part series authored by John on the topic of Mengzi’s moral psychology. The first essay is here. In the first part on Mengzi’s moral psychology, we explored his claim that all people have four … Continue reading Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 2: The Cultivation Analogy
Author: John Ramsey Categories: Historical Philosophy, Ethics, Chinese Philosophy Word Count: 988 Editor’s Note: This essay is the first in a two-part series authored by John on the topic of Mengzi’s moral psychology. The second essay is here. Mengzi (372–289 BCE), or Mencius,[1] an early Confucian whose thinking is represented in the eponymous Mengzi,[2] argues … Continue reading Mengzi’s Moral Psychology, Part 1: The Four Moral Sprouts
