Introduction to Chinese Philosophy

Do we have one Philosophy or many Philosophies? Is there such a thing as Chinese Philosophy? What are the main differences between Chinese and Western Philosophies? What does it mean that “in early Chinese philosophy, the crucial question is not the Western philosopher’s ‘What is the truth?’ but ‘Where is the Way?’” Is the term “way” a correct translation for “dao 道”? What is the difference between Confucian “reciprocity” (shu 恕) and Mohist “mutual love” (jian ai 兼愛)? Does Daoism advocate a proto environmental ethics? These are some of the questions we will be tackling as part of this introduction to Chinese Philosophy.

In this module we will analyse and discuss texts by central figures in early Chinese philosophy such as Kongzi 孔子 (Confucius), Mozi 墨子, Laozi 老子. After considering the contemporary debate about the legitimacy of Chinese philosophy, we will proceed by addressing fundamental problems in early Chinese thought such as: the role of change (yi 易) in human existence and experience; the definition of human nature as good or evil and the consequences for the community; the ethical implication of the concept of dao 道; the function of rulership in social control. Through the appraisal of different schools of thought, you will delve in the rich philosophical debate that characterises Chinese society in the pre-imperial period.

General introductory reading

You can find the General introductory reading in the first section of the reading list. The Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy is a useful tool that can help you to clarify the meaning of difficult concepts whenever you have a doubt.

Overview

Contemporary art is often challenging and strange. A few examples: touring the burnt out shell of a Baghdad car bomb that killed 38 people in the aftermath of the 2003 Iraq War around provincial American cities to provoke debate (Jeremy Deller); a discreet business card, calling out racism, that was given out whenever a racist remark was made in presence of the artist who self-identified as black but was often assumed to be white (Adrian Piper); ephemeral works, such as a line scored in the desert scrub with the heel of a boot or by pouring water from a bottle, which last only so long as they take to dry out or be blown away (Richard Long); or videos of Ogoni people from the Niger Delta, a region despoiled by the polluting activities of major Western Oil multinationals, silently eating locally grown foods straight to camera (Zina Saro-Wiwa). 

Where does the value (as art) of these works reside? Why do such works matter? These are questions that that, in different ways and for different reasons, mainstream approaches to art in the both analytic and continental traditions arguably have difficulty answering persuasively: the former makes plausible claims that generalize over kinds of art or forms of aesthetic experience, but typically fails to illuminate why individual works of art might matter; the latter makes substantive claims about individual works or oeuvres that do indeed illuminate why these matter, but the cost of endorsing those claims is accepting a lot of metaphysical baggage tied to a given philosopher’s broader project. This module proposes a model of “philosophical criticism” as an alternative way of approaching works of art philosophically. After an opening week on standard methodologies in the philosophy of art, and where these may fall short, each week will focus on several works by a single artist, approached via a philosophical debate on a relevant topic, to consider not only whether these debates may shed light on the work, but also whether works of art can serve as spurs to philosophical reflection in their own right, by indirectly drawing attention to blind spots in the existing philosophical literature. 

Module aims

The underlying goal of this module is to try out a new way of doing the philosophy of art in the hope of providing the conditions for such a mutual illumination of philosophy and art by one another. After briefly sketching some of the characteristics of recent philosophy of art that we might want to avoid, most of the module is given over to actively modelling an alternative method through a series of case studies, taken as a kind of ‘proof of concept.’ Students will be encouraged to hone not only their core philosophical skills of argument and interpretation, but also begin to develop new skills of attentive and sympathetic visual and critical analysis. We will focus throughout on art from the last 50 years, but with an emphasis on 21st Century works. Works will be chosen with a view to sampling as wide a range of media for contemporary visual art as possible. Cases studies will vary from year to year but will include painting, sculpture, photography, film & video, conceptual art, installation art, site-specific art, performance, participatory / interactive art.

It seems that we have at least some knowledge of what is morally right and wrong. Rape is morally wrong and rescuing a child that has fallen into a pond is morally right. Yet we often disagree on moral matters, for example on whether eating meat is morally permissible. And while there are experts in other fields, it's less clear that there are moral experts. Moral knowledge also seems to have a motivational component. Moral wrongs have the tendency to upset us deeply and we can be motivated to do the right thing.

 This module focuses on moral knowledge and its limits. It will address questions such as the following. What is moral knowledge and why does it matter? Do we acquire moral beliefs in the same way as we acquire beliefs in other areas? Are there moral experts? How should we respond to moral disagreements? What should we do when we're unsure about what's morally right?

 We will be engaging with the recent philosophical literature in moral epistemology, including Sarah McGrath’s book Moral Knowledge, Alison Hills’ and Paulina Sliwa’s work on moral testimony, Elisabeth Harman’s work on moral ignorance, and Sharon Street’s work on evolutionary explanations of moral belief, among others. The module complements other modules in moral philosophy such as Ethics and Applied Ethics, as well as modules in epistemology, but there are no pre-requisites.