CURRENT RESEARCH
My work focuses on the Chinese tradition, and I work primarily with classical Confucian and Daoist thought, with particular interests in
the virtues and moral psychology. My current research, and the subject of the book I am working on, lies at the intersection of Chinese
and comparative philosophy, ethics, and political philosophy. I am especially interested in understandings of the capacity for a "sense
of justice" found in the classical Confucian Analects and in work of John Rawls, and the role that this idea plays in their accounts of
how members of society come to think about and feel toward one other in ways that are conducive to a humane and just society. My work
explores the accounts of self-cultivation and role of the family in relation to developing a sense of justice in these and other
sources, with a particular eye to the way in which the classical Confucian tradition might contribute to current discussions in the
fields of moral psychology and political philosophy. As a comparative philosopher, I am also interested in how the comparative study of different thinkers
help us to appreciate new and illuminating aspects of both of the figures and traditions under study, and this general outlook can
be seen in my ongoing work on a number of different topics.
I have a joint appointment in Philosophy and Religious Studies, and this is reflected in the dual orientation of my research interests.
Since 2001, I have been a part of an ongoing series of field studies looking at the current ritual practices of Zhengyi Daoists in
southeastern China. I am also interested in the relationship between classical texts such as the Daodejing and current activities and
teachings in Daoist temples in China. My interests in comparative religious thought and philosophy of religion extend to the Western
tradition, and to figures such as Augustine, Kant, Kierkegaard, and Wittgenstein.
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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
A. Selected Articles:
"Augustine's Change
of Aspect" in Heythrop Journal 46:2 (April 2005), 135-48.
"Two Interpretations of De in the Daodejing" in Journal of
Chinese Philosophy 31:2 (June 2004), 219-33.
"Taishan's Tradition: The Quantification and Prioritization of Moral
Wrongs in a Contemporary Daoist Religion" (with Ronnie L. Littlejohn)
in Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 2:1 (2002), 117-140.
"Is There Forgiveness in the Ghost World? Daoist and Christian Views
on the Moral Order" (with Ronnie L. Littlejohn) in Ching Feng
3:1-2 (2002), 147-176.
B. Chapters in Books:
"How to Fish Like
a Daoist" in Riding the Wind with Liezi: New Essays on the Daoist
Classic, ed. Ronnie Littlejohn and Jeffrey Dippmann (Albany,
NY: SUNY Press, forthcoming).
"Rawls, Rosemont, and the Debate Over Rights and Roles" in Polishing
the Chinese Mirror: Essays in Honor of Henry Rosemont, Jr., ed.
Ronnie Littlejohn and Marthe Chandler. A volume in the Association
of
Chinese Philosophers in America Series of Chinese and Comparative Philosophy
(Open Court Press, forthcoming).
"Bluegrass and De in the Daodejing" in Metaphilosophy
and Chinese Thought: Interpreting David Hall, ed. Ewing Chinn and
Henry Rosemont, Jr. A volume in the Association of Chinese Philosophers
in America Series of Chinese and Comparative Philosophy (New York: Global
Scholarly Publications, 2005), 179-90.
C. Selected Review
Articles:
Review of Human Nature, Ritual, and History: Studies in Xunzi and
Chinese Philosophy, by Antonio S. Cua (Washington, D.C.: Catholic
University of America Press, 2005). Reviewed for Journal of Chinese
Philosophy, forthcoming 2006.
Review of The Two Faces of Justice, by Jiwei Ci (Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, 2006). Reviewed for Notre Dame Philosophical
Reviews, 2006.
Review of Daoism: A Short Introduction, by James Miller (Oxford:
Oneworld Publications, 2003). Reviewed for Journal of Chinese Philosophy
31:4 (2004).
Review of Effortless Action: Wu-wei as Conceptual Metaphor and Spiritual
Ideal in Early China, by Edward Slingerland (New York: Oxford University
Press, 2003). Reviewed for China Review International 10: 2 (2003),
pp. 452-6.
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TEACHING INTERESTS
I teach courses
in both philosophy and religious studies, which affords me the opportunity
to explore a range of diverse thinkers, schools, and ideas in the Chinese
tradition with my students. I regularly teach Asian Philosophy (PHIL
213) and Chinese Religions (REL 302). My seminars sometimes focus on
individual Chinese philosophers or texts (such as the Analects), sometimes
on topics that include a range of different figures (such as Classical
Chinese Political Philosophy), and other times on individual schools
of thought. My teaching interests also include comparative studies of
Chinese and Western sources, and current understandings of ritual and
virtue in Chinese religious traditions.
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