Most of my recent work can be divided into four broad, partly overlapping research projects. This page introduces these and provides links to articles that contribute to them.
Comments or discussion about any of this material is welcome.
Zhuangist Ethics
For several years, I have been developing an account of Daoist ethics, focusing primarily on the Zhuangzi, which I will eventually publish as a book. Contributions to this project so far include:
- Chinese Naturalism and the Limits of Ethics (in progress). To be presented at Global Themes in Ethical Naturalism, National University of Singapore, June 27–28, 2011.
- Wu-wei 無為 as a Normative Concept (in progress).
- Emotion and Agency in the Zhuangzi. Asian Philosophy 21.1 (2011): 97–121.
- Skepticism and Value in the Zhuangzi. International Philosophical Quarterly 49.4 (2009): 439–57.
- Psychological Emptiness in the Zhuangzi. Asian Philosophy 18.2 (2008): 123–47.
- Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and the Paradoxical Nature of Education. Journal of Chinese Philosophy 33.4 (2006): 529–42.
- Daoism and the Heterogeneity of Value. Presented at 14th Conference of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy, July 13–19, 2005, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
Mind and Action in Classical Chinese Thought
One of my core interests, beginning with my Ph.D. dissertation, has been to explore the distinctive features of classical Chinese philosophical psychology. This research involves developing accounts of early Chinese theories of mind, action, epistemology, and logic. Three key articles summarize my work on this project so far:
- Knowledge and Error in Early Chinese Thought. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 10.2 (2011): 127–48.
- Action and Agency in Early Chinese Thought. Journal of Chinese Philosophy and Culture 5 (2009): 217–39.
Other relevant articles include these:
- Wu-wei, the Background, and Intentionality. In Searle’s Philosophy and Chinese Philosophy: Constructive Engagement, ed. Bo Mou, Leiden: Brill (2008): 63–92.
- Weakness of Will, the Background, and Chinese Thought. (With Kai-yee Wong.) In Searle’s Philosophy and Chinese Philosophy: Constructive Engagement, ed. Bo Mou, Leiden: Brill (2008): 313–33.
- Tang Junyi on Mencian and Mohist Conceptions of Mind. In Contemporary Confucians of the Chinese University, Cheng Chung Yi, ed. New Asia Academic Bulletin 19 (October 2006): 203–33.
Mohist Thought
The preceding pair of long-term research projects led me to devote much attention to the philosophy of the Mozi, as I concluded that understanding Mohism is a prerequisite for understanding many of the theoretical background assumptions of early Chinese thought. As a result, Mohism itself ended up becoming one of my major research areas. My publications in this area include:
- Truth in Mohist Dialectics (forthcoming, Journal of Chinese Philosophy).
- The Philosophy of the Mozi: The First Consequentialists (forthcoming, Columbia University Press).
- Mohism and Motivation. Forthcoming in C. Fraser, D. Robins, and T. O’Leary, eds., Ethics in Early China (HKU Press, 2011), 73–90.
- The Ethics of the Mohist “Dialogues” (June 2010).
- Mohism and Self-Interest. Journal of Chinese Philosophy 35.3 (2008): 437–54.
- More Mohist Marginalia: A Reply to Makeham on Later Mohist Canon and Explanation B 67. Journal of Chinese Philosophy and Culture 2 (2007): 227–59.
- Mohist Canons, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised May 2009).
- Introduction: Later Mohist Logic, Ethics and Science After 25 Years. From the reprint edition of A. C. Graham, Later Mohist Logic, Ethics, and Science (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2003).
- Mohism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised July 2009).
- Three Textual Studies of the Mozi (1997–98).
Language and Logic in Chinese Thought
As a result of my interest in Mohism and in philosophy of mind and action, I’ve done much work on early Chinese philosophy of language and logic. Related publications include these:
- Truth in Mohist Dialectics (forthcoming, Journal of Chinese Philosophy).
- Language and Ontology in Early Chinese Thought. Philosophy East & West 57.4 (2007): 420–56.
- More Mohist Marginalia: A Reply to Makeham on Later Mohist Canon and Explanation B 67. Journal of Chinese Philosophy and Culture 2 (2007): 227–59.
- The Mass Noun Hypothesis and Interpretive Methodology. Journal of Chinese Philosophy and Culture 1 (2006): 58–107.
- The School of Names, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (October 2005).
- Mohist Canons, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised May 2009).
- Later Mohist Logic, Ethics and Science After 25 Years. Introduction, reprint edition of A. C. Graham, Later Mohist Logic, Ethics and Science (Chinese University Press, 2003).
- Mohism, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (revised July 2009).
