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</div> <button id="toggle-navigation" class="toggle-navigation" name="toggle-navigation" aria-expanded="false"> <span class="screen-reader-text">open menu</span> <svg width="24px" height="18px" viewBox="0 0 24 18" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <g transform="translate(-148.000000, -36.000000)" fill="#6B6B6B"> <g transform="translate(123.000000, 25.000000)"> <g transform="translate(25.000000, 11.000000)"> <rect x="0" y="16" width="24" height="2"></rect> <rect x="0" y="8" width="24" height="2"></rect> <rect x="0" y="0" width="24" height="2"></rect> </g> </g> </g> </g> </svg> </button> <div id="title-container" class="title-container"> <div id='site-title' class='site-title'><a href='https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy'><span class='screen-reader-text'>Center for Comparative Philosophy</span><img class='logo' src='http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/06/CCP-logo-horizon.png' alt='Center for Comparative Philosophy' /></a></div> <p class="tagline">Welcome to The Center for Comparative Philosophy at Duke University</p> </div> </header> <section id="main" class="main" role="main"> <div class='archive-header'> <h1> <i class="fas fa-folder-open" aria-hidden="true"></i> Category: <span>Blog</span> </h1> </div> <div id="loop-container" class="loop-container"> <div class="post-571 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2017/06/15/ewan-kingstons-blog-post-at-eia-engaged-buddhism-anger-and-retribution/">Ewan Kingston’s Blog Post at EIA: “Engaged Buddhism, Anger, and Retribution”</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published June 15, 2017 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <p>Ewan Kingston is a PhD student in Philosophy at Duke University Engaged Buddhism, Anger, and Retribution “Many Western philosophers admit that Buddhism is a rich philosophy.…</p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2017/06/15/ewan-kingstons-blog-post-at-eia-engaged-buddhism-anger-and-retribution/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Ewan Kingston’s Blog Post at EIA: “Engaged Buddhism, Anger, and Retribution”</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2017/06/15/ewan-kingstons-blog-post-at-eia-engaged-buddhism-anger-and-retribution/#comments">2 Comments</a></span> </div> </article> </div><div class="post-516 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/11/18/virtue-politics-and-culture-1-the-hope-for-our-leaders-virtue-just-a-historical-hangover-frank-saunders-jr-university-of-hong-kong/">Virtue, Politics and Culture (1) “The Hope for Our Leader’s Virtue – Just a Historical Hangover?” Frank Saunders Jr. (University of Hong Kong)</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published November 18, 2016 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <p><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/IMG_6296.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-518" src="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/IMG_6296-300x300.jpg" alt="img_6296" width="223" height="223" srcset="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/IMG_6296-300x300.jpg 300w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/IMG_6296-150x150.jpg 150w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/IMG_6296.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px" /></a><br /> <em><strong><a href="http://www.franksaundersjr.com">Frank Saunders Jr</a></strong> is a PhD candidate in the philosophy department at the University of Hong Kong.</em></p> <hr /> <p><strong>Do the Moral Characters of our Leaders Really Matter?</strong></p> <p>The rulers of the ancient Chinese warring states had absolute authority over their subjects, and were therefore principally responsible for their well-being. The Confucian and Mohist political thinkers of the Warring States period developed the idea that a ruler can lead his people to order and prosperity only if he cultivates his virtue or moral character (<em>de</em> 德). </p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/11/18/virtue-politics-and-culture-1-the-hope-for-our-leaders-virtue-just-a-historical-hangover-frank-saunders-jr-university-of-hong-kong/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Virtue, Politics and Culture (1) “The Hope for Our Leader’s Virtue – Just a Historical Hangover?” Frank Saunders Jr. (University of Hong Kong)</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/11/18/virtue-politics-and-culture-1-the-hope-for-our-leaders-virtue-just-a-historical-hangover-frank-saunders-jr-university-of-hong-kong/#respond">Leave a Comment</a></span> </div> </article> </div><div class="post-510 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/11/11/neglected-virtue-11-wuwei-something-in-doing-nothing-jordan-jackson-a-teacher-in-wuhan-china/">Neglected Virtue (11) Wuwei – “There’s Something in Doing Nothing ” Jordan Jackson (A Teacher in Wuhan, China)</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published November 11, 2016 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <p><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/Jordan.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-511 " src="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/Jordan-e1478635587999-288x300.jpg" alt="jordan" width="232" height="242" srcset="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/Jordan-e1478635587999-288x300.jpg 288w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/Jordan-e1478635587999.jpg 374w" sizes="(max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px" /></a></p> <p><em><strong>Jordan Jackson</strong> received his BA and MA in Philosophy from the University of Cincinnati, and a second MA in Chinese Philosophy from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. He is currently working as a teacher in Wuhan while he prepares to pursue a PhD in China.</em></p> <hr /> <p><strong><em>Wuwei </em>and Radical Action</strong></p> <p>Traveling home for Christmas holiday, on a flight from Shanghai to Detroit, I had the chance to watch <em>The End of the Tour (</em>James Ponsoldt<em>, 2014),</em> a film centered around David Foster Wallace (played by Jason Segel) and a Rolling Stones journalist (Jesse Eisenberg) on the last leg of the <em>Infinite Jest </em>book tour. As the characters board a flight headed for Minneapolis, the character Wallace said something that struck a nerve in me. While discussing his solutions for reversing a low point in his life, Wallace describes his various strategies as, “a very American I-will-fix-this-somehow-by-taking-radical-action sort of thing.”</p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/11/11/neglected-virtue-11-wuwei-something-in-doing-nothing-jordan-jackson-a-teacher-in-wuhan-china/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Neglected Virtue (11) Wuwei – “There’s Something in Doing Nothing ” Jordan Jackson (A Teacher in Wuhan, China)</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/11/11/neglected-virtue-11-wuwei-something-in-doing-nothing-jordan-jackson-a-teacher-in-wuhan-china/#respond">Leave a Comment</a></span> </div> </article> </div><div class="post-502 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/11/04/neglected-virtue-10-cross-cultural-empathy-ethics-under-the-mask-of-aesthetics-xuenan-cao-duke-university/">Neglected Virtue (10) Cross-Cultural Empathy – “Ethics Under the Mask of Aesthetics?” Xuenan Cao (Duke University)</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published November 4, 2016 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <p><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/Cao.jpg"><img decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-503" src="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/Cao-252x300.jpg" alt="cao" width="201" height="239" srcset="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/Cao-252x300.jpg 252w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/Cao-768x916.jpg 768w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/11/Cao-859x1024.jpg 859w" sizes="(max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px" /></a></p> <p><em><a href="https://literature.duke.edu/people/xuenan-cao"><strong>Xuenan Cao</strong></a> is a 3<sup>rd</sup> year Ph.D student in the Literature Program at Duke University.</em></p> <hr /> <p><strong>Empathy and Well-Being</strong></p> <p>To concern oneself with the well-being of others, as in cases of altruism and charity, is one act. To empathize with imaginary characters or characters from a different culture is a rather similar act, since this act also participates in framing how one perceives the well-being of others. In such an act, what appears to be an aesthetic issue can be, in fact, an ethical one.</p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/11/04/neglected-virtue-10-cross-cultural-empathy-ethics-under-the-mask-of-aesthetics-xuenan-cao-duke-university/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Neglected Virtue (10) Cross-Cultural Empathy – “Ethics Under the Mask of Aesthetics?” Xuenan Cao (Duke University)</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/11/04/neglected-virtue-10-cross-cultural-empathy-ethics-under-the-mask-of-aesthetics-xuenan-cao-duke-university/#comments">5 Comments</a></span> </div> </article> </div><div class="post-487 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/26/neglected-virtue-9-nunchi-%eb%88%88%ec%b9%98-quick-apprehension-of-microethical-situations-seth-robertson-university-of-oklahoma/">Neglected Virtue (9) Nunchi (눈치) – “A Quick Grasp of Micro-ethical Situations” Seth Robertson (University of Oklahoma)</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published October 26, 2016 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <p><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/seth_website.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-488" src="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/seth_website.jpg" alt="seth_website" width="221" height="221" /></a></p> <p><em><strong><a href="http://www.sethrobertson.net/about">Seth Robertson</a></strong> is a PhD student in Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma focusing on moral psychology. </em></p> <hr /> <p><strong>Nunchi</strong></p> <p><em>Nunchi</em> (눈치, pronounced “noon-tchee”), a Korean word meaning literally “eye-measure,” isn’t widely considered a virtue, but it should be. <em>Nunchi</em> is the ability both to accurately read others’ mental states by the subtlest of cues and to use this information to expertly steer social situations. The person who notices the tiniest twinge of discomfort on a colleague’s face when a new topic is broached, and then deftly steers the conversation away from that topic has lots of <em>nunchi</em>; the person who always puts his foot in his mouth lacks it. <em>Nunchi</em> is both perceptive and performative. It is not quite social or emotional intelligence and not quite tact, but it includes them.</p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/26/neglected-virtue-9-nunchi-%eb%88%88%ec%b9%98-quick-apprehension-of-microethical-situations-seth-robertson-university-of-oklahoma/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Neglected Virtue (9) Nunchi (눈치) – “A Quick Grasp of Micro-ethical Situations” Seth Robertson (University of Oklahoma)</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/26/neglected-virtue-9-nunchi-%eb%88%88%ec%b9%98-quick-apprehension-of-microethical-situations-seth-robertson-university-of-oklahoma/#comments">1 Comment</a></span> </div> </article> </div><div class="post-478 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/18/neglected-virtue-8-sympathetic-joy-ewan-kingston-duke-university/">Neglected Virtue (8) Mudita (or Sympathetic Joy) – “The Art of Sharing Well-being” Ewan Kingston (Duke University)</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published October 18, 2016 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <p><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Ewan-headshot-Zion.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-481" src="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Ewan-headshot-Zion-241x300.jpg" alt="ewan-headshot-zion" width="241" height="300" srcset="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Ewan-headshot-Zion-241x300.jpg 241w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Ewan-headshot-Zion.jpg 242w" sizes="(max-width: 241px) 100vw, 241px" /></a></p> <p><em><strong><a href="http://www.ewankingston.com/">Ewan Kingston</a></strong> is a PhD student at the Department of Philosophy, Duke University. </em></p> <p><strong>Sympathetic joy</strong></p> <p>In a traditional Indian teaching preserved in Buddhism, the path to a fulfilling life consists of practicing four virtues – kindness, compassion, equanimity and… mudita. The last lacks an obvious English translation, a hint that perhaps Western culture could use more reflection on it.</p> <p>Mudita is probably most easily explained by considering those that stand in opposition to it: sour grapes, envy and schadenfreude. We know what it is to disparage someone else’s good fortune, or to desire it for ourselves, and even to rejoice in in an enemy’s suffering. To embody mudita, in contrast, is to rejoice in another’s happiness, to feel genuine joy at their joy. Thus, a common translation of mudita is “sympathetic joy”. </p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/18/neglected-virtue-8-sympathetic-joy-ewan-kingston-duke-university/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Neglected Virtue (8) Mudita (or Sympathetic Joy) – “The Art of Sharing Well-being” Ewan Kingston (Duke University)</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/18/neglected-virtue-8-sympathetic-joy-ewan-kingston-duke-university/#respond">Leave a Comment</a></span> </div> </article> </div><div class="post-467 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/12/neglected-virtue-7-yuan-chong-st-louis-university/">Neglected Virtue (7) The Virtue of Youthful Adulthood – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Chong Yuan (St. Louis University)</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published October 12, 2016 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <p><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Chong.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-468" src="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Chong-300x300.jpg" alt="chong" width="259" height="259" srcset="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Chong-300x300.jpg 300w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Chong-150x150.jpg 150w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Chong-768x768.jpg 768w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Chong-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Chong.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px" /></a></p> <p><em><strong>Chong Yuan</strong> is a Graduate Student in Philosophy at St. Louis University. He describes himself as a “perplexed feminist learning to run”.</em></p> <hr /> <p>Now that you are reading this blog, I assume that you care about virtue, culture, and the interaction between them. If that is the case, I urge you to watch Danqing Chen’s mini TV series “Ju Bu” (Of Parts). It was first aired on <a href="http://Youku.com">Youku.com</a> in 2015, and in each episode Chen presented some artwork (mostly paintings) or artist in the light of his own philosophy of art. The program as a whole is a marvelous display of the virtues of the artworks as well as of the artists, and it is all the more fascinating as Chen drew examples all the time from the histories of both Western and Chinese art.</p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/12/neglected-virtue-7-yuan-chong-st-louis-university/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Neglected Virtue (7) The Virtue of Youthful Adulthood – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Chong Yuan (St. Louis University)</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/12/neglected-virtue-7-yuan-chong-st-louis-university/#respond">Leave a Comment</a></span> </div> </article> </div><div class="post-451 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/03/451/">Neglected Virtue (6) Mana (or Authority) – “Restoring the Māori Virtue” Piripi Whaanga (Writer, Musician)</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published October 3, 2016 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <p><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Whaanga-e1475503780420.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-452" src="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Whaanga-e1475503780420-253x300.jpg" alt="whaanga" width="253" height="300" srcset="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Whaanga-e1475503780420-253x300.jpg 253w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/10/Whaanga-e1475503780420.jpg 620w" sizes="(max-width: 253px) 100vw, 253px" /></a></p> <p><em><strong><a href="https://piripiwhaanga.wordpress.com/">Piripi Whaanga</a> </strong></em><em>has a MA in Philosophy developing a practical New Zealand tikanga that connects kiwis. He is a published author and contributor of articles to e-magazines, and journals as well as producing radio programmes. An accomplished songwriter and performer.</em></p> <hr /> <p>Balancing the needs of the many with personal responsibility is a concept that needs re-emphasizing in contemporary New Zealand culture. It’s probably true around the world but a native Māori virtue called mana, gives New Zealanders a unique chance to rediscover this cultural well-being at a time when countries are being asked to take in refugees.</p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/03/451/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Neglected Virtue (6) Mana (or Authority) – “Restoring the Māori Virtue” Piripi Whaanga (Writer, Musician)</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/10/03/451/#comments">2 Comments</a></span> </div> </article> </div><div class="post-437 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/09/23/neglected-virtue-5-mass-ignorance-should-the-people-know-the-terrible-truths-yuan-yuan-yale-university/">Neglected Virtue (5) Altruistic Humbleness – “Why not just say “I want it”?” Yuan Yuan (Yale University)</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published September 23, 2016 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <div><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/Yuan-Yuan.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-438" src="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/Yuan-Yuan-300x287.jpg" alt="yuan-yuan" width="247" height="236" srcset="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/Yuan-Yuan-300x287.jpg 300w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/Yuan-Yuan.jpg 491w" sizes="(max-width: 247px) 100vw, 247px" /></a></div> <div><em><strong><a href="http://philosophy.yale.edu/people/yuan-yuan">Yuan Yuan</a></strong> is a Ph.D student in philosophy at Yale University. Her research mainly focuses on moral, political and legal philosophy.</em></div> <div></div> <div><strong>Altruistic Humbleness</strong></div> <p>My 4-year-old daughter is sweet and extremely shy. Like kids in her age, she loves snacks, toys and hot spots on the playground. When it is time to allocate those resources (say, a pretty new hand-drum this time) at schools, the typical scene would look like the follow: while her classmates raise their hands as high as possible shouting out “Me!” “Me!” “Me!”, she would be sitting there silently…At first her teachers try hard to keep a queue, and give everyone a fair chance to access the drum, my daughter waits and waits at a corner in silence, until everyone has played with the drum, gotten bored with it, and left it unattended. And just at the moment when the teachers start to think: “enough for all the kids,” she quietly walks up to the drum, carefully picks it up, and smiles…</p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/09/23/neglected-virtue-5-mass-ignorance-should-the-people-know-the-terrible-truths-yuan-yuan-yale-university/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Neglected Virtue (5) Altruistic Humbleness – “Why not just say “I want it”?” Yuan Yuan (Yale University)</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/09/23/neglected-virtue-5-mass-ignorance-should-the-people-know-the-terrible-truths-yuan-yuan-yale-university/#respond">Leave a Comment</a></span> </div> </article> </div><div class="post-427 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-blog entry"> <article> <div class='post-header'> <h2 class='post-title'> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/09/18/neglected-virtue-4-john-williams-national-university-of-singapore/">Neglected Virtue (4) Mass Ignorance – “Should the People Know the ‘Terrible Truths’?” John Williams (National University of Singapore)</a> </h2> <div class="post-byline"> <span class="post-date"> Published September 18, 2016 </span> </div> </div> <div class="post-content"> <p><a href="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/John_Williams-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-428" src="http://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/John_Williams-1-243x300.jpg" alt="john_williams-1" width="179" height="221" srcset="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/John_Williams-1-243x300.jpg 243w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/John_Williams-1-768x947.jpg 768w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/John_Williams-1-830x1024.jpg 830w, https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/files/2016/09/John_Williams-1.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 179px) 100vw, 179px" /></a></p> <p><em><strong><a href="https://nus.academia.edu/JohnWilliams">John Williams</a></strong> is a President’s Graduate Fellow at the National University of Singapore; he has articles on the Zhuangzi collection forthcoming in </em>Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy<em> (2017) and </em>Philosophy East & West<em> (2017).</em></p> <p><strong>Daoist Primitivism: A Counter-Intuitive Take on Human Dignity and Well-Being</strong></p> <p>One common trope throughout the otherwise heterogeneous Daoist corpus is the “reversal of opposites”: that is, turning a commonly held position on its head. For instance, people apparently don’t want to be ugly and rejected by society. The <em>Zhuangzi</em>‘s “<em>Ren Jian Shi</em>“《莊子•人間世》, however, demonstrates that an ugly reject—in this case, a discombobulated freak named Shu—can live out his natural years (<em>zhongqitiannian</em> 終其天年) because nobody bothers him: viz, the government gives him extra rations out of pity, he doesn’t have to serve in the military due to his deformities, and so on, among many other hidden benefits bestowed on this seeming loser.[1] Thus, what was first taken to be the case, the disappointment of being an ugly reject, has been reversed.</p> <div class="more-link-wrapper"><a class="more-link" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/09/18/neglected-virtue-4-john-williams-national-university-of-singapore/">Continue Reading<span class="screen-reader-text">Neglected Virtue (4) Mass Ignorance – “Should the People Know the ‘Terrible Truths’?” John Williams (National University of Singapore)</span></a></div> <span class="comments-link"> <i class="fas fa-comment" title="comment icon" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/2016/09/18/neglected-virtue-4-john-williams-national-university-of-singapore/#respond">Leave a Comment</a></span> </div> </article> </div></div> <nav class="navigation pagination" aria-label="Posts pagination"> <h2 class="screen-reader-text">Posts pagination</h2> <div class="nav-links"><span aria-current="page" class="page-numbers current">1</span> <a class="page-numbers" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/category/blog/page/2/">2</a> <a class="next page-numbers" href="https://sites.duke.edu/centerforcomparativephilosophy/category/blog/page/2/">Next</a></div> </nav></section>  <footer id="site-footer" class="site-footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="design-credit"> <span> <a href="https://www.competethemes.com/chosen/" rel="nofollow">Chosen WordPress Theme</a> by Compete Themes. </span> </div> </footer> </div> </div> <button id="scroll-to-top" class="scroll-to-top"><span class="screen-reader-text">Scroll to the top</span><i class="fas fa-arrow-up"></i></button> <style> .wpmu-footer-table,.wpmu-footer-table tbody,.wpmu-footer-table td,.wpmu-footer-table tr{all:unset}.wpmu-footer-table tbody{display:table-row-group;vertical-align:middle}.wpmu-footer-table tr{display:table-row;vertical-align:inherit}.wpmu-footer-table td{display:table-cell;vertical-align:inherit}.wpmu-footer-wrapper{width:960px;margin:0 auto;background-color:#fff;padding-bottom:10px}.wpmu-footer-table{border-collapse:collapse;display:table;text-align:center;margin:0 auto -7px;background-color:#fff;padding-left:10px;padding-right:10px}.wpmu-footer-logo img{padding:10px}.wpmu-footer-p{color:#5b5b5b;font-size:10px;padding-left:10px;padding-top:8px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:unset;font-weight:400}.wpmu-footer-p a{color:#0577b1!important;text-decoration:none}.wpmu-footer-p a:hover{text-decoration:underline}@media only screen and (max-width:960px){.wpmu-footer-wrapper{width:auto}}@media only screen and (max-width:644px){.wpmu-footer-wrapper{width:auto}.wpmu-footer-table{padding-bottom:5px}.wpmu-footer-table td{display:inline-block}.wpmu-footer-p{padding:0 10px;margin-top:0}} </style> <div class="wpmu-footer-wrapper"> <table class="wpmu-footer-table"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <a href="https://duke.edu" id="wpmu-footer-logo" class="wpmu-footer-logo" title="Visit Duke.edu"> <img src="/wp-content/mu-plugins/mu-wp-footer/duke-logo.svg" alt="Duke" /> </a> </td> <td> <p class="wpmu-footer-p"> <a href="https://sites.duke.edu/">Sites@Duke Express</a> is powered by WordPress. 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