Our scholar David Wong participated in two workshops on the theme, “THE ENDS OF HUMAN LIFE IN ANCIENT INDIAN AND CHINESE TRADITIONS,” sponsored by the Parekh Institute of Indian Thought, Center for the Study of Developing Societies,, Delhi, India & the Berggruen Institute, LA, USA.  There were two workshops, a smaller one that lasted three weeks composed of three scholars working in Chinese Philosophy, Roger Ames, Chenyang Li, and Wong, and scholars on Indian thought: Patrick Olivelle, Donald Davis, and Jens Schlieter, together with Rajeev Bhargava, Shall Mayaram, and Ananya Vajpeyi from the Center for the Study of Developing Societies. (more…)

Invited Workshop Series

Zhu Xi on the Motivation for Moral Action

Time: 12pm – 14pm 31^st Aug (Lunch Provided)

Location: West Duke 08C

Speaker: Dr. Kai-chiu Ng (Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Abstract:

Zhu Xi (1130–1200) said, “The mind/heart is a thing of action, and naturally has both good and evil [in its actions]. For example, compassion is good; seeing a child falling into a well without compassion is evil. To depart from good is [to perform] evil. While the original state of the mind/heart is not yet not good, we nevertheless cannot say evil is entirely unrelated to the mind/heart. If not the mind/heart, what undertakes it?” (more…)