Talk: Philosophy of Comparison and Comparative Philosophy, by Ralph Weber (25 Jan 2010)

Philosophy Seminar Series: 25 January 2011, 2-3:45pm, Philosophy Resource Room; Speaker: Ralph Weber, Senior Researcher and Lecturer, Zurich University; Moderator: Dr. Tang Weng Hong

Abstract: Comparison is fundamental to the practice and subject-matter of philosophy; but surprisingly it has received scant attention by philosophers. This is no different in ‘comparative philosophy’, which literally distinguishes itself from other philosophy by being ‘comparative’. In the talk, I shall argue for the need of a philosophy of comparison with a view to comparative philosophy. My focus will be on highlighting and problematizing one important element in any comparison: the tertium comparationis (the third of comparison). In the view that I shall defend there is no such thing as incomparability: anything can indeed be compared to anything. This finding, however, in no way decreases the importance of giving reasons why, say, Aristotle should be compared to Mencius or why conceptions of life in Greek and Chinese antiquity should particularly recommend themselves for comparison. If anything, I shall argue, it follows that reasons are even more important. To illustrate this latter claim, I shall relate my arguments to what is today commonly labelled ‘comparative philosophy’, and point out some of its largely unquestioned presumptions, particularly in light of their political implications. This political dimension of comparative philosophy is all too seldom reflected upon, which leaves the work of comparative philosophers unprotected from serving diverse political purposes – which may or may not be coextensive with the purposes they originally had in mind.

Ralph Weber _smallAbout the speaker: Dr. Ralph Weber is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer and Head of a Research Group on ‘Comparative Conceptual Research’ at the University Research Priority Program Asia and Europe of Zurich University, Switzerland. He regularly teaches doctoral seminars on varying topics at the University of Zurich as well as courses on the History of Political Ideas and Political Theory at the University of St. Gallen. His research interests are comparative philosophy, classical and contemporary Confucianism, and pragmatist political philosophy. He has published articles in journals such as Philosophy East and West, Asian Philosophy, Third World Quarterly and Zhexuemen. Forthcoming is a co-edited volume on Modernities: Sites, Concepts and Temporalities in Asia and Europe.
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More information on the Philosophy Seminar Series can be found here. A list of past talks in the series can be found here.

Dr. Ralph Weber is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer and Head of a Research Group on ‘Comparative Conceptual Research’ at the University Research Priority Program Asia and Europe of Zurich University, Switzerland. He regularly teaches doctoral seminars on varying topics at the University of Zurich as well as courses on the History of Political Ideas and Political Theory at the University of St. Gallen. His research interests are comparative philosophy, classical and contemporary Confucianism, and pragmatist political philosophy. He has published articles in journals such as Philosophy East and West, Asian Philosophy, Third World Quarterly and Zhexuemen. Forthcoming is a co-edited volume on Modernities: Sites, Concepts and Temporalities in Asia and Europe.

The Philosophy Department welcomes three distinguished Chinese Philosophers

Professor Shun Kwong-loi, Chair Professor of Philosophy at Chinese University of Hong Kong and Sin Wai Kin Professor of Chinese Culture, will be delivering a series of four lectures, “From Philology to Philosophy – A Study in Confucian Moral Psychology,” 4 to 10 August. The last lecture, “On Anger: A Confucian Perspective,” will be open to the public. Before joining CUHK, Professor Shun held key positions at the University of Toronto and the University of California at Berkeley. His scholarship is impressive both for its sinological expertise and its philosophical rigor. He contributed many entries to Encyclopedias on Chinese Philosophy (Oxford Companion to Philosophy), Confucius (Encyclopedia of Ethics), Mencius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy), Wang Yangming (Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy) and other related topics. He has published widely on Confucian ethics, most recently on “Studying Confucian and Comparative Ethics,” and “Wholeness in Confucian Thought: Zhu Xi on Cheng, Zhong, Xin, and Jing.” His book on Mencius and Early Chinese Thought has become a classic in Chinese Philosophy and an exemplar of philosophical interpretation of ancient Chinese texts.

Professor Chad Hansen, Chair Professor Emeritus, University of Hong Kong, is visiting the department in AY 2010/2011. He will be teaching Introduction to Comparative Philosophy (PH3218) and Topics in East Asian Philosophy (PH4205) in Semester I. In Semester II, he will be teaching Comparative Philosophy (PH4213) and a graduate module (PH6760: Philosophical Topics). Among Professor Hansen’s works, the most famous is A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought. Other monographs include Language and Logic in Ancient China and Laozi: The Tao Te Ching: on The Art of Harmony. He has published many articles and book chapters, recent ones include “The Normative Impact of Comparative Ethics: Human Rights” (Confucian Ethics : A Comparative Study of Self, Autonomy, and Community); “The Metaphysics of Dao” (Comparative Approaches to Chinese Philosophy); “Reading with Understanding: Interpretive Method in Chinese Philosophy” (Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy); “Prolegomena To Future Solutions To “White-Horse Not Horse”: Being Uncharitable To Gongsun Long” (Journal of Chinese Philosophy); “Washing the Dust from my Mirror: The Deconstruction of Buddhism” (Philosophy East and West).

Professor Lisa Raphals joins the department from AY2010/2011 and will be teaching Greek Philosophy: Aristotle (PH 3222) in Semester I, followed by Greek Thinkers (PH4209) and Early Chinese Philosophy I (PH2301) in Semester II. Well known for her nuanced study of both the ancient Greek and ancient Chinese traditions, Professor Raphals is author of Knowing Words: Wisdom and Cunning in the Classical Traditions of China and Greece and Sharing the Light: Representations of Women and Virtue in Early China. Her journal articles and book chapters include “Fate, Fortune, Chance and Luck in Chinese and Greek,” (Philosophy East and West); “Notes on Baoshan Medical Manuscript” (Studies on Recently-Discovered Chinese Manuscripts); “Craft Analogies in Chinese and Greek Argumentation (Literature, Religion and East-West Comparison); “Divination and Medicine in China and Greece” (East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine); “Daoism and Animals” (A Communion of Subjects: Animals in Religion and Ethics). Her current research focuses on a comparative study of key religious ideas such as fate and divination in China and ancient Greece.

New publication by Philosophy Alumnus Dr. Steven Burik

THE END OF COMPARATIVE AND THE TASK OF COMPARATIVE
THINKING.
HEIDEGGER, DERRIDA, AND DAOISM
By Steven Burik, who graduated with his PhD from the National University of Singapore,
NUS in 2006. He teaches philosophy at Singapore Management University
and also at the Center for American Education, Broward College, Singapore.

End of Comparative Philosophy CoverThe End of Comparative and the Task of Comparative Thinking: Heidegger, Derrida, and Daoism, by Steven Burik (SUNY Press, 2009)

Steven Burik graduated with his PhD from the Department of Philosophy, National University of Singapore in 2006. He now teaches philosophy at Singapore Management University and at the Center for American Education, Broward College, Singapore.

More information about the book and its author can be found in the .pdf flyer.