Organized by Prof. Hans-Georg Moeller and Prof. Paul D’Ambrosio
This seminar took place between May 24 until July 12, 2023.
Announcement Text
In content, but especially in form, Werner Stegmaier’s philosophy of orientation is distinct from many of the more popular trends in contemporary academia. Philosophizing about orientation means reflecting on a most fundamental question: how are we oriented? A question that is important for philosophy, but also for our everyday lives. We are, however, always already oriented, and our orientation is decisively influenced by others around us, historical conditions, and by our own perspectives on the world.
Early Chinese philosophy addresses similar issues, and in various ways has overlapping concerns. Dao 道, or “way,” is a foundational concern of early Chinese thinkers—it functions in a way similar to “truth” in many Western thinkers. With dao as a starting point, Chinese philosophers ask less questions about “what” and focus more on “how.” Issues related to orientation and footholds, are of central concern. The Analects of Confucius, for example, says “humans broaden the dao, the dao does not broaden humans,” and the Daoist Zhuangzi similarly says that “the dao is made by walking.”
In this seminar we will introduce some of the most influential texts in Chinese thought, namely the Analects of Confucius, the Laozi (Tao-Te-Ching), and the Zhuangzi. We will highlight similarities between the philosophical reflections in these texts and Stegmaier’s philosophy of orientation. Additionally, we will pay special attention to some differences between Stegmaier, Chinese philosophy, and contemporary academic philosophy.
Details
– Texts Discussed: The Analects of Confucius, The Mencius, The Daodejing, The Zhuangzi
– participants: over 50
Sequence of the Sessions
1) 24 May: Confucianism and the Philosophy of Orientation: The Philosophical Structure of the Analects of Confucius
2) 31 May: Confucianism and the Philosophy of Orientation: Convincing, Contingency, Control
3) 7 June: Confucianism and the Philosophy of Orientation: Falsity and Orientation
4) 14 June: Daoism and the Philosophy of Orientation: Laozi
5) 21 June: Daoism and the Philosophy of Orientation: Zhuangzi
6) 12 July: Daoism and the Philosophy of Orientation: ‘Kill Stories: a Critical Narrative Genre in the Zhuangzi’
Report: Insights Concerning Philosophical Orientation
by Prof. Hans-Georg Moeller and Prof. Paul D’Ambrosio
The most significant results were further developing and understanding the relationship between early Chinese philosophy and the philosophy of orientation. In general there are many similarities, both deemphasize the significance of purely abstract thought, or overly logical-based analysis and linguistic concentrations, looking instead at practical issues, which are discussed in a concrete way, with due recognition of the complexity of people and the world. General as it is, these veins already yield a lot of avenues for further development, helping us to better understand the state of the field in philosophy, and how the philosophy of orientation might fit (as well as Chinese philosophy). In terms of critiquing current academic philosophy, the philosophy of orientation and Chinese philosophy are very close.
More specific results came from reflecting on similarities between Confucianism and the philosophy of orientation in terms of their respective conceptions of the person. To a lesser extent there are similarities, but also critical differences, between the ways contingency, morality/ethics (in a mundane sense of “how one should interact with others”), and prediction are conceived of in early Confucian thought and the philosophy of orientation.
Additionally, there were specific results when looking at Daoism and the philosophy of orientation. Here, a critical view on morality/ethics, a “system’s approach,” and certain facets of their respective perspectives on the person overlap quite nicely. While similarities between Confucianism and the philosophy of orientation often ended in noticing their differences, the points of convergence between Daoism and the philosophy of orientation run deeper and further in many respects.
Overall the most exciting part of this course was realizing that there is much to gain from this comparison. The contours of early Chinese philosophy and the philosophy of orientation became more clear, in a nuanced way, when compared. We hope to collaborate with the philosophy of orientation again in the future.