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The Ethics of Heroic Bloodshed

August 7, 2018 by Edward Sakowsky Leave a Comment

film poster

John Woo is synonymous with Hollywood blockbuster action films, or what in Hong Kong was referred to as the Heroic Bloodshed genre: tempestuous plots, explosive action scenes, and shootouts that often end with two empty guns. No one will argue with that. But is John Woo really that simple? Anyone reading this has probably already anticipated the obvious “no” that follows my  Continue Reading …

New Books in Philosophy: Bongrae Seok on the Moral Psychology of Confucian Shame

July 20, 2017 by Robert Talisse 1 Comment

Listen to Bonegrae interviewed on the New Books in Philosophy Podcast. Shame is a complex social emotion that has a particularly negative valence; in the West it is associated with failure, inappropriateness, dishonor, disgrace. But within the Confucian tradition, there is in addition a distinct, positive variety of moral shame, a virtue that, as Bongrae Seok writes, "is not  Continue Reading …

Episode 159: Confucius on Virtuous Conduct (Part Two)

March 6, 2017 by Mark Linsenmayer 4 Comments

Continuing on the Analects, now without our guest. We cover every single one of the 500 aphorisms, of course, in great depth, getting at the unambiguous meaning of each and completely reorienting our philosophical viewpoint in consequence. OK, so the interpretive task is a bit more difficult than that, but Mark, Seth, and Wes do our best to figure out Master Kong's words  Continue Reading …

Episode 159: Confucius on Virtuous Conduct (Part One)

February 27, 2017 by Mark Linsenmayer 7 Comments

On the Analects, compiled after Confucius's (aka Master Kong's) death in 479 BCE. How should we act? What's the relation between ethics and politics? Can a bunch of aphorisms written in the distant past for an unapologetically hierarchical culture emphasizing traditional rituals actually give us relevant, welcome advice on these matters? Are we even in a position to  Continue Reading …

Ep. 159: Confucius on Virtuous Conduct (Citizen Edition)

February 26, 2017 by Mark Linsenmayer 2 Comments

On the Analects, compiled after Confucius's (aka Master Kong's) death in 479 BCE. How should we act? What's the relation between ethics and politics? Can a bunch of aphorisms written in the distant past for an unapologetically hierarchical culture emphasizing traditional rituals actually give us relevant, welcome advice on these matters? Are we even in a position to  Continue Reading …

Episode 12: Chuang Tzu’s Taoism: What Is Wisdom?

December 6, 2009 by Mark Linsenmayer 3 Comments

Discussing the "Chuang Tzu," Chapters 2, 3, 6, 18, and 19. It's the second-most-famous Taoist text and the most humorous, with anecdotes about people singing at funerals and jumping out of moving coaches while drunk. What could it possibly mean to "make all things equal?" and how is the Taoist sage different from our other favorite paragons of virtue (hint: magical  Continue Reading …

Episode 12: Chuang Tzu’s Taoism: What Is Wisdom?

December 6, 2009 by Mark Linsenmayer 36 Comments

Discussing the "Chuang Tzu," Chapters 2, 3, 6, 18, and 19. It's the second-most-famous Taoist text and the most humorous, with anecdotes about people singing at funerals and jumping out of moving coaches while drunk. What could it possibly mean to "make all things equal?" and how is the Taoist sage different from our other favorite paragons of virtue (hint: magical  Continue Reading …

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