As of March 2021, I have started my new position as an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Yonsei University’s Underwood International College in Songdo, South Korea. I am extremely grateful to be here, to be teaching both enthusiastic and talented students, and to be surrounded by enthusiastic, wonderful colleagues.

My faculty profile page can be found here, and you can find a brief writeup for myself and other, wonderful incoming colleagues here.

I will be updating my photography website in due time to reflect this change of location–from dr_hk_birdnerd to dr_sk_birdnerd–and plan to explore the birds of South Korea and post my photos there regularly (once my camera arrives from Hong Kong).

My introductory paper on Zhuangist primitivism (creatively) titled, “Primitivism in the Zhuangzi: an Introduction”, has been accepted for publication in Philosophy Compass and should appear in the coming months.

An author’s preprint can be downloaded here.

28-8-2020 Update: The final published version can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12700

Here is a preprint of my  book review of Lin Ma and Jaap Van Brakel’s Beyond the Troubled Waters of Shifei at Philosophy East and West.

Review of Ma and Van Brakel

Edit 13 July, 2020: the officially published version can be found here: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/759295

The following essay is forthcoming in International Philosophical Quarterly (June, 2020) entitled “Ethics in the Zhuangzi: Diversity and Sagacity”. Its content is largely based on the penultimate chapter of my PhD dissertation, and has benefited greatly from feedback at various international venues over the past few years. An author’s preprint of the essay can be downloaded here.

An abstract follows:

Philosophers in China during the Warring States period generally saw themselves as investigators into, disputers of, and leaders of others along the Dao 道—the uniquely authoritative Way to live and to flourish. However, certain voices found in the Zhuangzi offer a radical response to these philosophical projects by rejecting the premise that there exists such a uniquely authoritative Dao. Instead, they argue that there exist myriad, diverse dao, none of which has absolute, moral authority. But these very same texts that undermine the idea of an authoritative Dao simultaneously make positive ethical suggestions regarding how to live and flourish, exemplified by various sagely figures. In this paper, I explore texts in the Zhuangzi that discuss both the diversity of dao and sagely flourishing, and argue that these two themes come together to form the basis of a comprehensive ethical view that I call Zhuangist pluralism.

I’ll be migrating my wildlife photos—and perhaps all photos—to another wordpress site, www.frankswildlife.photos. Come check it out if you like my photos!

I’ve updated my information to reflect that I have received my PhD from the University of Hong Kong in 2019.

I’ve also added some photos to “Hiking” and “Random.”

The following article entitled “Xunzi and the primitivists on natural spontaneity (xìng 性) and coercion” will appear in Asian Philosophy 27:3 (DOI here). It explores a hypothetical debate between the ru 儒 philosopher Xunzi and the primitivist writers associated with the Daoist tradition concerning the value of natural, human spontaneity (xìng 性). The author’s preprint can be found here, while the Abstract follows:

This article explores two opposing views from Warring States China concerning the value of human natural spontaneity (hereafter xìng 性) and large-scale government coercion. On the one hand, the Ruist (Confucian) philosopher Xunzi championed a  comprehensive and coercive ethical, political, and social system or Way (dào 道) that he believed would lead to social order and moral cultivation while opposing people’s xìng.  On the other hand, the authors of roughly books 8-10 of Zhuangzi, the primitivists, criticized a Way bearing a striking resemblance to Xunzi’s on the grounds that it  seriously harms people by opposing their xìng. I argue that the primitivists offer compelling reasons for Xunzi to modify his own Way regarding its relationship with xìng, though their own proposed alternative Way is not very attractive. I conclude with a brief discussion of one primitivist-inspired alternative view found in the Lü Shi Chun Qiu, which plausibly suggests that one way of respecting people’s xìng is by offering them opportunities to explore their natural abilities.

I’ve created an online discussion forum for postgraduate students studying comparative and Chinese philosophy. Check it out!