Latest Posts
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Two Legalist Thoughts
I have not mentioned Han Fei Tzu, the most famous Legalist writer, in a long time. Perhaps because the whole Legalist thing is just so cynical and negative – which, of course, a good deal of politics is,… Continue reading
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The Perils of Confucian Socialism, or is it Socialist Confucianism…
The revival of Confucianism in socialist China continues apace. It comes in very direct ways – from op-eds in the People’s Daily to official celebrations of his birthday – but it also comes in more indirect ways. Today,… Continue reading
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Confucian Social Science
Now here is a book I am going to go out and buy right away, based on the review by Malcolm Gladwell review in this week’s New Yorker: Charles Tilly, Why? Princeton University Press, 2006. I… Continue reading
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April 5th
Thirty years ago today a crowd of people gathered in Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing. They were ostensibly mourning the death of Zhou Enlai, the longstanding Prime Minister who had died in January. A formal public… Continue reading
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Sisterhood
This piece from today’s NYT jumped out at me: "Siblings of Disabled Have Their Own Troubles." Nothing really new or earth-shattering in this. We know well the kinds of challenges Maggie has faced over the years as the… Continue reading
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A New Season
Aidan died on the last day of winter, the day before the first day of spring. It was almost as if he was reassuring us that, with time, our grief would pass, the darkness would yield to light, we… Continue reading
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So, Is Confucianism a Religion? Can It Be?
A little late in posting today: the network at my work was slow, too slow to work through my usual survey of papers and blogs. I must say, however, that it was good to be back at work,… Continue reading
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Whence Religion?
An interesting review in this week’s New Yorker: H. Allen Orr discusses Daniel Dennett’s new book, "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon." Orr tells us that Dennett is trying to construct a "science of religion," to… Continue reading
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Friday I Ching Blogging: After Aidan
As many of you know, I tend to use the I Ching for big political questions. Some are vexed by this, because they understand the oracle as being more appropriate for intimate personal questions. My own sense is… Continue reading
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Baby MB: A Good Outcome
Before Aidan got sick for the last time, I had blogged about the case of Baby MB, an 18-month-old boy in Britain with severe, and most likely fatal, disabilities. The national health service wanted to discontinue his care,… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 