Latest Posts
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Precious: A Confucian Nightmare
The holidays were busy for me (thus the fall off in blogging). Lots of people at our house; a trip to the city; various and sundry nights out. I saw a couple of movies, and will see a few more… Continue reading
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Another Taoist Christmas
It's a day late…but that shouldn't really matter to a Taoist. Here is my annual reflection on the holiday: I have blogged on a Taoist view, or my Taoist view, of Thanksgiving. But what about Christmas? What would a Taoist… Continue reading
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Another Winter Solstice
Kind of crazy around here now: Christmas duties are pulling at me just as the final grading of the year piles up. And, on top of it all, I feel a bit sluggish: perhaps the accumulated pressure of the semester… Continue reading
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Zhuangzi’s Dreaming Doubt
Raymond Tallis has a short piece in Philosophy Now: "Zhuangzi and that Bloody Butterfly." He finds the classic anecdote annoying and he sets out to undermine it. His central argument is that the radical skepticism which suggests we cannot distinguish… Continue reading
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The Tao of Zombies
A survey of professional philosophers (hat tip Sullivan) raised many interesting questions, but none more significant than this (scroll down to last question on the page): Zombies: inconceivable, conceivable but not metaphysically possible, or metaphysically possible? Accept or lean toward:… Continue reading
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Suing Confucius (the movie)
Just saw this brief item in the Global Times. Let me re-post it in full and respond below: Confucius in court A descendant of Confucius has threatened to take the producers of a biopic of the ancient sage to court,… Continue reading
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Digging out…
It's been more than a week since I last posted. I've been inundated with papers to grade: the college teachers' lament! It also snowed two days ago. The shovel came out and I pushed the driveway clear. It's cold now. … Continue reading
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President Obama, read Mencius!
The Afghanistan decision is disappointing. I agree with my friend Marc Lynch that it is hard to see how continued US occupation and assault will bring about a good outcome there. What is needed in Afghanistan is state-building, and that… Continue reading
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In Defense of Profanity
In my Chinese politics class we are reading and discussing the new book by Guobin Yang, The Power of the Internet in China. It is a thorough and valuable analysis which I will review in greater detail in another post… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 