The Useless Tree

Current Affairs

  • Mencius on Torture

    Commenter Steve GW asks some good questions in reference to my post below on Sun Tzu's stance against torture (which is basically consequentialist): Are there, in fact, any arguments against torture in Chinese philosophy that aren't basically utilitarian? If there… Continue reading

  • That’s What Sun Tzu Said

    I noticed this paragraph, in a blog post by Christopher Orr at TNR (HT Sullivan): The humane treatment of surrendered captives, therefore, is a crucial–arguably the crucial–understanding between adversaries if their conflict is to end in any way other than… Continue reading

  • The Elderly and Confucianism in China

    Given the growing number of elderly people in China, and the growing number of old-age homes, a question arises: will the Confucian call to care for parents and the elderly be overwhelmed by the economic and cultural pressures of modernization? … Continue reading

  • Reminder: Bush lost the war

    Enough already with Jackie Chan… The reports in recent weeks of bombings in Iraq, especially today's news that more than 70 people were killed, require us to remember the most basic fact about the whole sorry story of US involvement… Continue reading

  • More (just a bit more) on the Jackie Chan thing

    Wow.  Lots and lots of hits came in on the Jackie Chan post below.  And some thoughtful comments as well.   One critical comment, from the ever-skeptical Isha, suggested that I had not sufficiently understood what Chan had said in Chinese.… Continue reading

  • This just in: a black man can be Chinese…

    I noticed this story the other day but was just reminded of it again (thanks to CDT): A 19-year-old volleyball player from the eastern city of Hangzhou has become the first black athlete to be called up to represent China,… Continue reading

  • Male heirs are unnecessary

    This article popped up a couple of days ago in the NYT: A bias in favor of male offspring has left China with 32 million more boys under the age of 20 than girls, creating “an imminent generation of excess… Continue reading

  • Learning Confucius

    Sorry for the lack of posting of late.  A combination of work and some personal stuff has taken me away from the keyboard.  But tonight there is some time to get to a couple of things that have been turning… Continue reading

  • David Brooks gets his Confucius on

    In an intriguing op-ed today in the NYT, David Books thinks aloud about the problems of moral philosophy: Socrates talked. The assumption behind his approach to philosophy, and the approaches of millions of people since, is that moral thinking is… Continue reading

  • What happens when Ritual is forgotten

    Here's a Confucian nightmare, the kind of thing that happens when people are not committed to doing the right thing: Woman with beer can in hand starts brawl at wake MAGNOLIA, Ark. (AP) — Sheriff's deputies said a Texas woman… Continue reading