Confucius’s Thought on Ren and Its Three Dimensions
Lecture Series on Ancient Chinese Philosophy in Cooperation with Department of Philosophy at Nanjing Normal University
Dragon boat
Event details
Export this event in ICS format
- Start
- End
- Types of event
- Lecture
- online
- Video chat
-
To the video chat – ZoomExternal link ·Password: Please register by clicking on “To the video chat - Zoom” to receive the Zoom access linkData protection informationpdf, 101 kb
- In the context of
- Lecture Series on Ancient Chinese Philosophy in Cooperation with Department of Philosophy at Nanjing Normal University
- It lectures
- Alex WANG 王新宇
- Contact
-
ChinaKooP | International Office
Linus Schlüter
- Language of the event
- English
- Wheelchair access
- Yes
- Public
- Yes
- Registration required
- Yes
Abstract: „Ren,“ or „benevolence,“ is a key term in Confucius's philosophy and is without a doubt the most significant philosophical idea in Chinese philosophy. The entire content of Confucius and even of Chinese philosophy and culture could only be realized if the meanings of Ren are fully and completely understood. Confucius’s ideas on Ren would be analyzed in three dimensions in this lecture. First is „the dimension of mind“, Ren is originally a pattern of heart in human beings that directs body’s behavior. Its function or expression is love. Second is „the dimension of relationship“, Ren builds social relationships in alongside playing as a mental model. Ren should express itself differently in various relationships, and the term „Li,“ which refers to rituals, enters the Ren system. „The dimension of history“ is the third point, „Ren“, the core value of Confucius, at last made its way into history to define the characteristics of China and build its development method. Without historical spirit, the meaning of Ren could not be fully realized. The three dimensions above would provide a clear explanation of Confucius's thoughts on Ren and could also serve as a means of comprehending the fundamental framework of Chinese philosophical thought and historical development.
Lecturer’s background:
Alex WANG 王新宇 has a Master in Philosophy from Nanjing University and received his Ph.D. in 2021 from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he researched on the Neo-Confucianism of Zhu Xi in Song China and Zhu Xi’s thought on historiography. During his study career, he has been Exchange Student and Visiting Fellow to the Department of Philosophy, Tunghai University, Taiwan (2015-2016), Department of Sinology, University of Tübingen, Germany (2018-2019), University of Munich, Germany (2020, suspended due to Covid-19). He is lecturer at NNU and undertaking the work for two undergraduate courses, „Confucianism in Song-Ming Period“ and „Modern Chinese Philosophy“; one postgraduate course, „Research on the Frontier Issues of Chinese Philosophy“. He is currently working on the program, „Zhu Xi’s Thought on History“.
Registration
Participation takes place online via Zoom. Please register before the event to receive your Zoom access link: