20^th International Conference of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy
Chinese Philosophy in a Multicultural World, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Final Report: 

The 20^th ISCP conference has successfully concluded on July 7, 2017.  In the four days of the conference, there were many concurrent sessions covering a rich array of topics from the comparative angle, the hermeneutic angle, the angle of textual analysis, the angle of reconstructive reading, and the philosophical angle.  The distribution of Chinese and English sessions is about 50-50.  A distinctive feature of this conference is to showcase junior scholars and advance graduate students amidst established scholars. These junior scholars carry themselves impressively well, presenting refreshing approaches and novel ideas. The ISCP aims to continue this direction set by this conference to integrate junior and senior scholars.

At the business meeting, it is announced that the next ISCP conference will be held at the University of Bern in Switzerland in 2019.  Professor Richard King, our current Vice President, will be the key organizer of this conference, and the tentative theme is “Knowledge, Persuasion, and Argument in Chinese Philosophy.”  More information will be updated on our website when available.  The Nomination Committee also decided to nominate Professor Yang Guorong from East China Normal University in Shanghai, China to be considered for the next VP after Professor Chenyang Li finishes his term at the end of 2017.  There will be an official e-vote among current members in November.

It is also announced that starting January 1, 2018, we will raise our membership fees to $30 a year. There will be a membership page posted on our website, and everyone can consult the page to see the status of his or her membership.

The 24^th World Congress of Philosophy will take place in Beijing (Peking University), China, on August 13-20, 2018, and the ISCP will propose a one-day mini-conference at this venue.  We aim to produce a philosophically attractive and engaging mini-conference, with four sub-themes and high quality papers. We welcome suggestions on innovative themes. Once we have chosen the themes, we will do a call for papers and the selection will be rigorous.  To expose Chinese philosophy to philosophers outside of this area of expertise, all papers will be written and read in English.

At the conclusion of this conference, the ISCP banner was passed from Chenyang Li to Richard King, to symbolize the passing of the torch. It is with great commitment that the ISCP officers will continue the professionalism and academic rigor exemplified in this conference, and we look forward to seeing more participants at the next conference in Bern in 2019.

Summary of Other Plenary Talks:

The third plenary session was held on July 5^th, the second day of ISCP conference. The session was chaired by Carine Defoort from University of Leuven, who introduced the first speaker, Prof. Vincent Shen (沈清松) from the University of Toronto, and the second speaker, Prof. Bryan van Norden (萬百安) from Vassar College and Yale-NUS. Prof. Shen, in his lecture “Daxue: The Great Learning for University Today,” emphasizes the significance of Daxue in today’s higher education, as well as in the modern society of globalization. Prof. Shen promotes the method of strangification as the ideal way to handle various issues encountered in today’s multicultural society. The method of strangification, inspired by Daxue, is understood as a method of consensus building through the process of universalization. It is also called waitui (外推), since strangification is rooted from one’s own generosity and extends from one to the others with the principle of reciprocity. Prof. Shen compares his theory with Habermas’ theory of communicative action and considers his own theory superior. Shen’s talk generated a lot of interesting questions from the audience.

Prof. van Norden, in his lecture, “Like Loving a Lovely Sight: Simile and Metaphor in Chinese Philosophy,” gave a vivid presentation on the use of metaphor and simile in Chinese philosophy, particularly in the Confucian tradition. van Norden focused on a popular and influential statement made in Daxue, “It is s like hating a bad odor, or loving a lovely sight” (如恶恶臭如好好色), and elaborated various ways of interpreting this statement. He found the traditional interpretations of “loving a lovely sight” inadequate as they tend to avoid the sexual reference implicit in the statement (se 色 means a beautiful woman rather than a beautiful color), and so in such interpretations the immediate connection between perception (seeing a beauty) and action (loving the beauty) is missing. The intended parallel between hating a bad odor and loving a lovely sight is also absent under traditional interpretations. van Norden further examined Chen Yi’s idea of true knowledge with Chen’s example of a farmer once mauled by a tiger, Zhu Xi’s discussions on deeper understanding, and Wang Yangming’s claim that there is a direct link between knowing and action. This relates well to the perennial issue of knowledge and action, and van Norden’s presentation generated lots of discussion.

On Day 4, July 7, there were three plenary talks.  Professor Haifeng Jing gave the talk on the three dimensions of hermeneutical reconstruction of Chinese classics: First, it should respond to the challenge of modern Western culture, such that it can have a dialogue and correspondence with Western hermeneutics in terms of its domain of problems and its means of expression. Second, it should be enriched by the profound Chinese cultural heritage by which it can mobilize all past interpretations of Chinese classics inclusively with regard to past records and modes. Among the traditions, Confucian classics should be its core, but not the sole element, whereas elementary studies of the texts and words (xiaoxue) should provide a foundation, but not to set the limitation.  Third, it should have an explicit aim.  The reinterpretation of Chinese classics is not meant to sort out national cultural heritage, but to shed light on the philosophical import and core essence of past thinking, so as to establish the identity of contemporary Chinese culture, to provide written testimony and to explore its modern significance.  He argues that the philosophical imports of the Confucian classics might be better preserved by neo-Confucianism of the Song-Ming era. If we want to further develop the philosophical dimensions of Chinese hermeneutics of the classics (jingxue), we need to draw upon the texts of neo-Confucianism (zixue).  The study of neo-Confucian texts can enhance our hermeneutic reconstruction of Confucian classics. He concludes that “philosophizing” Confucian classics is already a trend, a “must”, not an option and not in dispute. Nowadays we must acknowledge Confucianism as philosophy, not merely a form of religion or a way of life.

Professor Karyn Lai’s talk is entitled “The Devil is in the Detail: the Significance of the Analects for Moral Theory and Practice.”  She begins by citing Immanuel Kant’s derogative and dismissive attitude toward Chinese philosophy, in particular, his denouncing the existence of Chinese ethics.  She continues to present the negative assessment of Chinese ethics, especially in the Analects, that is echoed in many other earlier scholars on Chinese philosophy.  However, in all these criticisms, there are some presuppositions on what “ethics” should have and what the Analects is lacking.  Lai suggests that we take a different approach: study the text of the Analects closely to see what it does offer. She points out that the Analects manifests the paradigm of examples and situationality.  Book Ten of the Analects, for example, is filled with trivial examples of etiquette and Confucius’ demeanor in various situations.  According to Lai, an important route to becoming moral is to learn from examples — familiarizing oneself with norms of behavioral propriety, practicing what one learns, having discourse with others — which in turn builds a repository of appropriate behavior.  Stories in the Analects are not meant to set up normativity in all situations, nor to define various virtues. If we take it to be doing the latter tasks, then of course we would be disappointed.  It is time that we go beyond seeking moral “theory” in the Analects.  She emphasizes that it is not that norms are not important; however, moral principles often cannot help us to make moral decisions in particular situations.  She cites Linda Zagzebski’s view that moral theory is like a world map — it helps us to situate ourselves in the world, but cannot offer us practical guidance.  She concludes that moral theory by itself is never sufficient and we need many examples to help guide us through the multiple ethical situations in life.  And the Analects offers us a rich moral repertoire.

Professor Chung-ying Cheng gave the final plenary talk on the anthropic roots of Confucianism. What he means by anthropic principle (AP) is his rendition of the Chinese phrase: tianrenheyi, which means literally the unity of heaven and human.  He suggests that there are two versions of the AP: The strong anthropic principle suggests that this universe has a power and age and cosmological constants to accommodate human emergence and development.  The weak anthropic principle suggests that this universe must be consistent with our capability and performance in observing and knowing this universe so that what we know cosmologically is true of the universe.  Heaven is the root of our emergence, and at the same time, human ought to aim for cultivating the virtues of Heaven to perfection.  Hence, the unity of heaven and human is basically the unification of virtues in nature and in human conduct.  In the history of Chinese philosophy, many Confucians emphasize unification in various aspects.  Unification is a matter of grounding humanity and its moral efforts for completion and perfection. Cheng suggests that this principle can better explain the world than current scientific models, because it enables us to answer the initial questions of human being, human understanding and human action.

Respectfully submitted,

JeeLoo Liu
Executive Director of the ISCP
Weimin Sun
Secretary of the ISCP

Dear All

Here is a brief report on the first day of the ISCP 2017 conference held at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore: Chinese Philosophy in a Multicultural World. Those of you who could not make it this time can get a sense of what is going on here.

20^th International Conference of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy
Day 1, July 4th, 2017

Opening Ceremony

President Chenyang Li opened the conference with remembrance of two former presidents of the ISCP: Professor Shu-hsien Liu and Professor Jiyuan Yu, both passed away in 2016.  He also shared the sad news of the recent passing of Henry Rosemont, Jr. (1934-2017).  All participants were asked to rise up to give a two-minute silence in memoriam.

Dean Alan Chan gave a welcoming speech next. He explained that this 20^th ISCP conference, with more than 200 participants from various countries, is the largest ISCP international conference to date. He attributed this phenomenal success to Chenyang Li and his team. He also thanked the sponsors of this conference: Center for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Nanyang Confucian Association, Singapore, Pei Hwa Foundation, and Modern Confucianism Foundation Ltd.

Chenyang Li explained that this is a Green conference; hence, no paper or abstract is printed out. Instead, they are available on the website. The organizers also provided the gift of a smartly designed square refillable water bottle for all participants to reduce the wasteful production of plastic bottles.  This is really a model that other conference organizers should emulate.

The first plenary speaker is Dr. Robert C. Neville from Boston University, a long-time leader of the ISCP.  The title of Neville’s talk is “Ritual and Creativity.” He explains that whereas rituals dictate rules of human interactions, creativity is needed for individual space and personal integration.  Rituals are in all aspects of our lives; our life is fundamentally a ritualized life. Creativity is required for individual expressions and maneuvers of rituals. There are of course certain rituals that are harmful, such as racism and sexism. Critical analysis of rituals requires creativity that stands outside the box. Thirdly, the invention of new rituals requires creativity. Sometimes the old rituals and the new ones do not cohere with one another. Nevertheless, we should not be afraid to open new paths. Furthermore, rituals support spontaneity. A well-played life provides leisure and leisure allows spontaneity. Neville suggests that the dichotomy between individualism and participation is mistaken. Each of us in our core has all sorts of ritual forms that make us complete. Over lifetime, we make who we are by the choices we make and the paths we take.  The days are over when people are forced to take the paths that their parents set for them. Each of us gives personal integration of various rituals in our life. We humans leave environmental footprints (so it is good that this is a Green conference). Many of our effects on others and on the world are of course out of our control. Nevertheless, the best way to make ourselves better people is to take what we can control and to make the best of it by our personal and conjoined actions. Such creativity does not stand in opposition of ritualized life; on the contrary, creativity can enhance the richness of our ritualized life.

The second plenary session includes two keynote speakers: Professor Carine Defoort from KU Leuven and Professor Tao Liang from Renmin University.  Defoort’s talk argues that Confucianism and Mohism should not regard each other as archenemies. She analyzes the connection between Kongzi and Mozi and suggests that the negative references of each other in the texts should be read as “constructions,” rather than literally. The two schools have more in common than disagreement.  She cites Kang Youwei’s (1858-1927) view that Mozi was a religious leader, and that Confucius was not any less a religious leader too.  In Kang’s view, for Confucianism to emerge as a religion, it needs a rival religion; hence, Mohism was treated as an opposing school.  Defoort further argues that it was Mencius who presented Mohism as a foe, highlighting the latter’s theory of “care without gradations.” In Mencius’ characterization, Mohism is demonized and oversimplified. Some later Confucian scholars did raise doubt about Mencius’ reading of Mohism. In the West, beginning in the 19^th century, scholars raised serious objections to Mencius’ reading of Mohism and his “unjust” accusation. The key doctrine of Mohism should be on inclusiveness rather than equality in one’s love and care of others. She concludes that we need to do more careful study on the philosophical differences between the two schools.

Professor Liang Tao talks about the integration of Mencius and Xunzi. He said that he has been advocating a new Confucian lineage: The old lineage for Confucians is Kongzi — Zengzi — Zisi — Mengzi. New lineage for the transition of Dao is Kongzi — 72 disciples — Zisi — Mencius — Xunzi. Liang further suggests that we adopt new “Four Books”: Analects, Book of Rites, Mengzi, and Xunzi.  An obvious difficulty for his integration of Mencius and Xunzi is of course the apparent disagreement of their view on human nature. Liang argues that Xunzi’s view is not really that human nature is evil, and that good is the result of external efforts. He cites the excavated text and Pang Pu’s interpretation that what Xunzi meant by effort (“wei”) was not external efforts, but “conscious exertion.”  The term ‘wei’ refers to activities of heart-mind. So Xunzi’s view should be read as “human nature is bad and heart-mind is good.”  The heart-mind for Xunzi is moral and intelligent, being inclined to goodness. So the debate between Mencius and Xunzi is actually not on whether human nature is good or bad; rather, it is on whether morality is based on human nature of human heart-mind.

The host has been very generous in providing tea breaks and luncheon. Tea breaks came with delicious appetizers, desserts, fresh fruit, in addition to coffee and tea. The luncheon was a huge buffet with three options: Western, Asian and Vegetarian. The breaks and lunch are set in a casual atmosphere conducive to interpersonal exchanges. Many participants are able to catch up with old acquaintances or make new ones.

The afternoon program consists of two time slots, each with six concurrent sessions, some in Chinese and some in English. The rest of the conference will be mostly similar to the first day — one plenary session and several concurrent sessions. The conference closes on July 7^th.  A final report will be given after the conference is concluded.

Respectfully submitted
JeeLoo Liu
Executive Director of the ISCP

The program for the 20th International Conference on Chinese Philosophy is now posted on the conference page.

View the Conference Programme 會議議程

Condolences from Professor Guo Qiyong

沈清松先生、李晨阳先生：有学生告诉我，网上发布了余纪元教授不幸逝世的信息。惊闻噩耗，不胜震悼！

纪元教授英年早逝，是哲学界的重大损失，也是国际中国哲学会的重大损失！纪元教授好学深思，心知其意，

贯通中西，掘井及泉，在古希腊哲学与儒学方面造诣甚深。他刻苦钻研，为人谦和，教书育人，积极奉献。

他曾两度应我的邀请来敝校参加国际中国哲学大会及“近30年来中国哲学的发展”国际学术会议并发表论文，

又作演讲，并在我主编的《儒家文化研究》上发表《英美儒家哲学研究评析》的长文。他曾把他大著的中译

本《德性之镜》赠我。我虽因事未能出席他主持的布法罗的那届国际中国哲学大会，但我推荐了几位学生去，

都得到他的热情照顾与关怀。他的逝世，使我十分悲痛！深切悼念纪元教授，祝愿逝者安息！请代问候余教授

的亲属！敬颂

冬安！

郭齐勇敬上

Condolences from ACPA

Dear colleagues of ACPA,

I am shocked and greatly saddened by the news that Prof. Jiyuan Yu (SUNY Buffalo) has passed away.

My sincere condolences to his family, his friends and all those who know him.

Bongrae Seok (Vice President ACPA, Alvernia University)

Please see the message below by our secretary/treasurer Suk Choi (Towson University):

I am heartbroken to share the sad news that my teacher and mentor,

Professor Jiyuan Yu, Dept. of Philosophy at University at Buffalo, State

University of New York, passed away on November 3, 2016, after a long and

courageous battle with cancer. He was an exemplary scholar, teacher,

friend, and an incredible person. Without his warm-hearted advisement and

encouragement, I would not be where I am today. He will be missed not

only by me, but by many friends who have shared many years of cherished

memories with him.

(Suk Gabriel Choi, Treasurer/Secretary of ACPA Towson University)

Call for Papers

The 20^th International Conference of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP) will be held at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore on 4 – 7 July 2017.

Conference Theme: Chinese Philosophy in a Multicultural World

In the 21^st century, cultures that originated on different continents are in close contact and people from various philosophical and religious traditions interact on multiple levels. How can Chinese philosophy position and present itself in this multicultural and intercultural world? How does a globalized world affect the study and development of Chinese philosophy? What does Chinese philosophy contribute to the making of a more harmonious and prosperous world? How can Chinese philosophy more effectively interact and communicate with other traditions? What can Chinese philosophy do to further renew and enrich its own traditions? This conference explores such questions, directly and indirectly, from a wide range of perspectives.

Under the general theme of “Chinese Philosophy in a Multicultural World,” the subthemes of this conference include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Chinese philosophy as a cultural tradition
2. Contemporary challenges for Chinese philosophy
3. Continuing relevance of Chinese philosophical ideas
4. Buddhism and the contemporary world
5. Confucianism and the contemporary world
6. Daoism and the contemporary world
7. Chinese philosophy as a world philosophy
8. Chinese philosophy and philosophies of other cultures
9. Comparative approaches to Chinese philosophy
10. Pluralism and diversity in Chinese philosophy
11. The model of Confucian-Daoist complementarity
12. The harmony of the three teachings (Buddhism-Confucianism-Daoism)
13. Society and politics in Chinese philosophy
14. Multiculturalism in Singapore, East Asia, and Southeast AsiaParticipants may present papers on individual philosophers or thematic topics. The organizers strongly encourage proposals for panels focused on particular thinkers or issues.

Submission guidelines:

The conference languages are both English and Chinese.

English abstracts should be 250 to 300 words; Chinese abstracts should be about 500 characters. Abstracts should include paper title, author’s name, affiliation, and email contact information.

Panel submissions (including “Author-Meets-Critics” sessions) should include the topic, panelists and their affiliations, a summary of the proposed panel in 300-500 words (English) or 800-1000 characters (Chinese), and an abstract for each of the papers (in 250–300 words for papers in English and 400-500 words for papers in Chinese).

Individual paper presentations are 20-25minutes each. Proposed panels can be either 1.5 hours with two presenters (20-25 minutes each) and one commentator (10-15 minutes), or 2 hours with three presenters.

Timeline:

Deadline for submission of abstracts and panel proposals: November 30, 2016

Communication of acceptance: January 31, 2017

Deadline for submitting early-bird registration form: March 31, 2017

Deadline for submission of full papers: May 30, 2017
More logistics information will follow soon. Submissions and inquiries should be emailed to iscp2017@ntu.edu.sg . More information regarding the conference will be available here(http://www.hss.ntu.edu.sg/programmes/philosophy/iscp/Pages/Home.aspx) .

.

Charles Wei-hsun Fu Foundation: ISCP Essay Contest in Asian Philosophy

The Charles Wei-hsun Fu Foundation and the International Society for Chinese Philosophy are pleased to announce the 2017 ISCP Essay Contest in Asian Philosophy.

A total of three prizes of $2,000 each are offered for the best essays in the area of Asian philosophy, including two awards for graduate students or junior faculty within five years of receipt of the Ph.D., one each in Chinese and English, as well as one award for a senior scholar, whose essay can be in either Chinese or English. Funding up to $1000 also will be provided for the winners to travel to the 2017 biennial ISCP conference.

All awardees are required to attend the 2017 Singapore conference of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy conference to present their winning essays.

ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to scholars at all levels, including independent scholars. However preference will be given to young scholars beginning their careers, such as graduate students or assistant professors within five years of graduation), and senior scholars who require funding to attend the conference.

SUBMISSIONS

All submissions should be sent to iscp2017@ntu.edu.sg, with “Fu Contest Essay” in the subject line. Decisions will be rendered by separate committees of scholars, drawn from the membership of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy.

Previously published papers are not acceptable. Submissions in English should not exceed 5,000 words; submission in Chinese should not exceed 7,000 words. DEADLINE: March 1, 2017.

JUDGING CRITERIA

The purpose of the contest is to encourage young scholars who show promise of making important contributions to the study and development of Chinese philosophy or Asian philosophy related to Chinese thought, and to help senior scholars with financial limitations to present their work at ISCP conferences.

Submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. CREATIVITY original philosophical insights, such as comparative analysis.
2. COHERENCE a cogent, well-argued presentation.
3. SCHOLARSHIP competence in dealing with philosophical texts and interpretations.

Please visit the Fu Foundation website to learn more about its programs: charleswei-hsunfufoundation. org

征稿

国际中国哲学学会第二十届国际会议将于2017年7月4日至7日在新加坡南洋理工大学召开。

会议主题：中国哲学与多元文化世界

二十一世纪，随着起源于不同地区的文化联系日趋紧密，生活在各种哲学和宗教传统下的人们之间的相互交流也在多重层面展开。在多元文化和跨文化的世界中，中国哲学如何定位和呈现自己？世界全球化如何影响中国哲学的研究与发展？中国哲学能否为创造一个更加和谐与繁荣的世界贡献力量？中国哲学与其他传统如何更有效的沟通及相互影响？中国哲学如何持续创新并发展自身传统？本次会议将从广阔的视角直接或间接地探讨这些问题。

本届会议以“中国哲学与多元文化世界”为主题，包含但不局限于以下若干子题：

1. 中国哲学作为一种文化传统
2. 中国哲学的现代挑战
3. 中国哲学思维的持续有效性
4. 佛教与当代世界
5. 儒家与当代世界
6. 道家与当代世界
7. 中国哲学作为一种世界哲学
8. 中国哲学与其他的哲学文化
9. 中国哲学的比较研究和发展
10. 中国哲学的多元化与多样性
11. 儒道互补模式研究
12. 三教（佛教-儒教-道教）的和谐
13. 中国哲学中的社会政治理论
14. 新加坡、东南亚和东亚的多元文化

学者可以对个别哲学家或者主题发表论文。同时，主办单位鼓励大家组织和参与针对特别的思想家或哲学问题的专题讨论。

投稿指南：

1. 会议官方语言为中文和英文。
2. 英文摘要250-300字；中文摘要约500字。摘要需包括：论文题目，作者姓名，单位，和邮箱等联络信息。
3. 本会接受专题组別论文和个别论文的投稿

(i) 专题组別论文

专题组別论文投稿（包括“作者与评论者面对面”部分）需包括：小组的专题题目，所有参与者的姓名、单位和联系方式，小组专题提案的简介（英文300-500字；中文800-1000字），及每篇论文摘要（英文250-300字；中文约500字）

专题组別的时间分别采取以下两种形式：

1.5小时：两位宣读人，每位发言20-25分钟。一位点评人，发言时间10-15分钟。

2小时：三至四位宣读人，每位发言20-25分钟。

(ii) 个別论文

个別论文投稿者須提供论文题目、作者姓名、单位、联系方式以及论文摘要（英文250-300字；中文约500字）

个人论文宣读限时20-25分钟。

4. 时间表：

(i) 提交论文摘要及专题组別论文提案：2016年11月30日前

(ii)发送录用通知：2017年1月31日前

(iii) 提交优惠注册登记表：2017年3月31日前

(iv) 提交论文全文：2017年5月30日前

提交论文及查询请联系iscp2017@ntu.edu.sg .

更多的会议相关信息将很快公布。请见http://www.hss.ntu.edu.sg/programmes/philosophy/iscp/Pages/Home.aspx

【傅伟勋基金会优秀论文竞赛奖公告】：

1.傅伟勋基金会将在2017年国际中国哲学会第二十届国际会议上颁发三份优秀论文奖，奖励立意新颖有益、论证有理有据、材料使用充实得体的优秀论文。

2. 其中两份为学界新秀特设（包括研究生和年青教师）。奖金各2000美元，外加1000美元以内的参加会议有关费用。得奖者本人必须参加会议并宣读论文。

3.参赛者必须在提交论文到（iscp2017@ntu.edu.sg）时，在电邮主题（subject line）注明“傅伟勋基金会参赛论文”。英文论文不超过5000字；中文论文不超过7000字。参赛截止日期2017年3月1号。

The International Society for Chinese Philosophy held its 19^th international conference with the theme “Chinese Philosophy in Contemporary Society” at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 7/21 to 7/24, 2015. The conference was co-sponsored by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. More than 150 scholars from more than 10 countries (Australia, Austria, Brussel, Canada, China including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Germany, Japan, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States) attended the conference. The conference had more than 50 sessions including 6 plenary sessions and about 120-130 formal presentations. Professor Robert Neville delivered the plenary speech “Confucianism and the Feminist Revolution: Ritual Definition and the Social Construction of Gender roles” on the first day of conference. In a joint plenary session on the first day of the conference, Professor Michael Nylan delivered the plenary speech “On the Philosophy of Friendship”, and Professor Hans Sluga delivered the plenary speech “Friendship: East and West”. Professor Guo Qiyong delivered the plenary speech “Spirit and Distinguishing Features of Chinese Philosophy and its Critique of Modernity and Beyond” (中国哲学的精神与特点及其对现代性的批判与超越), and Professor Cheng Chung-ying delivered the plenary speech “Completing Classical Confucian Theory of Human Nature and its Goodness: On Zisi, Mencius and Xunzi in an Interactionist Framework”, on the second day of the conference. Professor Vincent Shen delivered the plenary speech “Self and Many Others: Confucian ‘Learning for Self’ and ‘Learning for Others’” on the third day of the conference. Professor Lisa Raphals delivered the plenary speech “Daoism, Naturalism and Chinese Culture” on the fourth day of the conference.

Sandra Wawrytko on behalf of the Fu Foundation presented the Fu Foundation Essay Contest awards to three awardees in a brief ceremony. The three awardees presented their winning essays in a special session of the conference.

The Board held its business meeting on 7/24. Professor Neville delivered the opening remarks. The executive director of ISCP, Professor Jiyuan Yu, could not attend the conference due to health reason, and the deputy director of ISCP, Professor Robert Neville, chaired the business meeting.

A brief ceremony of appreciation followed and an honorary plaque was presented to Professor Kwong-loi Shun by Professor Neville to thank him for organizing the 19^th ISCP international conference, his outstanding leadership and excellent services as the President of ISCP (2014-2015).

Professor Neville made an announcement of the nominees of the next president and the next vice president of ISCP. The current vice president of ISCP, Professor Chenyang Li at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, has been nominated as the candidate of the next president by the nomination committee appointed by the Board. After a careful deliberation, the nomination committee has nominated Professor Richard King at Bern University of Switzerland as the nominee of the next vice president. The board will hold an online election of the next president and vice president in 2015 and all members of ISCP will vote electronically on the nominated candidates. After the election, the new president and vice president will assume their duties on 1/1 2016. The current president of ISCP, Professor Kwong-Loi Shun at the University of California-Berkeley will step down in the end of 2015.

The meeting also held a short memorial ceremony in memory of renowned Chinese philosophers who passed away in 2014 and 2015. The attendants of the business meeting held one minute silence for Professor Fang Litian （方立天）at Renmin University, Professor Pang Pu （庞朴）at the Academy of Social Science, Professor Tang Yijie (汤一介) at Beijing University, Professor Wu Kunru （鄔昆如）at the National Taiwan University and Professor Yu Wujin （俞吾金）at Fudan University.

Professor Ann Pang-White gave the treasurer’s report (see the report below) and Xiaomei Yang gave the secretary’s report (see the report below).

Professor Lu Jianyou at Xian Transportation University made a request to host the 22^nd ISCP International conference in Xian (西安), China.

The Board of ISCP thanks the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the organizer of the conference, all people who helped organizing the conference for their support and hard work. The Board also thanks all the participants of the conference for their participation.
Treasurer’s Report (2015)_

International Society for Chinese Philosophy Tax Year 2015

(As of June 30, 2015)

Bank of America Accounts Ending Balance: $10,138.28

Business Economy Checking: $6,115.41

Business Investment Account: $4,022.87

Paypal Ending Balance: $1,133.29

= ISCP Total Ending Balance: $11,271.57

This is in line with our previous annual years’ ending balance.

Expenses incurred so far in 2015:

1. Renewal of FISP (Federation Internationale des Societes de Philosophie) 3-year membership (2015, 2016, 2017): $559.16
2. Tax Preparation Fee: $565
3. Sponsoring ISCP HK International Conference Farewell Dinner: $1,000
4. Plaque of Appreciation for ISCP President Kwong-Loi Shu (host of the HK Conference): $$ (N/A yet)

Detailed financial records, tax-returns, and annual reports from previous years are available upon request.

Respectively submitted by Ann A. Pang-White, treasurer of ISCP

Secretary’s Report (2015)  

Since the 18^th ISCP International Conference in Buffalo in 2013, this Secretary of ISCP has assisted the ISCP board to accomplish the following operations.

(1) Professor Ann Pang-White and this secretary together maintain and update the ISCP membership directory. This secretary sends a call for membership renewal annually. Since the 18^th conference in 2013, we have welcomed many new members. The number of our members continues to go up since 2013. So far we have more than 100 members who either renewed their membership in 2013, 2014 or 2015, or renewed their membership before 2013 but whose membership remains up to date.

(2) This secretary has assisted the board in making some personnel changes. Our liaison to APA Eastern Meeting, Professor, Jinmei Yuan, our liaison to APA central, Professor Huaiyu Wang, and our liaison to American Academy of Religion, Professor Eric Nelson, all resigned. We thank each of these three dedicated members for their excellent service. The Executive Board has appointed Professor Geir Sigurðsson, University of Iceland, as the new ISCP liaison to the APA Eastern Meeting. Professor Robin Wang continues to be our liaison to the APA Pacific Meeting. The Board also calls for nomination and self-nomination for liaisons to the APA Central and American Academy of Religion.

(3) Professor Kwong-loi Shun on behalf of ISCP organized the 19^h ISCP International Conference on Chinese Philosophy, entitled “Chinese Philosophy in the contemporary society”. This secretary assisted the organizer of the 19^th ISCP International Conference in organizing the conference.

(4) This secretary assisted the board in organizing the 2015 Charles Fu Foundation’s Best Essay Contest in Asian Philosophy. The ISCP board formed two blind review committees, one for submissions in Chinese language and the other for English language. The committee for submissions in Chinese could not select a winner from total 3 submissions after a careful review and all three awardees were selected from 11 submissions in English.

(5) Our website URL address remains as http://www.iscp-online.org/. It is in operation. This secretary renewed the domain of our site in 2014 for two years and the domain needs to be renewed next year. Before ISCP find a web master to manage the site, this secretary currently manages the website and will continue to be the site’s maintainer.

Finally, this secretary takes this opportunity to express her sincere thanks to her colleagues Jiyuan Yu and Ann Pang-White for their selfless assistance, understanding, and friendship. It has been a great pleasure working with both of them as ISCP officers.

Submitted by Xiaomei Yang, Secretary of ISCP

ISCP 17th Conference volume on “Inter-culturality and Philosophic Discourse” is available now, on Cambridge SP website:

http://www.c-s-p.org/flyers/Inter-culturality-and-Philosophic-Discourse1-4438-4895-6.htm

This volume follows ISCP 17th Conference that was held in July 2011 in Paris EHESS (more than 150 participants) on the same topic (http://zhe-xue.thotm.net/english/index.htm).

Inter-culturality and Philosophic Discourse

Editor: Yolaine Escande, Vincent Shen and Chenyang Li

Isbn13: 978-1-4438-4895-4

Isbn: 1-4438-4895-6

Responding to a deep and universal need of philosophizing in the context of intensive intercultural interaction among all philosophical traditions in the process of globalization, this timely book offers a unique collection of excellent papers on inter-translatability, art, and ethics; subjects which are most crucial for intercultural conversations today. Instead of opting for a “comparative philosophy” that suggests the superiority of philosophy in comparison with other forms of thought, this book explores “inter-translatability” between East and West, given that any dialogue between heterogeneous cultures and systems of thought has to start with translation, which constitutes the first part of this book.

Art and ethics are the two areas that most obviously link philosophies of the past and the present and constitute a fundamental part of Chinese long-living and practical philosophy. The value of art and aesthetic appreciation, no less than ethics, is at the core of Chinese culture and, indeed, promises a great deal for the future world. Thus, they are dealt with here in the second and third parts.

This book is also relevant to inter-culturalism in philosophy itself, as the contributors, firstly, come from several different continents and, secondly, though most of them are philosophers, all contributors are well-versed in other disciplines, such as anthropology, literature, religion, aesthetics, history of art, sinology, cognitive sciences, and social sciences.

Yolaine Escande is a Director of Research at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). She has translated a collection of fundamental treatises on Chinese calligraphy and painting from Chinese into French. Her research centers on the artistic, philosophical, aesthetic and cultural interactions of Chinese artistic principles with Western art. She is a member of the editorial board of Universitas Monthly Review on Philosophy and Culture, for which she has co-edited special issues in English and in Chinese.

Vincent Shen received his PhD from the Université Catholique de Louvain in 1980 and taught philosophy in Taiwan. He has held the Lee Chair in Chinese Thought and Culture in the Department of East Asian Studies and the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto since 2000.

His publications include Essays on Philosophy East and West; Contrast, Strangification and Dialogue; and Essays on Intercultural Philosophy and Religion.

Chenyang Li is the founding Director of the Philosophy program at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has previously served as Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Central Washington University. His main research interests are Chinese philosophy and comparative philosophy. His publications include The Confucian Philosophy of Harmony, The Tao Encounters the West: Explorations in Comparative Philosophy, The Sage and the Second Sex, and The East Asian Challenge for Democracy: Political Meritocracy in Comparative Perspective (co-edited with Daniel Bell).

ISCP and the University of Buffalo co-sponsored the 18^th ISCP international conference entitled “Chinese Philosophy and the Way of living” in Buffalo, NY from July 21 to 24, 2013. More than 100 scholars from more than 20 countries and areas (Algeria, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Korea, mainland China, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Swiss, Taiwan, U. K. and U. S.) attended the conference.  In the opening session, Robert Neville, Michael Slote, Cheng Chung-Ying, and David Wong delivered plenary speeches. Vincent Shen gave a plenary speech on the second day of the conference. More than 80 session-papers were presented during the conference. Sandra Wawrytko on behalf of the Fu Foundation presented the Fu Foundation Essay Contest awards to three awardees in a brief ceremony. The three awardees presented their winning essays in a special session of the conference. On the last day of the conference Kwong-loi Shun, Bryan Van Norden, Jiyuan Yu and Chenyang Li delivered plenary speeches.

The conference ended with the 2013 business meeting. The director Jiyuan Yu delivered the open remarks. A brief ceremony of appreciation followed and an honorary plaque was presented to Jiyuan Yu to thank him for organizing the 18^th ISCP conference, his outstanding leadership and excellent services as the President of ISCP (2011-2013). The Secretary Xiaomei Yang, the Treasurer Ann Pang-White, and the Director Jiyuan Yu gave the secretary’s, treasurer’s and director’s report, respectively. Jiyuan Yu then proposed the motions to nominate the candidates for 2014-2015 President (Kwong-loi Shun) and vice-President (Chenyang Li) of ISCP, and announced the 19^th and 20^th ISCP conference sites (Hong Kong in 2015 and Singapore in 2017). The business meeting ended with a brief ceremony of passing on the ISCP flag from the current president of ISCP Jiyuan Yu to the next president Kwong-loi Shun, who will be organizing the 19^th ISCP international conference in 2015.

The Board of ISCP thanks the University of Buffalo, the organizer of the conference, all people who helped organizing the conference for their support and hard work.  The Board also thanks all the participants of the conference for their participation.

For the conference photo album, please go to http://www.philosophy.buffalo.edu/gallery .

Director’s report

Regarding ISCP leadership team, since Professor Xiaomei Yang is the Society’s secretary, the Board appointed Professor Jinmei Yuan as our APA Eastern Liaison. Professor Robin Wang has agreed to continue her duty as the liaison to the APA Pacific Meeting. Professor Huiyu Wang agreed to continue his duty as the Liaison to the APA Central Meeting. Professor Eric Nelson agreed to be the Liaison to the American Academy of Religion. Professor Chung-ying Cheng is appointed as the official representative of ISCP to FISP. The Society has also nominated Professor Chung-ying Cheng as a candidate for the membership of the Steering Committee of FISP.

The Board has selected the official nominees for next president (2014-2015) and vice-president (2014-2015)/ the 2017 ISCP conference site. The term for the current presidency will expire at the end of 2013. The ISCP Constitution, Section 4 (a) states: “Nominations of the President, Vice-President(s), the Secretary and the Treasurer shall be made by the members of an ad hoc Nominating Committee appointed by the Executive Committee. The nominating Committee shall recommend no more than two candidates for each position. All nominations shall be voted upon in a manner established for all members of the ISCP.”

In accordance with the ISCP Constitution, Section 4 (a), the Executive Board appointed an Ad Hoc Nomination and Selection Committee. The Committee members were Professors Vincent Shen (Toronto, Chair), Karyn Lai, and Brook A. Ziporyn. The Ad Hoc Committee has approved our current vice-president Professor Kwong-loi Shun, who is also organizing the ISCP 19th International Conference, as the official candidate for our next president (2014-15) and has selected Professor Chenyan Li as the official candidate for ISCP’s next vice-president (2014-2015).

Secretary’s Report

Since the 17^th ISCP International Conference in Paris in 2011, this Secretary of ISCP has assisted the ISCP board to accomplish the following operations. (1) This secretary assisted ISCP to complete its transition from the previous Board (Professors Vincent Shen, Xinyan Jiang and Chenyang Li) to the current board (Professor Jiyuan Yu, our new executive director; Professor Ann Pang-White, our new treasurer; and Professor Xiaomei Yang, our new secretary). (2) This secretary has assisted the board in making some personnel changes (see Director’s Report). (3) This secretary assisted the board in selecting the organizer, location of the next ISCP conference and next vice-president of ISCP. The ISCP board issued an open call for nomination for the candidacy for ISCP’s next vice-president (2014-2015). (4) This secretary assisted the organizer of the 18^th ISCP International Conference in organizing the conference. Jiyuan Yu on behalf of ISCP organized the 18^th ISCP International Conference on Chinese Philosophy, entitled “Chinese Philosophy and the Way of Living” in Buffalo, New York from July 21 to July 24. We received a large number of submissions. This secretary with Jiyuan Yu and Ann Pang-White carefully reviewed all the submissions. (5) This secretary assisted the board in organizing the 2013 Charles Fu Foundation’s Best Essay Contest in Asian Philosophy. The ISCP board formed two blind review committees, one for submissions in Chinese language (Peimin Ni served as the chair of the review committee, Dong Ping and Qingjie Wang served as members of the committee) and the other for English language (Sandra Wawrytko reviewed submissions). Two committees selected 3 awardees from 8 entries. (6) Our website URL address remains as http://www.iscp-online.org/. It is in operation. This secretary renewed the domain of our site in 2011 for two years and the domain needs to be renewed next year. Before ISCP find a web master to manage the site, this secretary currently manages the website and will continue to be the site’s maintainer before ISCP finds a web master to manage the site.

Finally, this secretary takes this opportunity to express her sincere thanks to her colleagues Jiyuan Yu and Ann Pang-White for their selfless assistance, understanding, and friendship. It has been a great pleasure working with both of them as ISCP officers. This secretary also takes this opportunity to express her sincere thanks to Chenyang Li, the previous Secretary of ISCP, for his help with managing the website of ISCP during the transition time.

Treasurer’s Report

Professor/Dr. Ann Pang-White was elected as the new treasurer of ISCP and a member of the executive board in 2011.  She is grateful for the tremendous help that she received from the former treasurer, Dr. Xinyang Jiang, who ensured all transitional matters were taken care of smoothly.  For security reasons, it took quite much time, labor, and paper work during 2011 to transfer the bank account to the new board.  Professor Pang-White took great labor to bring the whole process to fruition.  In 2011, she also assisted the board in evaluating the abstracts for the APA Eastern Division ISCP panel.  She served on the review committee in reviewing abstracts for the 18th International Conference for Chinese Philosophy to take place at the University of Buffalo-SUNY.  She was also a member of the organizing committee for the conference.  Together with the Society’s secretary, Dr. Xiaomei Yang, Professor Pang-White assisted President Jiyuan Yu, who is also the executive director of ISCP, in the planning of the 18th conference.  Her other works during 2011-2012 includes communicating with members for various inquiries concerning membership, sending receipts for received membership dues, updating membership list with the secretary, preparing documents for filing tax return, working with CPA to file ISCP annual tax return accurately, paying ISCP institution membership fee to professional academic organizations including wire transferring, handling reimbursement, keeping all financial records, and maintain email communications with board members and society members regarding various matters, etc.  During the 18th International Conference for Chinese Philosophy, Dr. Pang-White reported the financial state of the Society. The revenues are from membership and the expenses include annual tax filing and preparation fee, advertisement on Honolulu newspaper for ISCP tax exempt status as required by the law, institution membership fee at FISP and others academic organizations, ISCP website domain fee, ISCP bi-annual conference closing reception and other miscellaneous expenses.  In sum, the Society’s financial state is healthy. The report is available upon request.

Dear ISCP members:

On behalf of the Executive Board, I wish you a happy and healthy year of Snake!  蛇年吉祥, 阖家幸 福！

I would like to take this chance to report you briefly our main works in 2012.

(1) We have completed the transition, thanks to the support of the previous Board (Professors Vincent Shen, Xinyan Jiang and Chenyang Li). Professor Ann Pang-White (our treasurer) and Professor Xiaomei Yang (our secretary) worked hard to ensure a smooth transition.

(2) Since Professor Xiaomei Yang is the Society’s secretary, the Board appointed Professor Jinmei Yuan as our APA Eastern Liaison. Dr. Yuan effectively organized two ISCP panels in 2012 APA Eastern meeting.  Xiaomei Yang, Ann Pang-White (our Treasurer and me served as the Review Committee members. Bothe panels were well-attended and well-received.  Professor Yuan made a special trip to Atlanta to chair a session.

(3) In the absence of Professor Robin Wang (our liaison to APA) who was on sabbatical leave last year, the Executive Board  reviewed and selected two panels  to be presented at the forthcoming APA Pacific Meeting.

(4) Professor Eric Nelson (ISCP liaison to AAR) organized  a panel at 2012 AAR Meeting in Chicago.

(5)  To make ISCP a more democratic organization, we issued an open call for nomination for the candidacy for ISCP’s next vice-president (2014-2015). The Executive Board appointed an Ad Hoc Nomination and Selection Committee, composed of Professors Vincent Shen (Chair), Karyn Lai, and Brook A. Ziporyn.  The Ad Hoc Committee has approved our current vice-president Professor Kwong-loi Shun, who is also organizing the ISCP 19th International Conference, as the official candidate for our next president (2014-15) and has selected Professor Chenyan Li as the official candidate for ISCP’s next vice-president (2014-2015). We wish to thank the Ad Hoc Committee members for their dedicated service and thank all those who are willing to be considered.

(6) ISCP held a joint international Conference with Zhejing University, China in June 8-12, 2012. The conference was entitled “Communication and Creativity: Dialogues between Chinese and Western Philosophies.” The main organizers are Professor Doing Ping at Zheda and Professor Vincent Shen ( The former Executive Director of the ISCP).

(7)  The preparation of the 18^th ISCP International Conference on Chinese Philosophy, entitled “Chinese Philosophy and the Way of Living,” is well under way.  We received a large number of submissions. I wish to thank Ann and Xiaomei who worked with me to carefully  review all the submissions. To date we have mailed out all the acceptance letters. The conference is expected to have more than 100 speakers.

(8)  Professor On-Cho NG has joined the Executive Board as JCP Liaison.

We wish to continue to enjoy your support in the new year. Your criticism and suggestions are cordially welcome. Let us continue to work together for the prosperity of the ISCP.

Jiyuan

--

Jiyuan Yu

Professor of Philosophy

SUNY Buffalo

President and Executive Director

International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP)

135 Park Hall

Buffalo, NY 14260

716-645-0157

Call for Papers

18th International Conference on Chinese Philosophy By the International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP)

Chinese Philosophy and the Way of Living

July 21-24, 2013 State University of New York at Buffalo

Deadline for submission of the abstracts and symposium proposals:

November 30th, 2012.

Please send to  buffaloiscpconference@yahoo.com

For details, please visit the Conference website:

http://iscp.philosophy.buffalo.edu/

The theme of the conference

One major characteristic of Chinese philosophical tradition is that it is not just a matter of theoretical pursuit, but is more a practical enterprise. Philosophy is thought to be a “Learning of Living” (生命的学问), and doing philosophy is to practice a way of life that one chooses and to cultivate and transform character. The central question of Chinese philosophy is “what is the Dao?” and dao (literally, road or way) is the way in which human beings should lead their lives. This conception of philosophy differs from the prevailing modern university conception of philosophy, according to which philosophy is mainly a theoretical discipline and philosophical reflection is peripheral to life.

The conception of philosophy is worth studying, keeping alive, and reviving as an alternative way of doing philosophy. It is similar to the idea that philosophy is the “art of living,” which was prominent in ancient Greek/Roman philosophy, especially in the spirit of Socrates. His motto that “the unexamined life is not worth living” clearly shows that what is examined is “life” rather than “knowledge” or “proposition.” The Jewish tradition is also characteristic of the idea that letter and spirit, idea and life, are inseparable. In the West this conception has been marginalized in modern times, but seems to have experienced a sort of renaissance, as can be seen in the works of (to name only a few) P. Hadot, A. Nehamas, M. Nussbaum, and others.

The Buffalo conference is to explore in details and in depth Chinese conception of philosophy as a learning of living. It seeks not only to deepen our understanding of the nature of Chinese philosophy, but also, through a cross-cultural comparative approach, to enrich the conception of philosophy as a way of living and contribute its revival in contemporary philosophy.

Sub-themes of the conference include but are not limited to:

1.    Chinese philosophy as a learning of living

2. Philosophical discourses and philosophical practicality 3.  Justifying a way of living: metaphysics, aesthetics, and rhetoric 4. Practical wisdom 5.  Moral psychology 6. Formation of self, character, and virtue 7. Happiness, death and suicide 8. Politics and the way of living 9.  Philosophical therapy and spiritual practice 10. The Art of Living: Chinese and Greek 11. The Art of living:  Chinese and Jewish

12. Methodology of comparative study