__________________________________________________
Call for Papers Theme: In Pursuit of Wisdom Subtitle: Ancient Chinese and Greek Perspectives on Cultivation Type: International Conference Institution: University of New South Wales Location: Sydney, NSW (Australia) Date: 15.–18.1.2016 Deadline: 15.11.2015 __________________________________________________ What does it take to live well? Ancient Chinese and Greek philosophy present accounts or models of life lived well: a Confucian junzi, a Daoist sage and a eudaimonic life. Philosophical discussions in these traditions bring to light pictures of the good life as well as its constitutive elements. These include, for example, the Stoic life of virtue, Aristotelian intellectual virtues, Confucian virtue ethics, and Daoist ideals of nonaction. Yet, living well is not simply about having the right kinds of pursuits or ends nor is it just about how particular activities are executed. The good life is primarily about agency, and a richer account is facilitated by understanding how it is cultivated. At this conference, we aim to extend existing debates on the good life by investigating the processes associated with cultivating or nurturing the self in order to live such lives, ably and reliably. What is involved in developing practical wisdom, nurturing the exercise of reason, cultivating equanimity, fostering reliability, learning to respond fittingly, developing knack, and so on? This inquiry shifts the focus from definitions of a good life to the process of its cultivation. For example: instead of examining eudaimonia, we might consider the cultivation of metis or hexis; instead of discussing the junzi, we might study xin (reliability). Taking a first-person perspective on cultivation, the conference will explore how training equips a person to undertake particular actions or tasks well, and reliably so. Key questions include those concerned with practice, discipline, cultivation of habits and skills as well as the resources required for such pursuits. These deliberations will enrich our understanding of learning and action as well as our conceptions of agency. Paper or Panel Proposals We invite paper or panel proposals, submitted on the Registration Form, available for download from the conference website: https://cultivationinchinaandgreece.wordpress.com/registration/ Papers are allocated 20 mins for presentation with 15 mins for discussion. Panels may be grouped in twos or threes. We will try, as far as possible, to group papers into panels across traditions (e.g. “Cultivation of sight in China” and “Cultivation of sight in Greece”). The due date for Paper and Panel proposals is 15 November 2015. Keynote Speakers Professor Sophie-Grace Chappell, The Open University, UK, editor of "Intuition, Theory and Anti-Theory in Ethics" (Oxford University Press, 2015) and author of "Knowing What To Do: Imagination, Virtue, and Platonism in Ethics" (Oxford University Press, 2014) and "Reading Plato's Theatetus" (Hackett, 2005) Professor Yahei Kanayama, Nagoya University, Japan, author of numerous articles in Greek philosophy, especially on Plato, and translator of Greek philosophical texts such as all the works of Sextus Empiricus (Kyoto University Press, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2010, together with Mariko Kanayama). Professor Poo, Mu-chou, Chinese University of Hong Kong, editor of "Rethinking Ghosts in World Religions" (Brill, 2009) and author of "Enemies of Civilization: Attitudes toward Foreigners in Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and China" (SUNY, 2005) and "In Search of Personal Welfare: A View of Ancient Chinese Religion" (SUNY: 1998). Professor Lisa A. Raphals, University of California, Riverside, USA, author of "Divination and Prediction in Early China and Ancient Greece" (Cambridge University Press, 2013) and "Sharing the Light: Representations of Women and Virtue in Early China" (SUNY, 1998). Professor Wang Keping, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, PRC, author of "Reading the Dao: A Thematic Inquiry" (Continuum Publishing, 2011) and "Spirit of Chinese Poetics" (Beijing Foreign Languages Press, 2008). Conference Organisers Professor Rick Benitez Philosophy Department, University of Sydney http://sydney.edu.au/arts/philosophy/staff/profiles/rick.benitez.php Dr Hyun Jin Kim School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne http://shaps.unimelb.edu.au/about/staff/dr-hyun-jin-kim A/Professor Karyn Lai School of Humanities and Languages, University of New South Wales https://hal.arts.unsw.edu.au/about-us/people/karyn-lai/ Conference website: https://cultivationinchinaandgreece.wordpress.com __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
