#confucian-wisdom

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fromThe Cipher Brief
4 days ago

Telling China's Story Well: The PRC's Strategic Narrative as an Instrument of National Power

China's strategic narrative, rooted in Sun Tzu's principles, emphasizes the importance of discourse power alongside military and territorial strength, marking a shift in statecraft.
World politics
fromThe Atlantic
5 days ago

The Ancient Chinese Game That Led to the AI Boom

AlphaGo was just a 'baby' project, as he put it to me, and he was an accomplished amateur player. But it still took him down.
Artificial intelligence
fromPhilosophynow
4 days ago

Life Sacrifice

The widespread practice of showing the Eid Al Adha slaughtering to children can desensitize them to violence, as many families take pride in this tradition.
Philosophy
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
1 week ago

Shaming Someone Isn't the Same as Holding Them Accountable

Shaming asserts superiority, silences dissent, and often backfires, perpetuating social control and distorting moral understanding.
Philosophy
fromThe Conversation
2 weeks ago

What an ancient Chinese philosopher can teach us about Americans' obsession with college rankings

Ancient Daoist philosophy offers Asian American families perspective on reducing harmful status-striving in college admissions by shifting focus from competition to contentment.
#east-asian-philosophy
fromThe New Yorker
4 weeks ago

How China Learned to Love the Classics

It wasn't until Whitmarsh had been herded into the main hall that he grasped what he'd signed up for: 'a geopolitical event, not an intellectual one,' as he put it, with hosts including Greece and China's ministries of culture.
World politics
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
3 weeks ago

How and Why We Cross Lines We Never Thought We Would

Gradual adaptation in relationships can imperceptibly shift personal boundaries, causing people to cross lines they once believed inviolable through a series of small, seemingly harmless adjustments.
Philosophy
fromThe Conversation
3 weeks ago

I was teaching virtue and knowledge while lying on the side

Self-deception enables vice through small permissions that gradually erode moral boundaries, as demonstrated through infidelity rationalized during relationship separation.
fromemptywheel
1 month ago

Morality is a Long Game - emptywheel

He took it, managed to decipher my terrible penmanship, and wrote me a reply. I didn't ask him weighty questions about politics, I think I probably asked his favorite color. People's favorite color was a major interest for me when I was eleven. He wrote some questions for me, (perhaps also my favorite color, which was blue.) and soon we were in a conversation, the kind of sweet conversation where a thoughtful grown-up pays attention to a child.
US politics
Philosophy
fromBig Think
1 month ago

The philosophy of indoctrination and how to fix it

Indoctrination occurs when beliefs are sealed off from questioning through prepackaged instructions that frame scrutiny as irrational or immoral, preventing rational evaluation of counterevidence.
Remodel
fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago

8 things people over 60 still consider common sense that younger generations were never taught - Silicon Canals

Basic practical repair and maintenance skills save money, reduce waste, and increase self-sufficiency compared with disposable replacement habits.
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

What We Can Learn From Religion About Values That Do Not Expire

We are living through one of the most disorienting periods in recorded history. The AI race is accelerating toward ever faster, ever more sophisticated automation and optimization. Agentic AI systems are moving from research labs into workplaces, healthcare, and governance. Geopolitical tensions are restructuring alliances faster than institutions can adapt. And planetary systems are signaling, with increasing urgency, that our current trajectory is unsustainable. Amid all this, it is dangerously easy to lose sight of a foundational question: What are we actually optimizing for?
Artificial intelligence
Philosophy
fromWarpweftandway
1 month ago

Conference: Ethics in Chinese Philosophy

HKUST's Division of Humanities hosts an international conference on Ethics in Chinese Philosophy, examining Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism to address modern challenges through traditional ethical frameworks.
#parenting
fromFast Company
2 months ago

What Taoism can teach us about learning in the age of AI

As our attention spans and cognitive abilities are increasingly damaged by digital overuse and AI-mediated shortcuts, the ability to focus deeply and learn something in depth is quickly becoming a critical skill. Never have we had such broad access to information. And never have so many people felt unable to concentrate long enough to truly master anything. Learning is everywhere, yet depth feels elusive.
Mindfulness
#virtue-ethics
World news
fromThe Cipher Brief
2 months ago

The Rise of China's Strategic Soft Power and its Global Impact

U.S. transactional foreign policy and reliance on hard power are accelerating China’s strategic rise through innovation, supply-chain dominance, and expanded soft-power influence.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

Asian Stoicism

Exaggerated emotional restraint in traditional Asian cultures limits parental affirmation, risking children's sense of unconditional love and healthy development.
US politics
fromemptywheel
1 month ago

Morality Is The Issue - emptywheel

The Trump Regime's actions violate shared fundamental morality; resisting these evils is a collective moral obligation.
fromThe Conversation
1 month ago

Meekness isn't weakness - once considered positive, it's one of the 'undersung virtues' that deserve defense today

What do you envision when you think of meekness? You probably see a mousy doormat, someone sheepishly acquiescing to the will of the stronger. When Jesus says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," you might think that those wimps will hand it over without a whimper or word of objection to stronger, more ambitious people. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called meekness "craven baseness."
Philosophy
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Put Humans in Charge Again

Strong executive authority and flexible decision-making enable rapid, large-scale public works, mass hiring, and fast crisis responses when bureaucratic processes are bypassed.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Why Children Lie

Children begin lying as early as age two; frequent lying often reflects developing perspective-taking, executive function, and cognitive sophistication rather than pure moral failure.
Philosophy
fromThe Conversation
1 month ago

I'm a philosopher who tries to see the best in others - but I know there are limits

Interpreting others charitably—seeing them as protagonists who do their best—promotes understanding, cooperation, and productive learning across differences.
fromWarpweftandway
1 month ago

Confucian Web Top 10 Books of 2025

当代儒学发展开始突破传统哲学和思想史范式解读,更注重从宗教属性、文明维度挖掘儒学价值,且强调儒学与公共生活、历史实践的结合,影响日益全面且深入,彰显了儒学强大而持久的生命力。
Philosophy
Philosophy
fromWarpweftandway
2 months ago

ToC: Asian Philosophy 36:1

Buddhist, Confucian, Daoist, and Islamic mystical traditions examine creation, uncertainty, relational personhood, epistemic virtues, commitment, and critiques of Confucian self-cultivation.
Philosophy
fromThe Conversation
2 months ago

Seeking honor is a double-edged sword - from ancient Greece to samurai Japan, thinkers have wrestled with whether it's the way to virtue

The pursuit of honor shapes warrior identity: it can motivate true virtue or distort behavior, reflecting a long debate about proper warrior ethics across cultures.
#confucianism
Philosophy
fromWarpweftandway
2 months ago

Episode 30 of "This Is the Way": Confucianism and Reverential Reading

Reverential attention combines disciplined bodily posture, sustained alertness, deep familiarization, reflective personalization, and ongoing doubt to make reading transformative yet objective.
Philosophy
fromWarpweftandway
2 months ago

CFP: AAR Confucian Traditions Unit Submissions are Open

AAR Confucian Traditions Unit invites panel and individual paper submissions for the 2026 meeting; deadline March 6; presenters must register if accepted.
Philosophy
fromWarpweftandway
2 months ago

Collaborative Learning Roundtables on the Zhuangzi

Call for 100–250-word abstracts for Zhuangzi roundtables on humor, irony, and absurdity, scheduled April–May; indicate English or Mandarin; events free and open.
fromAeon
1 month ago

The Japanese ethics of 'ningen' dethrones the Western self | Aeon Essays

In Rinrigaku, Watsuji argues that ethics is the study of what it means for us to be human. How we think about the nature of human existence, he says, dictates the ways in which we understand our ethical values. Hence, he criticises Western philosophical conceptions of the modern subject, arguing that the Western rendering of subjectivity is both problematic and foreign
Philosophy
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

I'm finding it difficult to live up to my morals. How do I know when it's OK to compromise?

I'm finding it difficult living up to my morals where is the line between compromising a little, versus becoming complicit in what I don't agree with? I'm one of those people who believes we can each take a role in solving big problems, and that we should try to make things better where we can. For this reason, I've ended up working in public service and try to reduce how much meat I eat. I'm vegetarian 60% of the time, which is not perfect, but I believe doing something is better than doing nothing.
Philosophy
Philosophy
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

The Myth of Progress

Relentless pursuit of progress can shrink life, prioritizing efficiency and achievements over health, relationships, and meaningful depth—becoming a poisoned gift.
Philosophy
fromThe Conversation
1 month ago

How women are reinterpreting the menstrual taboos in Chinese Buddhism

Many religions treat menstruation and childbirth as ritual pollution, restricting women's access to sacred sites and religious roles; some taboos persist.
#stoicism
fromWarpweftandway
2 months ago

New Book: Blake, Standards and Reference in Early Chinese Philosophy of Language

Philosophy of Language in Early China characterizes early Chinese philosophy of language through a focus on standards (' fa') and the activity of giving examples (' ju '). It argues that standards are understood by early Chinese philosophers to provide the groundwork for judgment and language, not only in the Mohist school, but also in other thinkers from the Warring States and early Han, particularly the Zhuangzi and Xunzi.
Philosophy
Philosophy
fromPhilosophynow
1 month ago

Philosophers on Children

Great philosophers across history have written varied, often surprising insights about babies and children, addressing innocence, education, political roles, and child development.
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Why You Can't Rely on Your Own Morality Alone

What does it mean to say that you are restrained solely by your own morality, by your own mind? The conscience is often described as an inner voice telling us what to do when others may be opposed. A moral compass is that which distinguishes between right and wrong, good and bad. Our conscience, our moral compass, sets the groundwork for doing the right thing.
Philosophy
Philosophy
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

What We Get Wrong About Human Dignity

Dignity is inherent and unconditional; making dignity conditional, earned, or reduced to niceness or status destroys true human worth and respect.
Philosophy
fromWarpweftandway
2 months ago

Summer Seminar in Asian Philosophy and Scholasticism, 2026

Comparative seminar examining Neo-Confucian and Scholastic perspectives on mind, metaphysics, cognition, and their relevance to contemporary science will convene in Rome, June 18–27, 2026.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
2 months ago

Solidarity, Self-Deprivation, and Selflessness

Some people intentionally forgo goods to share others' suffering, producing morally praiseworthy displays yet increasing aggregate harm when the sacrifice does not improve others' circumstances.
Philosophy
fromWarpweftandway
2 months ago

Summer School in Classical Chinese and Classical Japanese

Ca' Foscari and Princeton offer a summer program teaching Classical Chinese and Classical Japanese/Kanbun with grammar-focused tracks for students preparing for premodern China/Japan graduate study.
Philosophy
fromThe Conversation
1 month ago

Why Aristotle would hate Valentine's Day - and his five steps to love

True love is a steady, everyday commitment to help a partner grow into their best self, not a one-day display of grand gestures.
Philosophy
fromPhilosophynow
1 month ago

Cicero & the Ideal of Virtue

Cicero centers virtus as the Roman ideal combining courage, moral integrity, and civic responsibility as the ethical foundation for political leadership and civic life.
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