Zoom: https://umac.zoom.us/j/99459515373 Password: 978914   Abstract This paper develops a phenomenological account of what it is to have and to lose an underlying sense of “certainty”. By drawing on themes in Wittgenstein’s later writings and also the phenomenological tradition, I conceive of having certainty in terms of the anticipatory structure of experience. It consists in a practical, non-localized, unwavering sense that things will work out, that one will be able to go on. This also involves the pre-reflective acceptance of a form of uncertainty. I conclude by suggesting that, by conceiving of certainty in this way and acknowledging its fragility, we can better understand various different disturbances to which human experience is susceptible. Bio Matthew Ratcliffe is Professor of Philosophy […]

Zoom: https://umac.zoom.us/j/97086925839 Password: 322991   Abstract The problem of evil is widely considered a problem only for traditional Western monotheists who believe that there is an omnipotent and morally perfect God. I argue, however, that the problem of evil, more specifically a variant of the problem of evil which I call the ‘problem of impermanence’, arises even for those adhering to the philosophical and religious traditions of the East. I analyse and assess various responses to the problem of impermanence found in medieval Japanese literature. I argue that the only response that is potentially satisfactory requires supernaturalism. I conclude, therefore, that the problem of impermanence is a unique problem posing a greater challenge to naturalists than to supernaturalists. Bio Yujin […]

Zoom: https://umac.zoom.us/j/91556908494 Password: 502953   Abstract One of the most notable features of the Warring States-period (Zhanguo 戰國, 453-221 BCE) political discourse is the extraordinary self-confidence of the intellectually active members of the shi 士 (men-of-service) stratum. Having positioned themselves as collective possessors of the Way 道, these shi intellectuals claimed recognition as society’s and the rulers’ moral guides. One of the major ways of asserting their superiority vis-à-vis the rulers was through proliferation of historical (and quasi-historical) narratives that uniformly placed the rulers at the position of recipients of their advisers’ wisdom. In my study I want to explore the counter-discourse aimed at undermining the intellectuals’ authority. Two texts are most notable in their systematic assault on fellow intellectuals. […]