Sophia F. Gao is a PhD candidate on the College of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia, the place her analysis is guided by philosophers Karyn Lai and Timothy O’Leary. She earned her MPhil in Philosophy from the Chinese language College of Hong Kong. Sophia grew up within the historical metropolis of Luoyang, China. It’s the place the place Laozi, the founding father of philosophical Daoism, is historically believed to have labored and the place Neo-Confucianism blossomed. It’s also the place thought-about to be the cradle of Chinese language Buddhism. This background fostered her curiosity in Chinese language philosophy. Sophia’s present analysis is dedicated to classical Chinese language philosophy, feminist ethical philosophy, and comparative philosophy. Her present mission goals to determine a hybrid Mencian-feminist mannequin of care ethics, with particular consideration to the function of feelings in our ethical life. Particularly, Sophia is focused on “emotion clusters” reminiscent of sympathy and empathy in addition to disgrace and guilt.
What are you engaged on proper now?
I’m presently engaged on my PhD dissertation. This mission is a comparative research on the function of feelings in feminist care ethics and Mencius’ ethical philosophy. I purpose to determine a Mencian-feminist hybrid mannequin of care that exhibits the function of feelings, arising from human encounters, in fostering care apply and human relationality. I’m significantly focused on empathy and sympathy in addition to disgrace and guilt. My hybrid mannequin of care incorporates the insights from feminist care ethics and Mencian ethical philosophy on these feelings. Via this mission I hope to develop a sufficiently expansive technique to deal with care in direction of generalized others and particular others, the one-caring and cared-for, articulating a extra complete and culturally delicate understanding of those feelings and recommend constructive means to handle their related limitations in care apply.
What do you discover difficult about your mission and why do you assume your mission vital?
I discover that doing comparative philosophy in English is difficult, because it faces lots of distinctive methodological points. As an example, how do we all know that completely different traditions are speaking about the identical issues, or how can we keep away from misinterpretation and misunderstanding? Is it potential to correctly translate phrases in different languages, reminiscent of classical Chinese language, into fashionable English? What requirements ought to we use to grasp and consider culturally distinct ideas or ideas?
Whatever the challenges that come up from the comparative research of classical Confucian philosophy and feminist philosophy because of cultural and linguistic boundaries, I consider it’s nonetheless value my dedication. Gender oppression in numerous societies and cultural contexts could have completely different causes and options and it is very important be delicate to such variety and uniqueness and examination related points in concrete contexts. My comparative research will assist feminism “localize” via unfolding distinctive wants and points in Confucian societies, thus demonstrating feminism’s deep respect for variety and particularity. Furthermore, my analysis helps to diversify philosophy culturally via understanding how two important mental traditions perceive the place of feelings in ethical life. Via establishing an energetic dialogue between the 2 traditions, this analysis will discover the universality of humanity by trying to find the compatibility between the 2 traditions and in addition the individuality and variety of humanity via analyzing the variations between the 2 traditions.
What’s your favourite sound on this planet?
Working streams. It’s each peaceable and vigorous. I really feel that I don’t solely hear the sound of the working stream itself. As a substitute, it feels as if I can hear the water regularly coming from the springhead! It is sort of a supply of vitality!
Identify a trait, talent or attribute that you’ve got that others could not find out about.
I’m a good prepare dinner (although not with out the occasional failure). Though I’ve by no means gained a prize for my cooking, the truth that my household (who I typically prepare dinner for) consistently fails their weight-loss plan and complain in regards to the temptation of my meals is a reward in itself!
I’m additionally focused on inside ornament. I’m at all times fascinated by the best way objects of various supplies, designs, colours, and even smells, may be creatively organized in numerous spatial relations, and organized in numerous atmosphere. By benefiting from the lighting and shadows, they’ll create an fascinating integrity.
I discover that each cooking and inside ornament naked some similarities with comparative philosophy within the sense that every one three anticipate an appreciation of the distinctive traits of various supplies which can initially appear counterintuitive to place collectively. Nonetheless, these distinctive supplies creatively come collectively, every complementing the opposite and producing one thing new.
What’s your favourite e-book of all time? (Or high 3). Why? To whom would you advocate them?
Certainly one of my favourite books is Jostein Gaarder’s novel Sophie’s World, which was initially printed within the Norwegian language in 1991. It’s an approachable and thought-provoking novel which portrays a 14-year-old Norwegian teenage lady, Sophie Amundsen, who was led by mysterious thinker Alberto Knox, to take an mental journey, exploring the historical past of western philosophy. Whereas I will surely not name it the very best e-book of all time and although it faces numerous criticism, similar to most books do, it’s nonetheless one in every of my favourite books because of its distinctive significance by myself philosophical journey. I learn the Chinese language model of this e-book once I was a teen, much like the age of the principle character within the novel. It was the primary philosophy-related e-book I’ve ever learn and it’s what received me focused on philosophy and what impressed me to begin my very own philosophy journey! (It’s also the place I received my English title, Sophia, from).
I like to recommend it to each newbie of philosophy, particularly youngsters and younger adults. Because the e-book has been translated into many alternative languages, it’s a nice choice for readers from completely different language backgrounds.
What books are presently in your ‘to learn’ record?
There are lots of them. To call a couple of:
The right way to Do Issues with Feelings: The Morality of Anger and Disgrace by Owen Flanagan
Doing What You Actually Need: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mengzi by Franklin Perkins
Care Ethics, Democratic Citizenship and the State edited by Petr City and Lizzie Ward
The Bamboo Texts of Guodian: A Examine and Full Translation by Scott Prepare dinner
What’s your favourite quote?
“Studying with out considering, one will probably be bewildered; considering with out studying, one will probably be imperiled. [學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆] .” This quote comes from the Analects, which is a group of sayings attributed to the Chinese language thinker Confucius.
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