Alexis Y. Lavis, Associate Professor in the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China (RUC), will give a lecture entitled “Ritual as Paradigm for a renewed Philosophy of Action” at 16:00-17:30 on Dec. 29.
The lecture is the thirteenth of the English Lecture Series: Chinese Philosophy and Modern Perspectives 2023, co-hosted by the School of Philosophy, RUC, and the Institute for Advanced International Philosophy Studies. The lecture will be held in Room 500 in the Renwen Building. Participants can also attend online through Tencent Meeting (ID: 975-9641-3826).
Abstract: If, as Heidegger recommended at the very beginning of the Letter on Humanism, it is urgent to re-think anew the meaning of human action, what is the framework within which we can bring about such a renewal? The Confucian tradition (儒家), as exemplary exposed in the Liji《禮記》, could well provide essential elements of a solution based on the analysis of rituality (禮). Confucius and his heirs established an original relationship between ritual, human nature, and man's ability to home the world. Xunzi (荀) went so far as to make ritual a unique mode of action, irreducible to natural or causal actions, but purely human and even phenomenological by essence. Confucian conceptions challenge deeply and relevantly classical western philosophies of action, such as those of Aristotle, Thomas of Aquinas, Descartes, Austin, or Davidson... all based on the principle of causality, and even mechanism which, because it concerns all forms of action, dilutes the properly human meaning of acting into a too general model. So, what does it mean for human beings to act humanly? It's a burning question, now more than ever, and one that calls for a dialogue with Chinese philosophy.
Introduction: Alexis Y. Lavis received his PhD from University of Normandy and obtained the agrégation in philosophy from the Sorbonne and the ministry of education and research. He is presently Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy in Renmin University of China (Beijing). He was previously lecturer in philosophy and Asian studies in Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po); lecturer in History of Philosophy and Comparative Philosophy in University of Normandy. His research interests cover Indian and Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism, History of Western Philosophy, Phenomenology and Linguistics (French, English, German, Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, modern and ancient Chinese). His publications include the translation (Sanskrit to French) and the philosophical and phenomenological commentary of the Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra (2018), two studies on the relationship between Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in China (2010, 2013); some translations of Chinese texts (孫子, 三十六計, 韓非) and Sanskrit (Bhagavadgīta) ; and recently an epistemological and comparative analysis of the concept of “Unforeseen” (2021). In addition to numerous articles and contributions, he is editorial director of collection “Asian Studies” (Cerf Publishing House), program director (on “Comparative Rituality”) at the Collège International de Philosophie (CIPh), member/researcher of the Husserl Archives-Paris of the French Asian Society, and of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP).
