Title: Sino-Hellenic Comparative Studies Series of Lectures

Organizer: School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China

Introduction: The School of Liberal Arts at Renmin University of China will host a series of lectures on Sino-Hellenic comparative studies. These lectures aim to explore the similarities and differences between ancient Chinese and Greek cultures, philosophies, and intellectual traditions. The series will feature prominent scholars from both China and abroad, offering unique insights into the classical traditions of these two great civilizations.

Lecture 1

Topic: Sino-Hellenic Studies and the Future of Classics

Speaker: Professor Lisa Raphals (University of California, Riverside)

Host: Professor Peng Lei, School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China

Time: 14:00 - 17:00, Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Location: Room 200, Humanities Building, Renmin University of China

Lecture Overview: Comparative studies between Chinese and Greek civilizations can make significant contributions to the future of classical studies, albeit in different ways. This lecture will first discuss two comparative models and their respective issues. The cross-cultural approach, which often adopts a Western-centric perspective, tests theories developed from a “native” culture in other cultural contexts. In contrast, the trans-cultural approach attempts to transcend specific cultural backgrounds and address contemporary global issues. However, this approach still relies on contemporary Western philosophy (or occasionally ancient Greek philosophy) as the basis for comparison, thus presenting its own version of the “native” culture problem. This lecture will propose several new methods to avoid the “native” culture issue and will focus particularly on the development of Greek and Roman classics in China.

Lecture 2

Topic: Mind-Body Dualism and the Tripartite Self in Greece and China

Speaker: Professor Lisa Raphals (University of California, Riverside)

Host: Associate Professor Lou Lin, School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China

Time: 14:00 - 17:30, Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Location: Room 200, Humanities Building, Renmin University of China

Lecture Overview: This lecture will use evidence from early China to reflect on a long-standing philosophical issue in ancient Greece. In early Chinese thought, humans are composed of body (body/physical form), mind (mind), and spirit (spirit). However, there are two distinct views about human beings in early Chinese thought. The first can be called the “mind-centered” view, which posits that the mind and spirit are united and jointly dominate the body. This view is very consistent with the European-style mind-body dualism. In stark contrast, the second view centers on “spirit,” where body, mind, and spirit are entirely separate, and the status of “spirit” is usually higher than that of “mind.” The lecture will also reconsider Greek discussions on body and soul (sōma-psychē) based on the divergence between the two Chinese views centered on “mind” and “spirit.”

Lecture 3

Topic: Two Accounts of Embodied Thinking: Aristotle and Xunzi

Speaker: Professor Lisa Raphals (University of California, Riverside)

Host: Professor Peng Lei, School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China

Time: 14:00 - 17:00, Friday, March 28, 2025

Location: Room 1011, Lide Building, Renmin University of China

Lecture Overview: The comparison of Xunzi and Aristotle in moral thinking has attracted widespread attention. This lecture will compare their understanding of what is now called “cognitive” issues, focusing on the role of cognitive abilities (China's “mind” and Greece's “nous/νοῦς”) in thinking and understanding. Both Xunzi and Aristotle redefined “thought” in important ways. Xunzi redefined the “mind,” arguing that the mind, as the ruler of the body, has a new kind of autonomy and can make impartial evaluative judgments independently of the body. Aristotle redefined “nous” as a unique rational capacity of the soul. Both regarded humans as “embodied agents,” whose thinking and understanding abilities are significantly influenced by this embodiment. They both systematically defined their unique concepts of thinking and rationality, responding to important intellectual predecessors and reflecting their views on human nature. Xunzi criticized Mencius's “four beginnings” theory of human nature goodness. Aristotle's discussion of nous challenged Plato's dualism. This lecture will first discuss Xunzi's new understanding of the “mind,” his view of the embodiment of the mind, and the divergence between Xunzi and Mencius on human nature. It will then discuss Aristotle's new definition of “nous,” his understanding of embodiment, and his differences with Plato and pre-Socratic philosophers on the concept of “nous.” The lecture will conclude with a comparative observation.

Lecture 4

Topic: Early Chinese and Greek Accounts of Chance and Randomness

Speaker: Professor Lisa Raphals (University of California, Riverside)

Host: Lecturer Dai Xiaoguang, School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China

Time: 14:00 - 17:00, Saturday, March 29, 2025

Location: Room 1011, Lide Building, Renmin University of China

Lecture Overview: The concept of chance was important in both early China and ancient Greece. However, in contemporary contexts, chance has largely become a value-neutral scientific concept. In both Chinese and Greek cultures, chance emerged in ethical, philosophical, and political contexts and took very different forms in each culture. This lecture will examine four examples to demonstrate the significant differences in the philosophical, ethical, and political concepts and social institutions related to chance in Chinese and Greek thought. It argues that while neither Chinese nor Greek thought about chance has been widely developed in a scientific context, they fundamentally provide important and distinct information for their respective cultures: The Greeks emphasized randomness, which is reflected both in the material environment of Athenian lot-drawing mechanisms and in the philosophical environment of atomism—where the random swerve of atoms is the necessary link to free will in the universe. Chinese thought emphasized “timeliness,” which is reflected in the ideal of the sage's character and actions, both in the practical and specific meanings of “timely” actions and in the philosophical and cosmological understanding that enables the sage to practice “timely” actions. The different ethical, social, and political contexts led to vastly different understandings of chance and luck, resulting in divergent views on “what chance is” and “how it functions in the social and natural world.”

Registration Information

Each lecture is open to 15 external auditors. Interested students and friends are welcome to contact Feng (phone and WeChat: 19520435642, email: 19520435642@163.com) to arrange for entry to the campus. Please contact at least one day in advance.