Ringvorlesung – Die Denktraditionen Chinas verstehen

In the organizer's words:

• The formative teaching - Confucianism and Chinese society Confucianism shaped Chinese society like no other teaching. The focus on loyalty, honoring ancestors and parents and upholding decency and morality are the core points of Confucius' teachings. Clear hierarchies and order characterize this tradition of thought. Prof. Dr. Hans van Ess, an expert on Confucius and Confucianism, traces the development of this tradition and presents its principles.

Prof. Dr. Hans van Ess - Gasteig HP8 - Projector, Hall E - Hans-Preißinger-Str. 8 - Wed 19.00 to 20.30 - 13.11.2024 - T132010

• Philosophy of the Way: an introduction to Daoism Daoism (also known as Taoism) is one of the most important currents of Chinese thought. The lecture gives an introduction to the basic ideas of Daoist thought: the cosmos as a dynamic being, the striving for an intuitive unity with nature and the art of non-action as a principle of the good life. Classical philosophers of Daoism such as Laozi and Zhuangzi will be discussed and show that Daoism also has important teachings for life in the present.

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Gäb - Education Center - Lecture Hall 2 - Einsteinstr. 28 - thu 18.00 to 19.30 - 14.11.2024 - € 10.- - T132020

• Contemporary Chinese philosophy: between tradition and politics China's resurgence as an economic and political world power arouses admiration, but also fears. But what is the cultural and intellectual background behind this development? With a view to the period after 1989, the lecture looks at Chinese philosophy under new auspices: as a transcultural phenomenon standing between East and West and shaped by old and new China, which has an impact beyond China.

Prof. Dr. Fabian Heubel - Education Center - Lecture Hall 2 - Einsteinstr. 28 - thu 19.00 to 20.30 - 21.11.2024 - € 10.- - T132030

• Old becomes new and old again - a brief history of Neo-Confucianism After many centuries of dominance by Daoism and Buddhism, a spiritual counter-movement emerged in China from around the 10th century. It aimed to shape the future of the Chinese empire by returning to an even older ideal. Who were the thinkers and the foundations of so-called Neo-Confucianism, which dominated the intellectual history of imperial China for almost 1,000 years until its decline in 1911? What role does it still play today, long after the end of the empire?

Dominic Lehmann - Education Center - Lecture Hall 2 - Einsteinstr. 28 - Fri 18.00 to 19.30 - 22.11.2024 - € 8.- - T132040

• A religion becomes Chinese - the special features of Chinese Buddhism Buddhism is a Chinese tradition of thought that comes from a different cultural area and thus "from outside", but at the same time has spelled out its own lineage in China. What special features characterize Buddhism in China compared to Buddhism in other countries? And what role does it play in modern Chinese society - especially after the Cultural Revolution, during which numerous temples were destroyed?

Dr. Marc Nürnberger - Education Centre - Lecture Hall 2 - Einsteinstr. 28 - thu 19.00 to 20.30 - 28.11.2024 - € 10.- - T132050

• Unknown thinkers of ancient China In addition to Confucius and Lao-tse, classical Chinese philosophy has produced other thinkers who are largely unknown in the West. This lecture introduces three of these forgotten philosophers: Mo Di, the shirt-sleeved pragmatist and utilitarian, for whom only what is useful is good; Yang Zhu, the fun-loving hedonist, who sought happiness in escaping society and in sensual pleasures; and Han Feizi, the Chinese Machiavelli, for whom all philosophy is in the service of state power and political system optimization.

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Gäb - Education Center - Lecture Hall 2 - Einsteinstr. 28 - thu 18.00 to 19.30 - 5.12.2024 - € 10.- - T132060

Price information:

Remaining tickets are available at the Box Office.