Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchHPC 54. Learning to Unlearn: Han Feizi and Confucianism
Episode 234
Does Han Feizi’s focus on “standards” allow him to provide a more realistic political theory than the Confucian focus on moral cultivation?
12 hours ago
HPC 53. A Worm Riding Clouds: Standards, Strategy and Power in the Han Feizi
Episode 233
The Han Feizi and its “three pillars” of Legalist philosophy: fa (standards), shu (strategy), and shi (positional power).
2 weeks ago
HPC 52. The Empire State: the Qin Dynasty
Episode 232
Was the short-lived Qin empire, which unified China to put an end to the Warring States period, Legalism in action?
4 weeks ago
HPC 51. Standard Bearers: What is “Legalism"?
Episode 227
The “fa-thinkers” Shang Yang and Han Feizi encourage the rigorous application of “standards,” including law, reward, and punishment.
1 month, 1 week ago
HPC 50. Bryan Van Norden on Warring States Philosophy
Episode 230
To celebrate reaching 50 episodes in this series, Karyn and Peter both chat to a leading scholar of Warring States philosophy.
1 month, 3 weeks ago
HPC 49. Hans-Georg Moeller on the Zhuangzi
Episode 229
An interview on humor and amoral ethics in a Daoist classic, the Zhuangzi - and its relation to Confucianism and Legalism.
2 months, 1 week ago
HPC 48. Off the Beaten Path: Wandering in the Zhuangzi
Episode 228
How is it possible to walk two roads simultaneously? And where does wandering lead us?
2 months, 3 weeks ago
HPC 47. Live and Let Die: the Zhuangzi on Death
Episode 226
Why does the Zhuangzi tell us that death is nothing to fear, to the point that it recommends celebrating the death of loved ones?
3 months, 1 week ago
HPC 46. Turning the Tables: Confucius in the Zhuangzi
Episode 225
How are we to make sense of the different images of Kongzi (Confucius) in the Zhuangzi?
3 months, 3 weeks ago
HPC 45. Practice Makes Perfect: Skill Stories in the Zhuangzi
Episode 224
In addition to sages who show us the way, the Zhuangzi features people taking on daily activities such as woodworking and butchering: we discuss how …
4 months ago