This Is The Way: Chinese Philosophy Podcast
Episodes
Episode 32: Music Has in It neither Grief nor Joy
13 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When you hear sad music and feel some sadness in response, is that because the music has successfully carried the sadness of the musician to you as th...
Episode 31: The Great Music Debate -- Mohists vs. Classical Confucians
08 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Is music an extravagance in a world of scarcity or a necessary expression of our humanity? We explore Mozi’s consequentialist condemnation of elabor...
Episode 30: Confucianism and Reverential Reading
18 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we explore Zhu Xi’s striking account of how to read philosophical and other important texts with what he calls “reverential atten...
Episode 29: Shen Dao on Law
25 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Early in Chinese history, a number of political thinkers developed sophisticated arguments for relying on consistent application of laws rather than t...
Episode 28: Mencius Against Mohist Impartialism
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we continue our exploration of Mohist impartial caring (jian'ai 兼愛) by examining two of Mencius’s most influential objecti...
Episode 27: Mohism—Two Arguments for Impartial Caring
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode examines the Mohist doctrine of impartial caring (jian'ai) via two arguments in the Mozi -- the Caretaker Argument and the Filial Pi...
Episode 26: The White Horse Dialogue: Language, Logic, and Categories in Early China
11 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
According to a speaker in a famous historical dialogue, "A white horse is not a horse." In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Lisa Indracco...
Episode 25: Daoist Utopia
18 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we delve into Chapter 80 of the Daodejing, one of the most vivid portraits of Daoist social ideals. We unpack its vision of a “simp...
Episode 24: Robber Zhi—Honor Among Thieves?
28 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With a big assist from our guest, Stephen C. Walker, we discuss a highly unusual philosophical dialogue in classical Chinese literature, the "Rob...
Episode 23: Confucianism on the Assessment of Character
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Justin and Richard discuss how historical Confucian philosophers have proposed to recognize people of good moral character (virtue). ...
Episode 22: The Good Life in the Analects
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What sort of vision of the good life does Confucius recommend? In this episode, we explore one of the most intriguing passages in the Analects (11.26)...
Episode 21: Xunzi’s Way—Discovered or Invented?
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is our first on the classical Confucian philosopher Xunzi 荀子 (3rd century BCE), who was famous for arguing that human nature is bad a...
Episode 20: Confucianism vs. Buddhism (first "live show")
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
One influential justification for becoming Buddhist is to end suffering, starting (it seems) with the Buddhist practitioner's own suffering. Does...
Episode 19: Zhu Xi on the Unity of the Virtues
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today's topic is really about two things. First, it's about the claim that many instantiations of one virtue necessarily come packaged with ...
Episode 18: Neo-Confucian Metaphysics
08 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Much of the technical philosophy of Confucianism was developed by sophisticated thinkers that came well after the time of Confucius, starting in the S...
Episode 17: The Mohist State of Nature Argument
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we delve into the Mozi’s "state of nature argument," a vision of human life before political order and an explanation of ...
Episode 16: Zhuangzi on Uselessness
22 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk about the theme of uselessness in the Zhuangzi, one of the great foundational texts of philosophical Daoism. What exactly det...
Episode 15: Ritual in the Analects
01 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It is indisputable that ritual is at the heart of Confucianism—buy why? In this episode we examine Analects 3.17 in which Confucius seems keen to de...
Episode 14: Women in the Analects
15 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the received version of the Analects, it’s quite apparent that all of Confucius’s disciples were men. So one might wonder: is this an ethics bu...
Episode 13: Family Before State
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Confucianism is well known for prioritizing familial responsibilities and love over other competing demands such as public interest or duties to the s...
Episode 12: Play
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Play seems to constitute an important part of a flourishing human life. Most of us experience play through things like simple childhood games of hide-...
Episode 11: Nonaction
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The concept of wu-wei, often translated as nonaction or effortless action is central to classical Chinese philosophy. But what exactly is the idea and...
Episode 10: Mencius on Moral Development
14 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do we become good? What is the process by which we acquire the virtues? We examine these question by focusing on some key concepts in Mencius&apos...
Episode 9: Moral Sprouts
30 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What is the nature and source of morality? Are human beings naturally inclined toward moral goodness? The early Confucian thinker Mencius (Mengzi) bel...
Episode 8: The Golden Rule
19 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Across different religious and moral traditions we often find some version of the Golden Rule. In this episode we explore the Golden Rule as formulate...
Episode 7: The Butcher
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Certain allegories and myths offer profound philosophical insights. In the West, Plato's Allegory of the Cave occupies a key role in the history ...
Episode 6: Partiality and Justice
05 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It seems clear that special relationships give rise to strong attachments and responsibilities that are at the heart of human lives. But it also seems...
Episode 5: Cultivation and the Autobiography of Confucius
02 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we discuss Confucius's autobiography as found in Analects 2.4, one of the most famous passages in the Analects and a rich resourc...
Episode 4: Persuasion
11 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we discuss the topic of persuasion by exploring a dialogue between Confucius and his disciple Yan Hui in Chapter Four of the Zhuangzi....
Episode 3: Oneness
20 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we explore the fascinating topic of Oneness with our guest Philip J. Ivanhoe, a distinguished scholar and translator of East Asian phi...
Episode 1: Detachment
31 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we introduce ourselves and explore the concept of detachment, focusing especially on the Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu 莊子), a classical Chi...
Episode 2: Shame
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we interview Dr. Jing Iris Hu (HU Jing 胡婧), an associate professor at Concordia University in Canada. The central concept we explo...