Discursive and Non-Discursive Reasoning in Chinese Philosophy
Date
11. – 13. Juli 2025
Venue
University of Zurich, Rämistrasse 59, CH-8001 Zurich
- Friday, July 11: RAA-G-15
- Saturday and Sunday, July 12–13: RAA-G-01 (Aula)
Please register for your online participation here.
Organization
- Polina Lukicheva, University of Zurich
- Kai Marchal, National Chengchi University Taipei
- Grzegorz Polak, Maria Sklodowska-Curie University Lublin (UMCS)
- Rafael Suter, University of Zurich
Contact
Polina Lukicheva, Rafael Suter
Support
This workshop is organized with the generous support of
- Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation
- Nomis Foundation
- Swiss National Science Fund
- Schweizerische Akademie der Geisteswissenschaften
Abstract
This workshop explores how processes of thinking and reasoning are reflected in traditional Chinese philosophy — including forms that are not easily captured by formal or discursive logic. One avenue we pursue is the connection between vision and thought as developed in Chinese philosophical traditions. While the metaphor of vision in the European context often represents intellectual clarity or timeless truths, Chinese philosophical texts engage vision differently: as a means of attending to change, process, and the situatedness of the observer. The workshop brings together perspectives from Chinese philosophy, Buddhist studies, and related fields to examine how distinctions between discursive and non-discursive modes of thought are articulated — or problematized — in Chinese traditions, and how these approaches may offer alternative ways of understanding reasoning itself.
More information at 2025: Discursive and Non-Discursive Reasoning in Chinese Philosophy (11–13 July) | Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies | UZH.