[SydPhil] 2026 Anderson Lectures | Killing 3 Birds with One Stone | Mar 24, 2026

[Alexandre Lefebvre]

Dear colleagues,

Please see below for details of this year’s Anderson Annual Lecture.

Professor Tongdong Bai (Fudan University) will speak on:

To Kill Three Birds with One Stone — A Confucian Institutional Response to Climate and Other Challenges
Tuesday, 24 March
The New Law Lounge
5:30pm doors for 5:45pm start

All welcome, and refreshments to follow.

Registration link below.

All the best,

Alex

Alexandre Lefebvre <https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/alex-lefebvre.html> | Professor of Politics and Philosophy
Chair of Discipline, Philosophy

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences | The University of Sydney
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New book: Liberalism as a Way of Life<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/PRAACq71mwfk5mEp4CQinIE1rJQ?domain=press.princeton.edu> (Princeton, 2024)



Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
School of Humanities

Discipline of Philosophy
[The University of Sydney]
[Acropolis]
2026 Anderson Lectures in Philosophy

To Kill Three Birds with One Stone —A Confucian Institutional Response to Climate and Other Challenges

Dr. Tongdong Bai | Fudan University (China)
The New Law Lounge | Tuesday, 24 March | 5:30pm doors for 5:45pm start
Among the multi-meanings of the Chinese philosophical conception of the unity of heaven and human, only the one inspired by the Lao Zi is related to environmentalism, but its ultimate solution is a dystopic state of small, isolated, and backward communities. Climate change also poses a “perfect storm” to democratic institutions, domestically and globally. I will argue that Confucianism, despite being anthropocentric, can offer theoretic justifications for the protection of the environment. More importantly, Confucianism-inspired domestic institutions (hybrid regime) and global governance (“New Tian Xia Order”) can offer institutional responses to climate challenges. Based on these Confucianism-inspired ideas, I will show how a state can take care of its own interests while helping peoples from troubled states through controlled migration, and this solution can avoid the exacerbation of climate change due to population boom.

Please join us after the lecture for some refreshments.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Dr. Tongdong Bai is the Dongfang Chair Professor of Philosophy at Fudan University in China, and a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.  His research interests include Chinese philosophy and political philosophy.  He has two books published in English: China: The Political Philosophy of the Middle Kingdom (Zed Books, 2012), and Against Political Equality: The Confucian Case (Princeton University Press, 2019).  He is now working on the philosophy of Han Fei Zi (c. 280-233 BCE), a “Legalist” and a harsh critic of Confucians, as well as a real-life princeling who is often compared with Machiavelli and Hobbes. He is also the director of an English-based MA and visiting program in Chinese philosophy at Fudan University that is intended to promote the studies of Chinese philosophy in the world.

ABOUT THE ANDERSON FELLOWSHIPS:
Anderson Fellowships are bestowed through a bequest of the estate of John Anderson (1893-1962), an influential Australian philosopher and Challis Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney from 1927 to 1958. They fund travel to the University of Sydney for up to two distinguished fellows in philosophy each year with the aim of promoting collaboration between members of the philosophy department and leading researchers around the world.

Image: Courtesy of Dr Bai.

Click Here to Register<https://url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/saMpCr81nytnvLk5NSys2I4-XPZ?domain=t.e2ma.net>
Venue
The New Law Lounge,  01.113.F10A
Law Building Annex
Eastern Ave, Camperdown
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