[SydPhil] CHOP Research Seminar October 1 - Karyn Lai (UNSW) "The Zhuangzi on place"

[Catherine Wesselinoff]

The Notre Dame Centre for the History of Philosophy warmly invites you to this Research Seminar.

TIME: Thursday, October 1, 1:00 - 2:30 pm

IN PERSON: University of Notre Dame Australia, Broadway/Sydney Campus, NDS22/102

ONLINE: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_Y2Q5YjU0MDUtMjQ0MS00NTE4LTg4ZjQtMzkyMGU3OTM0NWUw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22c93ebcc3-e84c-45c4-9c7e-8607adc072ec%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22d57c9f6e-4977-4ef4-ab54-cde3631e83ed%22%7d

PASSCODE: kh3si7J5
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SPEAKER: Karyn Lai (UNSW)

TITLE: "The Zhuangzi on place"

ABSTRACT: The Zhuangzi’s stories and imagery feature characters and animals that are often somewhere, in a specific place. Varieties of human activities, such as conversing, creating, wandering, or simply going about life are often embedded in places. Consider how Zhuangzi and Huizi are both on the bridge, over the river Hao, in which the fish are swimming—happily, as Zhuangzi says (17/87-91). In this story—and there are many more—the places and positions of its characters could have been omitted. But, instead, each has a unique place; I suggest this is for a reason. In this paper, I propose that the Zhuangzi pays close attention to the places we inhabit, roam in, leave behind, travel to, and move beyond. I discuss key themes and imagery in the text that highlight the centrality of place in human experiences: we are grounded in and by place.

BIO: Karyn Lai is Professor of Philosophy at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Her research in Chinese and comparative philosophy seeks to offer culturally-inclusive and relevant models of human wellbeing. Her publications include Introduction to Chinese Philosophy (2017, CambridgeUP), now translated into Chinese, Korean and Portuguese; edited volumes; and peer-reviewed articles. Karyn is co-editor of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s Chinese philosophy entries; of the book series New Texts in the History of Philosophy (OxfordUP); and Associate Editor of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy. She is co-author (on the classical Chinese philosophical tradition) of the podcast series History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps.

Dr Catherine Wesselinoff
The University of Notre Dame Australia.
Lecturer | School of Philosophy and Theology
Lead, Strategic Programs and Partnerships | Institute for Ethics and Society (IES)

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Aesthetics Area Editor (Acting)

Recent Publications:
"Beauty's Comeback", Debates in Aesthetics, Vol 19. No. 2, 2025, pp 35-45.
"Apophatic Beauty in the Hippias Major and the Symposium", The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 82, Issue 1, 2024, pp 36-44.
The Revival of Beauty: Aesthetics, Experience, and Philosophy, Routledge, 2023.

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