[SydPhil] UNSW Philosophy Seminar Nov 3

[Timothy O'Leary]

*UNSW Philosophy Seminar*

*"Reconstructing the Early Confucian Theory of the Self.**”*

*Dr Jenny Hung, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology*


*Abstract:*

There have been animated discussions in recent years regarding the
Confucian conception of personhood. Many contemporary scholars believe
that, in early Confucianism, persons are constituted principally by their
communities and social roles. However, objectors point out that it is
difficult to draw a clear line between crucial relationships that define a
person and more contingent relationships, thus making it challenging to
determine the persistence conditions of a person. Wang (2023), for example,
argues that the constitution view may lead to difficulties in appropriating
moral attitudes towards numerically distinct persons.

In this paper, I argue that the claim that persons are constituted by
social roles is theoretically deficient in that it either fails to answer
the question of what we are or fails to answer the question of how we
persist. I then suggest that we should avoid using the conception of
constitution and personhood to characterize early Confucianism. Instead, I
argue that, according to early Confucianism, particularly in the *Analects*
 and *Mencius*, I am a human animal, a living physical organism that
essentially possesses (1) a physical body, (2) social roles and
relationships, and (3) the capacity to be moral. Moreover, my persistence
is determined by the continuity of my physical organization, not the
sameness or continuation of my social roles and relationships.

*Speaker:*

Jenny Hung is an assistant professor in the Division of Humanities at the
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a visiting associate
professor in the Department of Philosophy at the National University of
Singapore. She has two PhDs, one in philosophy, another in nanophysics. She
investigates the nature of the self from both the Western and Eastern
perspectives. She is now working on two books: *Between Buddha-nature and
Emptiness: The Peak Era of Chinese Buddhism* (Oxford University Press)
and *Between
Identity and Unity: The Self within Chinese Oneness Philosophy* (under
review).

*Time & Place:*

Tuesday, 3 November 2026



12:00-1:30pm



Morven Brown 209 + Online



Teams: Join the meeting now
<https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/457864788980433?p=tCSzWA9FjtSaRqlILG>

Contact: Timothy O’Leary (t.oleary at unsw.edu.au)

_______________________
Timothy O’Leary
Professor and Convenor of  Philosophy
School of Humanities & Languages
UNSW Sydney

UNSW is located on the unceded territory of the Bidjigal (Kensington
campus), Gadigal (City and Paddington Campuses) and Ngunnawal peoples (UNSW
Canberra) who are the Traditional Owners of the lands where each campus of
UNSW is situated.