Skip to content
- Despite being called History of Modern Philosophy, this course is really only about western philosophy. I don’t think there are any representations of Asian philosophers, let alone Chinese ones, and Wang Yangming should be added if we genuinely want to learn about philosophers worldwide.
- There aren’t many “modern” philosophers in China to choose from, mainly the Neo-Confucianists, and Wang Yangming is a notable one among them. He has many interesting stories, showing talent from a young age, etc. I enjoyed writing his biography very much.
- His school of thought as opposed to Zhu Xi’s, although the two aren’t even from the same era, remains a central point of debate in Chinese Philosophy. As far as I know, more people now lean toward Wang Yangming’s School of Mind instead of Zhu Xi’s School of Reason (Pattern).
- There are many who made interesting comparisons between his philosophy and Kant’s that can be dug deeper to demonstrate the fundamentally different focus of Chinese vs Western philosophy.
- He has the reputation of being “the second saint after Confucius” in China. That alone should speak some volumes, considering Confucius is like the Jesus of China.