Learning to Be a Person: The Epistemological Way of “Great Learning”
Prof. Chienkuo Mi, Professor of Philosophy, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan; Visiting Professor of Philosophy, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong; Nankai Chair Professor of Philosophy (Tianjing Thousand Talents), Nankai University, Tianjing, China |
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4:30 – 6:30 pm |
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Room 220, Fung King Hey Building |
Abstract:
The title “Learning to Be a Person” contains three crucial elements in which the issues involved are all normative in their nature. First of all, the idea of “learning” should explain “why we learn”, “what we learn” and “how we learn” (the 3W questions). Secondly, for the idea of “person”, we have to distinguish it from the concept of “human”. We don’t need to learn to become a human being, because we are born as a human being already biologically. However, we do need to learn in order to become the kind of person we want to be. And finally, the idea of “to be” as a relation between learning and becoming a person also deserves a close and careful examination. Whether the connection between “learning” and “being a person” is a causal one, a teleological one or an essential one, will turn out to have great impact on the discussions in question.
Conducted in Putonghua and English
All are welcome
