I joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2014, after briefly teaching at Peking University and Lingnan University. I work primarily on topics at the intersections of philosophy of mind, moral philosophy, metaphysics, and epistemology, aiming to develop a robust version of anti-reductionism about mentality and morality. I have also done research in related areas, such as philosophy of language, philosophy of science, political philosophy, and comparative philosophy. My research seeks to address fundamental philosophical issues and uncover connections among apparently disparate topics at a deeper level and within a broader context. I am currently working on a five-year project, “An Emergentist Theory of Mind”, supported by the RGC Research Fellow Scheme of Hong Kong Research Grants Council.

As a leading Chinese analytic philosopher, my work has regularly appeared in top philosophy journals and stimulated worldwide responses and discussion. My research is listed among the key works in the PhilPapers entry on the Exclusion Problem and is also recognized in major philosophical reference works, including Oxford Bibliographies in Philosophy, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and Philosophy Compass. Several conferences have been organized to discuss my philosophical work, and some of my publications have been translated into Chinese by other scholars. I received the RGC Research Fellow Award in 2021, the Research Excellence Award of CUHK in 2020, and the Young Researcher Award of CUHK in 2017.

Besides philosophy, I have a special interest in Classical Chinese poetry. I also enjoy watching movies & TV series, doing physical exercise, and exploring different parts of the world.

[More information can be found in my Curriculum Vitae.]

• Philosophy of Mind
• Moral Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Epistemology
• Philosophy of Language
• Political Philosophy

Zhong, Lei (2026) “An Emergentist Approach to Phenomenal Causality,” Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 107: 74-85.

Zhong, Lei (2026) “Phenomenal Knowledge and Phenomenal Causality,” Noûs 60: 212-232.

Zhong, Lei (2024) “Phenomenal Concepts, Direct Reference, and the Problem of Double Aspect,” The Philosophical Quarterly 74: 978-997.

Zhong, Lei (2023) “A Causal Argument for Physicalism,” Asian Journal of Philosophy 2: 1-9. [Lead paper for article symposium]

Zhong, Lei (2022) “Why Causation Is Biconditional but Not Proportional,” American Philosophical Quarterly 59: 263-271.

Zhong, Lei (2022)《道德实在论及其认知向度》Shanghai: Orient Publishing Center. [Translated into Chinese by Benqun Wei]

Zhong, Lei (2021) “Physicalism without Supervenience,” Philosophical Studies 178: 1529-1544.

Zhong, Lei (2020) “Intervention, Fixation, and Supervenient Causation,”  Journal of Philosophy 117: 293-314.

Zhong, Lei (2020) “Taking Emergentism Seriously,” Australasian Journal of Philosophy 98: 31-46.

Zhong, Lei (2019) “The Hard Problem for Soft Moral Realism,” Journal of Philosophy 116: 555-576.

Zhong, Lei (2017) “Semantic Normativity and Semantic Causality,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 94: 626-645.

Zhong, Lei (2016) “Physicalism, Psychism, and Phenomenalism,” Journal of Philosophy 113: 572-590.

Zhong, Lei (2016) “A Confucian Virtue Theory of Supererogation,” Philosophy East & West 66: 328-341.

Zhong, Lei (2015) “Why the Counterfactualist Should Still Worry about Downward Causation,” Erkenntnis 80: 159-171.

Zhong, Lei (2014) “Sophisticated Exclusion and Sophisticated Causation,” Journal of Philosophy 111: 341-360.

Zhong, Lei (2012) “Counterfactuals, Regularity and the Autonomy Approach,” Analysis 72: 75-85.

Zhong, Lei (2011) “Can Counterfactuals Solve the Exclusion Problem?” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 83: 129-147.

[A complete list of publications can be found in my Curriculum Vitae.]