MANG, Fan-lun, Franz

Assistant Professor

B.A. (CUHK), M.Phil. (HKU), D.Phil. (Oxford)
39437153
flmang@cuhk.edu.hk

简历

Franz Mang joined the Department of Philosophy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2021. He received his D.Phil., i.e., Ph.D., from Oxford University in 2017, where he studied at St Antony’s College as a Swire Scholar on a fully-funded scholarship (thanks to Swire Educational Trust). Prior to his doctoral studies, he obtained his B.A. in philosophy and M.Phil. in politics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and The University of Hong Kong, respectively.

Research projects:

Mang’s primary research interest lies in social and political philosophy, focusing on contemporary debates over liberal perfectionism and state neutrality. He believes that a liberal state may adopt moderate perfectionist measures, including public funding of arts and culture, to create an environment conducive to individuals leading fulfilling lives. Most of his publications are available at PhilPeople.

Currently, Mang is involved in two major projects. The first project aims to provide a solid foundation for moderate perfectionism by engaging in ongoing debates surrounding public reason and liberal neutrality. While critical of public reason theories that reject perfectionism, he affirms the importance of citizens justifying their stances to their fellow citizens in a respectful manner. Furthermore, he believes moderate perfectionism can deepen our understanding of the value of intellectual education and, more broadly, of the humanities, and even the moral and epistemic situations of individuals living under authoritarian politics.

The other project continues his previous government-funded project, titled “Contemporary Confucian Political Philosophy: Limitations and Contributions,” funded by the Research Grants Council in Hong Kong from 2022 to 2023. This project has yielded several publications, and he plans to publish a monograph discussing more systematically the relevance of Confucianism to the contemporary world. He is particularly interested in exploring how Confucian ideas, including Xunzi’s ethical and epistemological insights, can provide valuable perspectives on democratic politics and educational policy.

Besides research:

Apart from research, he enjoys teaching, watching movies, reading literature, singing, and visiting bookstores. He is the recipient of the Faculty Outstanding Teaching Award (2023) from the Faculty of Arts and has recently been nominated for the Exemplary Teaching Award in General Education (2024).

研究范围

  1. Social and Political Philosophy
  2. Comparative Philosophy
  3. Ethics

出版刊物

2024. ‘Perfectionism, Political Justification, and Confucianism’. In James Dominic Rooney and Patrick Zoll (Eds.), Freedom and the Good: Beyond Classical Liberalism, Routledge, 130-144.

2023. ‘Perfectionism, Public Reason, and Excellences’. Analysis, 83 (3): 627-639.

2023. ‘Confucianism and Public Political Discussion’. Comparative Political Theory, 3 (2): 154-168.

2022. ‘Perfectionism’. In William R. Thompson (Ed.), Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics, Oxford University Press. (Online) (Co-authored with Joseph Chan.)

2021. ‘State Perfectionism and the Importance of Confucianism for East Asia’s Future Development’. Philosophical Forum, 52 (1): 5-16.

2020. ‘Political Meritocracy and Its Betrayal’. Philosophy and Social Criticism, 46 (9): 1113-1126.

2020. ‘Is Popular Sovereignty a Useful Myth?’ In Melissa S. Williams (Ed.), Deparochializing Political Theory, Cambridge University Press, 149-173. (Co-authored with Joseph Chan.)

2019. ‘Why Public Reason Could Not Be Too Modest: The Case of Public Reason Confucianism’. Journal of Social Philosophy, 50 (2): 163-176.

2018. ‘Confucianism, Perfectionism, and Liberal Society’. Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy, 17 (1): 29-49.

2017. ‘Public Reason Can Be Reasonably Rejected’. Social Theory and Practice, 43 (2): 343-367.

2013. ‘Liberal Neutrality and Moderate Perfectionism’. Res Publica: A Journal of Moral, Legal, and Social Philosophy, 19 (4): 297-315. (The winner of the 8th Res Publica Essay Prize, awarded by The Association for Social and Political Philosophy [ASPP].)

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Public talks (selections):

‘Freedom for a person’s life’ (「自由對於人的一生」) – a talk given at Hong Kong Reader Bookstore in March 2023. The event was organized by Hok Sik (學識Hok6.com).

‘Political apathy and collective memory’ (「政治冷感與集體回憶」) – a paper presented for a symposium at Lingnan University in March 2023. The symposium was co-organized by three philosophy societies of Lingnan University, Hong Kong Baptist University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong respectively.

‘How could studying and working make one happy?’ (「返工返學點會快樂?」) – a talk given at Hong Kong Central Library in December 2018. The event was co-organized by Hong Kong Practical Philosophy Society and Hong Kong Central Library.