Episode 6: Partiality and Justice

It seems clear that special relationships give rise to strong attachments and responsibilities that are at the heart of human lives. But it also seems that considerations of justice can require us to give equal consideration to a stranger. What do we do when there is a conflict between considerations of partiality and impartiality?

In this episode we explore these questions with a special guest, Professor Tao Jiang who is a professor of religion and philosophy at Rutgers University and also the director of the Rutgers Center for Chinese Studies. We explore the themes of humaneness, justice and freedom that forms the core of his book, Origins of Moral-Political Philosophy in Early China (Oxford University Press, 2021).

Want to continue the discussion? Need links to some of the sources mentioned? Go to the support page for this episode on Warp, Weft, and Way.

We thank Lena Li (LI La 李拉 ) for her expert editing and sound engineering. We also thank the blog Warp, Weft & Way for hosting the discussion for this episode.

Co-hosts:
Richard Kim's website
Justin Tiwald's website

Chapters

• 0:00 Part I -- Introduction
• 8:35 • Preface to today’s guest and topic
• 14:49 Part II -- Tao JIANG on Partialistic Virtue and Impartial Justice
• 14:50 • Introducing Tao JIANG
• 17:08 • Synopsis of the book
• 20:37 • Tensions between partialism and impartialism in the Analects
• 33:30 • Is the Confucian Golden Rule partialist or impartialist?
• 48:15 • personal freedom in the Zhuangzi
• 55:28 • Why freedom didn't make the transition from being a personal value to an institutional value
• 1:04:00 • Is it possible that Zhuangzi valued spontaneity and authenticity rather than personal freedom?
• 1:11:50 • In the Zhuangzi, what makes freedom valuable?
• 1:15:38 • Closing questions for our guest
• 1:24:29 • Preview of the next episode: Karyn Lai on Zhuangzi’s Butcher