Certain allegories and myths offer profound philosophical insights. In the West, Plato's Allegory of the Cave occupies a key role in the history of philosophy with its marvelous representation of the quest for knowledge and the distinction between illusion and reality. In the East, Zhuangzi's story of the butcher, "Cook Ding" has for over two millennia served as one of the most memorable and stunning illustrations of the Daoist conception of the Way.

In this episode we are delighted to be joined by Professor Karyn Lai to discuss this remarkable passage from the Zhuangzi. In the course of the conversation we discuss a number of issues including:

• What could it mean for the butcher's performance is "beyond technique"?
• Is this really an example of "effortless action"? Specifically, is it really "effortless"?
• When the ruler proclaims that he's learned from the butcher "how to care for life," is the author spoofing the ruler?

We would also like to note that Professor Lai is the co-author of the Classical Chinese Philosophy section of Peter Adamson's excellent podcast, History of Philosophy Without Gaps. The link to it is here. You may also find more information about Professor Lai and her numerous publications here.

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

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

In this episode we discuss Confucius's autobiography as found in Analects 2.4, one of the most famous passages in the Analects and a rich resource for reflection on the process of moral self-cultivation. Among the many topics we explore: what Confucius meant by being "free of doubts" and "understanding Heaven's Mandate," and the relationship between practicing and understanding the Confucian Way. We discuss how traditional commentaries and commentators have interpreted some of the most interesting and disputed lines, and puzzle over the philosophical concept of 'wholeheartedness.'

We primarily use Edward Slingerland's Hackett translation of the Analects for our conversation.

For our next episode we will be inviting Tao JIANG as our guest to discuss partialism and impartialism in classical Chinese philosophy.

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