A native of Glasgow, Graham taught Asian and comparative philosophy at the University of Hawaii for almost thirty years before moving to University College Cork, in Ireland, in 2008. After seven years he moved on to be Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and then East China Normal University in Shanghai. He is currently a Professorial Research Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Vienna. His research interests are intercultural philosophy (Continental European and East-Asian), environmental philosophy, and philosophies of art and film.
Although climate models predict that global heating will prove more devastating for China than fo... more Although climate models predict that global heating will prove more devastating for China than for many other countries, and economic models have shown that a transition to a low-carbon economy would strengthen China in the long run, the Chinese leadership has failed to reduce fossil fuel consumption enough to avoid extremes of weather that are devastating the country. Not long after becoming president, Xi Jinping announced a project to ground “socialism with Chinese characteristics” in selected ideas from ancient Chinese philosophy and culture, promoting it through quotations in his speeches from the Chinese classics, and especially Confucian and Daoist thought. These ideas turn out to be perfectly suited for the ‘reframing’ of worldviews that is required to think more productively about the climate crisis and political measures for dealing with it effectively. However, the Chinese leadership has failed to live up to its inspiring words, and has instead reverted to policies that are more in line with Chinese Legalism and Stalinism than with the Confucian, Daoist, and Marxist ideas that Xi Jinping has advocated. This has dealt a severe blow to China’s standing in the world and a huge loss of ‘soft power’ that previous regimes had accumulated. With the United States a shambles, the way is open for China to follow through on its promotion of traditional Chinese philosophy and take the lead, for the sake of the long-term well-being of its own people, in tackling the climate crisis—and thereby gain the greatest soft power triumph in history.
A major factor behind the current ecological crisis is our dysfunctional relationship with the th... more A major factor behind the current ecological crisis is our dysfunctional relationship with the things we deal with in our everyday lives. This pathology derives mainly from our utilitarian perspective, through which we see things as mere means to our ends, and more broadly from a sense that they consist of "inanimate" matter. But this worldview is relatively recent and quite parochial, as becomes clear when we consider the East-Asian philosophical tradition with its idea of the world as a field of qi energies. Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist and Neo-Confucian thinkers developed sophisticated accounts of how humans and things share a common nature, which culminate in the philosophy of Zen Master Dōgen. A comparison with corresponding ideas in Friedrich Nietzsche suggests that these accounts may have general validity. More friendly attitudes toward things can enrich our experience and reduce the damage we inflict on the natural world.
The question in the title is prompted by our failure to deal with the climate and environmental c... more The question in the title is prompted by our failure to deal with the climate and environmental crises. This in turn derives in part from a dubious but widespread idea of who we are as human beings: that we are basically free and independent individuals in economic competition with others for all the satisfactions that late capitalism offers. In recent times the libertarian Titans of Big Tech have added a strong dose of Cartesian mind-body dualism to the formula. More beneficial ideas of who we are can be found in numerous indigenous tradition, and especially in Chinese philosophy, which understands human beings as relatives in a dynamic network of interactions with our fellow humans, the biosphere, and the powers of Heaven and Earth. Together with corresponding views in our own philosophical tradition, these ideas provide good grounds for a dialogue with China about cooperating to resolve our environmental predicament.
Daoist Encounters with Phenomenology: Thinking Interculturally about Human Existence, 2020
(Published version)
Zhuangzi and Nietzsche have both been said to advocate some kind of perspe... more (Published version)
Zhuangzi and Nietzsche have both been said to advocate some kind of perspectivism, as well as being against anthropocentrism. A comparison of the two thinkers raises some interesting questions, the answers to which help us get clearer about what each is saying about these two topics. Some commentators claim that Nietzsche believes we can never transcend the human perspective, but a comparison with Zhuangzi highlights passages that suggest otherwise. An examination of the ‘Equalizing Assessments of Things’ (Qiwulun) chapter of the Zhuangzi along with the ‘Before the Sunrise’ chapter of Thus Spoke Zarathustra prompts the question: How does the Daoist sage’s ‘letting all things bask in the broad daylight of Heaven’ compare with Zarathustra’s blessing, ‘to stand over each and every thing as its own Heaven’? The answer brings to light some previously unnoticed parallels that enhance our appreciation of both thinkers.
A generally unnoticed factor behind our current environmental predicament is a deeply dysfunction... more A generally unnoticed factor behind our current environmental predicament is a deeply dysfunctional relationship with the things around us, not just things of nature but also human-made things. Behind this dysfunction is an idea of things as inanimate, lifeless, dead. This post-Cartesian notion seems obvious to most people nowadays, but is in fact highly unusual when seen in the context of the history of human cultures. By contrast with our modern notion of ‘animism’ (‘primitive’ peoples project their own psychology onto the inanimate world so that it appears animated), most cultures think that the world is pervaded by soul from the start (as in the Platonic anima mundi). An appreciation of the philosophical depth of the idea of the world soul—or a world of qi energies in the Chinese tradition— encourages us to befriend the things around us and treat the soul of the world (and the body of the earth) with greater respect.
“Kunst und Philosophie im Zwischen der Kulturen. Ein E-Mail-Gespräch”, (together with Böhler, Arn... more “Kunst und Philosophie im Zwischen der Kulturen. Ein E-Mail-Gespräch”, (together with Böhler, Arno, Loughnane, Adam and Parkes, Graham) in: Berührungen: Zum Verhältnis von Philosophie und Kunst, Polylog, 2016, Volume 35, 7–33.
The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy, ed. Bret W. Davis
This essay offers an existential approach to those aspects of Nishitani's philosophy that are mot... more This essay offers an existential approach to those aspects of Nishitani's philosophy that are motivated by a profound sense of the utter mean-inglessness of existence, and by the desire to confront that situation honestly. It examines his idea of the three fields of awareness: consciousness , (beneath it) nihility, and (at bottom) emptiness. Existence on the field of consciousness is too superficial to make for a fulfilling life. Drawing from Nietzsche and Heidegger as well as the Zen tradition , Nishitani outlines the field of nihility as a place of death rather than life, and argues that if we can endure facing our finitude there will come a turn to the deeper field, of emptiness. On this field we are able to encounter things " on their home ground " for the first time, and also our selves as participants in the network of relations that constitute the world as " a field of force. " Published in Bret W. Davis, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), online:
Although climate models predict that global heating will prove more devastating for China than fo... more Although climate models predict that global heating will prove more devastating for China than for many other countries, and economic models have shown that a transition to a low-carbon economy would strengthen China in the long run, the Chinese leadership has failed to reduce fossil fuel consumption enough to avoid extremes of weather that are devastating the country. Not long after becoming president, Xi Jinping announced a project to ground “socialism with Chinese characteristics” in selected ideas from ancient Chinese philosophy and culture, promoting it through quotations in his speeches from the Chinese classics, and especially Confucian and Daoist thought. These ideas turn out to be perfectly suited for the ‘reframing’ of worldviews that is required to think more productively about the climate crisis and political measures for dealing with it effectively. However, the Chinese leadership has failed to live up to its inspiring words, and has instead reverted to policies that are more in line with Chinese Legalism and Stalinism than with the Confucian, Daoist, and Marxist ideas that Xi Jinping has advocated. This has dealt a severe blow to China’s standing in the world and a huge loss of ‘soft power’ that previous regimes had accumulated. With the United States a shambles, the way is open for China to follow through on its promotion of traditional Chinese philosophy and take the lead, for the sake of the long-term well-being of its own people, in tackling the climate crisis—and thereby gain the greatest soft power triumph in history.
A major factor behind the current ecological crisis is our dysfunctional relationship with the th... more A major factor behind the current ecological crisis is our dysfunctional relationship with the things we deal with in our everyday lives. This pathology derives mainly from our utilitarian perspective, through which we see things as mere means to our ends, and more broadly from a sense that they consist of "inanimate" matter. But this worldview is relatively recent and quite parochial, as becomes clear when we consider the East-Asian philosophical tradition with its idea of the world as a field of qi energies. Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist and Neo-Confucian thinkers developed sophisticated accounts of how humans and things share a common nature, which culminate in the philosophy of Zen Master Dōgen. A comparison with corresponding ideas in Friedrich Nietzsche suggests that these accounts may have general validity. More friendly attitudes toward things can enrich our experience and reduce the damage we inflict on the natural world.
The question in the title is prompted by our failure to deal with the climate and environmental c... more The question in the title is prompted by our failure to deal with the climate and environmental crises. This in turn derives in part from a dubious but widespread idea of who we are as human beings: that we are basically free and independent individuals in economic competition with others for all the satisfactions that late capitalism offers. In recent times the libertarian Titans of Big Tech have added a strong dose of Cartesian mind-body dualism to the formula. More beneficial ideas of who we are can be found in numerous indigenous tradition, and especially in Chinese philosophy, which understands human beings as relatives in a dynamic network of interactions with our fellow humans, the biosphere, and the powers of Heaven and Earth. Together with corresponding views in our own philosophical tradition, these ideas provide good grounds for a dialogue with China about cooperating to resolve our environmental predicament.
Daoist Encounters with Phenomenology: Thinking Interculturally about Human Existence, 2020
(Published version)
Zhuangzi and Nietzsche have both been said to advocate some kind of perspe... more (Published version)
Zhuangzi and Nietzsche have both been said to advocate some kind of perspectivism, as well as being against anthropocentrism. A comparison of the two thinkers raises some interesting questions, the answers to which help us get clearer about what each is saying about these two topics. Some commentators claim that Nietzsche believes we can never transcend the human perspective, but a comparison with Zhuangzi highlights passages that suggest otherwise. An examination of the ‘Equalizing Assessments of Things’ (Qiwulun) chapter of the Zhuangzi along with the ‘Before the Sunrise’ chapter of Thus Spoke Zarathustra prompts the question: How does the Daoist sage’s ‘letting all things bask in the broad daylight of Heaven’ compare with Zarathustra’s blessing, ‘to stand over each and every thing as its own Heaven’? The answer brings to light some previously unnoticed parallels that enhance our appreciation of both thinkers.
A generally unnoticed factor behind our current environmental predicament is a deeply dysfunction... more A generally unnoticed factor behind our current environmental predicament is a deeply dysfunctional relationship with the things around us, not just things of nature but also human-made things. Behind this dysfunction is an idea of things as inanimate, lifeless, dead. This post-Cartesian notion seems obvious to most people nowadays, but is in fact highly unusual when seen in the context of the history of human cultures. By contrast with our modern notion of ‘animism’ (‘primitive’ peoples project their own psychology onto the inanimate world so that it appears animated), most cultures think that the world is pervaded by soul from the start (as in the Platonic anima mundi). An appreciation of the philosophical depth of the idea of the world soul—or a world of qi energies in the Chinese tradition— encourages us to befriend the things around us and treat the soul of the world (and the body of the earth) with greater respect.
“Kunst und Philosophie im Zwischen der Kulturen. Ein E-Mail-Gespräch”, (together with Böhler, Arn... more “Kunst und Philosophie im Zwischen der Kulturen. Ein E-Mail-Gespräch”, (together with Böhler, Arno, Loughnane, Adam and Parkes, Graham) in: Berührungen: Zum Verhältnis von Philosophie und Kunst, Polylog, 2016, Volume 35, 7–33.
The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy, ed. Bret W. Davis
This essay offers an existential approach to those aspects of Nishitani's philosophy that are mot... more This essay offers an existential approach to those aspects of Nishitani's philosophy that are motivated by a profound sense of the utter mean-inglessness of existence, and by the desire to confront that situation honestly. It examines his idea of the three fields of awareness: consciousness , (beneath it) nihility, and (at bottom) emptiness. Existence on the field of consciousness is too superficial to make for a fulfilling life. Drawing from Nietzsche and Heidegger as well as the Zen tradition , Nishitani outlines the field of nihility as a place of death rather than life, and argues that if we can endure facing our finitude there will come a turn to the deeper field, of emptiness. On this field we are able to encounter things " on their home ground " for the first time, and also our selves as participants in the network of relations that constitute the world as " a field of force. " Published in Bret W. Davis, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015), online:
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Zhuangzi and Nietzsche have both been said to advocate some kind of perspectivism, as well as being against anthropocentrism. A comparison of the two thinkers raises some interesting questions, the answers to which help us get clearer about what each is saying about these two topics. Some commentators claim that Nietzsche believes we can never transcend the human perspective, but a comparison with Zhuangzi highlights passages that suggest otherwise. An examination of the ‘Equalizing Assessments of Things’ (Qiwulun) chapter of the Zhuangzi along with the ‘Before the Sunrise’ chapter of Thus Spoke Zarathustra prompts the question: How does the Daoist sage’s ‘letting all things bask in the broad daylight of Heaven’ compare with Zarathustra’s blessing, ‘to stand over each and every thing as its own Heaven’? The answer brings to light some previously unnoticed parallels that enhance our appreciation of both thinkers.
Listen to the Audiobook: https://vimeo.com/216644858
Information on the Publisher's website: http://www.polylog.net/polylog-35/
Zhuangzi and Nietzsche have both been said to advocate some kind of perspectivism, as well as being against anthropocentrism. A comparison of the two thinkers raises some interesting questions, the answers to which help us get clearer about what each is saying about these two topics. Some commentators claim that Nietzsche believes we can never transcend the human perspective, but a comparison with Zhuangzi highlights passages that suggest otherwise. An examination of the ‘Equalizing Assessments of Things’ (Qiwulun) chapter of the Zhuangzi along with the ‘Before the Sunrise’ chapter of Thus Spoke Zarathustra prompts the question: How does the Daoist sage’s ‘letting all things bask in the broad daylight of Heaven’ compare with Zarathustra’s blessing, ‘to stand over each and every thing as its own Heaven’? The answer brings to light some previously unnoticed parallels that enhance our appreciation of both thinkers.
Listen to the Audiobook: https://vimeo.com/216644858
Information on the Publisher's website: http://www.polylog.net/polylog-35/