Vortrag von Halvor Eifring: "Notions of Emotion in the conceptual history of pre-imperial China"

Die HSG lädt alle Interessierten zu einem Vortrag von Prof. Dr. Halvor Eifring (University of Oslo) mit dem Titel "Notions of Emotion in the conceptual history of pre-imperial China" ein:  

It has been argued that the late 4th century BCE saw a shift of attention inwards in Chinese philosophy, and that emotions now became a focus of Major philosophical interest. It has also been argued, however, that emotions were a central concern in Confucius’s philosophy more than a century earlier, and in the poems of the Book of Songs several centuries before that.
In this talk, I will argue that the changes taking place in the late 4th century BCE involved a step from an interest in individual emotions to the formation of concepts about ‘emotion’ as a general, overarching category. These new concepts formed the basis for a number of philosophies about this aspect of the human mind, including the link between emotions and human nature, the goals of moral and spiritual self-cultivation, the acceptance vs. suppression of emotional fluctuations, the role of emotions in societal control, the correlation between emotions and other layers of existence, and the contrast between emotions and the transcendent force referred to as Heaven or the Way. Most modern Chinese concepts of ‘emotion’ can be traced back to this period.

Donnerstag, 24. April 2025, 18.00 Uhr

Asien-Afrika-Institut, Raum 123
Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, Flügel Ost