Philip J. Ivanhoe
Encyclopedia
Philip J. Ivanhoe is an historian of Chinese thought, particularly of Confucianism
and Neo-Confucianism
. He is a professor at the City University of Hong Kong
. Ivanhoe is perhaps best known for two claims: that Neo-Confucian philosophers such as Zhu Xi
and Wang Yangming
have systematically misinterpreted earlier Confucians such as Confucius
, himself, and Mengzi
; and that Confucianism may usefully be understood as a version of virtue ethics
.
(USA) by parents who owned a variety of small businesses, including a butcher shop, where he worked until leaving for college. He attended Stanford University
on a scholarship, where he earned a B.A. (1976) in Philosophy
, and also studied the Chinese language
. From 1976-78, Ivanhoe stayed on at Stanford to work with David S. Nivison
on a project to generate computerized concordances of Chinese texts. From 1974-1978, he served in the United States Marine Corps, PLC and was honorably discharged at the rank of sergeant. From 1978-82, he served in the U. S. Army. He left the army at the rank of sergeant, with an honorable discharge and returned to Stanford to pursue his doctorate in Religious Studies (awarded 1987), also completing the requirements for a minor in Asian Languages. At Stanford, Ivanhoe studied under Nivison, a leading Sinologist
who had applied the methods of analytic philosophy
to the study of Chinese thought, and Lee H. Yearley, a scholar of Thomas Aquinas
and comparative religion
. Upon Nivison's retirement, Ivanhoe was given a joint appointment as an Assistant Professor in both the Philosophy Department and the Religious Studies Department at Stanford (1991). In 1993, Ivanhoe won the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Education. In 1996, Ivanhoe was promoted to Associate Professor. Then in 1998 Ivanhoe moved to the University of Michigan
, where he was hired at the Associate Professor level in the Philosophy Department and the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. In 2003, Ivanhoe left Michigan under mysterious circumstances and later on became Findlay Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Boston University.
In 2006 he accepted his current appointment at City University of Hong Kong. His courses include Feminism and Family Ethics, Philosophy of Life, and Ethics and Practice.
Ivanhoe is married and has two children, a daughter and a son.
Ivanhoe currently lives in Hong Kong.
Philip J. Ivanhoe applied this idea more broadly in his next major book, Confucian Moral Self Cultivation. In the first edition of this book, Ivanhoe argued that Chinese philosophers can be categorized in terms of whether they use a "development," "discovery" or "re-formation" model of ethical cultivation. (Ivanhoe was one of the co-developers of this terminology, along with his teacher Lee Yearley, his classmate Kwong-loi Shun, and his student Jon Schofer.) In a development model, ethical cultivation is a process of beginning from innate but incipient tendencies and gradually developing them. (So, for example, the ancient Confucian Mengzi says that "sprouts" of virtue must be cultivated to develop into full virtues.) According to a discovery model, humans have within themselves everything that is necessary for full virtue, but this capacity is somehow impeded or obscured, and cultivation is a process of realizing what is present within oneself. (Ivanhoe argues that Chinese Buddhists and Neo-Confucians, despite their genuine differences on many topics, share a discovery model of ethical cultivation.) Finally, in a re-formation model, human nature is originally resistant to cultivation, and must be laboriously re-shaped in order to create virtue. (Ivanhoe argues that the ancient Confucian Xunzi held such a view.) In the second edition of Confucian Moral Self Cultivation, Ivanhoe further subdivided the types of self-cultivation models.
Philip J. Ivanhoe's influence on themes such as the virtues, ethical cultivation and human nature reflects the influence of Yearley's view that Confucianism may be understood as a form of virtue ethics. Ivanhoe has co-edited a number of anthologies of secondary essays on Chinese thought, and has published a large number of essays and articles in reference works on Confucianism, Mohism
and Daoism.
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
and Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism
Neo-Confucianism is an ethical and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, that was primarily developed during the Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang Dynasty....
. He is a professor at the City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong
City University of Hong Kong is a comprehensive research university in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. It has achieved fast growth in recent years and received international recognition for its academic achievements...
. Ivanhoe is perhaps best known for two claims: that Neo-Confucian philosophers such as Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi
Zhū Xī or Chu Hsi was a Song Dynasty Confucian scholar who became the leading figure of the School of Principle and the most influential rationalist Neo-Confucian in China...
and Wang Yangming
Wang Yangming
Wang Yangming was a Ming Chinese idealist Neo-Confucian philosopher, official, educationist, calligraphist and general. After Zhu Xi, he is commonly regarded as the most important Neo-Confucian thinker, with interpretations of Confucianism that denied the rationalist dualism of the orthodox...
have systematically misinterpreted earlier Confucians such as Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
, himself, and Mengzi
Mencius
Mencius was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself.-Life:Mencius, also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou, now forming the territory of the county-level city of Zoucheng , Shandong province, only thirty kilometres ...
; and that Confucianism may usefully be understood as a version of virtue ethics
Virtue ethics
Virtue ethics describes the character of a moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior, rather than rules , consequentialism , or social context .The difference between these four approaches to morality tends to lie more in the way moral dilemmas are...
.
Biography
Ivanhoe was raised in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
(USA) by parents who owned a variety of small businesses, including a butcher shop, where he worked until leaving for college. He attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
on a scholarship, where he earned a B.A. (1976) in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and also studied the Chinese language
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
. From 1976-78, Ivanhoe stayed on at Stanford to work with David S. Nivison
David S. Nivison
David Shepherd Nivison is a sinologist in the United States. His Chinese name is Ni Dewei .-Biography:Nivison received his Ph.D. in Chinese from Harvard University. Although less known, his first Chinese teachers were Lien-sheng Yang and Hong Ye . Nivison learnt most of the subjects from them...
on a project to generate computerized concordances of Chinese texts. From 1974-1978, he served in the United States Marine Corps, PLC and was honorably discharged at the rank of sergeant. From 1978-82, he served in the U. S. Army. He left the army at the rank of sergeant, with an honorable discharge and returned to Stanford to pursue his doctorate in Religious Studies (awarded 1987), also completing the requirements for a minor in Asian Languages. At Stanford, Ivanhoe studied under Nivison, a leading Sinologist
Sinology
Sinology in general use is the study of China and things related to China, but, especially in the American academic context, refers more strictly to the study of classical language and literature, and the philological approach...
who had applied the methods of analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
to the study of Chinese thought, and Lee H. Yearley, a scholar of Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
and comparative religion
Comparative religion
Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
. Upon Nivison's retirement, Ivanhoe was given a joint appointment as an Assistant Professor in both the Philosophy Department and the Religious Studies Department at Stanford (1991). In 1993, Ivanhoe won the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Education. In 1996, Ivanhoe was promoted to Associate Professor. Then in 1998 Ivanhoe moved to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where he was hired at the Associate Professor level in the Philosophy Department and the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. In 2003, Ivanhoe left Michigan under mysterious circumstances and later on became Findlay Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Boston University.
In 2006 he accepted his current appointment at City University of Hong Kong. His courses include Feminism and Family Ethics, Philosophy of Life, and Ethics and Practice.
Ivanhoe is married and has two children, a daughter and a son.
Ivanhoe currently lives in Hong Kong.
Intellectual contributions
Philip J. Ivanhoe was influenced by Nivison's suggestion that Neo-Confucian, although they were harsh critics of Buddhism, were more deeply influenced by Buddhist philosophical concepts than they realized. As a result, Neo-Confucians misinterpreted their own intellectual tradition. Ivanhoe developed Nivison's insight in great detail in his doctoral dissertation, a revised version of which was later published as a book, Ethics in the Confucian Tradition: The Thought of Mengzi and Wang Yangming. In this book, Ivanhoe contrasts the views of the ancient Confucian Mengzi (also known as "Mencius") with that of the Neo-Confucian Wang Yangming on several topics, including "sagehood" and "ethical cultivation," and demonstrates how the influence of Buddhist ideas on Wang leads him to mis-read Mengzi, even when he believes that he is explicating him.Philip J. Ivanhoe applied this idea more broadly in his next major book, Confucian Moral Self Cultivation. In the first edition of this book, Ivanhoe argued that Chinese philosophers can be categorized in terms of whether they use a "development," "discovery" or "re-formation" model of ethical cultivation. (Ivanhoe was one of the co-developers of this terminology, along with his teacher Lee Yearley, his classmate Kwong-loi Shun, and his student Jon Schofer.) In a development model, ethical cultivation is a process of beginning from innate but incipient tendencies and gradually developing them. (So, for example, the ancient Confucian Mengzi says that "sprouts" of virtue must be cultivated to develop into full virtues.) According to a discovery model, humans have within themselves everything that is necessary for full virtue, but this capacity is somehow impeded or obscured, and cultivation is a process of realizing what is present within oneself. (Ivanhoe argues that Chinese Buddhists and Neo-Confucians, despite their genuine differences on many topics, share a discovery model of ethical cultivation.) Finally, in a re-formation model, human nature is originally resistant to cultivation, and must be laboriously re-shaped in order to create virtue. (Ivanhoe argues that the ancient Confucian Xunzi held such a view.) In the second edition of Confucian Moral Self Cultivation, Ivanhoe further subdivided the types of self-cultivation models.
Philip J. Ivanhoe's influence on themes such as the virtues, ethical cultivation and human nature reflects the influence of Yearley's view that Confucianism may be understood as a form of virtue ethics. Ivanhoe has co-edited a number of anthologies of secondary essays on Chinese thought, and has published a large number of essays and articles in reference works on Confucianism, Mohism
Mohism
Mohism or Moism was a Chinese philosophy developed by the followers of Mozi , 470 BC–c.391 BC...
and Daoism.