Li Zehou’s “Super-Mundane” Approach: On the Philosophical Style of What Is Morality?

AbstractLi Zehou is one of the most influential contemporary Chinese thinkers, both in China and abroad. Never easy to pin down, Li’s interests range from aesthetics and shamanism, to ontology and ethics. Some of his writings are centered on specific topics, such as Immanuel Kant’s philosophy or the Analects, while others look at broader issues, including the history of Chinese thought and Marxism in China. This short essay focuses on Li’s least well-known book, What Is Morality?—a collection of dialogues between Li and scholars from around China. We will explore how these conversations, like much of Li’s work, express his “super-mundane” approach to philosophical reflection in terms of both his methodology as well as his actual theories. Here “super-mundane” means both “supermundane” or that which transcends the mundane, as well as the “super mundane” or extremely mundane. The virtues of this “super-mundane” approach are numerous, especially when contrasted to today’s mainstream Western academic philosophical research. Notes1 Personal Communication: I had this conversation with Deng Delong several times in 2014 and 2015.2 Li Zehou, What Is Morality?, 11.3 Ibid., 16.4 Ibid., 17.5 Ibid., 27.6 Ibid., 32.7 Ibid., 47.8 Li Zehou, A Response, 1082.9 Li Zehou, What Is Morality?, 44.10 Ibid., 251.Additional informationNotes on contributorsPaul J. D’AmbrosioPaul J. D’Ambrosio is a fellow of the Institute of Modern Chinese Thought and Culture, associate professor of Chinese philosophy and Dean of the Center for Intercultural Research, all at East China Normal University in Shanghai, China. Additionally, he is founder of the “Collaborative Learning” lecture and seminar series. Works by D’Ambrosio include Zhen jia zhi jian 真假之间 (Between Genuineness and Pretense, Kong Xuetang Press, 2020), You and Your Profile (Columbia University Press, 2021) and Genuine Pretending (Columbia University Press, 2017), both with Hans-Georg Moeller, and Encountering China (Harvard University Press, 2018) with Michael Sandel. His new co-edited volume Beyond Comparisons is scheduled to appear in 2023 on SUNY press. Additionally, he has authored around a hundred articles, chapters, and reviews, and is translator of over a dozen books on Chinese philosophy.