Wang Yam Miu 王鑫淼

Education:
B.A., The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Research Interest:
Daoism; Neo-Daoism; Ethics

Self-Introduction:
My primary research interests lie in ancient Chinese philosophy, particularly Daoism and Neo-Daoism (Wei-Jin Xuanxue). I am especially interested in exploring the philosophical significance of classical Chinese texts and in examining how their ideas might contribute to contemporary philosophical discussions.
More broadly, I am interested in ethical questions and in bringing Chinese philosophical thought into dialogue with contemporary ethical problems. Methodologically, I hope to approach Chinese philosophy not only through historical and textual study, but also through the conceptual and argumentative methods of contemporary philosophy. Through this approach, I aim to explore how classical Chinese thought can remain philosophically relevant to questions that concern us today.

Thesis Advisor: Prof Scott Bradley Cook

Thesis title: Reconsidering Wang Bi’s Philosophy from an Ethical Perspective (tentative)

Thesis Research Area:
My research explores the ethical significance of Wang Bi’s philosophy, a major strand of early Chinese thought that is often discussed mainly in terms of metaphysics. Wang Bi is best known for his ideas about nothingness (wu), naturalness (ziran), and the relationship between fundamental principles and the changing world. I am interested in asking what these ideas might tell us about how we should live, act, and relate to others. By bringing Wang Bi into dialogue with contemporary ethical philosophy, my project examines whether concepts developed nearly two thousand years ago can still offer useful ways of thinking about questions such as freedom, social norms, personal conduct, and human flourishing. More broadly, the research aims to show how classical Chinese philosophy can contribute not only to the history of ideas, but also to philosophical debates that remain relevant today.