New Life for Old Ideas

Over five decades, Donald J. Munro has been one of the most important voices in sinological philosophy. Among other accomplishments, his seminal book The Concept of Man in Early China influenced a generation of scholars. His rapprochement with contemporary cognitive and evolutionary science helped bolster the insights of Chinese philosophers and set the standard for similar explorations today.

In this festschrift volume, students of Munro and scholars influenced by him celebrate Munro’s body of work in articles that extend his legacy, exploring their topics as varied as the ethics of Zhuangzi’s autotelicity, the teleology of nature in Zhu Xi, and family love in Confucianism and Christianity. They also reflect on Munro’s mentorship and his direct intellectual influence. Through their breadth, analytical excellence, and philosophical insight, the articles in this volume exemplify the spirit of intellectual inquiry that marked Donald Munro’s career as scholar and teacher.

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“Munro was unstinting with his praise and encouragement of all my forays into maverick topics and along almost heretical lines of thought about Chinese philosophy. His hallmark as a teacher was the absence of an official ideology and an open and welcoming tolerance to differences of opinion.”

—Chad Hansen, Department of Philosophy, The University of Hong Kong

“Munro was more than an intellectual mentor. He has been an unfailing source of wisdom, inspiration, and support.”

—Robert Eno, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Indiana University