Shen Dao’s Political Philosophy

Builds up a picture of Shen Dao’s political philosophy by focusing on his analyses of the source, nature, and justification of political organization and order. I argue that his thought can only be understood by first coming to an understanding of his conception of the natural realm and how and why he believes that it is essential to model the social and political realm upon this natural realm. This understanding of nature only gets us so far, however, and must be coupled with a deeper awareness of human dispositions, primary among them that people act based on their own private interests, their strengths and abilities vary, and feelings of resentment and expectation arise when decisions are regarded as subjective. Only once these aspects of the natural world and human nature are understood and accounted for is it possible to construct a stable political realm.

A Translation of The Shenzi Fragments

A complete translation of the fragments along with limited commentary. Each section is preceded by the Chinese text. While every act of translation is an act of interpretation, I have worked to avoid pushing my overall view of the text’s meaning in the translation itself. Throughout, I acknowledge when the language is open textured enough to admit of multiple understandings, leaving my defense of particular interpretations to the philosophical analysis. The brief commentary Is in certain ways inspired by the Chinese commentarial tradition and its goals, and attempts to furnish readers with a set of landmarks and guides to better situate them and provide contextualization.

Introduction

This is a book on Shen Dao 慎到‎, or, more accurately, a book on Shen Dao’s political philosophy as viewed through the lens of the Shenzi Fragments慎子逸文‎, a relatively short set of fragments that credibly can be attributed to him.1 But why a book on Shen Dao? Among many contemporary educated Chinese, mentioning his name draws a blank stare. Even among those who work in the field of early Chinese intellectual history or philosophy, the name Shen Dao rarely calls to mind much of interest. Those who have read the ...

Shen Dao in the Early Chinese Intellectual Milieu

Works to situate Shen Dao in the early Chinese intellectual milieu and upon the philosophical landscape. The goal of this chapter is not merely to demonstrate that Shen Dao was deeply tied into the intellectual milieu of his time and addressing similar issues as his contemporaries. Rather it is to demonstrate how he actually influenced a range of early Chinese thinkers. In doing so, it focuses on Shen Dao’s place in debates about the nature and role of Heaven as well as his influence on Xunzi, Han Feizi, and the compilers of the Lüshi Chunqiu and the Huainanzi.