Research
In general, I am interested in all questions related to Plato's and Aristotle's ethico-political philosophy. But now my research mainly focuses on the relationship between Aristotle's scientific theory (as is depicted in the Analytics) and his practical philosophy.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:
1. "Posterior Analytics and the Endoxic Method in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics VII”, Eirene. Studia Graeca et Latina 58, 2022. [Download]
This paper revisits Aristotle’s discussion of akrasia in NE VII. 1–10. I try to offer a scientific reading of the book, according to which NE VII. 1–10 closely instantiates the main guidelines of Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics. I propose that NE VII. 1–2, which aims to establish the fact that akrasia exists, corresponds to the ὅτι-stage of an Aristotelian scientific inquiry, and NE VII. 3–10, which aims to explain both the cause and the object of akrasia, corresponds to the διότι-stage of the inquiry.
2. "Aristotle’s Theory of Seed: Seeking a Unified Account", Filosofia Unisinos/Unisinos Journal of Philosophy 23(1), 2022: 1-9. [Download]
Aristotle’s theory of seed has occupied a very important place in the history of ancient embryology and medicine. Previous studies have overemphasized, in light of the APo. II method, Aristotle’s definition of seed as male semen. In this paper, I wish to show that there are at least three independent definitions of seed working in Aristotle’s Generation of Animals: seed as male semen, seed as female menstruation and seed as embryo. Those three definitions are mutually exclusive on the one hand, but on the other hand, they are also capable of being unified into one Aristotelian account, which can help us understand better Aristotle’s theory of seed.
3. "The City as a Living Organism: Aristotle’s Naturalness Thesis Reconsidered", History of Political Thought 41(4), 2020: 517-537. [Download]
In this paper, I wish to defend Aristotle’s naturalness thesis. First, I argue against the claim that the city fails to meet the criteria (e.g. separability, continuity, etc.) Aristotle sets for substantiality in the Metaphysics. Second, I examine the problem of the Principle of Transitivity of End in Aristotle’s telic argument for the naturalness of the city. I argue that the city exists for its own end. Finally, I discuss the problem of the legislator in the genesis of the city. I argue that the legislator is only responsible for the actualization of the potential form that Nature has set forward.
4. "Complete Virtue and the Definition of Happiness in Aristotle", Frontiers of Philosophy in China 15(2), 2020: 293-314. [Download]
In this paper, I challenge the standard reading of complete virtue (ἀρετή τελεία) in those disputed passages of Nicomachean Ethics and Eudemian Ethics. I argue that, for Aristotle, complete virtue is neither (i) wisdom nor (ii) a whole set of all virtues. Rather, it is a term used by Aristotle to denote any virtue that is in its complete or perfect form. In light of this reading, I offer a pluralist interpretation of Aristotelian happiness. I argue that for Aristotle, the life-long exercise of a predominant virtue—as long as it is exercised in its complete or perfect form—will suffice for human happiness. The so-called inclusivist and intellectualist notions of Aristotelian happiness, thus understood, are merely two forms (viz. the composite and the non-composite form) of the pluralist notion of Aristotelian happiness. And if I am right, my pluralist interpretation provides an alternative, if not better, solution to the long-standing problem of “dual happiness” in Aristotle.
Work in Progress:
Every Boy Loves the Same Girl: Rethinking Nicomachean Ethics 1094a18-22
The Search for the Definition of Citizen in Aristotle's Politics III
Practical Philosophy and Aristotle's Model of Scientific Knowledge