The Conference is part of the joint project “Concepts of Rationality” with the Department of Philosophy of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Rationality is commonly used as a philosophical key concept for the description and evaluation of human practices, both theoretical and practical. The conference aims at a cross-cultural perspective on the nature of (and the assumptions behind) our various modes of reasoning. On the other hand, philosophers from different cultural contexts have suggested that the concept of rationality might be of rather limited use for understanding human practices, and have tried to venture alternative options. Accordingly, the conference also invites to raise the question whether there might be any alternatives to the idea of rationality itself.

Human reason might turn out to be more complex and multifaceted than the standard models suggest, and the idea could be that alternative models from other traditions might do justice better to those commonly neglected features. Are there any alternative ways of comprehending and modeling rationality in the Chinese tradition? Or are there any common patterns or principles of reasoning in both cultural contexts? And finally, do these traditions, in their own ways, develop and promote any alternatives to the idea of rationality itself?

Michael Beaney, University of York
Philippe Brunozzi, University of Kassel
Chung-ying Cheng, University of Hawaii
Michael Forster, University of Bonn
Saulius Geniusas, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Guido Kreis, University of Bonn
Wolfgang Kubin, University of Bonn
Tze-wan Kwan, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Chong-Fuk Lau, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Ka-wing Leung, Tongji University, Shanghai
Kai Marchal, Soochow University, Taiwan
Qingjie Wang, Chinese University of Hong Kong
Mario Wenning, University of Macau
Christian H. Wenzel, National Taiwan University, Taipei
David B. Wong, Duke University
Zhihua Yao, Chinese University of Hong Kong

The conference is free and open to the public. Everyone interested is cordially invited.

For more information and registration please contact PD Dr. Guido Kreis (guido.kreis@uni-bonn.de).