Culture Lectures

It's been shockingly suprising to see how much "western philosophy" has led to significant relationships here in China. I have given three American culture lectures this year, two this semester. The first was about the philosophy of Jonathan Edwards. We examined the question of whether humans are born evil or good. Chinese traditions says, good. Edwards said , no. Simple anecdotes have been profound for them as well, when presented to them, challenging some people's views. Recently, I spoke about the contrast in views between "naturalism"--the belief that everything is purely physical, and "supernaturalism"--such as miracles, spirits,...) The effects from these talk have been staggering. These "philosophical" ideas come across as unpractical to many Chinese and unfortunately, many westerners. After some explaining, these students saw how terriblely practical they are. Accordingly, much has arisn from these times.