Research Keywords

  • Confucianism
  • Plato
  • Aristotle
  • Ethics

Presentations

  • “Xunzi and the Authority of Tradition,” 5th Rutgers Workshop in Chinese Philosophy, Rutgers University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/22/2022.
  • “荀子的語言哲學新探” (“Revisiting Xunzi’s Philosophy of Language”), Fudan University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/12/2021.
  • “荀子的語言哲學新探” (“Revisiting Xunzi’s Philosophy of Language”), Xiamen University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/09/2020.
  • "On Ritual and Legislation," Conference on Confucianism, Rituals, and Modern Life, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/09/2019.
  • “Awe and Intimidation in Early Chinese and Greek Political Philosophy,” Workshop on Emotions in Ancient Greece and Early China, Geneva, Switzerland. Presentation, Presented, 08/2019.
  • "Plato, Through Confucian Eyes," San Francisco State University, Philosophy Department. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/25/2019.
  • “Plato, Through Confucian Eyes,” University of Michigan, Center for Chinese Studies. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/09/2018.
  • “Confucian Filial Sons in the Philosophy of Plato,” Mount Holyoke College. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 10/03/2018.
  • Commentary (invited) on papers by Lisa Raphals and Jan Szaif at the symposium "Comparing Virtues, Roles, Duties in Early China and Graeco-Roman Antiquity," Renmin University. Other, Presented, 07/06/2018.
  • “Trust, Politics, and Justice in Early Confucianism and Plato,” Renmin University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 07/03/2018.
  • Lecture Series (4 lectures) on ancient Greek and Chinese philosophy, Fudan University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2018.
  • Lecture series (5 lectures) on Xunzi, Beijing Normal University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2018.
  • Commentary on Tang Siufu's book _Self-Realization Through Confucian Learning_. Author-meets-critics panel, International Society for Chinese Philosophy annual conference, Singapore. Conference Paper, Presented, 07/2017.
  • “Plato, Through Confucian Eyes,” American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Meeting. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/2017.
  • “Trust, Politics, and Justice in Early Confucianism and Plato,” St. Louis University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2017.
  • “On Confucian Benevolence in the Philosophy of Plato,” Center for East Asian and Comparative Philosophy Annual Lecture, City University of Hong Kong. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2016.
  • Commentary (invited) on Jenny Jingyi Zhao, "Self-Reflection in the Xunzi," American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Meeting. Other, Presented, 03/2016.
  • “Confucian Filial Sons in the Philosophy of Plato,” 19th International Conference of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy, Chinese University of Hong Kong. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 07/2015.
  • “Extended Knowledge and Confucian Tradition,” Conference on Extended Knowledge, University of Edinburgh. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2014.
  • “Xunzi and the Authority of Tradition,” Rutgers Workshop in Chinese Philosophy, Rutgers University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/2014.
  • “The Virtue Turn and the Chinese Tradition,” American Philosophical Association, Eastern Division Meeting. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 12/2013.
  • “Xunzi’s View of Human Nature, Revisited,” Academia Sinica. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2012.
  • “The Virtue of Pretending,” National Chung-Cheng University, Taiwan. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2012.
  • “Han Feizi and the ‘Paradox’ of Power,” Conference on Governance and Political Leadership in East Asia, Seoul National University, South Korea. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2011.
  • “Han Feizi and the ‘Paradox’ of Power,” Simon Fraser University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2011.
  • “Xunzi and the Internal/External Reasons Debate,” University of Washington. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2010.
  • “Xunzi and the Internal/External Reasons Debate,” Work-in-Progress Series, Tanner Humanities Center, University of Utah. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/2010.
  • “Xunzi and the Internal/External Reasons Debate,” Brigham Young University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 02/2010.
  • “美德倫理與儒學之接觸所產生的若干誤會” (“On Some Misunderstandings Generated by the Interaction of Virtue Ethics and Confucianism”), Conference on “Virtue Ethics and Confucianism,” Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 2009.
  • Commentator on Erin Cline, “Two Senses of Justice: Confucianism, Rawls, and Comparative Political Philosophy,” Association of Chinese Philosophers in America, American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division Meeting. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 2009.
  • “Virtue, Ritual, and Early Confucian Philosophy,” Utah State University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 2009.
  • “Why Virtue Ethicists Should Love Rules: Xunzi on Ritual,” guest lecture for NEH Summer Seminar, “Traditions Into Dialogue: Confucianism and Contemporary Virtue Ethics,” Wesleyan University. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 2008.
  • “Xunzi and the Internal/External Reasons Debate,” Conference on Contemporary Research on Chinese Ethical Thought, National Taiwan University, Taiwan. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 2008.

Grants, Contracts & Research Gifts

  • Grant for New Professorship in Buddhist Studies. PI: Hutton, Eric L. Co-PI(s): Kim Korinek, Christopher T. Lewis, W. Paul Reeve. ACLS/ Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global, 07/01/2023 - 06/30/2027. Total project budget to date: $300,000.00

Geographical Regions of Interest

  • China
  • Greece
  • Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
  • Italy
  • Taiwan

Publications

  • “Debating the Proper Wei to Rule the State in Early Chinese and Greek Political Philosophy: On the Emotional Influence of Rulers” in In the Mind, in the Body, and in the World: Emotions in Early China and Ancient Greece, ed. Douglas Cairns and Curie Virág. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024. Published, 05/07/2024.
  • Hutton, Eric L. "Ethics and the Arts in Early China" in James Harold, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023. Published, 08/2023.
  • Review of Tao Jiang, Origins of Moral-Political Philosophy in Early China: Contestation of Humaneness, Justice, and Personal Freedom, in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (on-line journal: https://ndpr.nd.edu). Published, 04/05/2023.
  • Hutton, Eric. L. (2021). “Revisiting Xunzi’s Philosophy of Language”. Journal of Confucian Philosophy and Culture. Vol. 36, 163–84. Published, 09/10/2021.
  • Hutton, Eric. L. (2021). "On Ritual and Legislation". European Journal for Philosophy of Religion. Vol. 13(2), 45–64. Published, 06/30/2021.
  • “Xunzi and the Problem of Different Strokes for Different Folks: On Tang Siufu’s Self-Realization Through Confucian Learning” in Dao 19:1 (2020): 113–120. Published, 02/09/2020.
  • “柏拉图论‘仁’” (“On Confucian Benevolence in the Philosophy of Plato”), tr. 刘旻娇 Liu Minjiao, in 伦理学术 Academia Ethica 4, ed. 邓安庆 Deng Anqing, June 2018: 29–45. Published, 06/2018.
  • "Extended Knowledge and Confucian Tradition." In Extended Epistemology, ed. J. Adam Carter, Andy Clark, Jesper Kallestrup, S. Orestis Palermos, and Duncan Pritchard, p. 177–94. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. Published, 05/2018.
    https://global.oup.com/academic/product/extended-e...
  • Review of Sor-hoon Tan, ed., The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Chinese Philosophy Methodologies in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (on-line journal: https://ndpr.nd.edu). Published, 05/2017.
  • Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Xunzi (Dordrecht: Springer). Published, 11/2016.
  • Translation: "The Xunzi in Edo Japan" (《荀子》在江戶日本, originally by Lan Hung-Yueh 藍弘岳) in Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Xunzi, ed. Eric L. Hutton (Dordrecht: Springer). Published, 11/2016.
  • "Xunzi on Music" (co-authored with James Harold) in Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Xunzi, ed. Eric L. Hutton (Dordrecht: Springer). Published, 11/2016.
  • "Xunzi on Moral Psychology" in Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Xunzi, ed. Eric L. Hutton (Dordrecht: Springer). Published, 11/2016.
  • "Ethics in the Xunzi" in Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Xunzi, ed. Eric L. Hutton (Dordrecht: Springer). Published, 11/2016.
  • Review of Loubna El Amine, Classical Confucian Political Thought: A New Interpretation, in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. Published, 01/2016.
  • “Confucius,” entry for Oxford Bibliographies Online, philosophy list. Edited by Duncan Pritchard. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. (DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780195396577-0290). Published, 08/2015.
    http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/...
  • “On the ‘Virtue Turn’ and the Problem of Categorizing Chinese Thought” in Dao 14:3 (2015), pp. 331–353. Published, 07/2015.
  • “Xunzi and Virtue Ethics” in Besser-Jones, Lorraine and Slote, Michael, eds. Routledge Companion to Virtue Ethics. New York: Routledge, 2015. Published, 04/2015.
  • Xunzi: The Complete Text (a full English translation) Princeton University Press, 2014. Published, 10/2014.
  • Review of Dong, Fangshuo 東方朔, Helixing zhi Xunqiu: Xunzi Sixiang Yanjiu Lunji 合理性之尋求:荀子思想研究論集 (“The Quest for Rationality: Collected Research on the Thought of Xunzi”), in Dao 13.3 (2014): 421-24. Published, 06/2014.
  • “Mengzi, Xunzi, and the Legacy of Confucius” in The Analects: A Norton Critical Edition. Michael Nylan, ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 2014. Published, 06/2014.
  • Review of Amy Olberding, Moral Exemplars in the Analects: The Good Person is That, Ethics 124:1 (2013), pp. 197-201. Published, 10/2013.
  • “A Note on the Xunzi’s Explanation of Xing 性” in Dao 10:4 (2011), pp. 527-530. Published, 12/2011.
  • “Han Feizi’s Criticism of Confucianism and its Implications for Virtue Ethics” in Brooks, Thom, ed. Ethics and Moral Philosophy. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2011. (Reprint of 2008 article.). Published, 10/2011.
  • “Un-Democratic Values in Plato and Xunzi” in Polishing the Chinese Mirror: Essays in Honor of Henry Rosemont, Jr. Chandler, Martha and Littlejohn, Ronnie, eds. New York: Global Scholarly Publications, 2008. Published, 2008.
  • “Han Feizi’s Criticism of Confucianism and its Implications for Virtue Ethics” in Journal of Moral Philosophy 5:3 (2008), pp. 423-453. Published, 2008.
  • Review of Kurtis Hagen, The Philosophy of Xunzi: A Reconstruction. Dao Vol. 6(4), 417-421. Published, 12/2007.