ZHONG, Lei

Brief Biography

I have mainly worked in two branches of philosophy—namely, mind and ethics—and strived to develop a robust version of anti-reductionism in each domain. I have also conducted research in metaphysics (causation; grounding), epistemology (explanation; intuition), political philosophy (liberalism; distributive justice), and comparative philosophy (Confucianism). I have been widely regarded as a leading Chinese analytic philosopher and as one of the best philosophers of mind in Asia.

I always aim to address relatively “big” philosophical issues in my articles (typically excluding discussion notes and critical commentaries, which I have never written). I have a special interest in developing positive philosophical accounts and elaborating their theoretical merits in contrast with competing approaches. My work puts an equal emphasis on the roles of analysis and synthesis, and attempts to reveal the connections among apparently different topics at a deeper level and in a broader context. I have been consciously adopting the methodology of what John Rawls calls reflective equilibrium, the goal of which is to achieve a coherence between particular judgments and general principles while taking multiple theoretical needs into consideration.

My research has repeatedly appeared in top philosophy journals and stimulated many responses and discussions in reputable peer-reviewed venues. My account of mental causation is listed in the key works of the “Exclusion Problem” entry in the PhilPapers index, and also acknowledged in major reference resources (such as Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and Oxford Bibliographies in Philosophy). A conference discussing my work was organized in Shanghai in 2015. Some of my articles have been translated into Chinese by other scholars. I have received the Research Excellence Award (2020) and the Young Researcher Award (2017) of CUHK. I have also been appointed as a member of Humanities and Social Sciences Panel in Hong Kong Research Grants Council.

When not doing philosophy, I especially enjoy reading Classical Chinese poetry. I have long held a bold, but correct, view that the aesthetic values of Chinese poetry are significantly greater than those of Western poetry; I’d like to argue with anyone who thinks otherwise (whereas I don’t hold a similar view on Chinese novels, painting, and music). I have also found much fun in watching American movie and TV series, playing table tennis, and exploring country parks.

Curriculum Vitae