ZHONG, Lei

Brief Biography

I obtained a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2010. After teaching at Peking University and Lingnan University, I joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2014. I mainly work in philosophy of mind, moral philosophy, and metaphysics, striving to develop a robust version of anti-reductionism about mentality and morality. I have also written in epistemology (explanation; intuition), political philosophy (liberalism; distributive justice), and comparative philosophy (Confucianism). I am currently working on a five-year project, “An Emergentist Theory of Mind”, supported by the RGC Research Fellow Scheme of Hong Kong Research Grants Council ($5.2 million; 01/2022-12/2026).

As a leading Chinese analytic philosopher, my research has regularly appeared in top philosophy journals and stimulated worldwide responses and discussion. 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 philosophical theories was organized in Shanghai in 2015. Some of my works have been translated into Chinese by other scholars. I have also received the Research Excellence Award of CUHK in 2020.

I always aim to address relatively “big” philosophical issues in my articles. 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 an acceptable coherence between particular judgments and general principles.

When not doing philosophy, I especially enjoy reading and reciting Classical Chinese poetry. I have also found much fun in watching American movie and TV series, playing table tennis, and exploring country parks.

[More information can be found in my Curriculum Vitae.]