Plan for a

SINO-GREEK CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY

CONFERENCE

BEIJING, 2009

The Way of Things

A Contemporary Dialogue between Tao and Logos

First Day

1. Official Opening

2. First Thematic Unity Origin and Structure of Reality. Principles and the Cosmic Harmony.

Second Day

3. Second Thematic Unity The Human Order as Reproducing Cosmic Order. Individual Ethics and Society.

Third Day

4. Third Thematic Unity The Legitimacy of Power. Natural Order and Human Rule. State, Economy and the International System.

Fourth Day

5. Fourth Thematic Unity The Way as Truth and as Method. The Principle of Rationality, Greek and Chinese. Dialectics and Epistemology.

6. Concluding Session

Each paper should last for 35 minutes. Sessions may comprise two papers (if possible on the same topic) followed by half an hour of discussion. Each day can normally accommodate four sessions, two in the morning, two in the afternoon. The first session of the first day will be devoted to the Official Inauguration of the Conference. The last session (or two) of the last day will be taken up by a discussion of ways of synthesising the putative results of the previous analyses. Thus 14 sessions are envisaged, i.e. 28 participants.

English will be the language of the Symposium. Full proceedings will be published. Travel and accommodation expenses of the participants will be covered. Participation will be by invitation.

The Beijing University, China, and the Institute for Philosophical Research, Greece, will jointly organise the Symposium.

It is organized under the auspices and with the support of the Beijing and Greek Governments.

One more day (the fifth, on June 13^th) should be assigned to a visit to the Temple of Heaven area (including the Museum on Ancient Chinese Music), to the Halls of Harmony in the Forbidden City and to the History Museum. On the evening we may organize a concert of Ancient Greek and Ancient Chinese Music.

Another optional extra day might involve an excursion to some place of importance in the Chinese countryside near Beijing, e.g. to the Great Wall.