Sophia F. Gao is a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia, where her research is guided by philosophers Karyn Lai and Timothy O’Leary. She earned her MPhil in Philosophy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Sophia grew up in the ancient city of Luoyang, China. It is the place where Laozi, the founder of philosophical Daoism, is traditionally believed to have worked and where Neo-Confucianism blossomed. It is also the place considered to be the cradle of Chinese Buddhism. This background fostered her interest in Chinese philosophy. Sophia’s current research is devoted to classical Chinese philosophy, feminist moral philosophy, and comparative philosophy. Her current project aims to establish a hybrid Mencian-feminist model of care ethics, with special attention to the role of emotions in our moral life. Specifically, Sophia is interested in “emotion clusters” such as sympathy and empathy as well as shame and guilt.
What are you working on right now?
I am currently working on my PhD dissertation. This project is a comparative study on the role of emotions in feminist care ethics and Mencius’ moral philosophy. I aim to establish a Mencian-feminist hybrid model of care that shows the role of emotions, arising from human encounters, in fostering care practice and human relationality. I am particularly interested in empathy and sympathy as well as shame and guilt. My hybrid model of care incorporates the insights from feminist care ethics and Mencian moral philosophy on these emotions. Through this project I hope to develop a sufficiently expansive way to address care towards generalized others and specific others, the one-caring and cared-for, articulating a more comprehensive and culturally sensitive understanding of these emotions and suggest constructive means to address their associated limitations in care practice.
What do you find challenging about your project and why do you think your project important?
I find that doing comparative philosophy in English is challenging, as it faces a lot of unique methodological issues. For instance, how do we know that different traditions are talking about the same things, or how can we avoid misinterpretation and misunderstanding? Is it possible to properly translate terms in other languages, such as classical Chinese, into modern English? What standards should we use to understand and evaluate culturally distinct concepts or thoughts?
Regardless of the challenges that arise from the comparative study of classical Confucian philosophy and feminist philosophy due to cultural and linguistic barriers, I believe it is still worth my dedication. Gender oppression in different societies and cultural contexts may have different causes and features and it is important to be sensitive to such diversity and uniqueness and exam relevant issues in concrete contexts. My comparative study will help feminism “localize” through unfolding unique needs and issues in Confucian societies, thus demonstrating feminism’s deep respect for diversity and particularity. Moreover, my research helps to diversify philosophy culturally through understanding how two significant intellectual traditions understand the place of emotions in moral life. Through establishing an active dialogue between the two traditions, this research will explore the universality of humanity by searching for the compatibility between the two traditions and also the uniqueness and diversity of humanity through examining the differences between the two traditions.
What is your favorite sound in the world?
Running streams. It is both peaceful and full of life. I feel that I don’t only hear the sound of the running stream itself. Instead, it feels as if I can hear the water continually coming from the springhead! It is like a source of vitality!
Name a trait, skill or characteristic that you have that others may not know about.
I am a decent cook (though not without the occasional failure). Although I have never won a prize for my cooking, the fact that my family (who I often cook for) constantly fails their weight-loss plan and complain about the temptation of my food is a reward in itself!
I am also interested in interior decoration. I am always fascinated by the way objects of different materials, designs, colors, and even smells, can be creatively organized in various spatial relations, and arranged in different environment. By taking advantage of the lighting and shadows, they can create an interesting integrity.
I find that both cooking and interior decoration bare some similarities with comparative philosophy in the sense that all three expect an appreciation of the unique characteristics of different materials which may initially seem counterintuitive to put together. Nevertheless, these unique materials creatively come together, each complementing the other and generating something new.
What is your favorite book of all time? (Or top 3). Why? To whom would you recommend them?
One of my favorite books is Jostein Gaarder’s novel Sophie’s World, which was originally published in the Norwegian language in 1991. It is an approachable and thought-provoking novel which portrays a 14-year-old Norwegian teenage girl, Sophie Amundsen, who was led by mysterious philosopher Alberto Knox, to take an intellectual journey, exploring the history of western philosophy. While I would certainly not call it the best book of all time and though it faces various criticism, just like most books do, it is still one of my favorite books due to its unique significance on my own philosophical journey. I read the Chinese version of this book when I was a teenager, similar to the age of the main character in the novel. It was the first philosophy-related book I have ever read and it is what got me interested in philosophy and what inspired me to start my own philosophy journey! (It is also where I got my English name, Sophia, from).
I recommend it to every beginner of philosophy, especially teenagers and young adults. As the book has been translated into many different languages, it is a great option for readers from different language backgrounds.
What books are currently on your ‘to read’ list?
There are a lot of them. To name a few:
How to Do Things with Emotions: The Morality of Anger and Shame by Owen Flanagan
Doing What You Really Want: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mengzi by Franklin Perkins
Care Ethics, Democratic Citizenship and the State edited by Petr Urban and Lizzie Ward
The Bamboo Texts of Guodian: A Study and Complete Translation by Scott Cook
What’s your favorite quote?
“Learning without thinking, one will be bewildered; thinking without learning, one will be imperiled. [學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆] .” This quote comes from the Analects, which is a collection of sayings attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius.
This section of the APA Blog is designed to get to know our fellow philosophers a little better. We’re including profiles of APA members that spotlight what captures their interest not only inside the office, but also outside of it. We’d love for you to be a part of it, so please contact us via the interview nomination form here to nominate yourself or a friend.
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is an editor at the Blog of the APA who currently teaches philosophy, religion, and education courses solely online for Montclair State University, Three Rivers Community College, and St. John’s University.
