PhilSoc Next Week (28/10)

Corey McCabe

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Oct 22, 2025, 11:29:40 PMOct 22

to 'Colin Klein' via anu-philosophy

Hi everyone,

The PhilSoc seminar next week (28/10) will be from one of our colleagues from the College of Asia and the Pacific, Esther Sunkyung Klein! Please find the title and abstract below. As always, the seminar will be held in room 6.71 on the top floor of the RSSS from 3-4:30, and the zoom link can be found below the title and abstract.

Kind Regards,

Matt and Corey

Chinese Political Thought and the Wisdom of Crowds

Chinese political thought is typically characterised as a type of authoritarian meritocracy inspired by a synthesis of Confucian and Legalist philosophical traditions. Daoist political discourse, by contrast, offers a tantalising vision of leaders who are somehow effective without being oppressive and a society that is explicitly laissez-faire. While potentially more appealing for those who prefer liberal democracy, how could Daoist leadership--often described in ambiguous and mystifying terms--possibly work in practice? Drawing on the lesser-known outer and miscellaneous chapters of the Zhuangzi, I argue that at least one strand of Daoist political thought anticipated key aspects of what we now call the “wisdom of crowds” phenomenon, including the non-obvious insights that crowds can be collectively wise, that diversity is valuable, and that too much reliance on expertise or authority can be problematic. This prefiguration is not merely a matter of historical curiosity: the Zhuangzi’s discussions of leadership offer helpful and relevant observations about how to be an effective aggregator of the crowd’s wisdom in situations where quantitative methods are not an option. Finally, I use this "wisdom of crowds" lens to propose a solution to the puzzle of why Confucian-Legalist thought reached a far more pessimistic conclusion than Daoists did about broader collective participation in decision-making.

Zoom Link:

https://anu.zoom.us/j/82325020132?pwd=EQ32lxjAj5RPh6CkpxedvgTDpjaycJ.1