![\"1](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/macaudailytimes.com.mo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/1-Professor-William-Franke-b-199x300.jpg?resize=199%2C300\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWilliam Franke<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Rui Cunha Foundation and the University of Macau (UM) have joined forces to launch a series of \u201cPhilosophy Caf\u00e9s\u201d intended to bring discussion and critical thinking to the table, while addressing current affairs. The inaugural \u201cPhilosophy Caf\u00e9,\u201d to be held today at 7pm, will be moderated by UM professor of philosophy William Franke, with a focus on \u201cPhilosophical Universalism and the Role of China in the World Today.\u201d
\nThe first cafe is an effort to address philosophy in a particular local context, said professor William Franke. He told The Times that in addition to a geographic parameter, there\u2019s a historical parameter to the topic.
\n\u201cChina is one of the countries in which philosophy has a world historical origin. We think of Greece first when thinking of the birth of philosophy in the 5th century, with the pre-Socratic philosophers. But simultaneously with that development in Greece there is a new kind of intellectual ferment and discourse in China, with Confucius in particular,\u201d he recalled.
\nProf Franke will be making an introduction about the particularity of philosophical knowledge before opening the floor to the discussion of philosophical universalism, and the kind of contributions to philosophy that China makes today.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s an even broader question than simply philosophical discussion. Philosophy \u2013 as a way of informing \u2013 has a role in the world; a political-social role; there are a lot of questions that are crucial for the world and China \u2013 because of its increasing economic power \u2013 and in every way; it\u2019s important to the world, it has a key role,\u201d he acknowledged.
\nProf Franke will also reflect upon which Chinese heritage traditions are relevant \u201cas a resource for guiding China as a major player now on the world stage.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is not a lecture. I am hoping to learn from members of the public [about] some of the resources and challenges facing China today. My role is to try to direct our thoughts collectively toward what philosophy has to offer to public debate and policy,\u201d he reiterated.
\nThe professor intends to urge those attending the event to also reflect upon Macau and its relationship with philosophy. The relationship might not be too apparent, but he recalled that because of the casino industry, \u201cMacau is an especially apt place for philosophy,\u201d although this tends to be forgotten.
\nHe stressed that, for instance, in Greece, philosophy did not emerge in Athens but rather in other places\u00a0 such as seaports and trading cities, because these were places for the exchange of ideas, and \u201cthat is crucial for the life of philosophy.\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s our mission, in the university and particularly in our program of philosophy and religious studies, to bring out this potential, which really does belong to the resources that are special to Macau. That\u2019s why I think it\u2019s important that the \u2018Philosophy Caf\u00e9s\u2019 give an important public profile to philosophy,\u201d he stated.
\nThe Rui Cunha Foundation intends to organize other \u201cPhilosophy Caf\u00e9s\u201d in the upcoming months, moderated by different scholars. Today\u2019s caf\u00e9 runs between 7pm and 10pm and the talk will be conducted in English.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Philosophy Caf\u00e9: Philosophical Universalism and the Role of China in the World Today Philosophy Caf\u00e9 \u2013 Cunha Foundation site with multiple pictures of the events Philosophy caf\u00e9 \u2013 picture (1st) Philosophy cafe \u2013 press article Macau Daily Times article online:\u00a0 \u201cPhilosophy Caf\u00e9s to Spur Critical Thinking\u201d \u2018Philosophy Caf\u00e9s\u2019 to spur critical thinking Catarina Pinto Wednesday,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":615,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2080","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/williamfranke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/williamfranke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/williamfranke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/williamfranke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/615"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/williamfranke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2080"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/williamfranke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2107,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/williamfranke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2080\/revisions\/2107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/williamfranke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/williamfranke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.vanderbilt.edu\/t2-my\/my-prd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/470\/2012\/02\/Philisophy-Cafe_facebook.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n