EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW • 人物專訪 2021 UMAGAZINE 24 • 澳大新語 50 analysed or discussed philosophically, when in fact it may be a very important concept in Chinese philosophy. Another example is the moral dilemma posed by the well-known Confucius debate on “kin concealment”, which not only has relevance to moral judgments and judicial practices in our daily lives, but also involves Confucius’s philosophical reflection on the complexity of human moral nature. These moral dilemmas should be found in both West and East, in both ancient and modern times, and they keep driving us to think and to live more deeply and critically. We can explore them by comparing Chinese and Western moral metaphysics, and then propose different explanations, which is also why I study comparative philosophy.’ What Is Philosophy The word ‘philosophy’ is made up of two ancient Greek words: ‘philia’ and ‘sophia’, which originally meant ‘love’ and ‘wisdom’. Prof Wang is often asked by his students: ‘What is philosophy?’ He always replies, ‘Philosophy as love of wisdom is not only a love of any kind of knowledge, but also a search for the foundation of all knowledge and values. More importantly, it focuses more on “love” than on “wisdom” or “knowledge”. This “love” is the original motivation for scientific criticism and innovation.’ Metaphysik (2017) and Kant und das Problem der Metaphysik (2012). He was the co-translator of Heidegger’s Sein und Zeit (1987). In recent years, he co-edited the Chinese version of Major Works of Martin Heidegger (30 volumes) (2018). Phenomenology is the starting point in Prof Wang’s study of Western philosophy. In recent years, his research has focused more on comparative philosophy and Eastern and Western theories of ethics. For example, in his book Moral Affection and Confucian Exemplary Ethics of Virtue, he combines the main concepts, principles, and theoretical frameworks of Chinese and Western moral philosophy to reinterpret the relevance of Confucianism to modern society. Some scholars believe that Prof Wang’s theory of ‘moral affection’, which serves as the philosophical foundation of Confucian ethics, is of great significance to the development of contemporary emotionalist ethics and Confucian ethics. ‘In our lives, we will encounter various challenges, which we can use for discussion and explore their new philosophical meanings,’ says Prof Wang. ‘For example, the commonly used Chinese word “being morally moved”, or “affection”, has rarely been 王慶節（右三）在北京大學就讀時與同學接待圖靈獎和諾貝爾經濟學獎得主赫伯特•西蒙（左三） Wang Qingjie (3rd from right), his fellow students at Peking University and Herbert Simon (3rd from left), an influential scientist who won the Turing Award and the Nobel Prize in Economics.
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