Asian Studies Fall Lecture, Oct. 20

Please join us for this Interdisciplinary Asian Studies Fall Lecture, "Moral Psychology of Confucian Shame -- Shame of Shamelessness," Wednesday, Oct. 20, 4:30 p.m. Brennan Hall, Room 228 (Pearn Auditorium). 

"Is shame a negative concept? Can it have a positive effect on our civic life, personal development, business, politics, or interpersonal relationship? How do the East and the West view "shame" differently? Is shame different from guilt? This talk will analyze the moral psychology of Confucian shame as an embodied moral emotion and virtue necessary for human flourishing from the perspective of interdisciplinary studies, comparative philosophy, and philosophy of cognitive science."

Dr. Bongrae Seok is a professor of philosophy at Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania. His primary research interests lie in comparative philosophy of mind and moral psychology, philosophy of cognitive neuroscience, neuroethics and neuroaesthetics. In his recent books, "Naturalization, Human Flourishing, and Asian Philosophy: Owen Flanagan and Beyond" (Routledge 2020), "Moral Psychology of Confucian Shame: Shame of Shamelessness" (Rowman and Littlefield 2016), and "Embodied Moral Psychology and Confucian Philosophy" (Lexington 2013), he develops an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to moral psychology from the viewpoint of embodied moral emotion (empathy, shame, and flourishing). He also published articles on phenomenology and perception of music (embodied musical imagery, and musical chills) and embodied perception of space from the interdisciplinary perspective of philosophy, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience. He is the Program Chair of the APA (American Philosophical Association) affiliated group of NAKPA (North American Korean Philosophical Association). He has served ACPA (Association of Chinese Philosophers in America) as president from 2018 to 2020.

The lecture is free and open to the whole campus community and invited guests by university students, staff and faculty. For more information, contact Ann A. Pang-White, Director of Asian Studies and Professor of Philosophy, at ann.pang-white@scranton.edu.