About Me

I am a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. My research lies at the intersection of Chinese philosophy, cross-cultural psychology, experimental philosophy, and philosophy of cognitive science. The central problem that guides my research is how philosophy is related to culture as manifested in culturally transmitted reasoning patterns among laypersons across contexts. I pursue this problem through two guiding questions:

How ancient Chinese philosophical traditions can provisionally articulate culturally transmitted pre-theoretical conceptual architectures that shape contemporary laypersons’ practical reasoning;
How culturally transmitted reasoning protocols can inform the construction of a contemporary normative theory that extends beyond historical interpretation of ancient Chinese texts.

My dissertation project operates through a presumption: theoretical philosophical work can serve as a methodological tool for generating hypotheses in empirical science. In my dissertation, I develop the Different Conceptual Architecture Hypothesis (DCAH), according to which philosophical works provide theoretical resources for provisionally modelling culturally transmitted pre-theoretical conceptual architectures that shape laypersons’ practical reasoning across contexts. Using these provisional models, I construct reasoning protocols across three domains that generate empirically testable predictions and suggest new directions for empirical research in cross-cultural psychology.

Informed by my dissertation chapter on moral norm-guided causal judgment, a second line of my research develops contemporary role-based virtue theories from the Dialogues of Confucius (孔子家語 Kongzi Jia Yu). The project aims to extend Confucian ethical thought beyond historical interpretation toward a contemporary normative theory.

A third line of my research investigates global structural injustices. Drawing on Iris Young's account of structural injustice, world-systems theory, and global value-chain research, I examine how transnational social structures shape opportunities for capability development and exercise across borders.

Prior to UTK, I studied human resources management, economics, psychology, human rights, and philosophy at Beijing Normal University, Peking University, Maynooth University, the University of Sydney, and Eastern Michigan University. These experiences continue to inform my interdisciplinary approach to philosophical research.