A prominent trend in contemporary analytic philosophy of art is to construe literary works as utterances and interpret them accordingly. Actual intentionalists argue that a satisfactory theory of literary interpretation must address the constitutive question: what determines the meaning of a literary utterance? They claim that an author’s successfully realized intention constitutes such meaning and that major anti-intentionalist positions fail to provide a satisfactory alternative. Drawing on insights from the pragmatics of utterance interpretation, I advocate for an anti-intentionalist approach to (...) literary interpretation that questions both the need for utterance meaning as a metaphysical posit and the pivotal role of authorial intention. (shrink)

The end of the Cold War resulted in a diffusion of the level of threat worldwide and concluded the system of bipolarity in the world. Beside the European continent, where the rivalries were at the highest level, the consequences of the end of the Cold War were especially visible in North-East Asia. A decrease of military activities of Russia and China, and the retreat of the USA from the region, give way for improvement of political and economical relations between the (...) countries of the region. The end of hostilities produced by the Cold War no doubt have relaxed relations between countries in the region and opened ways for a new more peaceful co-existence. However, this does not mean that the region is not vulnerable to some of the hot spots such as North Korea, Spratly Parcels and especially Taiwan Strait. The latter is considered to be the most dangerous potential Asian zone of crisis in the twenty-first century. The East Asian countries such as China, Japan and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries are the world’s most growing economies and, at the same time, leaders in military acquisition; therefore, the potential for conflict and crises is current and real. This article examines one of these hot spots, namely the Taiwan Strait dispute, and assesses the possibility of this issue leading to a war between China, the USA and Japan. In order to have a clear view of the dispute the author will reveal some data in the introduction and then will explore relations, conflicts and interests between China, the USA and Japan vis-à-vis Taiwan and assess the risk that these countries might be drawn in potential war over the Taiwan Strait. (shrink)

Taiwan is an island country situated in the northwest Pacific, close to the southeast of China. The land area is about 36,000 square kilometers. The population of Taiwan is about 23 million, and it consists of the majority Han ethnic groups and dozens of minority groups who are collectively called “Formosan,” an appellation for indigenous peoples in Taiwan. Formosans can be divided into Pingpu and Gaoshan by their living area. In recent years, marriages between Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, (...) and Southeast Asians have increased significantly. Because of the genetic background of the Taiwanese people, it was thought to be highly beneficial for Taiwan to establish a biobank specifically designed for the Taiwanese population, as it would enable large-scale cohort studies to be carried out for common diseases occurring in Taiwan. (shrink)

Taiwan Education at the Crossroad examines the processes of schooling in Taiwan amidst the social, cultural, economic, and political conflicts resulting from local and global dilemmas and issues. The book opens with an introductory chapter detailing the recent world-wide phenomenon in education, i.e. globalization and localization, followed by parts one through five to showcase the different perspectives of Taiwan's education. Collectively these sections offer a panoramic and in-depth glimpse from the past to the future of educational trends (...) in Taiwan, and the ongoing educational exchanges with China and the world. (shrink)

Other than during the Civil War of 19451662), the Spanish (in northern Taiwan, 16261683), the Manchus (16831945), and the Chinese Nationalists (1945independenceunification’. Rather, they should emphasize Taiwan's decolonialization, a process that Taiwan shares with much of the world.

Taiwan has a complete semiconductor industry chain and is important in global semiconductor manufacturing. In addition to considering operational conditions, companies have also attached importance to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in recent years. This research thus takes 60 integrated circuit (IC) companies in Taiwan as a research sample and adopts the Meta Two-stage dynamic RDM DDF (range directional model directional distance function) under an exogenous CSR model to explore their market stage efficiency and production stage efficiency. This study (...) aimed to analyze whether incorporating a company's CSR performance into performance evaluations affects the production and profitability efficiency of Taiwanese IC companies. The findings are as follows: Most IC companies practice CSR and demonstrate good CSR performance. The market stage efficiency and production stage efficiency of the IC packaging and testing group are better than those of other groups. (shrink)

Taiwan and Kurdistan appear to have little in common, but the progressive values of these two societies embedded within hostile regions make them both natural allies and important strategic assets in the U.S.’s and international community’s long-term fight against authoritarianism and radical religious theocracies. Instead, they have been ignored and/or exploited in the pursuit of short-term geopolitical and economic interests in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, which comes at great cost to American and international values as well as (...) long-term strategic interests, so both citizens and policymakers must consider new approaches. (shrink)

There has been a lack of research into candidate selection outside the developed world. In this paper we attempt to fill this gap, with a detailed examination of the factors leading to the introduction of party primaries, their operations and their future prospects, in a third wave democracy, Taiwan. Although Taiwan is a late democratizer, the high degree of party institutionalization makes it more appropriate to compare its nomination system with those of older political parties, we particularly contrast (...) it with the leading German and British political parties. Our discussion also finds many similar trends with developments of intra-party democracy in European parties, particularly in terms of a decentralization of candidate selection and reduced mediation between party centre and members. In addition, despite technical changes in electoral campaigning, parties in Taiwan have not abandoned the mass membership model. In Taiwan, direct primary elections have been a controversial subject. By analyzing relevant data, we argue that the core problem of the party primary was its lack of fairness, because party cadres tried to monopolize the candidate selection and thus failed to remain neutral. We find signs that leaders in all parties are wary of allowing inner party democracy to go too far and losing their control over nomination. When the party centre fears the wrong candidates will be selected, they are prepared to manipulate the rules in their favour or re-centralize the selection process. (shrink)

The agenda-setting power of apex courts is important to their survival and success. Nevertheless, most of the literature on this topic has approached it from the perspective of the courts’ public output, not the courts’ private motivations. In this article, I explore how justices serving on the Taiwan Constitutional Court (TCC) exercise their agenda-setting power behind closed doors. Using the declassified minutes of TCC decisions, I show that justices manage their docket according not only to explicit procedural requirements, but (...) also to myriad political, prudential, remedial and collegial factors. By manipulating the TCC’s agenda, justices have expanded its judicial power and judicial legitimacy while avoiding political confrontation. These manipulations, however, have spawned a number of concerns, particularly with respect to rights bearers, judicial deceit and judicial overreach. (shrink)

This article systematically surveys the history of Anglo-American philosophy in Taiwan since the late nineteenth century. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it argues that (i) pragmatism remained influential given the dominance of continental philosophy in Japanese colonized Taiwan, where the universal values assumed by pragmatists were used to resist the Empire’s ideology, (ii) after WWII, immigrated Chinese scholars brought in more novelty to Taiwanese philosophy than the Vienna circle diasporas brought to their Anglo-American counterparts, in which liberal scholars’ emphasis (...) on science and democracy challenged Chiang’s dictatorship and Chinese nationalism, and (iii) analytic philosophy thrived with the advance of democratizing in the 1980s, which, in turn, diversified the philosophy in 1990s Taiwan. Accordingly, Anglo-American philosophy was never confined to the academic ivory tower but had positive impacts on Taiwan’s centennial social transformation. (shrink)

Taiwan developed legal frameworks for organ transplantation earlier than many other East Asian countries and has achieved relatively successful clinical outcomes. Although its deceased donor rate remains lower than in countries such as Spain and the United States, it exceeds those of Japan, China, and Singapore. This success is often attributed to the efficiency of its transplant network and the strength of its legal infrastructure. However, the sociocultural context of these laws—and how Taiwanese policies engage with prevailing beliefs about (...) death and the body—has received limited scholarly attention. This paper addresses that gap by analyzing legal and policy documents related to deceased organ donation in Taiwan, including legislation, official guidelines, and parliamentary records between 1987 and 2021. It argues that Taiwanese law reframes death with organ donation—whether following brain death or cardiac arrest—as a form of “good death,” integrating consent into broader end‐of‐life decision‐making. By clarifying the legal and policy background, the analysis highlights how the government has sought to reconcile biomedical definitions of death with Confucian notions of bodily integrity and socially valued dying. As secularization progresses, this framing may make organ donation more socially acceptable. At the same time, ethical concerns arise from policy discourses that emphasize altruism and social contribution, which may lead individuals to forgo life‐sustaining treatments not solely based on personal reasoning, but from a perceived obligation to benefit family or society—potentially constraining expressions of individual preference. (shrink)

This paper summarizes the evolution of analytic philosophy in Taiwan, examines its impact within and beyond academia, and discusses the future of the discipline. The roots of modern philosophy in Taiwan can be traced back to the Japanese colonial era, and analytic philosophy was introduced to the country in the late 1940s when many intellectuals in China moved to Taiwan. However, massive curbs were imposed on philosophy during Chiang Kai-shek’s dictatorship, and the discipline began to thrive again (...) only after Taiwan’s democratization in the late 1980s. Nonetheless, since its introduction in the colonial era, modern philosophy has made significant contributions in Taiwan, encouraging interdisciplinary engagements, advancing civic education, and promoting the spirit of democracy and political liberation. Philosophy has played a key role in Taiwan’s remarkable transformation from an island colonized for hundreds of years to a country that recognizes democracy, freedom, and human rights. The themes of anti-colonialism and anti-domination seen in the works of modern Taiwanese philosophers not only reflect the discipline’s political and historical underpinnings but also signal how Taiwanese philosophy can acquire a distinct identity, despite being influenced by many other philosophical traditions. While still at a nascent stage, Taiwanese philosophy has the potential to join forces with other philosophical traditions in advancing the vision of decolonizing philosophy. (shrink)

Taiwan is not only inhabited by ethnic Chinese, as many who are not so familiar with this island might think; it also has a substantial number of aboriginal peoples who have lived on the island for millennia, long before the Chinese, Europeans and finally the Japanese colonisers arrived. The aboriginal peoples of Taiwan are Austronesian, with linguistic and genetic ties to ethnic groups found in the Pacific nations of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, the islands of Oceania, (...) and also on Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. This article looks at some of the challenges faced by this indigenous population, due in large part to the ethnic or racial prejudice of the Taiwanese which was reinforced by the national government. It also examines recent curriculum reforms and the educational discourses that reject racism and affirm the ideals of ethnic and cultural freedom and equality, thereby exemplifying moral education in the truest sense. (shrink)

This study conducted an empirical survey of 126 Business Ethics students in business and management departments within two universities across the Taiwan Strait to evaluate the impact on these managers-to-be of receiving an education in Business Ethics. The results show that, after receiving that Business Ethics education, students in both universities demonstrated significant improvements in the ethical weighting of their individual values, their recognition of ethical issues and their performance as ethical decision-makers. However, in respect of ethical decision-making, the (...) behavior of these students is still sub-optimal, indicating a need for further improvements in the ethical education of managers-to-be across the Taiwan Strait. (shrink)

台灣有沒有理論？只有西方引進的才能算是理論嗎？ 在全球知識分工下，以32則關鍵詞 推動台灣超脫依賴者和模仿者，讓台灣理論與世界展開對話 我們如何界定理論？只有西方引進的才能算是理論嗎？台灣有沒有理論？如果有，那它的內容、範疇、系譜為何？如果沒有，台灣在全球的知識分工制度下，是否無法超脫依賴者和模仿者的角色？那又應該如何抵制這個被分配的 角色，轉而變成理論生產者？米蘭‧昆德拉曾經指出，大國有大國的狹隘觀，過度自信不理別人，小國有小國的狹隘觀，認為自己沒有東西可以貢獻給世界，他說這兩種都是需要克服的謬論。如此看來，台灣對世界的理論場域， 是否可以有所貢獻？或者，台灣本有理論，但看理論怎樣定義，只是因為「認可機制」的桎梏，而沒有被看到，甚或自己也看不到？那要怎樣才能看到自己，也被別人看到？特殊化和普遍化之間台灣理論的位置在哪裡？台灣在地 經驗的概念化可以提升為普遍的理論嗎？ 由史書美、梅家玲、廖朝陽、陳東升主編的《台灣理論關鍵詞》，試圖發掘「理論」與「台灣」之間的可能關係，以作為台灣知識學的一個方法。本書從台灣經驗出發，以創造為訴求，擺脫陳舊的術語、慣用語以及外來的理論概 念，發明新的詞彙──關鍵詞──來探討台灣本身的獨特性。依據在地就是全球的主張，本書除了探討台灣的特殊性，也希望提供從特殊性跨越到一般性的途徑，以期對世界情境下更廣闊的理論對話有所貢獻。.

清代學術以開出考據學新高度及總結傳統舊學之姿，高峰屹立於我國學術史；然而對其思想發展，學界卻普遍持負面看法，如梁啟超、錢穆。或落在理學視野、或未能正視清代思想之獨立發展特色，更遑論肯定其創新思想理論的 價值。 本書作者專研清代學術思想多年，對於清代學術持同情的理解，持信存在的合理性，肯定其思想價值，並深刻體認學術必須深蓄厚養，誠如荀子言「不積跬步，無以致千里。」該著約一百萬字，包括上、下冊三篇和附錄，分為二 十六章。 第一篇 思想紛呈的清初學界 第二篇 共創乾嘉學術高峰的吳、皖、揚、浙學 第三篇 中葉以降從論學到議政的今文學流行與異調 【附錄】臺灣地區近五十年來哲學學門之「清代哲學」重要研究成果 該書之出版，得以一饗對清學有興趣的學者及社會大眾，也為清代學術思想流變作記，期使文化學術能夠更源遠流長。.

The Green Party Taiwan represents an important case both for scholars of environmental politics but also Taiwanese politics. Established in 1996, it is the oldest Asian green party and is one of the most active parties in the Asia-Pacific Greens network. The party has enjoyed mixed electoral fortunes. After promising early election results, the GPT virtually ceased contesting elections between 2000 and 2005. However, from 2006 the party began a gradual revival in its vote shares. This process culminated in (...) the January 2012 Legislative Yuan election when the GPT surprised many observers by coming fifth in the proportional party vote. Considering the limited resources at the party's disposal this was quite an achievement. In this study, we examine and explain the changing electoral fortunes of the GPT since its establishment in 1996. We are interested to see whether standard theories for explaining small or ecological party success, that have been developed in western Europe, work well in the Taiwan context. Our research is based on a range of new fieldwork conducted between 2012 and 2014. These include in-depth interviews with campaigners and party leaders, focus group sessions with party leaders and candidates, and interviews with party supporters. (shrink)

Buddhism in Taiwan: Religion and the State, 1660-1990. Charles Brewer Jones. University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu 1999. xviii, 259 pp. $46.00. ISBN 0-8248-2061-4.

This paper theorizes and historicizes the ideas of modern language and translation and challenges the imperialist and nationalistic mode of worlding with the notion of ‘untranslatability’ that is embedded in the linguistic and cultural practices of colonial Taiwan and Korea. I redefine the notion of translation as a bordering system – the knowledge-production of boundaries, discrimination, and classification – that simultaneously creates the translatable and the untranslatable (i.e. the equivalence and incommensurability) in asymmetrical power relations. With this, I discuss (...) how this ambivalence is embodied in the experiences of colonial writers Wu Yung-fu and Pak T’aewŏn and their novellas ‘Head and Body’ (1933) and ‘A Day in the life of Kubo the Novelist’ (1934). I illustrate two characteristics of the ambivalent untranslatability embedded in their novellas: the linguistic untranslatability and the experience of ‘unhomeness’. The linguistic untranslatability and unhomeness, I argue, result in the colonized’s dislocation in homogeneous time-space relationships, resulting to the incompletion of the modernization project through colonialism. At the same time untranslatability offers a site to explore the transnational space that crosses linguistic boundaries, and to caution against the legacy of colonialism. (shrink)

Data from the World Values Survey shows that generalized trust in Mainland China—trust in out-group members—is very low, but generalized trust in Taiwan is much higher. The present article argues that positive interactions with out-group members in the context of Taiwan’s export-oriented economy fostered generalized trust—and so explains this difference. This line of argument provides evidence for Albert O. Hirschman’s doux commerce thesis, that market interaction can improve persons and even stabilize the social order. The present article defends (...) this point by separating two theses that Hirschman combines under that label, a countervailing forces thesis and a doux commerce thesis narrowly understood. These theses offer different explanations (or mechanisms) for how commerce could have those positive effects. The data about Taiwanese trust practices provides evidence for the latter. (shrink)

Taiwan is a liminal site of modernity in Asia. It is a modern exemplar as a liberal democracy with a developed economy, but is mostly unrecognized as a nation-state in the international system. In its liminality, however, it traces contours of modern power and their epistemological expression. This paper presents an account of Taiwan as an object of knowledge and representation in instances of scholarship and policy, Taiwanese politics, urban development and art, arguing that the narratives through which (...) Taiwan is understood embed a lived experience as Taiwanese under forms of epistemological domination. The paper then explores Taiwanese responses of co-option and resistance in alternative sites of knowledge, and it concludes that the critical unexamined force in Taiwan’s experience of modernity is violence. (shrink)

To resolve the lottery paradox, the “no-justification account” proposes that one is not justified in believing that one's lottery ticket is a loser. The no-justification account commits to what I call “the Harman-style skepticism”. In reply, proponents of the no-justification account typically downplay the Harman-style skepticism. In this paper, I argue that the no-justification reply to the Harman-style skepticism is untenable. Moreover, I argue that the no-justification account is epistemically ad hoc. My arguments are based on a rather surprising finding (...) that the no-justification account implies that people living in Taiwan typically suffer from the Harman-style skepticism. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:SBCS Members Travel to TaiwanLeo D. LefebureIn February and March 2024, Kunihiko Terasawa and I visited Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei and Buddhist monasteries in Taiwan. On February 29, Kuni gave a very engaging presentation on the thought of Kitaro Nishida, and we had a lively discussion of Nishida's contributions and his relation to Japanese nationalism, followed by lunch with members of the faculty of Fu Jen. (...) The next day, Professor Su-an Lin, who teaches Buddhism at Fu Jen, and graduate student Su-chen Huang accompanied Kuni and me to Fo Guang Shan Monastery, where we received an informative tour of the monastic community, a delicious lunch, and then a guided tour of the Buddha Museum, including the remarkable exhibit on the discoveries at Dunhuang, including full-scale replicas of the statues and murals in the Mogao Caves. To conclude our visit, we were treated to tea and were given Lewis Lancaster's book on The Buddhist Maritime Silk Road and a book of Buddhist meditations for each day of the year.On March 3, we received a guided visit to the Museum of World Religions in Taipei, founded by Dharma Master Hsin Tao. Two days later, together with Paulin Batairwa, Under-Secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, and Raphael Ling, vice president of Fu Jen University for mission and chaplaincy, I visited Master Hsin Tao at his monastery, situated on a high spot dramatically overlooking the ocean. We had an extended discussion of interreligious activities, and the Dharma Master told us of his project to found a Buddhist university in Myanmar and sought our support. On March 5, Paulin, Raphael, and I visited Dharma Drum Mountain Monastery outside of Taipei, where we were graciously welcomed by the Ven. Guo Hei, who gave us copies of books by their founder, the late Chan Master Sheng-yen.I delivered two lectures at Fu Jen; our SBCS colleague Jonathan Seitz, who teaches in Taipei, came to meet me for lunch and attended my second lecture on spirit, law, and wisdom in interreligious encounters. Together with Paulin, I also met with leaders of the Daoist Temple in Taipei and participated in a Vatican-led discussion of Catholic–Confucian relations. [End Page 239]Leo D. LefebureSBCS Past PresidentCopyright © 2024 University of Hawai'i Press... (shrink)

The business environment has increasingly expanded outside single nations or regions of the world to encompass many differing countries. Along with this expansion come business opportunities and challenges when facing business practices and attitudes not so similar to our own. In studying how these national cultural differences affect ethical decision making, managers and employees alike gain an understanding and respect for those differing business practices. This study considers the national cultural dimension of collectivism versus individualism. Survey data were gathered from (...) 252 full-time employees working in the collective country of Taiwan and the individualist country of the United States of America. Results indicate that employees from the collective culture of Taiwan are more likely to indicate they would make an unethical decision that benefits the organization and less likely to openly question an unethical practice by their organization. Implications of these findings are discussed. (shrink)

Ruyu HungNational Chiayi UniversityThis collective writing is intended to portray the contour of philosophy of education in contemporary Taiwan, resounding many beautiful counterparts in EPAT (Bies...

This article examines the interplay between homophobia and nationalism by analyzing online comments on the ruling of legalizing same-sex marriage in Taiwan. Drawing on methods from critical discourse analysis, I focus on the framing of this ruling by members from a Chinese antigay community online. I show that they frame this ruling as (1) in opposition to public opinion, (2) promoting ‘Westernization’ and ‘Independence’, (3) seeking immorality and self-destruction. I find that within these frames, they evoke nationalist discourses that (...) represent supporters of this ruling as the ‘Other’ who attempt to split with China, thereby associating LGBT equality movements in China with this political threat. I argue that these nationalist discourses are used in a way that reinforces and legitimizes discourses of homophobia. (shrink)