Hailing from Shandong, China, the hometown of Confucius, Dr. Liang never thought that her life would take a philosophical turn until she went to St. John’s College. Against the backdrop of the high desert of northern New Mexico, Dr. Liang became enthralled by the great books of the west. During her Ph.D. at DePaul University in Chicago, Dr. Liang extended her philosophical horizon to include process philosophy, philosophy of science, and applied ethics. However, an accidental opportunity to teach Asian philosophy led her straight back to her own tradition. Coming to a full circle, Dr. Liang began her study of Chinese philosophical schools – Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, etc. – almost after being a decade away from her native China, continuing her engagement with eastern traditions to this day.
Driven by a desire to seek the common philosophical ground and discern their productive differences between the east and the west, Dr. Liang conducts research at the intersection of east-west comparative philosophy. Her recent projects include exploring the concept of creativity in Spinoza and Confucianism, investigating issues in modern corporate governance from a Confucian perspective, etc.
At Sweet Briar, Dr. Liang teaches a diverse array of courses, including Introduction to Philosophy, Early Modern Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Confucianism, Daosim, Process Philosophy, Applied Ethics, etc. She is also the advisor of the newly founded philosophy club – Society For Young Philosophers (SYP).
Courses Taught
- PHIL 237: History of Women Philosophers
- PHIL 220: Classical Chinese for Reading Philosophy
- PHIL 130: Philosophy of Science
- PHIL 310: Confucianism
- PHIL 115: Fundamental Philosophical Questions
- PHIL 214: Exploring Our Modern Condition
- Core 210: Contemporary Ethical Questions
Publications
- “Modern Corporate Governance from a Confucian Ethical Perspective: The Digital Market Economy, Trustworthiness, and Leadership.” Dao Companion to Confucian Applied Ethics. Edited by Rina Camus, Julia Tao, and Kam-por Yu. Springer, December 2024. (Forthcoming, co-authored with Daryl Koehn)
- “Yi 義 and He 和: The Two Walkings of the Confucian Aesthetic Order.” The Journal of East Asian Philosophy. August, 2024. DOI: 10.1007/s43493-024-00044-9
- Book Review, “Franklin Perkins, Doing What You Really Want: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mengzi. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.” Philosophy Today, Volume 67, Issue 4 (Fall 2023): 993-732.
- “The Pursuit of Dao and Philosophia: An Inquiry into the Common Quest of Philosophical Thinking in both Chinese and Greco-European Traditions.” Philosophy Today, Volume 67, Issue 3 (Summer 2023): 697–714. DOI: 10.5840/philtoday2023718500
- “Daoist Moral Obligations.” The SAGE Encyclopedia of Leadership Studies. Edited by George R. Goethals, Allison, Scott T, Sorenson, Georgia J. SAGE Publications, March, 2023.
- “Is Space Discrete? An Inquiry into the Reality of Planck Length and its Philosophical Implications.” Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy. Vol 16, No. 2 (2020) Philosophy Without Borders. Open Humanities Press. Australia. October 2020.