Chih-Wei Peng

Dissertation Abstract: My dissertation studies the possibility of developing an adequate environmental ethic in Daoism with a focus on climate change adaptation. The project pertains to ethics or ethical issues in three aspects. First, my research method, comparative philosophy, can stretch our sense of human possibility since, without the awareness of the similarities and differences among different philosophical traditions, it is too easy for us to be trapped in our own culture- related values and norms and to judge others based on these limiting beliefs. Second, the main goal of my dissertation is to construct a Daoist virtue-oriented approach to environmental ethics based upon the theoretical framework of Aristotelian virtue ethics. Third, my dissertation discusses how to apply Daoist ethics in a warming world; through giving a new content to wuwei (無為 non-action), this Chinese traditional virtue, I contend, is superbly suited for the twenty-first century especially when we are struggling to deal with the environmental issues associated with anthropogenic climate change. Hopefully, my dissertation demonstrates that Daoism as authentic wisdom can enrich the intellectual discourse in the field of environmental philosophy and provide us with valuable insight into how to live well in the age of environmental crisis.