Li-fan Lee is a PhD candidate of intercultural philosophy at the Institute for Philosophy of Leiden University since July 2022. He is interested in human culture and philosophical thoughts in their most general sense across temporal and geographical boundaries, and is dedicated to clear-eyed philosophical investigation, cross-cultural dialogue and understanding, and improving education.

More information about Li-fan Lee

Fields of interest

• Intercultural Philosophy
• Continental Philosophy (with an emphasis on Nietzsche)
• Classical Chinese Philosophy (with an emphasis on Confucianism and Daoism)

Research

With a background in broad humanities and social science and advanced historian training before coming to philosophy, my interests lie in human culture and philosophical thoughts in their most general sense across temporal and geographical boundaries. The intercultural philosophical dialogue between the Western and Chinese philosophies is my main field of interest, with emphasis on Continental philosophy, Nietzsche, classical Daoism and Confucianism.

My PhD research project, titled "Nietzsche, the Zhuangzi, and the Hermeneutics of Intercultural Philosophy", investigates the nature and dynamics of intercultural understanding on a philosophical level. Focusing on three critical aspects in intercultural understanding: perspectivism, interpretation, and evaluation, this project aims to examine methodological issues in this field and, by drawing on the contrasting insights of the nineteenth century German philosopher Nietzsche (especially his late period) and the proto-Daoist Chinese text, the Zhuangzi, to illustrate the nuances and cultural ontological significance of intercultural philosophical engagements. Additionally, as a by-product, this project will show the fundamental differences between the Zhuangzi and Nietzsche that have been greatly overlooked by many of the previous optimistic comparative scholars.

Grants and awards

• Grant for PhD research on world history, Sapintia Culture and Education Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC (2022)

• Grant for graduate study on world history, Sapintia Culture and Education Foundation, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC (2019 & 2020)
   

Curriculum vitae

• PhD council chair, Institute for Philosophy, Leiden University, since September 2023.

• Research assistant, supervisor: Prof. Douglas Berger, Institute for Philosophy, Leiden University, September-December 2023.

• Lecturer, Institute for Philosophy, Leiden University since February 2023. Courses offered: "Comparative Philosophy I: Classical Readings", "World Philosophies: China". Self-designed syllabi.

• Founder & organizer, Chinese Philosophy Reading Group Leiden, May 2022-September 2023.

• MA, Philosophy, Modern European Philosophy, Leiden University, 2022.

• MA, History, Early Modern China and Multi-Cultural Studies program, co-organized with Academia Sinica, National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, 2012.

• BA, Humanities and Social Science (with dual concentrations in history and anthropology), National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan, 2009.

Key publications

Publication

• Lee, Lifan 李立凡. 2012. “1821 Nian Emily Hao Shijian De Baodao Yu Chuanbo” 1821 年 Emily 號事件的報導與傳播 [The Emily Incident in 1821: Reports and Their Transmission]. In Zhao, Chunchen 趙春晨 and Leng, Dong 冷東 eds.,Guangzhou Shisanhang Yu Qingdai Zhongwai Guanxi 廣州十三行與清代中外關係 [The Canton Thirteen Hongs and Sino-Western Relations in the Qing Dynasty], 253-276. Guangzhou: World Publishing Corporation.

Translation

• Wong, R. Bin 王國斌; Li-fan Lee 李立凡 trans. 2019.  Jianwang Zhilai: Zhongguo Yu Quanqui Lishi Bianqian De Moshi Yu Shehui Lilun 鑑往知來：中國與全球歷史變遷的模式與社會理論 [Understanding the Past & Pursuing the Future: Patterns of Chinese and Global Historical Changes and Social Theory]. Hsinchu: National Chiao Tung University.