A philosophical approach to the Daode Jing
Grant Data
Project Title
A philosophical approach to the Daode Jing
Principal Investigator
Emeritus Professor Hansen, Chad
(Principal Investigator)
Duration
12
Start Date
2007-07-01
Amount
911180
Conference Title
A philosophical approach to the Daode Jing
Presentation Title
Keywords
comparison, Daoism, interpretation, Philosophy, translation
Discipline
Humanities and the Arts (Obsolete),Literature, Languages, Linguistics (Obsolete)
HKU Project Code
HKU 743807H
Grant Type
General Research Fund (GRF)
Funding Year
2007
Status
Completed
Objectives
One major impact will be on interpretive practice. Typical argument for conclusions about meaning in Sinology cites claims about meaning as premises. The proposed tool will facilitate a philosophical interpretive strategy that removes the circularity and introduces a science-like explanatory hypothesis model for justifying translations. The TST application can be used with other philosophical texts from the period as translations and texts are added to the data set. It's impact can spread to how we interpret the entire philosophical period. The TST enables using the philosophical method which, using printed texts and concordances, would require prodigious memory and processing capacities and speed. The tool will consist of a database structure, a user-friendly interface and a set of powerful analytical capabilities that facilitate the generation and evaluation of alternative translation hypotheses. The resulting translation will 1) depart radically from conventional translations, 2) be consistently naturalistic and reflect the evidence-based methodology and 3) be the most uncompromisingly philosophical translation of the text to date. As such, it will have a significant impact on our conception of both Daoism and Chinese thought and on our translation practice. Use of the philosophical method will free interpretive argument from the familiar reliance on authority which is dictated by its commitment to meanings as abstract objects hovering between languages and mysteriously accessible to translators but impervious to public scrutiny and critical evaluation. The publication output will thus encourage greater rigor in interpretive argument in the Sinological community.